Grip Training Tips, Written By Kurtis Stadsvold
More often than not, grip strength is an afterthought. In the resistance exercise world we have a lot of products out there that actually take away from grip training. Now don’t get me wrong, straps, hooks, and other aids have their place in the gym as well as competition, but I think a lot more folks would benefit from taking deliberate steps to improving grip strength.
Tip #1 - WHAT are you training?
When we talk about grip strength, there are two main different type we refer to, crush and grip strength. We can further break those down into open and closed for both. What I hope to achieve in this post is to create understanding in WHAT you are training and more importantly, WHY and HOW.
The first thing to understand is WHAT you are trying to train. Crush grip uses tendons connected to the bone in the hand. These insertion end connections depend on the extensor and flexor muscles in the forearm to move your fingers. Pinch grip primarily uses the 4 muscles in the Thenar muscle group (the ones that control the thumb) and the flexor muscles in the forearm.
Tip #2 - The reason that we are going to train grip
The reason that we are going to train grip is twofold. The first reason is to create a strong grip to better facilitate your life in general. Whether you become the strong person that always has to open jars and cans or you perform daring rock climbing dynos, a strong grip will help you with general lifestyle problems we face everyday.
The second reason is actually to facilitate stronger lifts in general. One thing that is difficult to understand sometimes is why a stronger grip facilitates these seemingly non-related movements. Synergist muscles are those that don’t directly lift the loaded barbell, but instead assist through stabilization or some other means.
I make the argument that often times, grip muscles act as synergist muscles. On lifts like the deadlift, it is simple to understand. If you can’t keep a closed crush strength grip on the bar, you likely won’t complete the lift. In other movements, having a strong grip can help build relevant cues like getting tight for bench or squat.
If we are able to improve our grip strength, we can expect to be able to lift heavier loads. Expecting your grip to simply grow at the same rate that you are growing your strength is also not something that is logical. Instead it is my opinion that regular and hard grip training is something that can benefit almost all people that train.
Tip #3 - The easiest way
The easiest way to improve grip strength is to pick two modalities and to train them regularly. Typically I recommend grip training at least two times per week, alternating crush and pinch modalities. As with all training, overdoing training does not equal improvement. Be sure to train at a level appropriate and listen to your body.
Let’s start with one of the greatest and simplest crush grip tools of all time, the Rolling Thunder from Iron Mind. This is an open crush grip tool and involves the use of a loading pin and carabiner. The handle is 2 1/2″ and is not knurled for grip. It rotates freely from the frame and connection point and is a challenge to lift heavy loads with. To use the tool, you load the loading pin with weight, attach the Rolling Thunder with a carabiner, and perform single arm deadlifts. You can also use it with almost any cable machine if you have access to one. If you don’t have a loading pin, you can grab on from Rogue Fitness.
An easy way to use the Rolling thunder is to load to a weight that you can do with each hand about 3-5x at >RPE 9, and then cut the weight down ~10% for 2-3 sets of backoff sets aiming for 10-15 repetitions per hand. If you find that you can’t get above 10 reps on the backoff sets, don’t be afraid to come down a little more to facilitate your total training volume. Training this way causes you to train with high intensity with plenty of volume to promote good overall strength and grip endurance.
When it comes to pinch training I want to offer the Gripedo brand Hub tool or the Iron Mind Hub as an open pinch tool. There are other hubs available, but I enjoy the Gripedo because it doubles as a landmine attachment. To use it simply grab the hub above the lip while the mini loading pin is loaded. Pinch work will typically use less musculature than crush grip so significantly less weight will need to be loaded. Use the same training numbers as above. Perform a heavy set of 3-5 with a few backoff sets aiming for 10-15 reps per set.
This is just the first of several posts on grip training. Please keep in mind that the easiest way to begin training grip TODAY is simply to stop reversing, supinating, or mixed gripping the barbell on every lift.
Remember to keep your training Better, Awesome, and Badass!
Watch the video below for a video presentation of this information.
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