Scientists Uncover 2 Simple Strength Indicators That May Predict Longevity

There are plenty of reasons to work on building and maintaining strength as you age, from boosting muscle growth to supporting bone health. But if that sounds daunting, it turns out you don’t have to spend hours in the gym lifting weights each day to reap some major benefits. In fact, new research indicates that acing two simple strength tests could help you live longer.

Meet the experts: Anna Di, D.C., C.E.S., corrective exercise specialist, chiropractor, and owner of UNITY Chiropractic Wellness in New York, NY; Karena Wu, D.P.T., owner of ActiveCare Physical Therapy; Rachel Prusynski, P.T., D.P.T., P.h.D., board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

That’s the key insight from a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, which sought to tease out the connection between muscular strength and all-cause mortality for older women. The researchers gathered over 5,000 female participants between the ages of 63 and 99 and tested them on two simple strength indicators: Dominant hand grip strength and unassisted chair stands.

Ultimately, while few people performed perfectly on both tests, the participants who performed the best on each individual test had lower all-cause mortality rates during the about eight-year follow-up period, meaning that significantly fewer deaths from any cause were recorded for this group. Specifically, the researchers observed a 12% reduction in mortality risk for every additional seven kilograms of grip strength and a 4% reduction for every six-second improvement from the slowest to fastest chair stand times. The trend held even for participants who didn’t otherwise meet the expert-recommended amount of exercise for their age.

Ahead, fitness experts break down what that means for you.

Why are the findings significant?

Most notably, the results reveal that you don’t have to live in the gym to build strength in a way that matters. “This study uses tests that basically measure upper-body strength and lower-body strength in a way that directly relates to everyday life,” explains Anna Di, D.C., C.E.S., corrective exercise specialist, chiropractor, and owner of UNITY Chiropractic Wellness in New York, NY. “These are not super complicated gym exercises. These are movements that require multiple muscle groups to coordinate together…[and] tell us how someone functions in real life. How well can you grip and hold objects? How easily can you get out of bed or stand up from a chair?”

According to Karena Wu, D.P.T., owner of ActiveCare Physical Therapy, keeping our muscles working together as a well-oiled machine is key to moving through life with fewer limitations as we age. “Muscle strength has a massive impact on overall health and longevity,” she explains. That holds especially true for women, who “go through hormonal changes, which can change muscle and soft tissue composition. It is crucial that we maintain good muscle strength for joint health, balance, energy, metabolism, and mental health.”

“Age-related muscle and strength loss—called sarcopenia—is common, so having a personalized strengthening and physical activity routine becomes even more important with age,” adds Rachel Prusynski, P.T., D.P.T., P.h.D., board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). “As a physical therapist, we educate our patients about [this]all the time—movement is medicine.”

Why might grip strength and chair stands be good indicators of longevity?

At first glance, the two strength tests assessed by the researchers don’t look like much. But in reality, there’s more going on than meets the eye. For example, Di explains that a test of grip strength measures a lot more than your forearms. “It requires strength from all the fingers, healthy movement of the joints, healthy wrist function, and good elbow function since the forearm muscles connect there,” she says. “You also cannot have too much inflammation or pain in areas like the wrist or carpal tunnel. So even though it sounds simple, it is actually a relatively good basic measure of overall upper-body function.”

The same principle applies to the sit-to-stand test from a chair. In addition to lower-body strength, it requires balance and core strength, according to Di. “The participants also had to cross their arms so they could not use their hands to help push themselves up. To get yourself off a chair, you also need power and coordination,” she explains. “If someone is moving very slowly due to weakness, pain, or instability, it becomes much harder.”

“So it makes sense that the better people performed on these tests, the lower their mortality rates were,” Di concludes. “To do these movements well, you need strength, coordination, balance, reaction time, endurance, and relatively low levels of pain and inflammation. These are all things that affect how well you function in daily life.”

What does this mean for you?

According to Prusynski, the results of the study “further [emphasize] what we already know: Strength is important as we age.” That means it’s important to continue working to improve your strength the older you get. Luckily, the results also indicate that it doesn’t have to mean working yourself into the ground in the gym every day.

Di recommends starting small. “I like to think of it like climbing a ladder. If someone can only climb the first two steps of a ladder and never practices going higher, eventually even those first two steps will start feeling unstable. They become hesitant, shaky, and fearful of falling,” she explains. “But if you continue gradually challenging yourself one step at a time, you maintain function longer. Even if someone feels like they are starting from zero, they can still take baby steps and gradually rebuild strength over time.”

As for which exercises to work on as you build strength, Prusynski takes a page out of the researchers’ book. “Exercises that are challenging but still mimic everyday movements (like standing from a low surface, weighted squats and step-ups, carrying heavy items, etc.) are a great option, especially if you can stick to your program for two to three days a week and progressively add difficulty over time.” Just be sure to consult a physical therapist if you have prior injuries or other concerns, she warns.

The bottom line

The results are clear: muscle strength goes a long way in influencing our overall health and longevity, especially for older women. But there’s more to consider. Di points out that while the study’s population is somewhat diverse, certain groups, like Asians, aren’t represented at all in the participants. “I personally still think these findings reasonably would apply to Asian populations as well,…[but] I don’t think it is completely appropriate to broadly claim the findings apply equally across all races without acknowledging that limitation,” she says.

Prusynski adds that while the researchers attempted to “[incorporate] a lot of other health measures into their analysis to try to isolate relationships between strength and mortality,” it’s impossible to completely establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the strength test results and longevity. After all, strength is just one of many factors to consider. “Physical fitness is not the only thing that affects mortality,” Di explains. “Diet, mental health, sleep, stress levels, medical care, and regular health checkups still matter too.”

Di also cautions against putting too much stock in longevity alone. “It’s not just about reaching a certain age. Quality of life matters too. Sometimes it does not matter if someone is living longer if they are bed-bound or unable to do the things they used to enjoy.” Still, the results reveal that, for many people, making strength a priority as we age can push us in the direction of a longer, happier life.