Get a Grip!
Get A Grip
This post describes how working on your pulling strength will improve your health. Your ability to pull yourself up is correlated with your grip strength. I was in a hair salon recently and overheard the owner making plans to change the taps in the washroom because his older clientele lacked the grip strength to turn the taps on. The solution was to put in new taps activated by hand sensor. You may have noticed this trend in bathroom taps. Yes, the new taps serve the purpose of reducing the spreading of germs and water waste. However, are we growing weaker because of it? I don’t know if the pros outweigh the cons. It made me question the long-term impact on people’s health as, yet another functional task of daily living is removed from their routines. Doors can be opened by pressing a button. Many doors have now become too heavy for some to open. Groceries may be delivered which eliminates the need to carry a bag. The list of tasks we no longer need to tackle gets longer each day. It is like moving prematurely to a home without stairs, expecting that you won’t be able to climb stairs one day. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you stop doing it, you will lose it. We must not! Keep your strength up at all costs folks. Use the automatic taps because that is all there is, not because you can’t turn a tap on. Open every door with a push. Here are three ways to maintain a grip on our health in today’s world.
Pic: Fitsters Fifty Happy Birthday Jennifer!
Get a Grip.1: Understand why grip strength matters!
Your grip strength is strongly correlated with your overall muscular strength. It is a reliable marker of your physical fitness and functional ability and reflects the strength of multiple muscle groups in the body. Work your way up to a 1-minute bar hang and add time from there.
Grip strength is a predictor of mortality. Numerous studies have demonstrated that low grip strength is associated with a higher risk of mortality from multiple causes, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Grip strength impacts your functional independence. As mentioned, maintaining grip strength is essential for performing everyday tasks such as carrying groceries, and opening jars and doors. Do not take the easy way out.
Bone Health. When you do exercises that make your muscles stronger, such as gripping things tightly, it also helps your bones stay strong. This makes them less likely to break and helps prevent conditions such as osteoporosis when bones become fragile.
Metabolic health. Strong grip strength is often linked to better metabolic outcomes, including lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
The Solution:
Embrace workouts that tax your grip, especially if you are going from one intensive grip movement to another, i.e., weighted step-ups and farmer’s carries.
Pull-up practice will help your grip strength. Keep your thumbs around the bar as this position will give you more bang for your buck and keep you safer. Ring rows will not work your grip strength in the same way as a pull-up. Knowing this, add farmer’s carries and plate pinches to your routine.
Get a Grip.2 Prioritize Protein
Ask yourself honestly if you are eating enough protein to build muscle and ward off injury. Remember, protein stabilizes your blood sugar levels and helps keep cravings for quick energy sources at bay. When we consume enough protein our overall nutrition is better. Consuming proper amounts of protein boosts our energy, mood and brain functioning throughout the day. To do: memorize the protein amounts in various serving sizes of your favourite foods. Build each meal around a protein source. Aim for 30-50 grams per meal, with priorities being your first and last meal of the day.
Foods containing 30 grams of Protein.
1 cup edamame
1 can drained tuna
1 scoop protein powder
1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
2 cups black beans
5 eggs
4 oz chicken breast
5 oz salmon
1 ½ cups tofu
5 oz steak
2 cups of lentils
1 cup ground turkey
Get a Grip.3 Mindset Shift: Ditch the fat loss mentality!
Want to become stronger in life? Prioritize your protein consumption and strength train 3-4 times a week. Focus on actions that build muscle and watch your health and fitness soar to new heights.
Here are two new ways to work on getting stronger at Empower in the coming months:
1. Join our Protein Power: Summer Prep Fitness Challenge. Details landing in your inbox next week.
2. Sign Up: Lift over Forty: Women’s Strength and Nutrition Program
You can’t go wrong with being strong.
Wednesday WOD
Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
Minutes 1-5, use a light weight to complete:
1 snatch pull
1 hang power snatch
1 overhead squat
Minutes 6-10, use a light weight to complete:
1 snatch pull
1 low-hang snatch
Minutes 11-20, increase the load if movement is sound and complete:
1 snatch pull
1 squat snatch
