A test of hand grip strength is important for assessing athletes from many sports. Hand Grip strength testing is also often used as a general test of body strength. Only a small sample of athlete results are available at this time. See out table of Grip Strength Norms for a wide range of ages, which can be used to compare hand grip test results.
Ice Hockey
- At the 2015 NHL Combine, the best score on the grip strength test was 180 lbs (81.6 kg), achieved by Luke Opilka and Samuel Dove-McFalls on their left hands.
- The best score at the 2012 NHL scouting combine for right hand grip was 167 lbs (75.8 kg) by Morgan Rielly of Moose Jaw (WHL). The average score from the combine was 128 lbs (58 kg) (see the top 2012 NHL combine results)
- The best score at the 2011 NHL scouting combine for right hand grip was 177 lbs (80.3 kg) by Joseph Morrow of the Portland Winterhawks (WHL) (see 2011 NHL combine results)
- The average right-hand grip strength recorded at the NHL entry draft scouting combine over the last few years has been 127.6 lbs / 57.9 kg (2009), 129.7 lbs / 58.8 kg (2010) and 125.2 lbs / 56.8 kg (2011). (see NHL combine results summary)
Aussie Rules Football
- Brett Deledio, AFL footballer from Richmond, scored 67 kg on his grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Athletics
- Sean Wroe, Australian Olympic 400m sprinter, scored 49 kg on his grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Jockey / Horse Racing
- Michael Rodd, Melbourne Cup winning jockey, scored 45 kg on his grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Triathlon
- Erin Densham, Olympic Triathlete, scored 27 kg on her grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Rowing
- Drew Ginn, Australian Olympic rower, scored 52 kg on his grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Cycling
- Peta Mullens, Australian cyclist, scored 29 kg on her grip strength test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
Forces Standards
- NSW (Australia) assessment test requires recruits to complete a handgrip exam (30kg each hand), While Victorian Police recruits require a handgrip score of at least 30kg for both male and female recruits (average of left and right hands).
Related Pages
- Procedure for Grip Strength testing. Also video example of the Handgrip Strength Test
- Grip Strength Norms for a wide range of ages.
- Hand Grip Strength Testing FAQs
- Other fitness test results
- About handgrip dynamometer equipment
- Grip Strength Dynamometers for sale
- grip strength trainers for sale online
- Calibrating Handgrip Dynamometers
Old Comments
Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.
- Jonathan guffey (2013)
Im 38 years old, male, 200 pounds my back is hurt so they sent me to physical theropy the doctors had me squeese 3 times with each hand im right handed but I squeezed a 189 pounds with my left and 186 pounds with my right. Is that a record? - Ethan Barnes jonathan guffey (2016)
I squeezed 289. - Rich May jonathan guffey (2015)
Nope -- I've got a patient who squeezed 285 lbs. I have it on video :) - Aputsiaq (2014)
I'm 26 years old, male, 230 Pounds, I lift weights every day and do weightlifting and strongman competitions. I squeezed 405 Pounds with my right hand. What is the record? - Chris Aputsiaq (2018)
405? How did you measure this? Hand grip dynamometer? Did you close the #4 Captains of Crush? Im going to go ahead and say that you didnt actually do this. The last person to ever have crush grip like that in one hand was Magnus Samuelson... - Rich May Aputsiaq (2015)
Do you have this on video? I'd love to see it! - Μικε (2018)
I'm 75 years old, 1.5m tall and weigh 75kg. I score 400kg on each hand. 200 of those are just thumb and index finger. - Raefon (2013)
Yes and i'm not an athlete either just keep fit and tested 85Kg on my right dominant hand and 82 on my Left hand - American (2020)
I got 2000kg on the gripper and I don't even have all my fingers. Lmao. It is amazing to read about all the super heroes in this discussion. 😂😂😂😂 - Michael Fortunato American (2020)
2000 grams, you meant to say. - Bob (2016)
The reason for such varied scores between people aside from grip strength is inaccurate calibration of the unit to suit ones biomechanical advantage. For example I can score anywhere from 50-100kg depending on how wide the grip is set. I'd imagine there is no real standard in calibration used to suit hand size. ie. All people with fingers and palms of X length must have unit in adjustment to X width to keep results accurate. I know 7ft+ NBA players with enormous hands are able to close grippers that strongmen competitors can't due simply to the leverage advantage enormous hands provide. They are not inherently stronger in terms of grip (probably infact weaker if the gripper were scaled up to match hand size) - Cheung Ho Kan Howard (2019)
