Grip Strength

[Jimmy123]

Hi all,

I've read some suggestions re grip strength and thought of something simple...

If I stand there holding the heaviest dumbbells I've got whilst watching TV is this going to help my grip strength for exercises like deadlifts? I'd like to work on this.

Any body else do this kind of thing?

Thanks, hope this forum is ok for this.

 

[Goosey]

Great topic!

I've tried all manner of grip and forearm work over the years and although I feel it was all the exercises I've used contribute to my grip strength it is farmers walks that stand alone.

Using farmer's as a workout finisher has left my forearms and hands burning and aching to a point where I needed to hold my arms over my head for relief.

 

[Big Mick]

Anything will work.

The old Farmer Walk will train your grip and give you a cardio workout at the same time:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk7QeYngWuo]Farmers Walk, 3 Sets with 50 LBS Each Hand With Towels By Musclemania Pro Tuan Tran - YouTube[/ame]

Captains of crush grippers are also used for grip training, but might not translate to dead lift grip strength, but I am sure it would help, I have a set in my car, and I use them while driving to work when ever I feel like it and I remember.

Captains of Crush Hand Grippers - the gold standard of hand grippers from IronMind

 

[0ni]

Finger curls
Grab a loaded barbell with a curl grip, roll your fingers out then back in again to a fist and then curl your wrist up

You should be able to go pretty heavy on this exercise so don't dick around with the bar

 

[Jimmy123]

Thanks Mick, those towels are a good idea.

I've got adjustable dumbbells and the heaviest they go is about 22kg each so I can prob make them go harder with the towels.

 

[Sticky]

I can't close the captains of crush #1's and I can hold 350+ any day of the week.

I think those sort of implements are fairly well useless for "grip" strength.

 

[jj80]

They are useless, I can close the 2.5 but I can't hold on to 200kg for very long.

 

[0ni]

I can't close the captains of crush #1's and I can hold 350+ any day of the week.

I think those sort of implements are fairly well useless for "grip" strength.

The strongmen I've seen that recommend them all close it by pushing it against their leg and doing timed holds
A deadlift is a timed hold

 

[jj80]

I think their main flaw is that they mainly develop the pinky and ring finger.

We had them at work so I got ridiculously strong at them as a joke. Nearly got the 3. Nearly dropped 180kg the first time I deadlifted it and I did drop 200kg. I've heard from a few other 600lb+ deadlifters they can't close the 2.

Good for beers and screwing around with mates.

 

[Goosey]

The hardest thing I've done are chin-ups using a towel, fuck that hurts and tests grip.

I think there is a difference between closing a gripper and holding onto an object.

I think there is great value using grippers, especially when one is involved in a type of contact or combat sport.

 

[Goosey]

I think their main flaw is that they mainly develop the pinky and ring finger.

We had them at work so I got ridiculously strong at them as a joke. Nearly got the 3. Nearly dropped 180kg the first time I deadlifted it and I did drop 200kg. I've heard from a few other 600lb+ deadlifters they can't close the 2.

Good for beers and screwing around with mates.

If you go to Somewhere like gripboard.com and talk to those blokes you'll see they can also lift quite heavy.

 

[0ni]

>their main flaw is that they only develop the ring finger and pinky
So why not do timed holds with your first two fingers as well?

 

[jj80]

If you go to Somewhere like gripboard.com and talk to those blokes you'll see they can also lift quite heavy.

They also do a balanced grip work program, focussing on farmers, pinch grip etc... I was just saying buying a CoC set and getting good at closing them won't transfer to deadlifting. Really dont need to argue this as Sticky (and if you search around) and multiple 300kg+ deadlifters can't close the CoC 2. A friend of mine who benched 180 can't close the 2, and though I don't know his deadlift max he's a fucking monster.

>their main flaw is that they only develop the ring finger and pinky
So why not do timed holds with your first two fingers as well?

