Swanson et al.: Strength of the Hand STRENGTH OF GRIP The adjustable handle of the Jamar hydraulic dynamometer was spaced at 2% in. Most subjects were comfortable at this breadth of grip and could apply maximal force when tested. The minimal and maximal strengths of grip measured in the male group ranged from. Poker Hand Rankings & Charts: Evaluate Your Poker Cards. Before you take us up on our free poker money offer on your way to becoming a World Series of Poker champion, you must first master the basics. The most important in the game is to understand the poker hand strength and rankings.

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

A grip strength dynamometer is useful for testing your hand grip strength. The following are the norm values provided with the Camry Electronic Handgrip Dynamometer, useful for rating grip strength values for a wide range of age groups and for tracking improvements with strength training and during rehabilitation.

Handgrip strength test results can vary depending on the protocol used, so it is important to compare results to norms derived using the same techniques. The dynamometer handle is usually adjusted (if possible) to fit the hand or set at the same setting for everyone. The same setting should be used when retesting. The strength of the left and right hand can also vary, so the tests should be either be conducted on the same side, on the dominant side, or done on both sides and averaged. Several attempt is usually required to get the maximum score.

Results are expected to differ between male and females, between left and right (dominant and non-dominant) hands, and with age. The results can also be affected by the position of the wrist, elbow and shoulder, so these should be standardized.

There is also a simple norm table provided on the grip strength testing procedure page, and there are some grip strength results of athletes.

Grip Strength Ratings for Males (in kg)

Grip Strength Ratings for Females (in kg)

Share:
FacebookTwitter

Related Pages

• More about the Camry Electronic Handgrip Dynamometer and other dynamometers
• There are some grip strength test results of athletes.
• List of other strength and power tests.

Old Comments

Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.

