
Raising the American Weakling - jontas
http://nautil.us/issue/45/power/raising-the-american-weakling
======
maxcan
Many of the comments here seem to be focussing on increasing grip strength but
that misses something the article could have delved into more. Grip strength
is strongly correlated with health and longevity, but its not directly causal
- simply increasing your grip strength wont really add many years to your
life. Instead grip strength is strong correlate with overall musculo-skeletal
mass and strength, which does have a highly causal relationship with health
and longevity. So, focussing purely on grip strength will do more to break the
correlation than give you a long life.

If you want to have a healthy, long life focus on overall strength. Squats,
deadlifts, odd-object carries etc. If you're new to lifting, have someone who
isn't show you proper form. Or just read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.
Its the bible of heavy lifts.

Source: I can deadlift more than 3 times my bodyweight while still having a 7
min mile.

~~~
ekidd
> If you're new to lifting, have someone who isn't show you proper form.

I cannot emphasize this enough. And even then, be extremely careful with heavy
lifts (anything more than, say, what your body weight would be at 20% body
fat).

I worked regularly with an extremely good Rippetoe-certified coach. My form
was better than most of the beginners you see in the gym. At 40, I was
stronger than I was as a high-school athlete, and it was an amazing feeling.

But one day, a 245x5 squat set went very _slightly_ weird. Two days latter, I
had tingling and numbness in my foot soles. It turns out that I'd aggravated a
relatively minor disk bulge at L4/L5 (about half the population has a disk
bulge there). And now I've been in moderate pain for close to three months
with very slow improvement.

The long-term prognosis is excellent, as far as I know. I will almost
certainly heal. I know plenty of people who've done worse to their backs and
who are fine today.

But heed my example: If you're going to do heavy lifts, especially deadlifts
or squats, make sure your form is as close to perfect as you can get it, and
remember that you can't eliminate all risk.

One thing I have noticed: There are no 55- to 70-year-old powerlifters in the
gym. But there _are_ old bodybuilders who've been lifting for 40+ years with
only the rarest of injuries. They're careful, and they say things like, "I
don't like the risk/reward on heavy squats." When I return to serious lifting,
I'm considering on giving up on powerlifting and switching to a more
bodybuilding-centric program.

~~~
autokad
squats are extremely dangerous, and I dont think anyone should do them. it
only takes 1 set of bad form to permanently damage one's back or knees.

that doesnt stop body builders from spreading the gospel of squats, even as
they have copious knee and/or back problems.

~~~
Neliquat
This is patently untrue. Provide some data or get out of here. Squats are
universally accepted as one of the best natural movements of the body to
train.

~~~
Osiris30
But neither is loading 3x your bodyweight onto your spine "natural". What does
"universally accepted as one of the best natural movements" mean? - As you
suggested to the previous comment, please "Provide some data or get out of
here".

It all depends on your objective and goals. As with everything moderation is
key. A balanced program of squats, deads, pushing exercise (chest/pecs) and a
pulling (back/delts) is best for oevrall muscle, bone and tendon health.
Whether you do this via free weights, body weight, or machines is really not
material.

Rippetoe style heavy free-weight squats, squats and more squats is not the be
all and end all of resistance training. Personally, I got into heavy strength
training with Rippetoe's books and videos - and, IMHO, he did a great service
by educating people about the benefits of heavy (free weight) strength
training using a very very simple ('KISS') type program (at a time when the
focus was on machines and overly complicated routines). His routines are great
for beginners - especially very young ones - hence why they are copied and
're-mixed' so much (like Stronglifts 5x5 and countless variations thereof).

And I would really not suggest heavy squats for improving grip strength - that
would be a very inefficient way to train your hand grip.

[http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/squat-versus-
le...](http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/squat-versus-leg-press-
for-big-legs.html/)

[http://www.thedreamlounge.net/barbell-squat-worst-
exercise/](http://www.thedreamlounge.net/barbell-squat-worst-exercise/)

[http://ericcressey.com/newsletter91html](http://ericcressey.com/newsletter91html)

[https://criticalmas.com/2012/06/i-no-longer-give-a-squat-
abo...](https://criticalmas.com/2012/06/i-no-longer-give-a-squat-about-the-
squat/)

[http://community.myprotein.com/off-topic/28225-mark-
rippetoe...](http://community.myprotein.com/off-topic/28225-mark-rippetoe-
lyle-mcdonald-go-war-against-each-other.html)

[https://forums.t-nation.com/t/rippetoe-ripped-
apart/191700/7](https://forums.t-nation.com/t/rippetoe-ripped-apart/191700/7)

------
artlogic
I started indoor climbing 3 months ago and it's done wonders for my grip
strength, as well as my overall health. I can't recommend it enough for
engineers and other problem solving addicts. I was, frankly, bored by weight
training and other more traditional exercise routes. Now I look forward to a
nice change of pace - solving physical problems as opposed to logic problems.

~~~
caconym_
I second your recommendation. For various reasons I haven't been doing it the
last few years, but it was really good for me and I'd like to get back into
it.

