Strength, Balance, & Power
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Grip Strength & Why it Matters
Grip strength is a measure of the maximum force applied by the hand to grasp and hold onto an object. It measures the strength of the muscles of the hand, wrist and arm.
Why is it important?
Grip strength is one of the strongest predictors of longevity. It is an excellent reflection of someone’s overall upper body strength because gripping involves not only the muscles of the hand but also muscles of the arm and shoulder.
Not only is this a predictor of longevity, grip strength also helps us perform better in everyday activities. For example, if you are able to grip a support firmly as you lose balance, you may be able to avoid falling to the ground and risking serious injury and downstream complications, which tend to become more severe as we age. Lastly, a strong grip can help stabilize the joints of your hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder which can help reduce the chance of injury.
How do we improve grip strength?
It’s important to invest in improving strength overall for its extensive health benefits; however, it’s also valuable to increase grip strength specifically because of its importance to everyday functioning. There are a few specific activities that focus on strengthening the hand and forearms. For example, Farmer Carry is when you carry a heavy load in each hand and walk for a designated distance. Dead Hang is also a great and painful way to improve your hand grip. If you have any shoulder or neck issues, we do not recommend a Dead Hang. Dead Hang is holding onto a bar and hanging your body weight off of it.
Balance & Why it Matters
Balance requires three types of inputs: visual, vestibular (inner ear), and proprioception (your nervous system’s ability to identify where your body is in space).
As we age, steady balance will help us prevent falls. The CDC in the US reported that there are approximately 36 million falls per year resulting in 32,000 deaths. There are gradual changes as we age including weakening muscles, inflexibility, slower reflexes and poor eyesight that contribute to poor balance and the risk of falling. Certain health problems, medications, and alcohol consumption can also contribute to poor balance. When our balance starts to fade, we often start to move less and cut back on our activities which causes our muscles to become weak, our unsteadiness to increase, and our confidence to plummet. We want to avoid this downward spiral.
Testing balance helps us assess lower limb strength and neuromuscular control which are key factors in preventing falls, preventing injuries and can identify imbalances.
How do we test it?
We test balance on force plates for your Benchmark. We will ask you to stand on one leg with the non-weight-bearing foot lifted slightly off the ground. We will ask you to aim to maintain stability and balance for as long as you can, up to 60 seconds, first with your eyes open, then with your eyes closed.
Vertical Jump & Why it Matters
The Vertical Jump test is a measure of how high an individual can jump off the ground from a standing position. It is a measurement of lower-body strength and power.
Why is it important?
As we mentioned in our previous audio clip on muscle, we know that we lose Type 2 (or “fast-twitch”) muscle fibers as we age. Type 2 muscle fibers are engaged when we jump, sprint, lift weights and do power movements. Regularly jumping will help us engage our Type 2 muscle fibers which will help us maintain and even improve our muscle mass.
How can we improve our vertical jump?
Strengthening our quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and glutes through resistance training helps to improve lower-body power. We should also practice explosive movements like sprints, jumps, kickboxing moves to improve power.