Grip strength and aging: what it says and how to improve it
Grip strength predicts heart disease and death as well as blood pressure does. What's a good grip for your age, why it matters, and how to raise it.
This is general wellness information, not medical advice. Observational associations don't establish cause and effect. Consult a doctor before making medical decisions or changing treatment, training or diet.
Grip strength is how hard you can squeeze, measured with a handheld dynamometer in kilograms. It's quick, cheap and one of the best single predictors of how people age, because a strong grip usually means strong muscles everywhere.
It peaks in your late 20s to early 40s and falls from midlife. Where you sit against people your age and sex says more than the raw number.
Why grip strength predicts how you age
The largest study followed 139,691 adults aged 35 to 70 in 17 countries for about four years. Each 5 kg lower grip was linked to a 16% higher risk of death from any cause and a 17% higher risk of death from heart disease. Grip strength predicted death better than systolic blood pressure did.
A UK Biobank study of 502,293 people found the same pattern over seven years. For every 5 kg less grip, the risk of death rose by 20% in women and 16% in men, with higher risks of heart disease, lung disease and several cancers. Adding grip to a standard risk score improved its predictions.
A 2019 review gathered evidence linking weak grip to falls, fractures, low bone density, cognitive decline, depression, poor sleep and problems in hospital. These studies are observational. Grip is a marker of overall strength and health, not a lever on its own, so squeezing a gripper all day won't fix what a weak grip signals.
What's a good grip strength for your age?
The best UK norms pooled 49,964 people from 12 British studies. Men's median grip peaked at 51 kg between ages 29 and 39. Women's peaked at 31 kg between 26 and 42. Both declined from midlife, and by age 80, about a quarter of people had a grip more than 2.5 standard deviations below the young-adult peak.
The UK Biobank study used under 26 kg for men and under 16 kg for women as its cutoff for muscle weakness. People below it had higher risks for almost every outcome studied.
Compare yours with people your age and sex using the grip strength calculator.
How to measure it
Use a hand dynamometer. Many gyms and physical therapists have one, and basic models are inexpensive. Sit with your elbow bent at a right angle and your forearm resting, squeeze as hard as you can for a few seconds, and take the best of three tries with each hand.
Readings vary between devices and positions, but the British study found its norms held up across dynamometer types and sitting or standing.
How to improve grip strength
Train your whole body. A 2019 meta-analysis of 24 trials in 3,018 older adults found many kinds of exercise raised grip strength, though by a small amount. Grip follows overall strength, so the goal is stronger muscles in general, not a stronger squeeze.
Lift things that challenge your hands. Deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, farmer's carries with heavy bags or dumbbells, and dead hangs from a bar all load your grip as a side effect.
Do it twice a week. A 2022 meta-analysis found 30 to 60 minutes a week of muscle-strengthening activity was linked to a 10 to 20% lower risk of death from any cause. See strength training for longevity.
Retest every few months. Grip changes slowly, so a monthly reading mostly shows noise.
How Ageon uses grip strength
Grip is an optional input to Ageon's strength domain, next to push-ups and the sit-to-rise test. If you have a dynamometer, enter your best reading and Ageon compares it with the British norms for your age and sex. Without one, your strength score comes from the other two tests.
Sources
- Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study62000-6). Leong et al., The Lancet, 2015.
- Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality. Celis-Morales et al., BMJ, 2018.
- Grip strength across the life course: normative data from twelve British studies. Dodds et al., PLoS One, 2014.
- Grip strength: an indispensable biomarker for older adults. Bohannon, Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2019.
- Effects of exercise training on handgrip strength in older adults: a meta-analytical review. Labott et al., Gerontology, 2019.
- Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases. Momma et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022.