It's sort of awkward to reverse them but you can. I tried and found it sort of digs into your thumb at a painful point if it slips. I think a better solution would be a grip tool that had much longer handles so they were near parallel and hit fingers more equally... or some other home made device.

 

[Chisholm]

They also do a balanced grip work program, focussing on farmers, pinch grip etc... I was just saying buying a CoC set and getting good at closing them won't transfer to deadlifting. Really dont need to argue this as Sticky (and if you search around) and multiple 300kg+ deadlifters can't close the CoC 2. A friend of mine who benched 180 can't close the 2, and though I don't know his deadlift max he's a fucking monster.

Some authors have suggested grip strength is not necessarily directly transferable to different conditions or range of motion, like the example you give - squeezing closed a CoC and static holding onto a deadlift bar are completely different movements. One is a dynamic movement and one is static, occurring during quite different time frames, for example.

Personally, anecdotally and bro-science, I think direct grip work for PL/general strength is a waste of time (or rather that time could have been spent on something more useful).

For example my DL isn't huge by any means, but it's my relatively strong lift isn't limited by grip - it was for some time but caught up just in the process of dead-lifting, and general row/back movements never using straps. And I have tiny girly hands and naturally poor grip/static strength (nearly everyone beat me arm wrestling in high school etc).

 

[0ni]

That's just as logical as saying that a decent overhead press won't make you a better bencher because numerous big benchers are shit at overhead pressing

If you hypertrophy the muscles of your hand and forearm, it WILL increase your grip strength. You just need to practice gripping the bar as well. Just as hypertrophy of any muscle will transfer to any other lifts. If you have 17" forearms what do you think your grip strength will be like? Fucking awesome

I'm leaving it at that

 

[0ni]

And being able to hold onto a 200kg deadlift isn't evidence of anything
It's just 200kg

 

[Goosey]

That's just as logical as saying that a decent overhead press won't make you a better bencher because numerous big benchers are shit at overhead pressing

If you hypertrophy the muscles of your hand and forearm, it WILL increase your grip strength. You just need to practice gripping the bar as well. Just as hypertrophy of any muscle will transfer to any other lifts. If you have 17" forearms what do you think your grip strength will be like? Fucking awesome

I'm leaving it at that

Good answer.

As I said the act of closing something with the hand is different to maintaining a closed hand.

 

[Big Mick]

I believe the Captains of Crush grippers develop grip strength, I am sure it will assist in dead lifting to some degree. As mentioned before holding onto a bar and closing a gripper are two different actions.

So generally speaking you need to do the action you want to be good at, but you can do other things to assist and to develop a more rounded ability.

 

[Chisholm]

That's just as logical as saying that a decent overhead press won't make you a better bencher because numerous big benchers are shit at overhead pressing

I disagree on this, IMO the correlation is quite different - overhead press and bench press are rather similar movements, CoC and deadlifting are not. But I see what you are getting at and it's a good point.

If you hypertrophy the muscles of your hand and forearm, it WILL increase your grip strength. You just need to practice gripping the bar as well. Just as hypertrophy of any muscle will transfer to any other lifts. If you have 17" forearms what do you think your grip strength will be like? Fucking awesome

I agree, but my point is focusing time/energy on direct forearm work could be unnecessary? Surely someone who does their rowing movements and pulling without using straps and becomes a massive unit is going to develop 17" forearms in due process anyway?

This doesn't really prove/argue anything, if anything it could be used to argue against what I just suggested. But I'll share because I find it interesting: I've now been ~3months of Bulgarian style training with no direct heavy rowing/chin-up movements whatsoever, yet on DL/in general my grip seems as strong as ever.

 

[Big Mick]

I think their main flaw is that they mainly develop the pinky and ring finger.

I find this statement odd, as I find these two fingers are the only ones that don't really get trained by the grippers, it's more the middle finger and pointer that get trained.

Also keep in mind that your fingers do not have any muscles as such only tendons and connective tissue, the muscles are in your forearms, and training your grip will strengthen your forearms as well as the tendons and connective tissue if done right.