Grip Strength Benchmarks for Men – How to Test and Build Yours

From deadlifts to pull-ups, your grip is often the first thing to give out. And while it’s easy to treat it as a low priority, it can quickly become the limiting factor when strength training. In workouts, that shows up in what you can hold onto, under load, and for how long. From heavy carries, to dead hangs on the bar, here’s how your grip strength numbers stack up.

While hand grip dynamometer scores offer a good snapshot, real-world grip strength is better reflected through loaded carries, holds and hangs. (Although if you would like to test your grip strength with a dynamometer, you can get them fairly cheaply.)

Use the following benchmarks as a rough guide to gauge your grip strength.

Dynamometer (hand grip strength meter)

According to topendsports.com, these are realistic handgrip strength standards for men:

• Average: 45-55 kg
• Intermediate: 55-60 kg
• Advanced: 60-70 kg
• Elite: 70+ kg

Farmer’s Carry – per hand for roughly 20-30 metres

Men's Health fitness director Andrew Tracey recommends the following numbers as a rule of thumb:

• Beginner: 30-40 kg
• Intermediate: 40-60 kg
• Advanced: 60-80 kg
• Elite: 80 kg+

Plate Pinch – per hand for 1 min with two bumper plates

• Beginner: 10-20 kg total
• Intermediate: 20-30 kg total
• Advanced: 30-40 kg total
• Elite: 40+ kg total

It's also important to note here that all plates are different sizes, and will affect how easy they are to hold.

Dead hang – bar hold

• Beginner: 45-60 secs
• Intermediate: 60-90 secs
• Advanced: 90-120 secs
• Elite: 120+ secs

Grip strength underpins almost everything you do in and out of the gym. When it’s lacking, it tends to show up quickly, whether that’s readjusting mid set or losing the bar when the working muscles could actually keep going. The most effective way to build it is to train your grip directly and frequently.

You can start by adding one loaded carry and one hanging movement to your sessions each week. For example, finish workouts with 2-3 sets of farmer’s carries over 30 metres and 2-3 sets of dead hangs, aiming to gradually increase load or time.

You can also make your existing lifts more grip-focused. According to Tracey, some of the lifters with the strongest grip strength resist the urge to reach for straps at the first sign of fatigue. 'Instead, they push their grip as far as it’ll go, only using assistance when it genuinely becomes the limiting factor,' he says. 'That’s the sweet spot. Ditch the straps for as long as you can, force your hands to adapt, and only bring them in when your grip starts capping progress elsewhere.'

So if you can, don't use straps, use a double overhand grip on deadlifts where possible, and use full range of motion in your lifts. Aside from that, rotating between heavier carries and longer duration holds will help develop both maximal strength and endurance. Over time, by consistently including moves that test your grip strength, you'll soon be exceeding the average numbers.