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Living a long, fruitful life has much to do with genetics. However, there are numerous precautions you can take and ways you can enhance your daily lifestyle to improve the odds and enhance your health. This encompasses following a nutritious diet and establishing a consistent workout routine. There is one particular weighted exercise that stands out for its incredible benefits in training effectively and prolonging your life. Here’s a hint: it involves strength training and grip strength!
Grip Strength Is Linked to Longevity
A study conducted in Finland revealed that individuals in a group who reached the age of 100 and beyond had the highest grip strength compared to their peers. Grip strength is a vital yet often underestimated indicator of overall well-being. It can offer insights into one’s biological age and how their body is functioning relative to their chronological age.
According to the journal Clinical Interventions in Aging, grip strength is described as “an essential biomarker for older adults” as it gauges the force applied when gripping an object with your hands. The findings reflect your muscle strength, which is influenced by factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and general well-being.
Performing strength training is incredibly beneficial throughout life—especially as you age, when sarcopenia is more prevalent. Training with weights helps you manage a healthy weight and chronic conditions, build and maintain muscle muscle mass, develop bone strength, and preserve a good quality of life. As you age, strength training is a must for balance, reducing falls, and preventing injury.
How To Do the Farmer’s Carry
Now, let’s get into an ultra-productive weighted exercise that will help you train like a beast, boost your functional fitness, and add more healthy years to your life. It’s actually quite simple to perform and a must to add to your regimen. Enter, the farmer’s carry.
- First, select your weights. Classic choices include a set of dumbbells or kettlebells. You’ll want to choose something that’s challenging but enables you to maintain solid form. Always start lighter and work your way up.
- Next, stand tall with your feet shoulder-distance apart, holding a weight in each hand with your arms at your sides.
- Keep your shoulders back and engage your core.
- Start walking for a predetermined distance. You can even set a timer for each set, say 30 to 60 seconds.
- When you’re done, place the weights on the floor at your sides.
- Rest for a bit before repeating.
A few tips for this exercise:
- Be sure the weights don’t bump into your legs as you walk.
- Don’t lean or curve your back; stand straight throughout.
- Take short, deliberate steps, focusing on form over speed.
If you’d like additional exercises to improve your grip strength, consider using hand grippers or doing the plate pinch, towel hangs, wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, grip ball squeezes, forearm planks, finger extensions, and tennis ball squeezes.
Alexa Mellardo