• Moorina (2013)
  For me, it has meant figuring out ways to do things to enable participation :-)
• Dr Anon (2018)
  70 kg on my dominant hand. This is purely because my parents had a son to split, stack, and carry firewood as a lad.
• Scotty Dean (2017)
  I've been wondering about my numbers ever since the Physical Therapist for a hand/wrist/forearm injury said 'oh my gosh! I've never seen a number that high!' To which I smiled and said 'now let me REALLY try' and topped out at 176 psi, or 80 kilos. - on my injured arm... on my right arm (I'm left handed), at age 32, height 6'3' weight 205 pounds. But is simply a matter of genetics = my younger brother at 5'10' and slightly smaller hands is almost as strong, and we both inherited it from our Dad, who as a farm boy would win quarters for a soda pop off of farmers by being able to crush a fresh farm egg in his palm (no rings, no fingertips, and no thin shelled store eggs). Thanks for letting me share, and yes our forearms looked a little like Popeyes, and I can flex my thumb muscles unlike most people have ever seen....
• Dano Scotty Dean (2020)
  Oh wow. I'm so impressed mr. internet strongman..
• Rob Crawford Dano (2020)
  I was so impressed I just chopped both my forearms of in shame
• Glenn Quagmire Scotty Dean (2020)
  you meant to say 80 pounds. not kg
• Kai Miller Scotty Dean (2020)
  Good for you. Man alotta haters on here. Those are awesome numbers, ignore the weak (mentally and physically) haters
• Scotty Dean is Full of Crap Scotty Dean (2020)
  80kg? Wow I bet Brian Shaw would love to be as strong as you Mr. Internet Hero! Have you certified on the Captain of Crush no.4 gripper yet? I bet you are the kind of douchebag that crushes empty beer cans when done just to show how macho you are! Great story kid!
• ♪ Scotty Dean is Full of Crap (2020)
  Brian shaw has a registered 107kg grip. Just fyi.
• Tricky Maybe (2020)
  These results don't make much sense. When you go to the link for the Athlete grip strength measurements they are lower than the average of what is presented here for males in their respective age groups. It's hard to believe that men in the NFL combine have lower or equal grip strength to the average Male.
• Rob Admin Tricky Maybe (2020)
  I don't see the figures the same way as you. The example grip strength results of the NHL are mostly in the 'strong' range here. E.g. The best score at the 2012 NHL scouting combine was 167 lbs (75.8 kg). The average score from the combine was 128 lbs (58 kg)
• Sidra sabir (2019)
  and do you have difference of right and left hand grip strength ?
• Rob Admin sidra sabir (2019)
  Norms for differences between hands would be useful, but I don't have any. It should not be left versus right, but dominant versus non-dominant.
• Jen (2018)
  I'm 20 and I have hEDS. My right hand (dominant) has a grip strength of 26 and my left is 14.
• Zapper45701 (2017)
  Recently had PT for a shoulder problem. My doctor measured me at 102 lbs. grip on right; 100 lbs. grip on left. So it's about 45 kg. I'm female and 62 years old. (Yeah, I know, you don't want to arm wrestle me, either. LOL)
• Caroline Roesch zapper45701 (2017)
  I'm 41 and my physical therapist measured the same thing. I was 95 on the left and 110 on the right. I had no idea that was even a thing. I'm always dropping things, but at least now I know it's not because of strength.
• Luis (2016)
  I'm 15 and I've got a grip strength of 62 kg...
• Ken S., As Seen On Watch Lists Luis (2016)
  Sheesh, go easy, you're just setting yourself up for disappointment like that. I was a teenager once, too, but you gotta give it a rest.
• RaZ4AmZgAmInG Luis (2017)
  I am 15 and I've got 73 kg on my right and 62 on left
• Moorina (2013)
  all I know is that I have always had the grip of a 10yr old & the ergonomist had never seen this consistency of weakness in a 'healthy' person
• Iammenotyou x (2020)
  She said 37, was very good.
  I feel ashamed -_- .
• Rob Crawford (2020)
  I ruptured both flexor tendons just below the right hand index finger MCP joint years ago and it's never been the same since. I can only pull 42 kilo with my non dominant and 56 with my dominant. Being left handed, this gives my forearms the appearance of being those of a crab with one massive claw and one skinny one. I've tried excercise but I still fall back to doing everything with my left when I'm not conciously telling myself to use my right. What can a bloke do?
• Sidra sabir (2019)
  do you have reference values for knee muscle strength?
• Rob Admin sidra sabir (2019)
  sorry, handgrip norms only
• Guy2 (2019)
  This is pretty useful and don't believe these people trying to show off on this forum. All I see are blatant lies
• Sidra sabir (2019)
  what is the resource of this information. kindly tell me
• Rob Admin sidra sabir (2019)
  It is written in the article above: the norm values provided with the Camry Electronic Handgrip Dynamometer. This is a printed document, not available online
• Sidra sabir Rob (2019)
  I wanna use it in my research paper. Is it authentic???? And do you have reference values of skelatal muscle mass????? Please i also need that
• Rob Admin sidra sabir (2019)
  Sorry, the manual did not give a primary source of their norms.
• Jane (2019)
  Great info! I thought I had a very weak grip now I know it's normal.
• Rasmus Granström (2018)
  70 - 78kg, 29... still
• Pling Plong (2018)
  My left (dominant) hand has always been weaker, I think it is because I tend to use it for fine motor while using the other hand for heavier duty. Perhaps it is due to a subconscious effort to protect my dominant hand against injury because I would be pretty useless trying to practice fine motor skills with my right hand.
• Benjamin Beattie (2018)
  I get 198 pounds in right hand or 90kg and on left i get about 85kg im 26
• John smith (2017)
  138 kg on my left, 141 kg on my right
• C (2017)
  My 14 yr old female patient had two strokes and we have been working to bring her right arm grip strength to 5 lbs
• Bradley evans (2016)
  I got 88kg and im 12 years old
• Bob Dole bradley evans (2016)
  Are you sure you're not confusing kilograms with pounds? 88kg is
• 194lbs... you must be a huge 12-year-old.
• FosterThe People Bob Dole (2017)
  88kg is the weight of the chip on his shoulder.
• RaZ4AmZgAmInG Bob Dole (2017)
  Yeah 88kg and 12 year old seems impossible.
• T_A (2016)
  Been going to the Physo re an arm issue (tendon issue) and they have measured my grip strength at 46kg. Started at 62kg and through grip strength training have increased it at 1kg per week.
• Vincent Perry (2015)
  Lol apparently I have the grip strength higher than that of strong 25 year old and i'm only 14 lol
• Suman Guest (2015)
  hi ricky do it in grip strength meter not in a fancy chinise one but made in usa or u.k. you will find it.
• Buddy (2013)
  Hey guys, you are relating strength, which is a measure of force, using a set of units (kg) which are a measure of mass. What the heck?
• Mangopop Buddy (2015)
  Go to a gym and you will see lots of mass which people use to measure strength.
• Rob Admin Buddy (2013)
  The units are kilograms of force, which is standard for grip strength measurement as far as I know. I am not a physicist, so maybe someone else can shed light on how this relates to the SI unit of force which is Newtons
• Nick Martin Rob (2013)
  Force(Newtons) = Mass(kg) times Acceleration(m/s^2)
• Blake Gould (2020)
  can close 250 pounds with my right and about 230 with my left 24 years old
• Niels Geudens (2019)
  We did a grip strength test at school and I got 70 kg on my right hand .
  I was 15 when I took the test.
• Lauklejs (2017)
  It seems weird that this would be measured in kg since kg is a measure of mass. It's one of the few places where lbs is a more appropriate unit than kg. Ahh, I see below someone noted this too.
  A kg force unit is the force that a 1 kg mass would exert downwards at the surface of the earth in a length/time system where the earth's acceleration is 1 instead of ~10. (IOW 10 m=1 new length unit or 1/sqrt(10) sec= 1 new time unit or some combo.)
• MechaShadowV2 lauklejs (2020)
  Kilos and pounds both measure weight, it's just on is metric and the other is U.S. standard.
• Vincent Salcido lauklejs (2017)
  Yes, but you can still measure the force of the weight downwards, and a kg is usually = 1n if Im not incorrect, as the mass of an object weighs down on something, it imparts an equal force to the force of the other object pushing back on it, idk, its something like that.

