Grip strength: how to train your grip in the gym and at home

fitness trainer

“Grip development helps to make the hands strong and beautiful. To do this, you need to perform special exercises and properly build the training process. A strong grip helps to achieve better results in sports where you need to actively use the muscles of the hands. For example, powerlifting, arm wrestling, wrestling, boxing, rock climbing, tennis. In everyday life, a strong grip can protect you from injury and improve your performance.

Table des matières

Types of grip

Squeezing grip. This is the force with which you squeeze an object between your palm and fingers. To practice, use a rubber wrist or spring-loaded, adjustable-load extender. Compressive grip strength is important for a variety of tasks, such as lifting heavy objects, holding tools, or ensuring a secure grip on objects.

Retention grip. This is the strength at which you can hold an object in your hand for long periods of time with a certain amount of force without it falling out. To do this, use exercises with thick barbells, crossbars, and dumbbell handles. You can also use a wrist extender. This grip strength is important for various tasks such as holding objects for long periods of time, improving control over heavy objects. Make it a goal to grip the object and keep it in your hands as long as possible.

Snap Grip. This is a type of force in which you grip an object with your fingers. The pinch grip is used to grip and hold objects. To train it, do exercises with rimless barbell disks to hold the weight by using the strength of your fingers. You can also use exercises that require you to squeeze your fingers.

Why train your grip?

Improving athletic performance. A strong grip is a key element in many sports. It allows you to train with heavier weights, which increases the potential for muscle growth. A strong grip also comes in handy in combat sports. In boxing, it increases punching power; in wrestling, it improves your ability to make grabs and throws.

Injury prevention. A strong grip helps reduce the risk of injury in the hands and wrists. Strengthened muscles and tendons better protect joints and reduce the likelihood of injury in everyday activities or sports.

Improved functionality. A good grip helps in everyday life by making various tasks easier and more efficient. For example, a strong grip makes it easier to lift objects, carry heavy packages, open cans, and twist nuts and bolts.

Increased confidence. Improving your grip strength can increase your self-confidence. This can be reflected in your overall mood, behavior, and success in various aspects of life.

How do you train your grip strength?

Do exercises. We recommend using exercises with free weights, on exercise machines, with espandexes and with your own body weight. This allows you to work the muscles from different angles without letting them adapt to the load. Include a variety of flexion, extension, rotations, compression, and holds in your workout. Also refuse wrist straps when performing deadlifts, pull-ups and other exercises.

Don’t skip workouts. It is not worth training the grip at every training session, as the muscles of the hands and forearms work perfectly when performing other strength exercises. We recommend performing specialized grip exercises once a week. Experienced athletes can increase the number of sessions based on their goals and body condition.

Recover. Grip strength training should not be done frequently. Muscles, ligaments, and tendons should have time to rest. According to research, the optimal time for muscles to recover from a workout is 48 to 72 hours. The lighter the load, the shorter the rest and recovery period.

Gradually increase the load. If the body gets used to the load, progress slows down and then stops. To prevent this from happening, you need to make your workouts harder and provide regular training stress.

We recommend periodically making changes to the program: change the weight of weights and exercises, use different sports equipment, change the number of approaches and repetitions, reduce the rest time between approaches, increase the amplitude of movements and change the speed of exercises.

Divide the training process into periods. We recommend using the principle of periodization, where you will perform exercises for strength, muscle volume and endurance. For example, for the first month you can perform exercises on squeezing grip with the help of the strength method for 1-6 repetitions, and plucking and holding grip exercises for endurance for 60-90 seconds each. For the second month, do the opposite.

Exercises for grip training

Bending the hand with dumbbells

Technique

Sit on the bench so that it is between your legs. Slightly tilt the body forward and rest the forearms of your hands on the surface of the bench. The palms of your hands point toward the ceiling and hang in the air.
It is important that the forearms are pressed firmly against the bench. Note that during the exercise there should be no unnecessary movements in the elbows, shoulders and back.
On exhalation, bend the hands with dumbbells to yourself in a powerful movement without a jerk and fix them in the upper point for one second.
As you inhale, slowly unbend your hands, rolling the projectile to your fingertips.

Perform three to four approaches of 8-12 repetitions. Rest for one to two minutes between each approach.

Wrist extension with dumbbells

Technique

Sit on a bench so that it is between your legs. Slightly bend your body forward and rest your forearms on the surface of the bench. Palms hang off the bench and point toward the floor.
It is important that your forearms are firmly pressed against the bench. Note that during the exercise there should be no unnecessary movement in the elbows, shoulders and back.
On exhalation, with a powerful movement without a jerk, extend the hand with dumbbells upward, fixing in the upper point for one second.
As you inhale, slowly lower the hand with the projectile to the starting position.

Perform three to four approaches of 8-12 repetitions. Rest for one to two minutes between each approach.

Farmer’s walk

Technique

Take a dumbbell in each hand so that your fists face in different directions. You can use special handle extenders to complicate the exercise.
Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Bring your chest forward, and lower your shoulder blades down and keep them in this position throughout the exercise.
Breathe freely, deeply and rhythmically. Measure a distance of 10 meters and walk with dumbbells in your hands.

Perform three or four approaches. Rest between approaches for one to two minutes.

Holding the disk from the barbell with fingers

Technique

Stand up straight, feet shoulder width apart. Bring your chest forward, and lower your shoulder blades down and keep them in this position throughout the exercise.
Grab the barbell disk with the fingers of each hand so that your straight arms hang along your torso and hold the disk.
It is important to actively engage the muscles of your fingers, so use a projectile without rims and ribs.
Hold the projectile with your fingers for 30 seconds.
Fingers should tightly fix the disk from the barbell. Breathing is free, deep, rhythmic.

Perform three to four approaches. Rest between approaches for one to two minutes.

Plank on the fingers

Technique

Stand in a lying position in the classic plank on the palms. Keep the body torso straight. The neck, back and hips are on the same line. Legs together.
From the palm rest position go to the finger rest first with one hand, then with the second hand.
Distribute the load to all fingers. It is also important that the fingers do not curve in the opposite direction. This is necessary to avoid joint injuries.
Hold in this position for 30 seconds. Breathing is free, deep, rhythmic.
We strongly recommend starting the exercise with a variant of the plank standing on your knees to prepare your fingers for the load.

Perform three to four 30-second sets. Rest for one to two minutes between each approach.