A strong grip at an older age is an indicator of longevity

After age 40 muscles tend to lose their mass as part of aging.   So a strong grip at an older age appears to be an indicator of longevity.

In a 2015 study reported in The Lancet, researchers collected 142,000 grip strength measurements in 17 countries to test ongoing disease and discovered significant results.

The study suggests that, for each 11-pound decrease in grip strength, there is a 16 percent higher risk of death from any cause.  Such causes might be cancer, cardiovascular disease and many other causes.

It is unlikely that strengthening your grip specifically will help with longevity of life.  It is much more likely that the correlation between good grip strength and a longer lifespan is a result of overall muscle strength which is improving fitness and health.

At a basic level, if you strength train regularly, your grip will be stronger.

As we age, it’s especially important to focus on building and maintaining muscle mass.

This helps reduce the risk of many diseases as well as helping to reduce physical injury from balance issues in later life or from lifting heavy objects in our day to day lives.

A structured strength-training program can help you improve overall muscle strength and physical fitness.

So we, at Racquets, can help you devise your strength-training programs.  If you want to see progress quickly we also suggest personal training with our experienced trainers.

References :

Study reference : https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62000-6/fulltext

https://www.eehealth.org/blog/2020/02/what-your-grip-strength-says-about-your-overall-health/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-grip-strength/strong-grip-may-predict-longer-life-at-all-ages-idUSKCN1IM1TA