Our Grip

Did you know that your grip is not only an indicator of your strength but also of your overall health?

Studies have shown that the strength or weakness of our grip can offer important insights into risk of diseases such as arthritis heart conditions or dementia.

As our muscle strength starts to decline in our 40’s, too often we concentrate on strengthening other muscle groups such as legs and arms, but our hand grip is just as important. A weakened grip can have an impact on daily life, such as making it harder to carry the shopping home or open a jar of marmalade.

The three types of grip strength
• Crush: this is the action of curling your fingers to your palm, such as crushing a ball of paper in your hand. Wet a tea or hand towel fully in water. Remove the towel and start wringing. Squeeze and twist until every last drop of water has been wrung out of it.

• Pinch: the strength between your fingers and your thumb. Take two books of the same size (something heavy like a hard-back book or text book). Grip one in each hand, arms at your side. Squeeze with your fingers for 30 seconds, then stop for 30 seconds. Do three to five sets.

• Support: the ability to hold onto something for a long time, such as carrying a heavy bag. Tightly squeeze a tennis ball (or stress ball) 5 to 10 times. Repeat using just your thumb and pointer finger – progress using each finger. Switch hands and repeat.