The Simplest Strength Test Most Professionals Fail

“How many kg do you move per day on average?”

I ask the two freight forwarders who are carrying packages of my new wardrobe up the stairs to the first floor.

“About 2 tons. Your wardrobe weighs about 360 kg.”

Wow. I remember thinking how I hoped they wouldn’t do this for their entire careers, otherwise their bodies might be broken in their 50s.

But maybe not. What is obvious to me is how strong these guys are. Sure, a lot of it is using the right technique, such as balancing larger packages on their backs with their bodies leaning forward, but hearing their heavy breathing from the exertion tells me this is hard.

What is interesting is how strong people get from physical labor. Quite often, they don’t have the classic fit body, but raw power. Their power made me wonder how they would perform on a grip test, which we sometimes offer at company health days at my workplace at Siemens.

Nothing fancy. Just a hand dynamometer and a reference chart. People of all ages love to take the quick test, which tells you so much more than how strong your grip is.

A 35-year-old man steps up. He squeezes hard. You can see the effort in his face.

40 kilograms. Below average for his age.

He looks at me and says, “Can I try again? It slipped.”

He tries again, but the result doesn’t change. Most men scoring lower than average resist accepting their test results and want to try again. Nine out of ten times, the results stay the same, no matter if you dry your hands first or take another grip.

This happened repeatedly that day. Capable, intelligent, responsible men — managers, engineers, team leads — underperforming on one of the simplest strength tests we have.

Most of them laughed it off. Few asked what it meant, which always surprises me, because it means more than most people think.

Why Grip Strength Matters

Grip strength isn’t just about your hands. It reflects overall muscle function and strength reserves. What most people underestimate is how strong a predictor of overall health grip strength actually is.

Large population studies have consistently shown that lower grip strength is associated with:

• Higher risk of cardiovascular disease

• Increased likelihood of type 2 diabetes

• Greater all-cause mortality

• Higher risk of disability later in life

That doesn’t mean a weak handshake seals your fate, but don’t think grip strength is limited to the strength in your hands. A strong hand tends to be attached to a strong forearm, which tends to be attached to strong biceps and triceps, and so on.

What that means is that your strength level today says something about how resilient your body is.

The Moment That Made It Real

A while ago, an older friend of mine was lucky to make it out alive of the hotel he stayed in overnight.

While the cause of the accident was out of his control, he might have been able to get up from the floor more easily if he had had more strength in his body.

He slipped in the shower, fell forward, and hit his chin on the toilet seat, which crashed into multiple pieces. Luckily, the seat was down. Who knows what would have happened if he had hit the more sturdy ceramic.

As he lay there on the ground on his back, he couldn’t get up and later told me he was in shock — both from the event itself and from how helpless he felt at the same time.

He tried rolling. He tried pushing himself up. Eventually, he got on all fours and pushed himself up against the toilet.

That situation doesn’t happen because someone is weak in the gym sense.

It happens because strength capacity has quietly declined.

When you don’t regularly get up from the floor, carry heavy things, pull, push, or brace under load, those capacities fade. You don’t notice the loss during normal days, but only when we face extraordinary circumstances.

Getting older in a body that slowly loses its strength both increases the occurrence of such events and the likelihood of severe consequences.

I’m not saying this to be dramatic, but because keeping our independence is largely driven by our physical capacities.

What We Lose With Age

On average, adults lose around 8% of muscle mass per decade after 30 if they don’t train to preserve it.

That decline changes daily life more than people expect.

It shows up in small things:

• Carrying groceries becomes uncomfortable

• Opening jars requires effort

• Climbing stairs demands a pause

• Getting up from a low chair feels awkward

Over time, these small signals compound.

The difference between two 75-year-olds rarely comes down to luck. It often comes down to years of accumulated strength work or the absence of it.

One still hikes, carries bags, and moves confidently. The other avoids stairs and hesitates on uneven ground.

Strength is the divider, but many people prefer to name luck as the main driver behind it.

A Simple Self-Check

You don’t need lab equipment to assess your situation.

Try this:

• Hang from a pull-up bar for 30–45 seconds

• Carry two heavy grocery bags for 40–50 meters without setting them down

• Sit on the floor and stand up without using your hands

If two of these feel surprisingly hard, your strength reserve is likely shrinking.

No reason to panic, but get into action.

How to Build Real Strength

You don’t need advanced programming or fancy equipment.

Three sessions per week of full-body strength training, with two working sets per exercise, are enough for most busy professionals.

Unless you do supersets, always rest for 2–3 minutes between sets for maximum strength and muscle gain without compromising recovery.

Focus on:

• Squats or split squats

• Push movements (push-ups, presses)

• Pull movements (rows, pull-downs)

• Carries (farmer’s walks, suitcase carries)

• Dead-hangs

Add progressive resistance over time. Increase reps first, then add weight. Eat at least 1 g per kg of bodyweight per day.

Strength training is the best health insurance for a high-quality and independent life.

Falls will still happen. So will slips. It’s not about controlling life, but about being capable of handling unforeseen situations and managing everyday life effortlessly.

Strength gives you margin.

The Bottom Line

Many professionals optimize everything in their lives — calendars, investments, projects — but ignore the slow downgrade of their physical system.

The body doesn`t send a pop-up note complaining abut its downfall. It happens gradually. There’s no point in waiting until we are struck by severe pain, lack of mobility, or loss of strength.

If you care about independence, mobility, and long-term quality of life, strength training is not optional. It is basic maintenance, but the type of strength training you enjoy may differ from person to person. It could be the gym, climbing, home workouts, rowing, or anything that requires you to activate large muscle groups in your body.

Grip strength is a small window into a larger picture.

It tells you whether your body is prepared — not for the gym — but for life.

And that preparation starts long before you think you need it.