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Summary
On episode 109 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan explains why a weak handshake might be a warning sign of an early grave, and what you can do about it. He points to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine in April 2007 that followed nearly 5,000 men and women from the early 1970s through 1999 and found that weaker grip strength correlated directly with a higher risk of dying from any cause.
Grip strength is likely a proxy for overall body strength and lean muscle mass, both of which are tied to longevity. Since muscle mass naturally declines after age 35 unless you actively work to build it, Allan lays out practical ways to train your grip alongside the rest of your body.
He walks through grip strengthening tools, thick bar training, deadlifts, hangs, and farmer carries, explaining how each one builds a stronger, more durable grip over time.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Grip strength predicts mortality risk. A study in the American Journal of Medicine (April 2007) followed close to 5,000 people from the early 1970s through 1999 and found that weaker grip strength correlated with a higher likelihood of dying from any cause.
- Grip strength is a proxy for overall body strength. Other research shows lean body mass itself is linked to longevity, so a weak grip may reflect broader muscular weakness, not just a hand problem.
- Muscle mass declines after 35 unless you fight it. The body naturally reduces muscle mass with age, so building or maintaining grip and overall strength requires deliberate training.
- Grip strengthening tools build endurance more than raw strength. Basic hand grippers are useful, especially at a desk, but higher rep squeezing trains muscular endurance rather than true strength; progressive resistance grippers (in 50-pound increments) push further.
- Thick bar or “big grip” training raises the difficulty of any lift. Wrapping a towel around a bar, or clipping on big grip attachments, reduces finger overlap and forces the hands to work harder on ordinary exercises like dumbbell rows.
- The deadlift is a foundational grip builder. As deadlift weight increases, grip often fails before the bigger muscles do. Allan recommends using a standard overhand grip through most of a set and only switching to a mixed or reverse grip on the final, heaviest reps, rather than relying on it the whole time.
- Dead hangs build grip endurance. Hanging from a bar or pole, including after finishing a set of pull-ups, trains the grip through its full working range.
- Farmer carries build grip and total-body strength together. Walking a distance while holding two heavy dumbbells forces the core to stay braced while the grip becomes the limiting factor, making it one of the most effective grip exercises available.
- Combining thick bar training with carries and hangs accelerates progress. Once a hang or carry becomes easy, adding a thicker grip further fatigues the hands and keeps grip strength improving over time.