Health Of Young People Has Declined Strongly In The Last 30 Years

[TheHound]

Isn't it obvious that hand grip strength declining is a result of the overall decline in blue collar labour and physical activities? Todays young people such as myself are much more sedentary than they used to be, they don't know how to use tools, even basic things like shovels amd lawnmowers are not used by us. Most of us sot around most of the day, maybe doing some walking or ellyptical at the gym, television, desk job/studying... very little manual labour is necessitatrd from modern living. It is manual labour that develops grip strength, my father for example has been an electrician for a few decades and has a stronger grip than i do. I am 23 and a somewhat accomplished weight lifter and athlete. I can bench 295 and deep squat 405 for single reps. My father grip tested harder than me and has the forearms to show it, and he has never taken qeight training very seriously at all.

you forgot the most relevant one for this study: how much do you deadlift?

 

[haidut]

Isn't it obvious that hand grip strength declining is a result of the overall decline in blue collar labour and physical activities? Todays young people such as myself are much more sedentary than they used to be, they don't know how to use tools, even basic things like shovels amd lawnmowers are not used by us. Most of us sot around most of the day, maybe doing some walking or ellyptical at the gym, television, desk job/studying... very little manual labour is necessitatrd from modern living. It is manual labour that develops grip strength, my father for example has been an electrician for a few decades and has a stronger grip than i do. I am 23 and a somewhat accomplished weight lifter and athlete. I can bench 295 and deep squat 405 for single reps. My father grip tested harder than me and has the forearms to show it, and he has never taken qeight training very seriously at all.

The study controlled for such variables - i.e. changes in labor force and its preferences. So, it is a health issue mostly. Also, grip strength is not very dependent on weight training or manual labor. It is has more to do with nerve conductivity speed and balance of calcium/magnesium, both of which are regulated by thyroid.

 

[AJC]

The study controlled for such variables - i.e. changes in labor force and its preferences. So, it is a health issue mostly. Also, grip strength is not very dependent on weight training or manual labor. It is has more to do with nerve conductivity speed and balance of calcium/magnesium, both of which are regulated by thyroid.

So, as a rock climber this is fascinating to me--grip strength being obviously extremely important on the rock. What are some ways we could improve our grip strength from a health standpoint. And from an exercise perspective looking at nerve conductivity, motor units, and neurotransmitters, etc as well, what could be done to improve it?

 

[WestCoaster]

So, as a rock climber this is fascinating to me--grip strength being obviously extremely important on the rock. What are some ways we could improve our grip strength from a health standpoint. And from an exercise perspective looking at nerve conductivity, motor units, and neurotransmitters, etc as well, what could be done to improve it?

Honestly the best way to improve grip strength is to simply just grab a heavy weight and hold on for dear life (without the use of straps). Think deadlifts and farmer's walks. Those are probably your best bet.

I was watching a video a couple months back (though I cannot remember who it's by), who mentioned the best way to test someone's current fatigue state is to set a base state by grabbing a heavy weight (lets use 225lbs on a barbell as an example), and just hold it up as long as you can (think end form of a deadlift). Say you make it 60 seconds (assuming this test is done in a full rested state), 60 seconds is now your overall strength. Now you embark on a program for say 4-6 weeks and are wondering if you're getting fatigued beyond what your body can handle. Simple grab that same 225lbs and hold it up as long as you can. If you fail much sooner than 60 seconds, than that is an indicator the body is too fatigued and it's time to rest. A bit of a tangent I know but it's interesting stuff when you think about it. It does have to do with grip strength so I suppose if your grip strength is diminished, it's time to scale back.

 

[Diokine]

Re; Grip strength

I'd say one of the more remarkable things that I have noticed in the past few months was an increase in grip strength. I used to have symptoms of arthritis in both hands from bad diet and metabolism, and after fixing most of that the pain went away but my hands never really felt strong. After increasing my androgenic steroids and thyroid status, my grip strength is easily twice what it was. The connective tissue in my hands (and the rest of my body) feels much tougher as well. I remember one morning waking up and feeling like I could crush rocks with my hands. No increase in hand-labor or differences in weight training regimens.

 

[haidut]

So, as a rock climber this is fascinating to me--grip strength being obviously extremely important on the rock. What are some ways we could improve our grip strength from a health standpoint. And from an exercise perspective looking at nerve conductivity, motor units, and neurotransmitters, etc as well, what could be done to improve it?

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, caffeine is well-known substance that strongly improves grip strength. Androgens, T3 and thiamine also have very good effects on grip strength. Exercises like squeezable rubber donut may help but have not been shown to do consistently. Anti-serotonin and/or pro-dopamine drugs also strongly improve grip strength and this is one of the reasons they are banned in sports, especially weight lifting and rowing where grip strength is very important.

