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Today, we have weaker grip strength than our parents and their parents of the past. This makes sense, because some of us typically don't work physical labor jobs anymore.
This has some unintended consequences as a result.
While we can talk about the correlation to many posture and health issues, handgrip strength is one good indicator of determining disabilities and mortality in older adults.
As if that isn't enough, poor grip strength also has some correlation to greater risk of depression.
One of the things I primarily have my friends (old clients) who work desk jobs or play games for hours at a time is a mix of various strength exercises - from powerlifting to strongman.
These exercises typically help with core strength, upper body strength, and grip strength - parts of our body that need to be improved due to our prolonged hours of sitting.
This is why I am a huge advocate of grip strength, and ultimately why I am a fan of Farmer's walks.
Farmer's Walks and high-rep overhand deadlifts have built crazy grip strength for myself.
In this post, we are going to dive into grip strength, and ultimately why I believe Farmer's Walks are a excellent for functional strength development.
Grip strength is strengthened from the following areas:
Ultimately, your forearms and hands consist of over 30+ small and intricate muscles.
As some would say: you're only as strong as your grip. This is pretty much true to almost every exercise or lifestyle activity that we will encounter.
Our grip leads hundreds of exercises, and many of the most powerful ones require a strong grip strength.
In fact, we can pretty much use our grip to determine our overall health. According to one study, grip strength can be potentially used as a biomarker for overall health in adults: from bone mineral density to cognitive or brain health.
In addition to that, the benefits that will come from building your grip are the following:
While some of these are only correlations, one thing is important: physical exercise is of utmost importance. In addition, training your grip will not only help your exercises, but will enhance or augment your lifestyle.
So let's talk about grip training.
There are three types of grip training exercises that you should utilize to improve your strength.
While we are really biased in favor of prioritizing the support grip the most, let's dive into the best exercises for each.
Hand Grip strengtheners are probably the best exercise you can do to build crush grip strength. This is quite simply because they are made to be squeezed, and they are probably the best way to strengthening your grip strength in this way.
Plate carries focus on building pinch grip strength by carrying the plate with your fingers and thumbs (without using your palms).
This is incredibly hard to do with heavy plates in the beginning, so you might want to start small. For added challenge, try adding an additional plate to extend the length of your grip.
The Farmer's Walk is quite notably one of the most powerful grip strengthening exercises out there. It's one of those exercises that not only will help your big lifts (Squat, Bench, and Deadlift), but it will allow you to handle various everyday tasks.
The Farmer's Walk builds the following muscles:
Lastly, you should utilize farmer's walks at 1-2 days per week at most. Heavy short runs and light long runs should be mixed, with three working sets maximum.
Ultimately one of the best benefits from building grip strength is not the carryover to your other lifts... it's the ability to open a pickle jar in confidence.
We all know that one buff dude that's a glass cannon.
We're not just about looking good, we want to feeling good and strong.
Reforged Legion! I wanted to take the time to thank you for reading this post! Any questions, comments, recommendations, or insights? Throw them in the comments below, or email me at tony@reforgedperformance.com.
Until next time, Reforged Warriors.
Go out there and seize your destiny!
I have been reading quite a few articles surrounding depression and its connection to lifestyle habits.
In recent years, scientists have started to discover that depression is not just a "chemical imbalance".
It's much more complex than that, and a lot of evidence is pointing towards positive habits helping to alleviate or reduce the risk of depression.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects millions of people worldwide.
It is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both, despite the opportunity for adequate sleep.
This can lead to decreased energy levels, mood disturbances, decreased performance at work or school, and can negatively impact overall health and quality of life.
If you're tossing and turning at night, you're not alone.
In this post, we are going to go over the 5 natural ways to ease insomnia.
Let's dive in!
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and bone health.
Despite its importance, many people do not get enough magnesium from their diets alone.
This is where supplements like magnesium glycinate can be helpful.
Magnesium glycinate is a highly bioavailable form of magnesium that is easily absorbed by the body and has several potential health benefits.
In this post, we'll explore the benefits of magnesium glycinate and why it may be a valuable addition to your overall health and wellness plan.
Let's dive in!