Grip strength is the force applied by the hand to pull on or suspend from objects and is a specific part of hand strength. 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 and, for athletes, to the muscular power and force that can be generated with the hands. In athletics, grip strength is critical for rock climbers and is an important factor in strongman competitions and weight lifting. Grip strength training is also a major feature in martial arts and can be useful in various professions where people must work with their hands.

Types of grip[edit]

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-type grip, where the object being gripped rests firmly against the palm and all fingers. A strong crush grip is useful in bone-crushing handshakes or for breaking objects with pressure.

In a pinch grip, the fingers are on one side of an object, and the 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 competitive event, where the bucket is filled with sand or water, and carried over a long distance. A great deal of muscularendurance is necessary to have a good carrying grip.

Normative data[edit]

There has been extensive medical and ergonomic research looking at grip strength. This has led to the generation of normative data. The average for grip strength of men is higher than that of women.^[1] The grip strength of 90% of women is lower than that of 95% of men.^[2] Averages also exist for different types of grip in different positions.^[3]

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[edit]

Grip strength is often used in medicine as a specific type of hand strength. 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.^[4] 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).^[5][6] In medicine, doctors sometimes use grip strength to test a patient's mentality, as grip strength directly correlates to mental state.^[7] 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.^[8] This correlation helps doctors with treating the elderly a lot, because it allows doctors to see how well an elderly person is functioning. Strengthening the grip strength helps players recover from sport injuries such as tennis elbow.^[8]

In sports[edit]

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, calisthenics, gymnastics, pole dancing, horse racing, powerlifting or professional arm-wrestling; ball-based baseball, gridiron football, rugby, canoe polo, badminton or tennis; and combat sports such as brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, fencing, judo or wrestling. 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.^[9]

Hand grip strength is very important when it comes to sports.^[10] Before a player begins playing a hand grip strength test is important for determining a player's workout.^[8] 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.^[11] In martial arts, hand grip strength is a key use in mastering techniques.^[10] [2] Hand grip strength determines the success of arm functionality, such as speed and precision.

As a separate discipline[edit]

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, 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 Squeeze

Feats of strength[edit]

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.^[12] Card tearing is a traditional feat of grip and lower arm strength that has a rich history,^[13] and top performances include John Brookfield tearing three decks of cards at once^[14] and tearing 50 decks of cards in less than a minute.^[15] Brookfield has explained the technique for tearing cards in both his MILO article on the topic,^[16] and in his book The Grip Master's Manual^[17]

Training methods[edit]

Hand Grip Strength Chart

Grip strength training requires a different type of training regimen than other muscular training. The reasons are primarily based on the interplay of the tendons and muscles and the lack of 'down time' or rest that most people's hands get.