 

[allblues]

Bad health has also made people uglier. Normal people looked gorgeous in the 50's.

I've noticed this too. Old people today, born in the 30's 40's 50's generally have nicer features and just look healthier,
even if they're old and wrinkly and all that. Things really went south around the 60's it seems, alot of those born around that time
and on look feeble in so many ways, bone structure, body structure, patchy facial hair in males, and so on.
People seem less robust in general.

 

[Regina]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, caffeine is well-known substance that strongly improves grip strength. Androgens, T3 and thiamine also have very good effects on grip strength. Exercises like squeezable rubber donut may help but have not been shown to do consistently. Anti-serotonin and/or pro-dopamine drugs also strongly improve grip strength and this is one of the reasons they are banned in sports, especially weight lifting and rowing where grip strength is very important.

Cool. Thx for the tips here.
In my experience, size does not matter and is, at least, deceiving. It's the functional use of the body and how connected the person is to themselves.

 

[haidut]

Cool. Thx for the tips here.
In my experience, size does not matter and is, at least, deceiving. It's the functional use of the body and how connected the person is to themselves.

Very true, size can be very deceiving. Here is a YouTibe video of a Shaolin monk knocking out a former Navy SEAL. Note how stable the "monk" is and maintains balance even when tackled. The other guy is much taller and more muscular but it does not seem to matter.

 

[encerent]

I've noticed this too. Old people today, born in the 30's 40's 50's generally have nicer features and just look healthier,
even if they're old and wrinkly and all that. Things really went south around the 60's it seems, alot of those born around that time
and on look feeble in so many ways, bone structure, body structure, patchy facial hair in males, and so on.
People seem less robust in general.

Diet induced bad changes to bad oral posture, namely mouth breathing, which has caused faces to lengthen. Justin Bieber has a very handsome modern face but notice how narrow it is:

Compare to what I consider a classic handsome face of Viggo Mortensten. I'm sure he had more of the good substances for the body (dairy, sugar, vitamin k, etc.) when he was in the womb and in early development. Thanks to this he breathed through his nose and had excellent overall oral posture.

Just look at the face and you can see who is healthier and as more grip strength lol

 

[allblues]

I remember hearing about breastfeeding helping to create a good oral posture.
I wonder how changes in how long kids are breastfed combined with everything else is contributing to the health decline,
to be honest i know very little about it but something tells me it has changed much these past 50 years.
In any case, that soy-formula sure ain't helping anybody.

Good examples, the Viggo-type cheekbones seem to be getting rarer by the day.

 

[Regina]

Very true, size can be very deceiving. Here is a YouTibe video of a Shaolin monk knocking out a former Navy SEAL. Note how stable the "monk" is and maintains balance even when tackled. The other guy is much taller and more muscular but it does not seem to matter.

Oh dear. What a weird fight. Whenever we see these mixed styles going after each other, it's never the best ones. I'm sure the Shaolin's could serve up much better but they wouldn't be bothered doing such nonsense. For our purposes, we like the arms to be like a heavy rubber garden hose connected to your core (no discernible tension anywhere). So anyone concentrating at their grip is certainly easy to throw down. It's the ones who can drop all their tension out of their arms and shoulders but have a focused core that give you a much chewier experience. This is my current teacher below. She's cute as a bug's ear. 4'10" at most. Maybe <90lbs. Everything feels gentle with her yet, you end up thrown across the room like a windspout took you. The girl taking ukemi is super-duper strong and aggressive. She can and will break your hand. But has little ability to control the whole body of another. Her "strength" is her weakness.

 

[sladerunner69]

The study controlled for such variables - i.e. changes in labor force and its preferences. So, it is a health issue mostly. Also, grip strength is not very dependent on weight training or manual labor. It is has more to do with nerve conductivity speed and balance of calcium/magnesium, both of which are regulated by thyroid.

I can accept that grip strength is primarily about nerve conductivity. Strength and power are much more closely related to nerves than to muscle mass, ala 185lb weightlifters squatting 600lbs and <70kg olympic powerlifters snatching over 300lbs. However I believe the most important aspect here is the training, the deadlifts/powercleans/squats these athletes do on a routine basis helps develop the nerve networks over years and years. The responsiveness and fast twitch muscle fibers only come from years and years of heavy weights, and proper diet and health can certainly make a substantial difference, but diet on its own can not create really impressive strength. So there's my father who had the decades of training his grip for a living, but not following any specific nutrition plan, although he did always have a preference away from PUFA even while that was becoming popular.

you forgot the most relevant one for this study: how much do you deadlift?

