Ways to increase grip strength
As this is a recurring issue for me in performing deadlifts to my maximum potential, I offer several techniques to strengthen one’s grip.
Hand grippers – with progressive increases in resistance. My gripper sits in my vehicle – great exercise for the long highway stretches.
Hanging from pull-up bar as long as possible – this exercise taught me that I will never be the stunt double in a cliffhanger movie scene
Farmer’s walk – Walking while holding heavy dumbbells in each hand
Plate gripping – holding a heavy weight plate as long as possible
This is certainly not a comprehensive list of grip-strengthening exercises. There are several other techniques to target forearm and grip strength. I particularly like these exercises, as they are more practical, real-life techniques, instead of artificial gym-based maneuvers. Any other ideas?
An alternative to fretting about grip strength is to use wrist straps, thereby taking the grip strength of the hands out of the picture. I’m really more focused on overall strength, so I haven’t been interested in this option. I’m not willing to use a “cheat” to get by a basic weakness of mine – I’m going to correct that weakness.
April 8, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Farmer’s walks (Farmers’ walk?) is a great exercise.
One thing I noticed is that grip training is pretty specific. Pinching exercises (like the plate grips) will have less impact on your DL holding potential than holding exercises (Farmer’s walk, hang). Of course, I noticed this in the other direction, where my grip improvements from DL work didn’t help in rock climbing, where the pinching was needed.