GRIP STRENGTH: ATHLETES VS. THE AVERAGE JOE

In my last post on grip strength, I explained that hand size and hand span indicate grip strength power in a group of 12 Average Joe’s (the longer the finger span, the better the grip strength power), but can we replicate this same finding in a group of athletes?

ATHLETE GROUP

This time around, the group consists of 152 athletes. The majority of these athletes are rising high school seniors participating in the 2019 high school summer baseball showcase circuit. These players are scouted in mass by all 30 MLB clubs during the course of the summer, which makes them an interesting group to compare to the Average Joe’s from last time.

Each athlete used the manual Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer to squeeze two times in three different grip positions for a total of 12 squeezes at the first notch of the dynamometer. The three grip position were straight down, at 90 degrees, and straight up. Additionally, each participants hand length and hand span were measured.

*Keep in mind that these athletes used notch 1 of the dynamometer, whereas the Average Joe’s used Notch 2

CATEGORIZING ATHLETES BY HAND SIZE AND GRIP STRENGTH

For the Average Joe’s a k-means clustering was used to place the participants into three groups: Large Hand, Average Hand, and Small Hand – the same k-means clustering was done on the athletes to see how they compare.

It turns out, the athlete group was clustered with the same characteristics as the Average Joe’s – those with a larger hand span defined the large hand group, the large and average hand group had similar hand lengths, and the small hand group had shorter lengths and spans.

Typically, athletes have larger hands than the average human, which is exactly what we find here. Even though the two groups were clustered by the same characteristics, the athlete group’s hands are about 1 inch larger than the Average Joe’s.

The grip strength power results were similar as well, the larger the hand, the better the grip strength power. Because the athletes have hands that are about 1 inch larger than the Average Joe’s, their grip strength reflected higher power.

The athlete group produced significantly more grip strength, even though they were only on notch 1 of the dynamometer (notch 1 typically gives lower grip strength readings since it is more difficult to grasp for those with larger hands). If the athletes used notch 2, we might see them produce even higher grip strength numbers.

Large Hand Group:

• Hand Length – Similar to, or slightly longer than the average hand group.

• Hand Span – Noticeably larger hand span than the average hand group.

• Grip Strength – Almost 20 more pounds of grip strength power than the average hand group.

Average Hand Group:

• Hand Length – Similar to, or slightly shorter than the large hand group.

• Hand Span – Noticeably shorter than the large hand group.

• Grip Strength - Displays only 4 more pounds of grip strength than the small hand group.

Small Hand Group:

• Hand Length – Shorter hand length than both large and average group.

• Hand Span – Shorter hand span than both large and average group.

• Grip Strength – Just 4 pounds less grip strength power than the average hand group.

DOES GRIP STRENGTH MATTER IN BASEBALL?

This is a tricky question because multiple studies have been done attempting to correlate grip strength to on-field performance, but the results are mixed. With that said, grip strength is important at the individual level to test for overall wellness, readiness, or fatigue. Readiness assessments may be a valuable practice for coaches to understand how their athlete’s bodies are feeling, and help them plan that athletes pregame routine to best prepare them for game-time.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

While the difference in population of the Average Joe’s vs. the Athletes is not ideal, general conclusions can be drawn from the information presented.

1. Athlete’s hands are larger on average than the average person The data confirmed that the athletes hand size is one inch larger on average than the Average Joe’s. Hand size may be a point of emphasis when considering athletic ability.
   

2. The larger the hand, the better the grip strength power Bigger hands produce greater grip strengths. This further confirms that hand size may be a point of emphasis when considering athletic ability.
   

3. Grip strength can be used as an upper body readiness assessment In a team setting, if you have a baseline grip strength on each one of your athletes you can identify deviations from normal grip strength. This can start to provide context into how your athletes are feeling and allow you to find out why they may be exerting more or less grip strength power. Athletes who feel good, play good. So, if grip strength is off, it’s important to understand why.