Grip strength is the

force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

applied by the hand to pull on or suspend from objects and is a specific part of

hand strength Hand strength measurements are of interest to study pathology of the hand that involves loss of muscle strength. Examples of these pathologies are carpal tunnel syndrome, nerve injury, tendon injuries of the hand, and neuromuscular disorders. Hand ...

. Optimum-sized objects permit the hand to wrap around a cylindrical shape with a diameter from one to three inches. Stair rails are an example of where shape and diameter are critical for proper grip in case of a fall. Other grip strengths that have been studied are the hammer and other hand tools. In applications of grip strength, the wrist must be in a neutral position to avoid developing cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). Grip strength is a general term also used to refer to the physical strength of an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

and, for

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

s, to the muscular power and force that can be generated with the

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

s. In athletics, grip strength is critical for

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

s and is an important factor in strongman competitions and weight lifting. Grip strength

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

is also a major feature in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

and can be useful in various professions where people must work with their hands.

Types of grip

The human hand can be used to grip objects in several different positions. These different positions require different types of grip strength which are typically quantified based on the way the hand is being used. The crush grip is what is most commonly thought of as "grip". It involves a

handshake A handshake is a globally widespread, brief greeting or parting tradition in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up-and-down movement of the grasped hands. Customs surrounding handshakes a ...

-type grip, where the object being gripped rests firmly against the

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

and all

finger A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers ( Pentadactyly). Chamber ...

s. A strong crush grip is useful in bone-crushing handshakes or for breaking objects with

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

. In a pinch grip, the

s are on one side of an object, and the

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

is on the other. Typically, an object lifted in a pinch grip does not touch the palm. This is generally considered a weaker grip position. The pinch grip is used when grabbing something like a weight plate or lifting a sheet of plywood by the top edge. A support grip typically involves holding something, such as the handle of a bucket, for a long time. This type of strength is epitomized by the

Farmer's walk Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully ...

competitive event, where the bucket is filled with

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

, and carried over a long distance. A great deal of

muscular Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle ...

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

is necessary to have a good carrying grip.

Normative data

There has been extensive medical and ergonomic research looking at grip strength, which has found that 95% of men have a grip strength greater than 90% of women. Averages also exist for different types of grip in different positions. Grip strength increases or decreases depending on the arm position at which the grip strength is being measured. A person's grip strength usually results in having the strongest grip strength when their arm is extended at 90° before their body, as opposed to the other extreme arm positions, rested at one's side or held straight up above one's head. Grip strength is not optimal if one's arm is extended backwards beyond the resting position at the body's sides. It can be concluded that grip strength is affected via the different arm muscles and their ability to contract.

In medicine

Grip strength is often used in medicine as a specific type of

. The purpose of this testing is diverse, including to diagnose diseases, to evaluate and compare treatments, to document progression of muscle strength, and to provide feedback during the rehabilitation process as a measure indicating the level of hand function. For example, it is used to indicate changes in hand strength after hand surgery or after a rehabilitation program. By asking subjects to maintain a maximum contraction for longer periods, it can be used as a measure of fatigue. It is also able to predict a decline in function in old age. The World Health Organization has identified Grip Strength as an indicator of vitality for aging populations. Since the above-mentioned grips involve the action of a large number of different joints and muscle groups, grip strength is not always very sensitive to measure individual muscle groups in medicine. For this purpose, dynamometers have been developed that provide more specific information on individual muscles in the hand such as the Rotterdam Intrinsic Hand Myometer (RIHM). In medicine, doctors sometimes use grip strength to test a patient's mentality, as grip strength directly correlates to mental state. Grip strength is also used to measure the degree of rehabilitation from injuries; all other things being equal, it will vary with general condition. Additionally, grip strength can be used to determine a patient's physical stability. Measuring this in intervals allows a doctor to determine if a patient is making progress or if different methods need to be used. There is a direct correlation between grip strength of older people and their overall body strength.Shea, Jason. ''The Importance of Grip''. 11 2014. https://www.onekidsplace.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Importance-of-grip-strength.pdf. 24 September 2018. This correlation helps doctors with treating the elderly a lot, because it allows doctors to see how well an elderly person is functioning. Relative handgrip strength, handgrip measure divided by body mass index (BMI), affects the future onset of diabetes and prediabetes. A stronger handgrip is linked with less diabetes cases. Strengthening the grip strength helps players recover from sport injuries such as tennis elbow.