~~~
nitrogen
Another non-team sport that has good problem solving aspects but on a faster
pace is trail running. You don't get the same thinking through a route you
might have with rock climbing, but leaping over rocks and ruts requires some
quick subconscious analysis and careful pacing that can be quite exhilarating.

~~~
GarvielLoken
You could do orienteering, then you get the mental aspect also. It is really
fun and you get the forest running.

~~~
andyjohnson0
Seconded. I did quite a lot of orienteering as a child and enjoyed it a lot.

------
eggy
Pull ups build grip strength and they recruit a lot of other muscles. Hanging
is one thing, but you need grip plus lat muscles to pull yourself up over
something. I have Olympic rings that I have brought with me when working all
over the world. I even had my baby almost two now hang from them when she was
just one and a half years old. She held her own bodyweight for 10 seconds
before my wife and in-laws flipped out. Same when I brought her swimming since
birth. I lived in SE Asia for over 8 years. The last year I lived in a
Javanese village in Indonesia. The average male weighed about 140 lb plus or
minus, and they could lift 130 lb bags of rice and load a truck for hours on
end. I could do it at 180 lb, but not as long a time as they could. The last
part of lifting it above shoulder height for me to put it in the truck was the
ultimate fatigue test. That was above their heads, and more like a full press
for them. I admired their strength and smiles throughout all of this hard
labor and poverty. Now I have returned to NY, and the number of obese people I
see, and the number of walking aids, electric shopping carts, and other signs
of malady are more striking and apparent to me. I was running barefoot 3 or
more miles a day in the rice fields and jumping rope along with bodyweight
exercises. I am 52 and I have never felt better physically or mentally. It
only takes desire or willpower. Also I went vegetarian over 3 years ago, and
cut eggs and dairy 2 years ago.

~~~
sp332
You see those people here because if they were in poverty in those other
places they would be dead.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Not quite - if the weak here died, it would be almost 100% dieoff. Its more to
do with lifestyle?

~~~
sp332
Not people who are currently weak but people who can't be strong in those
specific ways. So not 100% die-off but a stronger divide between healthy and
dead.

------
monkmartinez
Have you seen how many people complain about carrying a 2 to 5 lb laptop a few
miles? No wonder strength is down across the board.

Go dig a hole every now and again. Do some sandbag training. Play on the
monkeybars with your kids. DO SHIT and lift heavy stuff when you can.

~~~
nicolas_t
I'm in France currently and it's been a while since I've seen monkey bars in a
kid playground. Along with swings and sand, they've been deemed too dangerous
by the authorities.

With the current playgrounds, I don't think kids have a lot of opportunities
to build up strength. Less than we did as a kid.

~~~
aptwebapps
Sand? What's the danger with sand? Eye injuries?

~~~
bmelton
Not good enough at absorbing impact, ergo, deemed unsafe[1]. Last I recall,
the recommendation was to replace it with wood chips, but I think even that's
been superseded to be rubber chips instead, which also happen to be
considerably more expensive.

To my eye, I deem spurious any science that concludes their findings with
'grass is unsafe', but at the same time I must acknowledge that sure, many of
the things we did as kids were dangerous, and just because it was normative to
me doesn't mean that it should be normative -- in the same way that kids no
longer ride in the backs of pickup trucks, or try to loop around the swingset.

That said, it's still pretty hard to get over the fact that the ground is
considered actively harmful enough that we would close down playgrounds in
response.

[1] -
[http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/jou...](http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000195)

~~~
aptwebapps
Perhaps you mistyped? The conclusion in the paper you linked to was the
opposite:

 _Granitic sand playground surfaces reduce the risk of arm fractures from
playground falls when compared with engineered wood fibre surfaces. Upgrading
playground surfacing standards to reflect this information will prevent arm
fractures._

~~~
bmelton
Probably I mis-remembered and my slapdash attempt at finding a source was in
error (which makes twice in two days for me, embarrassingly.)

I remember of the studies perhaps better than I remember the studies, but the
gist is that there's a hierarchy of playground surfaces. I thought it was:

grass < sand < wood < rubber

but I suppose it's more like

grass < wood < sand < rubber

Regardless, sand does appear to be considered acceptable by CPSC
guidelines[1], in which they recommend ATSM F1292 tested wood fibers, pea
gravel, sand, rubber mulch, non-CCA-treated wood mulch, and recommend against
asphalt, concrete, carpet not tested to ATSM F1292, dirt, grass, and CCA-
treated wood mulch.

Apologies for the error, and thanks for the correction.

[1] - [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/325.pdf](https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-
public/325.pdf)

------
allemagne
If you want to simulate our "arboreal ancestors" to improve grip strength then
you could probably do no better than joining a rock climbing gym. Every time I
visit mine I leave with my forearms aching and plenty of freshly torn
calluses. It's fun as hell, maybe in part because we as humans used to need an
inborn propensity for it.

