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 dad owned a moving company and I was very strong for my size when I was younger, but it was that sinewy muscle type. Could never gain weight despite being able to deadlift 400+ lbs and fold bottle caps with my fingers. I could push a 2000+ lb safe into position like a leg press, but never considered myself strong. Strong to me was my grandfather.
My grandfather on my mom’s side was a serious animal. He was a plasterer for 50 years. His arms were the size of my adult legs. When I was a kid, I remember he would put us on his arm and throw us in the air just by flexing his bicep. He spent every workday throwing bags, stacking bricks and holding a mud board with 50 pounds over his head all 12-hour day long.
The Irish (Catholic of course) had a rough time in the south and I’m sure he tore it up a few times back in the day. Being Irish, he drank as hard as he worked, and he could be a mean drunk. I only knew him to get in a fight once. Lasted about two seconds and he almost killed the guy.
I remember, in the 1970s, helping my great-aunt do wash in a double-tub setup with an electric wringer. However, back in the 40s, she used to wash for pay using a washer with a diesel motor!
At least we know what real work looked like!
You asked a young person today about the opposite sex.. and you might as well have asked them about their trip to mars. It's not even on their radar. It's bizarre.
***Men today are weaker than they were 30 years ago, ***
Nothing new. about fifty five years ago there was a comic book or comic strip in which two men are transported into the future and find they are able to fend off all attacks by men of that time because the men were so weak due to machines doing all the work that men used to do.
oh LOL at that! just saw that episode not to long ago.
If they do bring the factories back, the heavy labor will be engineered out. Nobody can afford the workers comp.
>You asked a young person today about the opposite sex.. and you might as well have asked them about their trip to mars. It’s not even on their radar. It’s bizarre.
It’s low testosterone caused by endless male bashing and status reduction. That’s what a civilization gets when it promotes its women over men.
good point .... I never thought of that.
I don’t know if this is normal but I liked girls from the age of 5 or 6. I can remember day dreaming in class that I looked like Errol Flynn. Pretty high standards for a 6 year old.
For some reason I could only fall in love with very pretty girls. I think it might have something to do with my Mother being pretty. Anyway there was always enough pretty girls for me to have crushes on
Unfortunately most of the babes already had boyfriends. I liked plain girls just fine but could never fall in love with one. I did manage to get serious with several really hot ones but they always ended up dropping me.I don’t think I ever dumped a girl.
I did manage to marry a girl who was literally queen of her high school and did well in college too. There is one advantage to being married to a babe. You will have pretty daughters.
ROFL!! about 2,400 years. it seems :)
my mother says "the Pope's hands"
and I got them, 6 feet, 200 lbs, medium cadet golf glove.
Automatic transmission.
One thing I just remembered.
Back in the 20s and 30s buildings were often built ahead of schedule and under budget. That was true of the Hoover Dam and also the Empire State Building.
Now it seems to always be just the opposite.
Thanks. The industry he was in had a tradition only recently dying. In construction, managers often did skilled labor and physical labor was never far removed from any supervisor. It is a industry I retired from as well.
My dad in 1949 would work in the office all day and then go to the suburban home he was building almost by himself and work until 1:00 in the morning or later.
Prior to retiring I found myself with a shovel in my hand occasionally.
My dad’s understanding of “getting the job done” meant you never avoided physical labor. You taught yourself whatever craft was needed. I think physical labor and routine hard work often translates to being able to apply strength to any task needed.
Young men used to split cords of wood. Now they play Pokemon Go.
Even working factory jobs, I would say men today are not as strong as the men of yesteryear in the same factories. If the job calls on people to lift something heavy regularly now OSHA and insurance requirements will require they bring in lifting equipment or robots so operators don’t injure themselves. Machines do the hard work in manufacturing anymore and the people mostly press buttons and make sure the machine is working right.
In 1986, athletics and weight training were very popular with many more adults in their 20s and 30s than now—about the same time aerobic calisthenics/dancing workouts were popular with many more women. We were much leaner and stronger then. I disagree with regards to focus on grip strength, though. That’s where most factory work alone was lacking. The whole body needs exercise, especially for those working in factories and wanting to avoid injuries. [Been there, done that.]
“We clear the way.”
Thanks.
12B, ‘89-’96.
hey did u see the article I sent u about the big trump sign in staten island
I love watching the old movies when 30 year olds look like they are 50.
I shook the hand of a 22 year old guy that I rented an apartment to. He actually winced and I thought he was going to cry.
A lot of panty waists out there among the young’uns. Not saying all but quite a few.
Like the article says, they don’t do much manual labor anymore.
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