In sports

Hand grip is an important, though often overlooked, component of strength in sports. However, the grip strength is most often a secondary or auxiliary function of the sport. Sports in which grip strength are included within the secondary focus include the following: movement-based

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

calisthenics Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

pole dancing Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effo ...

or professional arm-wrestling; ball-based

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo, is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. The sport is also known simply as "polo" by its players and supporters. Each team has five players on the pitch (and up to three substitutes), who compete t ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

; and combat sports such as

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

. In sports, hand grip strength is a major factor in a player's strength, determining how easily a ball can be caught or how effectively equipment can be used. Hand grip strength is directly linked to hand-eye coordination: when a person is looking at the thing they are gripping, hand grip strength intensifies because of this synchronization. Hand grip strength is very important when it comes to sports.Iermakov SS, Podrigalo LV, Jagiełło W. " Hand-grip strength as an indicator for predicting the success in martial arts athletes." ''Arch Budo'' (2016): 179-186. Volume 12. Before a player begins playing a hand grip strength test is important for determining a player's workout. Hand grip strength determines a player's readiness for sports. In golf, hand grip strength is used to control the power a golfer hits a golf ball. The angle at which a golfer hits the ball determines how far the ball goes. ... In football, the quarterback uses hand grip strength to throw accurate passers to receivers. The receivers use hand grip strength to catch and maintain control of the football. ... In hockey, hand grip strength is used to angle the shot of the puck, whether they are passing the puck or shooting for a goal. Hand grip strength is essential for the execution of skills in hockey. In martial arts, hand grip strength is a key use in mastering techniques. Hand grip strength determines the success of arm functionality, such as speed and precision.

As a separate discipline

From their beginnings as odd performances at fairs and circuses, grip feats have recently gained acceptance as a sport in their own right, with competitions being held with increasing regularity. Events include one-arm

deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exerci ...

, nail bending, the closing of torsion spring hand grippers, v-bar (vertical bar) lifting, and standardized pinch apparatuses. Other common events may include Rolling Thunder lifts, thickbar deadlifts, and "Blob" lifting. The major contests are: *The King Kong Grip Challenge *North American Gripsport Championship *World's Strongest Hands *A Gripmas Carol *Champion of Champions *European Grip Championships *Mighty Mitts *Britain's Strongest Hands *British Grip Championships *Münsterland Grip Challenge *Global Grip Challenge *Loddekopinge Grip Challenge *Australian Grip Championships *German Grip Championships *Backyard Bastard Bash *Metroflex Mayhem at Metroflex *The National Capital Grip Championship *The South Jersey Grip Contest *The Southern Squeez
Top 3 results back to 1955

Feats of strength

Although grip strength lends itself to impromptu performances that might feature a unique implement or cater to a particular individual or a small group, performances on standardized, widely available tests carry more weight. One such feat involving world class grip strength is officially closing a No. 3 Captains of Crush Gripper, first accomplished by Richard Sorin in 1991. Card tearing is a traditional feat of grip and lower arm strength that has a rich history, and top performances include John Brookfield tearing three decks of cards at once and tearing 50 decks of cards in less than a minute. Brookfield has explained the technique for tearing cards in both his ''MILO'' article on the topic, and in his book ''The Grip Master's Manual'' Below are some of the most well known measures of grip strength. *

Captains of Crush Grippers Captains of Crush Grippers (commonly nicknamed "''CoC''") is a brand of torsion-spring grippers (a torsion spring fitted with two handles) designed, manufactured and sold by IronMind Enterprises, Inc., based in Nevada City, California. They are ...

* Rolling Thunder *Apollon's Axle deadlift *Little Big Horn *Plate pinching *Block, Blob, Hub

Training methods

Grip strength training requires a different type of training regimen than other muscular training. The reasons are primarily based on the interplay of the

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

s and

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

s and the lack of "down time" or rest that most people's hands get. It is generally considered that all aspects of the

must be exercised to produce a

healthy Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiz ...

and strong hand. Only working on closing grip will cause an imbalance between closing and opening (antagonist) muscles, and can lead to problems such as tendinitis and

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunn ...

For closing grip

* Thick bar and Thick Grip work on a two-inch or thicker bar—such as

s, pullups, and the

farmers walk Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests Strongman (strength athlete), competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerl ...

—trains the support grip. *

Grippers Grippers, sometimes called hand grippers, are primarily used for testing and increasing the strength of the hands; this specific form of grip strength has been called crushing grip, which has been defined as meaning the prime movers are the f ...

train the crushing grip. * Plate pinches grabbing plates smooth side out and pinching them. * Sledgehammer lever — levering a sledgehammer using the wrists to train fingers and

wrist In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known as the carp ...

s. * Plate curls/

wrist curl The wrist curl is a weight training exercise for developing just the wrist flexor muscles of the forearm. It is therefore an isolation exercise. Ideally, it should be done in combination with the "reverse wrist curl" (also called wrist extension) ...

s — grabbing a plate and doing wrist curls or regular curls with them with the fingers on the bottom and thumb on top, trains the wrists and fingers and thumb for pinch grip. * Blockweights — cut off ends of hex dumbbells that are grasped in a pinch grip fashion from different sides of the blockweight with one end grasped by fingers and other by thumb; trained with either singles, timed holds, or tosses from hand to hand. * Hangboard can be used for training the full-crimp grip, half-crimp grip and open hand grip, required in

.Banaszczyk J., "Steve Bechtel’s 3-6-9 Ladders hangboard finger strength training." ''StrengthClimbing.com'' (2019): May 18, 2019. https://strengthclimbing.com/steve-bechtels-3-6-9-ladders/

For opening grip

Extensor In anatomy, extension is a movement of a joint that increases the angle between two bones or body surfaces at a joint. Extension usually results in straightening of the bones or body surfaces involved. For example, extension is produced by extendin ...

