If the only time you care about your grip is during a handshake, you’re missing out. A bone-crushing grip can skyrocket your gains in the weight room.
That’s because forearm, wrist, and hand strength is essential to both lifting power and stamina, says BJ Gaddour, Men’s Health Fitness Director.
Here are 16 ways to build your grip so you can build more muscle all over.
Hanging from a bar sounds easy, but it’s one of the best ways to gauge and improve your grip, according to Dan John, strength coach, and author of Intervention.
Do it: Hang at arm’s length from a pullup bar, using an overhand grip that’s slightly beyond shoulder width.
Your goal: three 1-minute hangs. If you can’t hang for that long, work your way up in increments of 5 to 10 seconds.
Once you nail the two-arm hang, try this harder version. It requires holding on to the bar with one hand and a towel with the other. The hand on the bar must do the majority of the work.
Do it: Loop a towel over a pullup bar and hold both ends in one hand. Grab the bar with the other hand using an overhand grip.
Complete two 1-minute hangs (one with each hand on the towel). Rest as needed.
This version of the hang is ultra challenging because hand must hold all of your body weight. You’re also less stable.
“You can’t use your other hand to keep you from swaying, you need to use the muscles in your hand and forearm to clench the bar and reduce any movement,” says Gaddour.
Do it: Hang from a pullup bar using only one arm. You can hold your other arm out to the side for balance, or hold it against your torso.
Start with a 10-second hang. Add 10-second increments until you can perform a 1-minute hang on each arm.
The pullup and chinup are best known as back-building movements, but they’re also great grip builders. Your hands and forearms must support your body weight with each rep.
Do it: For a pullup, grab the bar with an overhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder width. For a chinup, grab the bar with an underhand grip.
For each rep, start in a dead hang and then pull your chest to the bar. Press your thighs together, brace your abs, and point your legs slightly in front of you to form a wide C. Maintain this rigid position throughout the entire movement.
Related: 10 Secrets to the Perfect Pullup
When you grip a towel or vertical handles, your hands and forearms must work harder to hold on than when you use a horizontal bar.
Do it: Loop two towels over a pullup bar and grab the ends in each hand so they’re about shoulder-width apart. Perform a chinup.
During this exercise, your hands and forearms must be strong enough to support the weight of your core. The inverted row is slightly easier on your mitts than a hang or a pullup because your feet are on the ground, which reduces the amount of load you need to lift.
Do it: Grab a low bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Pull your shoulder blades back and bend your elbows to pull your chest to the bar.
Pause, and then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
Performing the inverted row with your feet elevated shifts more of your body weight into your upper body, challenging your grip.
Related: The Ultimate Upper-Body Workout
Do it: Grab a low bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Rest your feet on a box, bench, or ball. Pull your shoulder blades back and bend your elbows to pull your chest to the bar. Pause, and then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
Unlike a regular biceps curl, the dumbbell can’t rest in your palm during the hammer version. Instead, you must tightly grab the weight in order to keep it from slipping during a rep.
Related: How to Sculpt Sleeve-Busting Muscle Like the Rock
Do it: Grab a pair of dumbbells and let them hang at arm’s length next to your sides with your palms facing your thighs.
Without moving your upper arms, bend your elbows and curl the dumbbells as close to your shoulders as you can. Pause, then slowly lower the weight.
This exercise directly targets your wrist flexors—the muscles that form the underside of your forearm. These assist your hand muscles in forming a tight fist and can mean the difference between a wimpy and a vise-like grip.
Do it: Grab a barbell with an underhand, shoulder-width grip. Kneel in front of a bench and place for forearms on the bench so your palms are facing up.
Allow your wrists to bend backward from the weight of the barbell. Curl your wrists upward by raising your palms toward your body. Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
Zeroing in on your wrist extensors—the muscles on the top of your forearm—helps to enhance the contractions in the muscles that curl your fingers.
Do it: Grab a barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Kneel in front of a bench and place your forearms on the bench so your palms are facing down.
Allow your wrists to bend forward from the weight of the barbell. Lift your wrists by raising the backs of your hands toward your body. Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
The larger the implement, the bigger the challenge to your grip. Holding the head of a 10 to 20 pound hex dumbbell with your fingers will challenge every arm muscle below your elbow.
Do it: Grab the top of a hex dumbbell with each hand. Hold the dumbbell for 20 to 60 seconds.
The farmer’s walk is an exercise that you can load up. John suggests trying to haul two dumbbells that equal at least half of your bodyweight.
The extra load means it’ll be brutal on your mitts, building serious strength. If you can walk for longer than 60 seconds, use a heavier weight.
Do it: Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells and let them hang naturally at arm’s length, next to your sides. Walk forward for as long as you can holding the dumbbells.
Nothing will test your grip quite as much as trying to keep two plates from slipping from your grasp. Since they slide against each other, you must squeeze your fingers and thumb together as hard as possible.
Related: 32 Weight Plate Exercises
Do it: Grab a pair of light-weight plates in your left hand. Hold the two plates together by pinching your fingers and thumb, and let them hang next to your side.
Without moving your upper arms, bend your elbows and curl the weight as close to your shoulder as you can. Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position. Do all of your reps on your left side before switching to your right.
For most barbell exercises, you normally hold the middle of the bar. In this exercise, however, you’ll grab one of the thicker ends of the bar with one hand.
The extra diameter forces your fingers and thumb further apart, making it harder to grip.
Do it: Most gyms have a landmine installed. Keep an eye out for something that resembles a baseball home plate with a metal tube attached to the top. You’ll secure one end of a barbell inside the tube. (No landmine? Wrap a towel around the end of a barbell and wedge it into a corner.)
Grab the thick end of the barbell in one hand. Bend at your hips and knees to lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Pull the bar to your upper abs by bending your elbow, pause, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
Want an explosive workout program that will blast away body fat? Try The Anarchy Workout From Men’s Health—one guy lost 18 pounds in just 6 weeks.
When you hold a kettlebell upside down, you must hold on as tight as possible so it doesn’t tip from side to side. The weight will shift with every rep, making it even more challenging to your grip.
Do it: Grab a kettlebell by the handle so the bottom of the bell is facing upward. Hold it next to your shoulder with your elbow bent. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
Press the weight upward until your arm is completely straight. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.
Placing your hands toward the ends of the bar during a deadlift challenges your wrist mobility and decreases your leverage. The combination makes it more difficult to hold on to the load than if your hands were just outside your thighs.
Do it: Bend at your hips and knees and grab a barbell with a grip that’s about twice shoulder width. Without allowing your lower back to round, pull your torso back and up, thrust your hips forward, and stand up with the barbell.
Squeeze your glutes as you perform the movement. Lower the back to the floor, keeping it as close to your body as possible.
Original article and pictures take www.menshealth.com site
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