~~~
brianmwaters_hn
Totally anecdotal here, but I would not hesitate to wager that many climbers'
grip strengths lie way outside the normal range. The sport has a higher grip
exercise-to-cardiovascular exercise ratio (however you might measure that)
than probably any other sport that exists today.

~~~
sandworm101
Maybe for 'gym rat' climbers. Gyms have larger holds and steeper walls.
Climbing in the real world is more about balance and legs/feet. You almost
never hang off your hands. Instead you are gripping tiny flakes of rock in an
effort to keep weight over your feet. Hands and fingers will get abused in
cracks (something gyms dont have) but im not so sure about grip.

~~~
cgh
Not trying to sound arrogant, but this is simply false. Source: me. I climb
5.13/V10.

~~~
sandworm101
And I lead 5.11c walls. It's a big sport.

------
nooron
A few simple grip trainers from Amazon did wonders for my weightlifting.

A couple years ago, I was a novice with barbells. After a month of failing to
progress on barbell lifts, I realized that my grip strength was lacking. The
trainers solved the problem.

I'd highly recommend anyone start with basic grip training with a barbell
routine. Made a huge difference for me.

~~~
kbart
Any specific recommendations? I've tried few, but wasn't impressed.

~~~
nooron
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C1DW2UO/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C1DW2UO/).
If you are male, start with the 60, 80, and 100 lb strengths. If you are
female, start with 40, 60, 80. Cap'n of Crush is great, but will also grate
your hands and forms callouses. I don't like being covered in callouses all
the time. Also, these are more innocuous and will make you look like less of a
meathead in public.

------
xwowsersx
Well yeah. Use it or lose it, as they say. In weightlifting and powerlifting,
grip strength is something that some people focus on in their training...can
help a lot with deadlifting and such. Things like farmer's walk or just
single-handed static barbell holds can help improve grip strength a ton.

~~~
Afton
If you're interested, head over to /r/griptraining. One of the most
frustrating things about grip, is how _specific_ each kind of grip strength
is. Pinch grip (tripod pinch) vs static holds vs ulnar grip, all require
specific training.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
As far as I know strength in general follows a fundamentally similar pattern
(i.e. strength gain doesn't translate much among different movements); I
assume the difference is that there are more joints in your hands and hence
more permutations of angles under tension.

~~~
tomsthumb
Static strength is also notably different than dynamic strength. Additionally,
it is not uncommon to come up against soft tissue (ligament and tendon)
limitations when doing strength work with the hands.

------
rectangletangle
Grip strength has strong ties to overall cardiovascular health. Since a strong
developed heart can adequately supply the blood flow necessary for a strong
grip. Focusing on grip strength isn't terribly important, relative to focusing
on overall cardiovascular health. Grip strength is a good example of
correlation, since it's a byproduct of overall health.

Working a sedentary desk job, it's _really_ important to deliberately make
time for proper exercise. Running, swimming, biking, or whatever, It's
important to exert yourself. That being said, I don't think it would hurt too
much to do some hand exercises regularly.

~~~
bashinator
I'm a musician - I use many different grip-strength trainers on a regular
basis at the desk. One of my favorites is power putty, but the traditional
one-per-finger squeeze tool is good too.

~~~
warcher
I'm at the phase of my musical career where my desk routine is mostly
stretching against RSI injuries. But even back in the day, nothing but hours
on the instrument ever helped my hand strength. The motor skills are just too
fiddly and specialized-- you lift, you row, et cetera, mostly I found I played
worse.

------
DanBC
BBC Radio Four's _Inside Health_ programme had an "exercise special" and the
links between weakness and mortality were discussed, and "can you open a jam
jar?" is used as a rough and ready diagnostic question.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vkg24](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vkg24)

------
hudibras
For those looking to geek out on grip training:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/GripTraining/wiki/faq](https://www.reddit.com/r/GripTraining/wiki/faq)

------
burger_moon
Deadlifts seem to be doing wonders for my grip strength. For a while my grip
was the limiting factor on my dead lift. Actually most pulling exercises are
going to work your grip strength. By the end of my pull days I struggle to
hold on to light dumbbells for a whole set.

~~~
jboggan
I made the mistake of deadlifting the morning before trapeze practice once.

------
Terr_
> Pound per pound, babies are remarkably strong.

So are ants: How much of that baby-power is just the square-cube law applied
to smaller-humans?

