Getting to Grips with Training your Grip

Do you frequently plateau on exercises like dead lifts and rows? Can’t get the “hang” of pull-ups? Do your hands get tired on those cozy nights in alone? Go on, be honest.

It’s really not surprising. One of the most neglected and unappreciated areas of development these days is grip training. Well what’s the point, right? Your forearms get worked during all the regular movements, don’t they! Don’t they?

Yes, to a point. Sure, compound movements like dead lifts will work your forearms to an extent, but there’s a limit to where indirect training can take you in this area. You’d be surprised how much you are limiting all your main lifts, simply because of your wimpy gripping abilities.

Remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link, so even if the rest of you can move 500lbs, if you can only hold onto 200lbs before your hands give out, you sure as hell ain't moving any more than that without a mechanical aid like lifting straps.

Grip strength is unlike training for overall size where compound movements are the king, and its unlike normal strength training in that you don’t have to use complicated periodization to work up to eventual PRs. What it does require is perseverance, and attention to detail.

Practically, all it takes is some extra time and effort in the gym, a little patience, and application of the general training rules that apply to everything else:

1 – Progressive Overload.
2 – Adequate Rest.
3 – Good Form.

That’s it.

Doesn’t sound too complicated, right? Well it isn’t, but there’s a big difference between “simple” and “easy”. Trust me. Grip training may be simple to understand, but it’ll take just as much concentration and dedication as every other part of your program. You get out what you put in.

Now it’s time to look at those details a little more closely.

Application

There are really two ways you can go about this. Either put in a whole day dedicated to grip training, or spread it out through the week. Either way is good, the only way you’ll be able to figure out what works the best for your program set up is to experiment.

There are many different aspects to a complete grip training regime, and each is equally important as the others (weakest link thing, remember?). Here’s a quick run down:

Crushing Grip – How strong is your force application?
Static Grip – How long can you sustain this force?
Pinch Grip – How strong is your thumb on its own?
Wrist Strength – Can you stabilize your hand through all of this?
Finger Strength – Without them, holding things is tricky, right?

To incorporate all these elements, I’ve included some basic exercises for you to try, as well as a brief description of each training type. There are other areas such as extensor training which are also very important, but for the sake of keeping this article free of a hundred different tangents, I haven’t included them here.

If you opt for putting in a day solely for this type of training, id suggest leaving a few minutes rest between each type of grip training as you move through the session. Since you are focusing on one aspect of your body, it can get fatigued easily if sub-optimal recovery is used.