It is generally considered that all aspects of the hand must be exercised to produce a healthy 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.^{[citation needed]}

For closing grip[edit]

• Thick bar and Thick Grip^[18] work on a two-inch or thicker bar—such as deadlifts, pullups, and the farmers walk—trains the support grip.
• Grippers 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 wrists.
• Plate curls/wrist curls — 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 climbing.^[19]

For opening grip[edit]

• Extensors; 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 finger flexion. Shoving your hand in something like rice and extending it, or placing something such as rocks in a coffee 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 by 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[edit]

• 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[edit]

• Joe Greenstein / Mighty Atom (Oldtime Strongman)
• Dennis Rogers (Oldtime Strongman / Stan Lee Superhumans / former arm wrestler champion)
• Magnus Samuelsson (strongman/arm wrestler)
• Mark Felix (strongman)
• Phil Pfister (strongman)
• Thomas Inch (classic strongman)

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Mathiowetz V, Kashman N, Volland G, Weber K, Dowe M, Rogers S (February 1985). 'Grip and pinch strength: normative data for adults'. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 66 (2): 69–74. PMID3970660. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
2. ^Leyk, D; Gorges, W; Ridder, D; Wunderlich, M; Rüther, T; Sievert, A; Essfeld, D (2007). 'Hand-grip strength of young men, women and highly trained female athletes'. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 99 (4): 415–21. doi:10.1007/s00421-006-0351-1. PMID17186303. 90% of females produced less force than 95% of males
3. ^Effects of interface factors on the handgrip and pinchgrip force exertion capabilities, muscular contraction speed and endurance Winson W.S. LO, Alan H.S. CHAN, Michael K.H. LEUNG [1]Archived 2007-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^Rantanen T, Guralnik JM, Foley D, et al. (February 1999). 'Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of old age disability'. JAMA. 281 (6): 558–60. doi:10.1001/jama.281.6.558. PMID10022113.
5. ^RIHM
6. ^Geere J, Chester R, Kale S, Jerosch-Herold C (2007). 'Power grip, pinch grip, manual muscle testing or thenar atrophy – which should be assessed as a motor outcome after carpal tunnel decompression? A systematic review'. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 8: 114. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-8-114. PMC2213649. PMID18028538.
7. ^Poitras, Colin. Grip Strength is good indicator of overall health. 6 June 2011. https://today.uconn.edu/2011/06/grip-strength-is-good-indicator-of-overall-health/#. 24 September 2018.
8. ^ ^abcShea, Jason. THE IMPORTANCE OF GRIP. 11 2014. https://www.onekidsplace.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Importance-of-grip-strength.pdf. 24 September 2018.
9. ^Pipal, Bhanu Priya. Correlation between Hand Grip Strength and Hand. March 2017. https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v6i3/ART20171552.pdf. 24 September 2018.
10. ^ ^abIermakov 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.
11. ^A Brief Review of Handgrip Strength and Sport Performance. 31 July 2018. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319172114_A_Brief_Review_of_Handgrip_Strength_and_Sport_Performance. 24 September 2018.
12. ^http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Main/captainsofcrush3.html
13. ^Willoughby, David P. The Super Athletes. A.S. Barnes and Company: 1970
14. ^https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQBxSLCOBHk
15. ^https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oeFLUAPpns
16. ^Brookfield, John. Card Tearing. 'MILO: A Journal For Serious Strength Athletes,' Volume 1, Number 4 (January 1994), pp. 25-26. IronMind Enterprises, Inc.: Nevada City, California
17. ^Brookfield, John. The Grip Master's Manual. IronMind Enterprises, Inc.: Nevada City, California: 2002
18. ^http://www.ironbullstrength.com
19. ^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/

References[edit]

• John Brookfield (2008). Mastery of Hand Strength, Revised Edition. Ironmind Enterprises. ISBN978-0-926888-81-4.
• John Brookfield (2002). The Grip Master's Manual. Ironmind Enterprises. ISBN978-0-926888-11-1.

Increase Hand Strength