 

[Regina]

Diet induced bad changes to bad oral posture, namely mouth breathing, which has caused faces to lengthen. Justin Bieber has a very handsome modern face but notice how narrow it is:

Compare to what I consider a classic handsome face of Viggo Mortensten. I'm sure he had more of the good substances for the body (dairy, sugar, vitamin k, etc.) when he was in the womb and in early development. Thanks to this he breathed through his nose and had excellent overall oral posture.

Just look at the face and you can see who is healthier and as more grip strength lol

And hawwt!!

 

[raypeatclips]

Bad health has also made people uglier. Normal people looked gorgeous in the 50's.

Playing devils advocate here. What if you only see the pictures of the gorgeous people in the 50's, because they were gorgeous? Plainer/ugly people still existed but their pictures wouldn't be as popular.

 

[jaa]

Very true, size can be very deceiving. Here is a YouTibe video of a Shaolin monk knocking out a former Navy SEAL. Note how stable the "monk" is and maintains balance even when tackled. The other guy is much taller and more muscular but it does not seem to matter.

That monk certainly has a great base. A good, stable posture, that keeps his hole body connected so he does not off balance himself. That ***t is great and can really maximize an individuals ability to exert strength, but it can only go so far. And even though this monk is shorter, both guys appear to weigh about the same. Size absolutely matters. That's why weight classes exist in boxing and MMA. Bigger guys hit harder, can take punch better, and grapple better. You'll never get a natural 145er with the best posture and technique in the world who can bet the best natural 175ers and probably not 165ers.

There are instances in the upper weights where the best MMA Heavyweight in the world tend to weigh around 245 and not the 265 limit, but I think that has more to do with sample size and the nature of fighting. There simply aren't as many 265ish guys out there and the ones who are that big usually have a lot of muscle and tend to tire quickly. They are ************* for the first few minutes but after that they have nothing. But in terms of absolute hitting power or grappling strength, they beat the lighter guys.

 

[Regina]

Playing devils advocate here. What if you only see the pictures of the gorgeous people in the 50's, because they were gorgeous? Plainer/ugly people still existed but their pictures wouldn't be as popular.

That monk certainly has a great base. A good, stable posture, that keeps his hole body connected so he does not off balance himself. That ***t is great and can really maximize an individuals ability to exert strength, but it can only go so far. And even though this monk is shorter, both guys appear to weigh about the same. Size absolutely matters. That's why weight classes exist in boxing and MMA. Bigger guys hit harder, can take punch better, and grapple better. You'll never get a natural 145er with the best posture and technique in the world who can bet the best natural 175ers and probably not 165ers.

There are instances in the upper weights where the best MMA Heavyweight in the world tend to weigh around 245 and not the 265 limit, but I think that has more to do with sample size and the nature of fighting. There simply aren't as many 265ish guys out there and the ones who are that big usually have a lot of muscle and tend to tire quickly. They are ************* for the first few minutes but after that they have nothing. But in terms of absolute hitting power or grappling strength, they beat the lighter guys.

in competitive cage matching.

 

[sladerunner69]

Diet induced bad changes to bad oral posture, namely mouth breathing, which has caused faces to lengthen. Justin Bieber has a very handsome modern face but notice how narrow it is:

Compare to what I consider a classic handsome face of Viggo Mortensten. I'm sure he had more of the good substances for the body (dairy, sugar, vitamin k, etc.) when he was in the womb and in early development. Thanks to this he breathed through his nose and had excellent overall oral posture.

Just look at the face and you can see who is healthier and as more grip strength lol

Clearly Viggo had a more androgenic profile indicating good health, especially during his development years.

This is interesting because we dont see to many young men with strong , androgen-dominant facial features that much these days. Walking around college campuses and it is rare to see a young man with broad shoulders, a strong chin and wide jaw, like the classic "alpha" testosterone look. Very rare actually. I am convinced it is due to serious degrade in the diet our young people rely on, the war against animal proteins, and the abundance of presrvative chemicals, gums and pufas.

 

[jaa]

in competitive cage matching.

Yep. I think I'm missing your point. Could you explain a little?

 

[Regina]

Yep. I think I'm missing your point. Could you explain a little?

Hi jaa,
Boxing and MMA are very contextual sports with their own reference points and closed theatre of activity. And they are multi $$$$$$$ industries. But they are not Budo. By that fact alone, they will not attract serious practitioners on a Budo path. So I don't believe they represent the best fighters in the world. It's a big world out there. I think the great martial artists are basically unknown.
I mean, for example, I just couldn't find any footage of my teacher. It does't exist. Just a very boring clip of a mundane technique with a lackluster student. But off to the side, you may have noticed a couple of tattooed yudanshas. They are both professional MMA fighters. They know. They know to come to the little zen pebble and learn a thing or two about technique. I would say, for sure, grappling has mostly to do with technique.