Posted on 08/10/2016 6:24:50 PM PDT by SamAdams76
Think you’d beat your dad in an arm wrestling competition when he was your age? Bad news: he’d probably kick your ass.
Men today are weaker than they were 30 years ago, research in the Journal of Hand Therapy found.
In the study, men aged 20-34 have lower grip and pinch strength – which measures how strong your hand and upper extremities are – than the same aged guys did three decades ago.
In fact, the average grip strength for men ages 25-29 is nearly 12 kilograms lower today than it was before.
Your grip may not seem super important unless you’re a competitive arm wrestler, but it actually serves as a good proxy of your overall strength.
In fact, a 2011 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that grip strength was predictive of strength in push-ups, leg extensions and leg press.
What’s more, research in previous generations has linked lower grip strength to a variety of serious health problems including arthritis, heart disease, stroke and neurological conditions, says Fain.
It’s not clear whether grip strength actually makes people healthier, or if healthier people are just stronger.
So why are men today so much weaker?
They are less likely to be employed in manual labor jobs, such as in the manufacturing and agricultural fields, than they used to be, says study author Dr Elizabeth Fain, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Winston-Salem State University in the US.
Working on an assembly line, for instance, requires repetitive tasks handling weighted objects, which can strengthen your hands, she says.
That day-in, day-out grind likely plays more of a role increasing grip strength than weight training – which may only be a few times a week – would do.
It’s also more helpful than the repetitive hand motions we’re more likely to do today, like texting or typing, which tend to activate smaller muscle groups, she says.
Your move, then, is to work on your own grip.
If you’re not working with your hands, you need to make training grip more of a priority.
My father had forearms like Popeye until he was about 60. He still throws hay bails around pretty good for an 80 year old.
How can anything liberals teach in school overcome biology?
I can tell you for 100% certain that nothing anyone said to me would have kept me from thinking about girls 24/7 from the age of 13 on.
It’s not like a had any choice in the matter. One day I just woke up and thought ... GIRLS!!!!! and never stopped thinking it for the next 12+ years, day or night.
Many 20-30 year olds are pasty, flabby and generally worthless.
Pokemon has brought them out like daylight Vampires...seriously...go to your local gathering spot to take a look at this worthless crop of Americans.
Took the dog out to a trail at a local lake last week. It had formerly been inhabited by bikers, joggers & other dog people. Last week I could barely navigate the trail due to giant groups of overweight slobs staring at their phones.
Oh, and many of the sloths had strollers...Idiocracy in real life:)
great story!
Machining castings weighing 75 pounds? You were strong to begin with.
After doing that for a while you were a beast.
Must have been great times on the bus :)
I remember the band guys telling me how insane the parties and bus rides were.
It’s like a secreter society of guys ho figured out how to score easily!
YES. And that was in a very pro Trump neighborhood!
All i can think of is some young punks or some union guys from electric.
Plough is an archaic spelling.
“Ploughman of the Moon” was the title of poet Robert Service’s first autobiography.
I resent that! I can lift this phone. But I can't lift my arm when I'm wearing this huge watch.
BTW, I know which end of a shovel to use, too. I watched a youtube video on it.
And I have this great job with ATT doing stupid ads trying to get wimps like me to buy their stuff.
“He was 75 at the time.”
A major stud.
There was a line I remember in an old physical culture book from the 1940s: the average man can press 100lb overhead. Lol, try finding 1 in 10 today.
Oh, the band bus. Hours of making out every other Friday night all through the fall. The girls wanted to find out if trumpet players really had a developed embouchure...
that’s true, and we do
LOL. Do you still play? I play for a year or two and then fade into guitar for a couple years. I haven’t touched a horn in months but I have a thing for Olds horns and have collected a half dozen or so. My latest was an Olds Clark Terry. What a horn!
I no longer play Trumpet
A decade or so ago I started working on a five octave range. I think I cracked the code on double high C and with six months of persistent effort I can get there but really anything over high C ain’t much use. The trick is in subtle 3D visualization of a specific embouchure formation.
Well, you could whistle those really high ones.
I explored that avenue, sort of whistling into the horn. It didn’t seem to work, for me anyway. But if you have a good embouchure you can sure whistle easily.
Great story and great job! America would be a much better society if every testosterone-laden youngster was put in his place by an older man. I had it out with a couple of mine and they straightened up.
The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and fathers need to model that relationship. Reasoning is only possible if a person understands their place in the universe.
ML/NJ
Terrific 7 minute video: The Old Europe vs The New Europe.
Don’t miss this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDL92DNwRpw
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.