Hand Evolution

If you want to understand hand strength, then you need to look at the anatomy of the hand. This seems totally obvious to me, but I study strength training. Yet, a revelation happened as I drove to the coffee shop this morning.  

I routinely get questions about how to improve grip strength, as if grip training were as simple as putting different tires on your car. In fact, it is possibly the most complex question to be asked in strength training.

My revelation was thanks to an NPR Radio story on the evolution of our hands. Instead of merely looking at fossils, or other ape-like creatures, the premise of this concept was basically an economic one. These researchers are studying the skills that allowed the most successful humans to succeed, from a Darwinian perspective. The argument being that thousands of years of stone tool making helped the hand, wrist and forearm to evolve into what it is today. Therefore, they are studying the actions of modern “flint knappers”, as they make their stone tools, like knives, axes, and so on. As it turns out, archeological evidence of the complexity of various tools does correspond well with archeological skeletal evidence.

So you ask, “that is very interesting, Roger, but how will this knowledge get me stronger?”

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As usual, the key is asking the right question. For his size, my Grandpa LaPointe has some of the strongest looking hands I have ever seen. He owned a small brick company and has laid tons and tons of bricks in his life. Conversely, Rolling Stone magazine had an outstanding photo of Keith Richards hands, from just a year or so ago. His hands looked like gnarled, old tree roots and incredibly strong, with powerful hand muscles I had never seen before. Neither of those men could do the other's job, merely from a hand strength perspective, let alone the skills required. At the same time, I am sure that few if any professional football players would be capable of the same.

General or specific strength, which one are we after?

Most sports require fairly general hand strength. As someone concentrating on Olympic lifting, or picking heavy weights up off the ground and putting them over my head, I would fall into that category. However, much like Keith, who needs to have fine motor control to bend those strings to the exact shape he wants, a baseball pitcher needs some unique and incredible specific hand strength as well.

Serendipity certainly struck. I was listening to the radio in my truck, which is a somewhat important detail, as my car radio is currently broken and that is what I typically drive around town. My mind is swirling with ideas and concepts. You never know where inspiration will come from. This radio story introduced more questions than it has answered, but I can guarantee that a program of traditional strength training is closer to the mark for hand strength than a fancy chrome weight machine which does not even require the use of the hands. Yes, they are out there.

Check out the link above and it will lead you to some awesome concepts.

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe