Strong hands and legs make you an asset in many tactical and life-or-death situations. Moreover, the ability to maintain these two critical types of strength is also an indicator of your overall longevity and quality of life for decades after our tactical and athletic careers end.
While blood tests can indicate the presence of conditions long before they become chronic, some assessments can be done without going to a doctor’s office. Grip strength and leg strength are two assessment tools that point to overall health, according to numerous studies on the subjects.
Hand and leg strength are also vital for young athletes and tactical professionals, primarily for performance reasons. They help us while hanging, climbing, carrying and handling loads, and are beneficial in moving our own body weight properly.
Here’s what you need to know about improving your grip strength and leg strength.
Why Grip Strength Is Important
Recent studies show that grip strength is an indisputable biomarker for aging populations. As you age, maintaining a strong grip reflects the continued activity to develop muscle mass and nerve function in your hands, both of which are essential for independent and healthy aging. Research has shown that weaker grip strength can indicate issues such as insulin resistance and an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
When it comes to longevity, grip strength stands out as a predictor of reduced mortality risk, as well as improved heart health. Notably, research from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study has found that weak grip strength can predict cardiovascular mortality as effectively as high blood pressure. Maintaining a strong grip helps protect against accelerated aging and reduces the risk of frailty.
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How to Improve Hand or Grip Strength
The good news is that grip strength is easy to improve, but it requires consistency as we age. You can strengthen your hands and overall grip with farmer’s walks, hangs and simple squeezing exercises for the hand.
Keeping “stress balls” or “squeeze toys” near you while you work or travel in your car is an easy way to build grip strength while relieving stress.
However, adding pulling exercises to your routine 2-3 times per week will help you develop and maintain functional grip strength.
Grip Strength Exercises
If you already have a good upper-body regimen, you’ll be glad to know that many of those exercises already work in hand strength.
To kick it up a notch, add three to four sets of:
- Pull-ups
- Pulldowns
- Deadlifts
- Rows
- 100-meter farmer’s walks
Do eight to 10 repetitions of each exercise, and build up your farmer’s walks with a 40- to 50-pound weight or kettlebell in one hand. Switch hands once your grip fails during the walk.
Why Leg Strength Is Important
Leg strength plays a critical role in supporting our overall health and longevity, largely by allowing us to remain mobile and social people. Strong legs are essential for us to perform everyday tasks and maintain our independence as we age. This strength directly impacts our ability to prevent falls, a leading cause of injury among the elderly. Research consistently shows that individuals with stronger legs have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases and generally live longer, healthier lives.
How to Improve Leg Strength
To combat the loss of strength in your legs, incorporate exercises like sit-to-stand movements, body-weight squats, lunges and step-ups into your routine several times a week.
Simply sitting and standing 10 times every hour can have a positive impact on health and blood sugar regulation.
Additionally, engaging in regular, progressive resistance training, either with weights or body weight, can also help preserve (or build) leg strength.
Leg Strength Exercises
To enhance your mobility, protect your independence and make a meaningful investment in your health and longevity, prioritize the following exercises:
Start with three to four sets of each exercise, working at a weight that enables you to complete five to eight repetitions during each set.
Another great option to improve your leg strength is to ruck march or walk with a weight vest.
Don’t Skip Leg or Grip Day
Improved hand and leg strength makes you an asset in all types of situations. Stronger hands and legs enable you to lift and carry military equipment or everyday items by working your core and improving your balance.
On the other hand, weak hands and legs could make you a liability in situations where people are in danger or in life-threatening situations.
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These activities work the core, improve balance and make you a better asset in tactical situations, where you may need to yourself or others who require assistance.
Remember, don’t skip leg day or grip day. The two work hand in hand to keep you healthy, enabling you to be more active, mobile, social and more resilient to carrying loads and dealing with life’s stresses.
For more on longevity, I recommend “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” by Dr. Peter Attia. For more information on training ideas to help you strengthen your legs, hands and core, as well as improve your cardio conditioning, check out the Military.com Fitness Section.
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