Can You Pass This 60-Second Muscle Test? (Most Over-50s Fail)

Will Harlow, the over-50s specialist physio, gives us a challenge:

It’s time to get a grip

Grip strength reflects overall muscle health and, per a large body of evidence, is linked in research to independence, functional ability, and lower mortality risk.

Difficulty opening jars, dropping objects, or struggling with shopping can indicate declining grip and total-body strength, but there’s a more objective test than that:

• 50% carry test: hold roughly 25% of your body weight in each hand (so, 50% in total) and walk for 60 seconds to assess whole-body and grip strength.
• 50+ benchmark: aim to carry 50% of your body weight total for at least 30 seconds comfortably, and struggling early or failing due to grip is a fail for now.

What to not do (because it’s a common mistake): isolated grip tools don’t rebuild meaningful strength, because the body functions as an integrated system. Guess what happens if you have a integrated system of which one part is well-trained? That’s right, it fails, because one part can’t do it by itself.

To give a practical example: if you are just using squeezy grippers to train strength, any benefits you gain will vanish the instant you need to grip something at a different angle, or while rotating it in a certain way, or while slightly off-balance, or if it is a slightly different shape or weight distribution, or or or… You get the idea.

So, for functional strength that covers most bases:

1. Reverse curl and press: lift dumbbells with your palms down to shoulder height, press overhead, then return under control to strengthen your forearms and upper body together.
2. Towel wringing: twist a rolled towel tightly and hold for 5 seconds in each direction to train your grip, wrists, and forearms in a functional pattern.
3. Farmer’s walk: walk with moderately challenging weights (about 15% of your body weight per hand) for 20–60 seconds to build grip, posture, core stability, and full-body strength.

As for how what to expect, consistent practice two or three times per week can noticeably improve strength and function within 6–8 weeks.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!