One interesting are of research is on grip strength as a predictor of all cause mortality
The weaker someones grip as they age, the more likely that they
-Will have cardiovascular disease
-be obese
-Sarcopenia
-have Cancer
-Die
The amount of research on this is not small, its goes as far back as the 1970s
Why does grip matter though?
After more than 4 decades, the “answer” was quite simple
People with stronger grips have more MUSCLE
Muscle is the holy grail for health
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28549705/
It might seem strange, but the question of “Do muscular people live longer than not muscular people”, it was not studied much by formal research until this past decade
The answer was YES, Yes they do.
Not muscular people are not as healthy
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28991040/
Here is another study, showing that men with skinny arms are…more likely to die
The research reaches the same conclusion over and over
Muscle = longer lifespan, higher quality life
Less muscle = Shorter lifespan, more health risks
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28196081/
Do you have skinny and weak calf muscles?
Guess what, you are…more likely to get heart disease and die.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32975489/
This study was with elderly people undergoing hemodialysis
Even in people with damaged kidneys, the best predictor of survival was…how muscular their legs were.
Lower thigh muscle mass is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in elderly hemodialysis patients
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27759066/
You will never find any science that supports being fat and undermuscled as being “healthy”
its the same conclusions over and over
The more fat you have, the less muscle you have, the greater your risk of disease and death
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33870709/
The health benefits of being Muscular are scientific, theres no reason NOT to be muscular and resistance train
-Longer life
-Higher quality of life
-Slower aging
-Stronger immune system
-stronger bones
-Reduced risk for every kind of cancer and every kind of neurological disease
This said
HOW DO YOU TRAIN GRIP??
Getting a strong grip is not anything complicated, nor does it take any special kind of training
-Lift weights
-Perform basic compound exercises for your upper body, presses, rows, pullups etc
-Train your Arm muscles, biceps, triceps, forearms
Do you need to do FARMERS WALKS?
No. Weighted carries I think are overrated as an exercise
You could do hammer curls, DB shrugs, you get similar muscular benefits
Weighted carries are purely isometric
Your grip is trained during every exercise that you use your hands to hold onto weight
Chest & shoulder press, dips, pullups, deadlifts, rows, curls and extensions
Your grip is being worked during all of those
Unless youre a competitive strongman, grip work is not essential