s; these are the muscles that oppose the flexors of the hands and should be trained to achieve a good balance between opposing muscle groups; extensor muscles are key in grip because they must contract aggressively to support

flexion. Shoving your hand in something like

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and extending it, or placing something such as rocks in a

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

can, putting your hand in there, and extending it to pick up the coffee can, are ways of training your hand extensors. *Some grip companies, such as IronMind Enterprises Inc., sell high-resistance rubber bands which work the extensor grip. Another option, is a weight based machine like "The Gripper" offered b
Fitness Specialties U.S.A.
This type of plate loaded machine will not only strengthen your grip but also your forearm strength. *As finger flexor/extensors serve a function as wrist flexor/extensors, doing wrist extension exercises (sometimes called "reverse wrist curls") would also stimulate the finger extensor fibers. *Doing fist pushups on the backside of the first fingerbone would increasingly put pressure on the extensor muscles as weight was shifted from knuckle-end to the further joint. When in a tight fist, the flat of the fingernails can dig into the palm and push the skin down to create a bridge to stabilize the first structure and prevent hyperflexion of the knuckle joints (which can be observed by doing pushups with the entire backside of the fingers flat on the ground, fingers pointing towards the opposite hand).

For stabilization

* Fingertip pushups would utilize both opening and closing grip muscles to keep the finger from sliding, as well as more focused bone density in the hand, though they are very strenuous and dangerous unless approached progressively. * Hand stands free from a wall with fingers pointing behind would use gripping stretching to stabilize the hand to prevent the body from falling towards the front, and extensor muscles to prevent the body from falling towards the back. * Metal-rod exercises strengthen the grip indirectly but very effectively through strength training using a metal rod or pole.

Notable grip strength athletes

* Joe Kinney - First man to close the No. 4 Captains of Crush Gripper * Nathan Holle - Second man to close the No. 4 Captains of Crush Gripper * David Morton - Third man to close the No. 4 Captains of Crush Gripper * Tommy Heslep - Fourth man to close the No. 4 Captains of Crush Gripper *

Magnus Samuelsson Magnus Samuelsson (born December 21, 1969), is a Swedish actor, former strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco. He has also made it to the World's Strongest Man podium 5 times and the finals 10 times and is reg ...

(strongman & arm wrestler) - Last man to close the No. 4 Captains of Crush Gripper and the only man to rep it. * Louis 'Apollon' Uni (Traditional strongman) *

Thomas Inch Thomas Inch (27 December 1881 – 12 December 1963) was a British strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth and Britain's Strong Man. Early life Thomas Inch was born on 27 December 1881 in Scarborough, a seaside town o ...

(traditional strongman) * Hermann Görner (traditional strongman) * Joe 'Mighty Atom' Greenstein (traditional strongman) * Dennis Rogers (strongman & arm wrestler) * Odd Haugen (strongman) *

Laine Snook Laine Snook (born 1968) is a former strongman and professional Highland Games competitor. As an athlete he competed internationally but his career was cut short by injury. He went on to specialise in strength based sport and represented both Engl ...

(strongman) *

Andrus Murumets Andrus Murumets (born 20 July 1978) is an Estonian strongman and entrant to the World's Strongest Man contest. He reached 5th in the World Rankings according to the IFSA rankings in 2008. Andrus competed in the IFSA World Championships in 2005 ...

(strongman) * Manfred Hoeberl (strongman) * Jesse Marunde (strongman) * Mike Burke (strongman) *

Mark Felix Mark Felix (born 17 April 1966) is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 17 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the ...

(strongman) * Andy Bolton (strongman & powerlifter) *

Benedikt Magnússon Benedikt "Benni" Magnússon (; born 4 June 1983) is an Icelandic strongman and powerlifter. He has held the raw deadlift world record since 2011 with . He also set the world record for the heaviest strongman deadlift in 2014 with , which stood un ...

(strongman & powerlifter) * Brian Shaw (strongman) *

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English, born 26 November 1988), is an Icelandic professional strongman, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person ...

(strongman) *

Martins Licis Martins Licis ( lv, Mārtiņš Līcis, ; born September 28, 1990) is a Latvian-American professional strongman, notable for winning 2019 World's Strongest Man, 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships. ...

(strongman) * Kirill Sarychev (powerlifter) * Denis Cyplenkov (arm wrestler) * Levan Saginashvili (arm wrestler) * Alexey Tyukalov (grip strength specialist) * Harri Tolonen (grip strength specialist) * Jouni Mähönen (grip strength specialist) * Igor Kupinsky (grip strength specialist) * John McCarter (grip strength specialist) * Andrew Durniat (grip strength specialist) * Rich Williams (grip strength specialist) * Larry 'Wheels' Williams (multi disciplinary athlete) * David Horne (grip strength specialist and strength historian)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grip Strength Climbing Weight training Articles containing video clips Exercise physiology

Types of grip

Normative data

In medicine

In sports

As a separate discipline

Feats of strength

Training methods

For closing grip

For opening grip

For stabilization

Notable grip strength athletes

See also

Notes

References