"Grip Strength After 60 — Why It Could Save Your Life and How to Build It

Grip Strength Can Save Your Life - Women Over 60

I learned about farmer carries in my CrossFit class. I thought they were just about building strength. Turns out they might be about something much bigger than that.

This post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise program.

Can I squeeze your attention for a moment?

That is not just a bad pun. I’m actually making a point.

How hard can you squeeze? It turns out that your grip strength may be one of the most powerful predictors of how long and how well you will live. And a landmark study published in February 2026 in JAMA Network Open just confirmed it specifically for women our age.

A study of over 5,400 women ages 63 and older found that stronger grip strength and faster chair stand times were linked to lower risk of death over eight years. Risk fell by 15% for each 7-kilogram increase in grip strength.

Read that again. Fifteen percent lower risk of death. From squeezing harder. That’s something I can get behind.

This is not about looking like a bodybuilder. This is about staying alive and staying in your life for as long as possible. And it turns out your hands are telling the story.

Why Grip Strength Matters More Than You Think

Most of us think of strength in terms of how we look. Can I lift this? Do my arms look toned? But researchers are increasingly looking at grip strength as a window into overall health — a simple measurable indicator of what is happening throughout your entire body.

Grip strength and chair stands are not party tricks and they are not about looking like a bodybuilder. They line up with everyday moments like opening a stuck jar, carrying groceries or standing up after a long movie.

Think about that for a moment. The strength required to open a jar of pasta sauce. To carry your own luggage through an airport. To get up from a chair without using your arms. These are not gym achievements. These are life achievements.

Study lead author Michael LaMonte said: "If you don't have enough muscle strength to get up, it is going to be hard to do aerobic activities such as walking — the most commonly reported recreational activity in US adults ages 65 and older. When we no longer can get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble."

I do not want to be in trouble. I suspect you don’t either.

The Chair Stand Test — Do This Right Now

Before we talk about how to build grip strength let me give you a quick self-assessment.

The Chair Stand Test:
Sit in a firm chair with your arms crossed over your chest. Stand up and sit back down five times without using your arms. Time yourself.

Under 11 seconds — excellent for women over 60
11 to 13.5 seconds — good
Over 14 seconds — worth talking to your doctor about

This is one of the two tests used in the Harvard study. Simple. No equipment. And genuinely telling.

Here’s a video example of the chair stand test.

The Grip Strength Test

Find a blood pressure cuff or a stress ball. Squeeze it as hard as you can. Better yet — next time you see your doctor ask them to test your grip strength with a dynamometer. It takes 30 seconds and gives you a baseline to work toward.

Why Grip Strength Declines After 60

Here is the honest science: age-related loss of muscle mass, strength and physical performance — known as sarcopenia — is a major contributor to decreased independence and quality of life among older adults.

After 60 we naturally lose muscle mass unless we actively work against it. The key word is actively. This does not happen on its own. But the research is clear — it is reversible. At any age. Including ours. That’s why I’m working on it every week and I don’t intend to stop.

The message is not either cardio or strength — but both, adjusted to what a person can safely do. Strength work does not have to mean a gym membership or heavy barbells. Bodyweight moves, light dumbbells or even soup cans can provide enough resistance to challenge muscles especially for beginners. I’m currently using a home gym and a traditional gym together.

CrossFit Coach Michael Moore who taught Jeannie Ward that strength training was longevity — My Senior Crossfit Coach, Michael Moore, who taught me that strength training was longevity.

How to Build Grip Strength — The Rebel Age Way

Our Thrive Coach and one of my personal heroes, Michael drilled grip strength into our heads. Farmer carries were our warm-up for every single class. Plate pinches. Barbell overhead carries. He was always thinking about our health and longevity — even when we didn't fully understand why. Here is what I do because of him — and what you can do at home — to build the grip strength that the research says could literally extend your life.

Plate pinch exercise for grip strength in your 60s

Farmer Carries

This is my personal favorite and the one I think about every time I carry my grocery bags from the car.

Pick up two dumbbells or kettlebells — or two full grocery bags — one in each hand. Walk. That is it. Walk for 30 seconds, rest, repeat.

The weight forces your hands, forearms, shoulders and core to work simultaneously. It is functional fitness at its most honest. You are training your body for exactly what life requires of it.

Start with: 5 to 8 pound dumbbells. Work up gradually.
Do: 3 sets of 30 second carries with 30 seconds rest between sets

Here’s a video example of farmer carries.

Dead Hangs

Find a pull up bar or a sturdy overhead beam. Grab it and simply hang. Let your weight do the work.

This is extraordinarily effective for grip strength and also wonderful for decompressing the spine.

Start with: 10 second hang
Work toward: 30 to 60 second hang
Do: 3 sets

Here’s a video example of dead hang.

Towel Wringing

Take a damp hand towel. Wring it out as hard as you can in one direction then the other. Switch hands.

This is what my grandmother would have called doing the laundry. It turns out she was building grip strength all along.

Do: 10 wrings each direction each hand. Repeat 3 times.

Plate Pinches

Hold a weight plate — or a heavy book — between your thumb and fingers. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch hands.

Start with: A paperback novel. Graduate to a hardcover. Then a small weight plate.

Here’s a video example of plate pinches.

Dumbbell Wrist Curls

Sit with your forearm resting on your thigh, palm facing up, holding a light dumbbell. Curl your wrist upward. Lower slowly. Repeat.

Start with: 3 to 5 pounds
Do: 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions each hand

Here’s a video example of wrist curls.

The Farmer Carry Grocery Bag Challenge

This is my personal at-home version: when you bring groceries in from the car carry one bag in each hand and walk as slowly as possible. Take the long route through the house. Set them down only when you absolutely have to.

Your groceries are now your training equipment. You are welcome.

The Chair Stand Connection

The 2026 Harvard study measured two things — grip strength AND chair stands. They are connected because both require functional muscle strength throughout your body.

To improve your chair stands practice this specific exercise:

Sit to Stand:
Sit at the edge of a firm chair. Stand up slowly using only your leg muscles — no arms. Sit back down slowly and with control. Repeat 10 times.

Do this every day. Time yourself weekly. Watch the improvement.

What This All Connects To

Healthy aging is probably best pursued through adequate amounts of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activities.

This is why everything we do at The Rebel Age connects. Walking three times a day or more if you can. Beginning and sticking with a functional fitness routine. Trying something new like I did with Crossfit because of my osteopenia diagnosis. Prioritizing sleep to recover and allow ourselves to keep working on our strength and living our best lives.

None of it is separate. All of it is the same thing — staying strong enough to stay in our lives. To carry our own suitcase through the airport. To climb stairs in a historic European city. To get up from the floor when we play with our grandchildren. To open the jar.

Your Grip Strength Action Plan

This week:

Do the chair stand test and time yourself
Add farmer carries to two workouts — use grocery bags if you have no weights
Ask your doctor to test your grip strength at your next visit

This month:

Add towel wringing and wrist curls three times per week
Time your chair stands weekly and track improvement
Carry your own groceries — always, from now on

This year:

Build grip strength as a consistent part of your fitness routine alongside walking and aerobic activity
Retest your chair stand time every three months

With Rebel Love — Jeannie

💬 Can you open a jar without asking for help? Can you carry your own luggage? These are your grip strength tests and they matter more than you know. Tell me in the comments — what everyday task has gotten harder and what are you doing about it?