Grip Strength Is a Good Indicator of Longevity--Here Are 9 Hand Exercises to Keep Yours Strong

According to studies, the strength of your grip may be a determinant of longevity. One research study from 2018 revealed that there's "clear evidence that shows low grip strength is associated with a range of poorer health outcomes," and the authors have told Reuters the study's findings that "grip strength showed a stronger association with cardiovascular disease than blood pressure and physical activity." As per Phaeleau Cunneen CPT this could be result of the fact that those with strong grip strength live the "generally more active lifestyle," however, there is still value in adding the exercises for strengthening your grip in your daily routine.

For those who work at home the hands of our employees have probably begun to suffer from poor work-space setups. "A poor home ergonomic set up can contribute to repetitive stress injuries, muscle imbalances, and pain," says Cunneen that could be the reason the reason your fingers suddenly start tight after a long, tiring day of working in your notebook. That's where hand exercises come in.

"Any exercises that increase grip strength, like strength training, will help engage, activate and improve your hand muscles," says Cunneen. This is important as you need the hand muscle to perform optimally, so you can carry out everyday tasks. "When you grip heavy objects essentially you are training the muscles in your hands," says Katie Kollath, ACE, CPT and co-founder at Barpath Fitness. "If your grip strength becomes weak, you are setting yourself up for risk of injury and worst-case scenario arthritis in the hands and wrists down the line."

If you're lifting weights as a component of your daily routine, here's the good news that the process, by itself, can help strengthen your hands as it demands you to hold the weight of a few pounds more (think: using a grippers, swinging a kettlebell or curling the dumbbell). In fact, exercising with your body weight, such as planks, could aid in strengthening your grip. "Just holding external loads--including your body weight--will improve your grip strength and will carry over to most exercises you do in your programming," Kollath says. Kollath.

If you're still finding your hands feel weak or as if you're experiencing muscle cramps, consider doing one of the hand exercises in the following.

9 Hand exercises to build flexibility and strength

1. Finger opposition

To increase strength and flexibility in your hands, press your thumb with the tip of each of your four fingers on the same hand. Move between your thumb and your index then return.

2. Hand circuit

If you're looking to expand flexibility your hands, go through a short strength-training routine. Begin with your palm on the floor, and then move all five fingers towards the knuckle. Then, you can extend your fingers to 90 degrees from your palm. Finally, press them into a fist (the greater the force you apply the harder, the better for your grip force). Repeat the same process in reverse, and then begin with where you started the sequence.

3. Stretching rubberband

Consider this as a workout with a resistance band to strengthen your hands. Put a rubber band on your fingers' backs and extend your palm as wide as you are able to stretch it. The added force that this band gives will assist in strengthening your phalanges.

4. Ball squeeze

Do you remember that stress ball that you got at the office holiday party last year , and has been sat in your drawers since? It's about to be useful. Place it in your palm hand, squeeze it as forcefully as you can and hold it for about a minute before release.

5. Tented planks , push-ups and tented planks

For your hands to be stronger in your routine workout It's all you need to do is modify a tiny bit of the exercises you're already performing. Instead of putting your hands in a flat position during the push-ups or high planks put your hands in an "tented" position so that there's just a little space between your palms as well as the floor. This will require your hands to perform the majority of the work, and strengthen them during the process.

6. A lateral wrist extension that is sat on the lateral side

This exercise will strengthen your wrists, hands, and forearms. Pick up a five- to 10 pound dumbbell and keep it vertically with one hand. In a comfortable chair, put your forearm over one thigh using your wrist, and then extend your hand just a little bit past your knee. Your wrist should move between a few degrees while gripping the weight while you move. Then attempt to do the three sets, which are 20 repetitions on each side.

7. A seated dumbbell wrist curl

This is similar to the lateral extension, but it challenges the hands unique way. Sitting with the same fiveto 10 pounds of weight in your hands and place the forearm's back against your thigh and place your wrist about three to four inches higher than your knee. Lengthen and stretch your forearm so that you can "curl" the weight (the movement is similar to the typical tricep and bicep curls) Be certain to perform the entire range of movement.

8. Reverse wrist curl of a dumbbell seated on the floor

Turn your dumbbell's seated wrist curled in the opposite direction for this wrist, forearm and hand strengthening exercise. Set your forearm over your thigh, with your wrist about three to four inches above your knee. Make use of your wrist to pull the weight upwards and downwards (ideally to do three sets with 20 repetitions) This will assist you in preventing injury within the area you're training.

9. Seated dumbbell finger curl

In the same starting point that you used for the dumbbell seated reverse wrist curl, place the weight with your palm facing upwards towards the sky. Let the weight fall to the edges the fingers (but stop the weight before it slips off your hands and falls onto the floor) Then, grab it using the fingertips of your fingers and then curl it back to the point of starting.