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LOS ANGELES, CA - It looks millennial men are weaker than their dads- all the way down to their fingertips. A study in the Journal of Hand Therapy (yes, there's truly a Journal for everything) found that University students had significantly weaker hands and arms than men did who were the same age 30 years ago.
We're betting modern technology is to blame.
Average male grip strength slipped from 117 pounds of pressure to 98 pounds- or about the same as a woman in her early 30s today. The strength of your handshake has long been an indicator of overall strength, and later in life, it even predicts your mortality.
In the 80s, more men had jobs that involved manual labor- which is why their grips were so much stronger. Laptops are just not cutting it in the workout department, for our hands- or our bodies. Less daily activity means we're weaker all over- and gaining weight. As our hands get weaker, so do our life expectancies. So put down the smart phones and pick up the weights. Or a hammer, or an axe, or wrench. Looks like a few calluses will do your whole body some good.