Am I a weak man? I am a Hong Kong people. The grip strengths for my left and right hands are 55kg and 55.5kg respectively. - Aiden Bird (2018)
Wow that's surprising. I 20, went to RBWH since late 2017- present 2018 because I injured my wrist in 2016, they did the grip strength test in the Orthopaedic Clinic many different times and the highest I got was 86kg on my right hand and 77kg in the left hand. I hadn't worked out for about a year and a half either. I am 190cm Tall and weigh between 78-80kg. The physio woman that tested me said it was the strongest they had ever seen at the hospital, so I was extremely surprised. It would be interesting to find out why some of us seem to naturally have very strong grip even without being bulky. - Tanzid Choudhury (2018)
What is the Norm data for cricketers or athlete groups - Rob Admin Tanzid Choudhury (2018)
I don't have any norm data for specific athlete groups, but there are some results listed here https://www.topendsports.co... - マイケル (2017)
Im 16 got 110kg with my right hand 98 with my left and i dont train - Mangopop (2015)
So an Olympic athlete would fail to get into the victorian police force on accounts of his hand grip strength!? - Jared Clarke (2015)
I'm a twelve year old male, recovering from a broken hand with my right got 10 kg (The one I broke) and 30 with my left non-dominant hand-these averages seem a little low. I'm not at all a sporty person so these results surprise me. - Mike Burrows (2015)
I recently underwent carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel surgery with transposition of the ulna nerve and had to attend physio. Satisfied with a great recovery my physio made me take this test and to his amazement I scored 179.5kg on my right and 176kg on my left then 181kg on my right and 176.5kg on my second attempt. He then ran off saying this was the highest he had ever seen and he couldn't get anywhere close with two hands. I ended up with a crowd of physios around me to do a third but slightly weeker resulting test and had sore hands after. Apparently this is relative to leg strength so I was told, and more than double that of the average male athlete. I'm a sizeable fella that has always done physical work in building and mechanics and boxed for 20 years but now I am 42 years old and in my worst fitness ever but but maybe not totally over the hill after all. - Julsmantx (2014)
I haven't worked out in years, and I'm getting 108kg with right hand, and 105kg with left. - Michael Fortunato julsmantx (2020)
You're measuring in pounds. - Danni Morgan (2014)
These do seem low, quite shocked with my results compared to these. Im a 17 year old, female, bodyweight 70kg and I scored 45.6KG on the test? what the hell - Mirimon (2014)
these do indeed seem low.. were these tested with a myometer? I have regularly, for the last 18 years, maxed the meters we have out both in crushing and finger tensions..(ours caps at 300 lbs.)... though, I also regularly do finger curls when sitting about in the field (military) using water jugs and ammo cans, etc (about 40 lbs each, I usually do reps holding three on a finger). Dexterity is vital to me, often being found clinging to a rock face, climbing up the sides of walls and buildings....while I have noticed a slight reduction in reflexive speed, working with my hands is required and essential. - Larry Sabourin (2013)
These numbers for pro-athletes does seem rather low, I used to work out to stay in shape and to help me do my job better (deep-sea commercial diver) and the dive physician used to do these grip test during my annual physicals and I would get 247 lbs with my dominant right hand and 240 lbs with my left hand. I'm 5'7" and was 175lbs. I was in my mid 30's at the time. - These "records" seem very low. As someone else commented, I'm not a "super athlete" by any means. I do lift, but consider my grip to be a weak point. I'm not a big guy either, only 175. But I tested at 150 with my strong hand. I have a hard time believing that I'm stronger than all those athletes. (from Aaron, Nov 2011)
- I am an average non athletic person about 5'8" 175 lbs (not all muscle) I scored a little over 63 kilos on my weak hand. (May 2011)