------
maxcan
Second thought - many of the problems faced by modern society could be solved
if everybody spent a few hours a week under a heavy barbell or picking one up.

~~~
pc86
Many of the problems faced by modern society could be solved if everybody
spent a few hours a week doing something other than sitting in a chair, lying
down, or staring at a screen.

------
orasis
No affiliation, but I really like [http://gmb.io](http://gmb.io). I'm a black
belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so I find dynamic body weight movements more
engaging than weight lifting or yoga. The progressions on the site are
fantastic - some of the best movement pedagogy I've seen.

------
tammer
I find practicing yoga to be surprisingly helpful in building grip strength.
Many balancing postures are really good for this.

~~~
colordrops
Which postures increase grip strength? Binds? What form of yoga do you
practice?

~~~
09bjb
All the arm-balance poses and handstanding are dependent on grip strength, at
least to do properly. Maybe I'm conflating finger/forearm/wrist strength with
"grip", but they sure feel related. The crow pose and handstanding seem to
help my DL, and visa versa.

~~~
tammer
Really many forward standing poses offer opportunity to use the mat as
resistance (even downward-facing dog). Probably want to look into this with an
instructor as there are techniques to improve resistance while limiting tendon
strain.

Basic grip exercises like balling & extending fists can be easily worked into
practice as well, perhaps while focusing on the feet in a toe squat.

------
andrenotgiant
I'm not able to access the full study, but I'm impressed that they could get
statistical significance with 237 people.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26869476](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26869476)

~~~
ASpring
Why? If you can't get significance with 237 people your effect size is likely
so negligible that it's not worth studying anyway.

------
bitL
Basketball. If grip is your main concern, simply play basketball. I remember
during fitness tests at my first university after I squeezed grip measuring
device outside its scale, the coach remarked that I surely must be playing
basketball, he was seeing it all the time.

~~~
atom-morgan
What am I missing here? I wouldn't associate basketball with grip strength and
I played a lot growing up.

~~~
jessaustin
If you're just shooting hoops, it won't help. If you're actually playing the
team sport with aggressive opponents (in pickup or with refs who "let 'em
play"), the ball will get ripped out of your hands every time you pick it up,
and then your grip strength will improve.

------
gerbilly
I love my Rock Rings[1], I've been doing pullups on them a few times a week
for years.

[1]
([http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/training_giude_rock_ring.htm...](http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/training_giude_rock_ring.html))

~~~
mildbow
I've been considering a training board, but it's too much hassle to put up.
So, I've been using towels over my pull-up bar, but this seems great for $30.

Thanks. Bought!

------
_yvjs
relsted to the secular decline in testosterone (whatever's causing that)?

~~~
brokenmachine
Secular??

~~~
alexmat
"(of a fluctuation or trend) occurring or persisting over an indefinitely long
period. "there is evidence that the slump is not cyclical but secular""

------
theparanoid
"We can even now read of pro athletes unable to complete a single pull-up" is
very disingenuous. I won't extol on the benefits of exercise since the first
principle is to not fool yourself.

------
GarvielLoken
Good thing I do Judo! Those higher belt guys got unbelievable grip strength,
it is not something you simply strip off if they get a hold of you.

------
cik2e
I think it's more like if you're close to dying you might also have some
trouble grabbing on to stuff.

>> Grip strength was not only “inversely associated with all-cause
mortality”—every 5 kilogram (kg) decrement in grip strength was associated
with a 17 percent risk increase"

Statements like this one need a min/max, better yet some quartiles, to even
start to make sense. The relationship can't possibly be linear.

~~~
aisofteng
"I think it's more like" and "can't possibly be" are useless layman
speculation unless backed by hard data.

------
AngelicaAurora
Break rocks with a sledge hammer. Best workout ever.

------
Tycho
Did they mention power steering?

------
guard-of-terra
I thoroughly hate the idea of exercise. It's when you are pretending that
you're accomplishing something that requires physical load, while in reality
doing nothing. This whole busy work is so mind-bogglingly boring.

I would rather trek for five hours than one hour of "exercise". However, I
have no idea what to do with my arms. Not much useful applications to muscular
strength in modern world.

It's a disgrace that workout is not automated yet, and there's no signs to it.
Make some box or some pill that will keep my body in the shape without me
noticing. We solved transportation, why can't we do something here?

~~~
geoka9
Maybe find a sport that's a game and fairly technical? And interesting for
you. For example, when I play tennis I don't notice the time and fatigue, and
I can be playing 5 hours non-stop in the summer.

~~~
guard-of-terra
I really liked throwing frisbee, unfortunately these days I have neither place
nor company to do this.

~~~
geoka9
Place an ad on craigslist? I'd be careful though. A friend of mine searched
for an activity partner there, and ended up getting married a few years later.

