How much grip strength a person has is typically measured by how much force they can produce with their thumb and fingers. This kind of strength is important for various activities, including weightlifting, playing tennis, playing an instrument and even typing. Generally, grip strength is determined by the size of the muscles in the fingers and the force they can generate when contracted.
Having said that, the main focus of our article will be grip strength for weightlifters as we discuss how to improve grip strength and how that can lead to better results and a better performance in the gym.
Why Improving Grip Strength Matters?
If you’ve been lifting weights for a while, you might have noticed that sometimes, when doing movements such as the deadlift, farmer’s carry, or even rows, it’s not your back that’s unable to hold more weight but rather your hands. This typically results in the barbell or dumbbell slipping from your fingers and putting extra strain on the wrist area. To prevent that from happening, many athletes tend to use lifting grips like the WBCM lifting grips, which minimize the need for raw grip strength and enable you to lift heavier weights than what your grip might typically allow.
Of course, if you’re just a regular gym goer and you’re simply looking to put on some muscles, this is a fantastic way to solve the problem of lack of grip strength. However, if you’re interested in improving your lifting performance, then you have to consider what you can do to improve while still following your regular training program. In the following paragraphs, we will help you do just that.
5 Exercises For Improving Grip Strength
Of course, all the staple gym exercises, such as the pull-up, deadlift, and row, can help with improving your grip strength, but they’re not targeting those muscles specifically. And so, the next movements we’re going to discuss will actually focus on targetted training for your grip and how it can be done.
#1. Do Reps on the Hand Grip Trainer
Get a hand grip trainer and adjust it to the resistance setting that you feel is challenging for you. Then squeeze the grip as far as you can and relax. Repeat 10-20 times for 3 to 4 sets. You can do this exercise several times a week, when watching a TV show at night, or just when you’re relaxing on the couch.
#2. Hanging from a Bar
Hanging from a bar is a great way to train the grip while also stretching out the spine and working on your back mobility. To do it, simply place your hands around a bar and lift your legs so that your weight is only held by your upper body. Start slowly – hanging for 20 or 30 seconds and then gradually increase the time. Moreover, avoid using door frames or other less secure objects to perform this exercise, as you risk falling and getting injured.
#3. Wring a Towel
Take a clean hand towel and hold one of its ends in each hand. Start twisting the towel in opposite directions, as if you’re trying to wring water out of it – reverse directions and then repeat. Do this for several minutes, rest, and then start again. Gradually, you can increase the amount of turns you do – this is a great exercise to perform at home while you’re watching a YouTube video or some Netflix series.
#4. Fingertip Push-Ups
One way to tackle a two-in-one exercise is by performing fingertip push-ups. That way, you’re challenging the grip muscle but also working on your all-around upper body strength. If you struggle with doing the regular push-up with the hands beneath the shoulders and the legs lifted on your toes, you can do a kneeling push-up – basically placing the knees on the ground and just moving the hands up and down.
#5. Pinch Plates
This exercise is focused on forearm engagement – for it, you have to hold the weight using only the strength of your fingers. To perform it, you can take one or two plates depending on the strength you have and the idea is to try and generate as much power as you can with all of your fingers.
In Conclusion
Working and improving your grip strength can greatly benefit your weightlifting performance. Along with that, it’s extremely beneficial for daily activities as well, as the power we generate with our fingers is used for many day-to-day movements – from opening jars to even playing instruments.
Hopefully, with the help of the advice in our article, you’re able to start working on your grip strength and see improvements over time – just remember, it’s enough to do these exercises two to three times per week to notice a difference, you shouldn’t do them every day as you risk overstimulating the muscles and causing damage.
Beth is Cloudmineinc’s senior health editor and a certified personal trainer. She has over 10 years experience as a science journalist and is the author of two books. She deadlifts over 315 lbs.