Grip Exercises
Training your grip is important. It will help improve your lifts, especially on the pulling exercises like the deadlift. If you've ever had to lift odd objects outside the gym like a fridge, you'll know how much grip strength can help.
There are three types of grip strength: crush grip, support grip, and pinch grip. The forearms, biceps, hands, and fingers all play a role in developing a better grip.
The Crush Grip: Crush grip is the grip between your fingers and your palm. For example when you're shaking hands.
The Pinch Grip: Pinch grip is the grip between your fingers, or finger and your thumb.
The Support Grip: Support grip is the ability to maintain a hold on something for a while. For example, carrying
Crush Grip
Squeezing a Ball: Hold a tennis ball or stress ball in your hand with your four fingers and not your thumb. Squeeze the ball with your fingers as hard as you can, hold and release. This exercise will need to be done with high reps.
Hand grippers: You can training your crush grip strength with spring-loaded grip trainer. One of the top brands for these is IronMind Captains of Crush. You can use both hands at the same time or one at a time.
Hold the squeeze for two to three seconds and then release. Do three sets of ten reps per hand.
Pinch Grip
Plate Pinch: While standing, grab a plate with your fingers outside of the plate and your thumb on the inside. Hold it as long as you can. You can either do one arm at a time or both together. As you progress, you can use a heavier plate, or add two plates to make it thicker and harder to grip.
Pinch Grip Transfer: While standing, grab a plate with your left and hand and with your fingers outside of the plate and your thumb on the inside. Raise the plate so it's out in front of your chest and pass it to your right hand, grabbing it with the same grip you used. Lower it to your side. Repeat by transferring to from your right hand to your left hand.
Work both sides equally.
Support Grip
Barbell Holds: This is my favorite grip exercise to improve your grip for the deadlift. Either do it off safety bars in Barack that's set just a bit lower than when the arms are hanging straight down, or deadlift the bar off the floor. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip with your hands just outside of your body. Simply hold the bar for as long as you can. I like to aim for 30 seconds before I increase the weight. Keep your core braced and keep your shoulders back. Don't let your upper back round over.
Hang from pull up bar: As the title suggests, you hang onto a bar for as long as you can. As well as increasing the time you hold it, you can also use Fatgripz to make the bar thicker and so harder to hold on too. It can also be done one arm at a time.
Farmers Walk: This exercise is done by holding farmer handles and walking with it. I have any article that goes into detail about how to do it.
There are three types of grip strength: crush grip, support grip, and pinch grip. The forearms, biceps, hands, and fingers all play a role in developing a better grip.
The Crush Grip: Crush grip is the grip between your fingers and your palm. For example when you're shaking hands.
The Pinch Grip: Pinch grip is the grip between your fingers, or finger and your thumb.
The Support Grip: Support grip is the ability to maintain a hold on something for a while. For example, carrying
Crush Grip
Squeezing a Ball: Hold a tennis ball or stress ball in your hand with your four fingers and not your thumb. Squeeze the ball with your fingers as hard as you can, hold and release. This exercise will need to be done with high reps.
Hand grippers: You can training your crush grip strength with spring-loaded grip trainer. One of the top brands for these is IronMind Captains of Crush. You can use both hands at the same time or one at a time.
Hold the squeeze for two to three seconds and then release. Do three sets of ten reps per hand.
Pinch Grip
Plate Pinch: While standing, grab a plate with your fingers outside of the plate and your thumb on the inside. Hold it as long as you can. You can either do one arm at a time or both together. As you progress, you can use a heavier plate, or add two plates to make it thicker and harder to grip.
Pinch Grip Transfer: While standing, grab a plate with your left and hand and with your fingers outside of the plate and your thumb on the inside. Raise the plate so it's out in front of your chest and pass it to your right hand, grabbing it with the same grip you used. Lower it to your side. Repeat by transferring to from your right hand to your left hand.
Work both sides equally.
Support Grip
Barbell Holds: This is my favorite grip exercise to improve your grip for the deadlift. Either do it off safety bars in Barack that's set just a bit lower than when the arms are hanging straight down, or deadlift the bar off the floor. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip with your hands just outside of your body. Simply hold the bar for as long as you can. I like to aim for 30 seconds before I increase the weight. Keep your core braced and keep your shoulders back. Don't let your upper back round over.
Hang from pull up bar: As the title suggests, you hang onto a bar for as long as you can. As well as increasing the time you hold it, you can also use Fatgripz to make the bar thicker and so harder to hold on too. It can also be done one arm at a time.
Farmers Walk: This exercise is done by holding farmer handles and walking with it. I have any article that goes into detail about how to do it.