Grip strength
How hard you can squeeze — a surprisingly strong marker of overall health.
Grip strength is the force you can generate by squeezing, usually measured with a hand dynamometer. Beyond its obvious role in lifting and daily tasks, it serves as a convenient proxy for whole-body strength.
It matters because low grip strength is consistently associated with higher risk of frailty, disability and all-cause mortality, making it a simple, cheap health marker — a signal of overall muscular fitness rather than a magic number in itself.
In practice, grip is trained indirectly through heavy pulling, carries and hangs; improving general strength and staying active are what the marker really reflects.
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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale — MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
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