Key Takeaways
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Grip strength is a powerful indicator of your health, longevity, and independence as you age.
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Simple exercises like farmer’s carries and towel wringing boost hand function and motor control.
- Discover the number 1 exercise for grip strength and healthy ageing.
Your grip strength may say more about your health than your blood pressure. Yes, you read that right. According to landmark research published in The Lancet, grip strength is one of the most reliable predictors of mortality, heart health, and even brain function as we get older (R).
Your grip affects daily tasks—carrying groceries, holding a leash, or twisting off jar lids. If you enjoy gardening, bushwalking, or spending time with the kids or grandkids, strong hands are essential. Let’s explore three simple, evidence-backed exercises to improve grip strength—then discover the #1 exercise.
Why Grip Strength Reflects Your Overall Health
Before jumping into the exercises, let’s unpack why grip strength holds such weight in medical science. It’s not just about forearms—grip strength is a whole-body health signal.
Researchers use it as a proxy for total muscle function. It gives insight into neuromuscular integrity, coordination, and even future independence. A study by the National Institutes of Health found low grip strength to be linked with increased frailty, slower gait speed, and cognitive decline (R).
The takeaway—keeping your hands strong is one of the most powerful and accessible ways to support lifelong mobility and confidence.
Exercise 1: Try Farmer’s Carries
Let’s start with an exercise that’s as functional as it is effective—the farmer’s carry. You simply pick up a heavy object in each hand and go for a walk. It’s basically strength training in motion.
What It Does
This movement targets your grip stabilisers, brachioradialis, and shoulder muscles while also engaging your core and legs. It mimics real-life lifting—like hauling shopping bags or water jugs—and helps reinforce posture.
One study found that loaded carries improve grip strength, trunk stability, and balance in both younger and older adults (R).
How to Do Farmer’s Carries
- Grab two dumbbells, kettlebells, or even heavy bags of potting soil.
- Stand tall with shoulders pulled back and core tight.
- Walk for 30–45 seconds, or 20–40 metres.
- Repeat 3–5 rounds, resting in between.
Tip: If you're walking through your garden or around the house, you’re already halfway there—just add some weight.
Exercise 2: Towel Wringing
This under-the-radar move is small but mighty. Towel wringing targets the tiny intrinsic hand muscles that tend to weaken first as we age—yet they’re vital for things like using cutlery, buttoning shirts, and writing.
What It Works
Towel wringing activates the lumbricals, interossei, and thenar muscles, helping maintain dexterity and hand coordination. A study in Innovation of Aging showed that targeted hand exercises improve functional performance and delay fine motor decline in older adults (R).
How to Do It
- Take a damp towel and grip one end in each hand.
- Twist as if wringing out water—hold the tension!
- Switch directions every 10 seconds.
- Repeat for 3–5 sets.
Bonus: This is a perfect “accidental workout” while doing the laundry, taking a shower or wiping down the bench.
And now, the winner…
Exercise 3: Dead Hangs
You’ve built strength with carries and sharpened dexterity with wringing—now it’s time for the heavyweight champion: dead hangs.
This simple exercise—just hanging from a bar—might look basic, but it’s a neuromuscular marvel. It trains not just your grip, but also posture, spine alignment, and resilience under load.
Why Dead Hangs Deserve the Crown
Dead hangs directly strengthen the flexor muscles of the forearm, but they also fire up your shoulder stabilisers and core, improving posture and upper body mobility. The stretch through your spine provides a gentle decompression—great for lower back relief.
The Journal of Human Kinetics reported that intermittent dead-hangs increased grip endurance by 45% (R).
And here’s the best part—it takes just your body weight and something to hang from.
How to Do Dead Hangs
- Use a pull-up bar, monkey bars, or a tree branch at the park.
- Grip the bar with palms facing away or toward you.
- Engage your shoulders, tighten your core, and hang.
- Hold for 20–60 seconds. Repeat for 3–4 rounds.
No equipment? A sturdy garage beam, door frame bar, or even a solid tree limb will do the trick.
Why Ending With Dead Hangs Makes the Most Sense
So why did we save dead hangs for last? Because they tick more boxes than any other grip exercise:
- Improve grip endurance, shoulder health, and posture
- Support spinal decompression for back comfort
- Enhance mental focus and breath control
- Require zero equipment beyond your body and a bar
In terms of bang for your buck, they’re unbeatable—and an ideal exercise for healthy, active ageing.
Keep Your Hands Strong
By adding farmer’s carries, towel wringing, and especially dead hangs into your weekly routine, you’re investing in your strength, your independence, and your joy.
Dead hangs are our top pick for building lifelong grip strength and protecting your physical autonomy as you age. Give them a try this week and notice how daily tasks—from cooking to cuddling your loved ones—feel easier and more empowering.
Check out our next blog on 7 Best Lifestyle-Based Daily Exercises For Injury Prevention.
