Forearm weakness can limit an athlete's strength during many exercises. It may seem from the outside when an athlete drops a barbell that this was due to weak hands. In fact, this is far from the case.
According to modern doctors, a large area of the cerebral cortex is responsible for the activity of the hands. This means that thanks to intensive training Using the muscles of the hands can increase the energy tone of the brain.
Hand grip strength can be increased up to 8% by training the hand. At the same time, a weakened forearm can “demoralize” the psyche. Training to the point of exhaustion will also not be beneficial.
It turns out that weak muscles Forearms will not allow a bodybuilder to express himself 100% during basic training.
Regular forearm training, which is carried out consciously, will help correct the situation. You need to work on them just as much as you do on your arms. Having figured out how to increase your grip strength, you can begin training.
The anatomical structure of the forearm is complex. This should be taken into account when drawing up individual program training. Volume is important for a bodybuilder muscle mass.
By training his strength, he will be able to build muscle. Moreover, in a lesson you should limit yourself to 1 or 2 exercises. Otherwise, it will already be endurance training.
For a short but intense physical activity fast muscle fibers with high growth potential are developed. The ratio between slow fibers and fast fibers can be represented by the proportion: 50:50.
Therefore, the complex should include both work on the grip and isometric exercises. When you move on to holding heavier weights, make sure you take plenty of time to rest. It is necessary that the muscles have time to recover between workouts.
Everything an athlete needs to know
Many people associate grip strength training with performing an exercise called the “Compressive Grip.” Try to imagine that you have come up to say hello to a young man whose companion you really like. You squeeze the bastard’s palm forcefully, trying to flatten it. Strong grip allows you to hold it confidently sports equipment.
Exercises with a wrist expander help develop grip strength. The Hammer Gripper allows you to train two arms at the same time. You adjust the load to suit you; to increase it, you will need to add weight.
Finger grip
With the help of a finger grip, a person manages to hold objects in his fingers. What matters is how involved you are in the process. thumb. It needs to be developed; it is because of it that the athlete weakens his grip. It also prevents the use of your forearms. Static or isometric exercises help develop your thumbs.
To train finger strength, you can use a simple technique that boils down to lifting weights. Take 2 five-kilogram pancakes with your fingers and lift them above the floor surface. Your task is to hold the weight for some time.
Power grip
An athlete who knows this technique will be able to carry sports equipment weighing 45 kg across the hall to a free bench without any problems. When the power grip is not trained, the task becomes impossible. Include the following exercises in your training program:
"Farmer's Walk" Take 2 heavy dumbbells in your hands and, slowly, walk around the entire gym with them, reach the door and come back.
Strength grip training at home
Take a bucket and fill it up to the middle with clay or sand. Wrap the handle of the bucket with a rag. Holding the ends with pliers, lift the bucket in one hand.
Wrist Strength Training
If you don’t train your wrists, you shouldn’t be surprised later that they fail when lifting weights. Flexions performed with a reverse or forward grip will help strengthen the muscles. The classic technique involves bending your elbows, with your forearms placed on your hips or on a bench.
A more effective result can be obtained by bending your wrists with your arms straight. This exercise allows you to engage the forearm flexors and extensors.
Comprehensive program
The forearm grip needs to be trained like other parts of the body. This is true in terms of number of sets with repetitions of exercises, as well as intensity with training frequency and rest time.
However, the sensations will be completely different. When training the forearm, the athlete does not feel pain or fatigue. The main thing is not to overdo it.
When the intensity in the program is set to 80% of a single maximum, this means for you that you need to perform 5 to 8 repetitions with a certain weight. As for static exercises, keep the weight to 10 counts, this will correspond to 100%.
Photo of grip strength
MENSBY
4.7
How to tear three decks of cards at the same time? Muscle training to increase grip strength.
Sometimes opportunities human body boggles the mind. You can still somehow understand the security forces, because they, while carrying out various exercises, try to use as much muscle mass as possible to obtain maximum results. But how can you, say, tear 3 decks of cards at once?
In this case, you have to use mainly the muscles of the forearms, and they, as a rule, are small and weak. Okay – 2 decks. Well, at least one... Okay, let's do something simpler: bend a horseshoe with one hand. But people bend!
Charles Van Sittart several decades ago he performed these tricks and a bunch of others, and some records have not yet been broken. For example, the same tearing of three decks of cards at the same time or tearing of a tennis ball (!).
Russian hero Ivan Zaikin at the beginning of the twentieth century, anyone could easily tie a tie made of thick strip steel.
Alexander Zass (Samson) He constantly trained with chains and was able to tear them as if they were made of wax. (Zass tendon exercises)
Moreover, all these strength numbers become even more amazing if you understand the structure of the hands and forearms. All the muscles in them are small, with very long tendons, which in itself does not at all increase their strength, but, on the contrary, reduces it. There are only three main functions: flexion at the wrist, extension, clench of the fingers (also unclenching them, but that doesn’t count). But the opportunities that these three functions give us are very diverse.
Let's look at everything in order, but first let's digress a little and try to understand how to train muscles with various types loads.
The vast majority of recommended exercises for pumping up muscle mass are based on dynamic loads. That is, during the exercise, the working muscles either contract or stretch, resisting the weight of the load or gravity. Thus, the function of lifting the weight or lowering it under control is trained. With this type of load, the muscle tenses immediately with maximum (usually) force, maintaining a constant length throughout the entire set. This develops the ability to hold the weight in one position and perform actions with the weight that do not require movement (for example, holding a huge box of donuts and Coca-Cola J in front of you...).But now we return to the original topic and, finally, try to understand how we can develop immensely strong and functional hands.
The grip is static.
If we pull heavy weight(let's say we do deadlift, pulling on a block, etc.) or hanging on a crossbar, then we use our hands as hooks. The weight has to be held with only four fingers, and the thumb has no use. In this grip, the forearm muscles work only statically.Exercises. The most effective exercise to develop a static grip is the so-called “farmer's walk”. You take a heavy dumbbell in each hand and walk a certain distance with them. From 5 meters onwards. You can hold them while standing still, but this is more tiring for the psyche.
The grip is dynamic.
The entire range of actions, from shaking hands to wringing out a T-shirt soaked in sweat from training, can be classified as dynamic grip. Usually four fingers take the force, and the thumb protects against the object slipping or falling out of the hands.Exercises. In this regard, nothing can be better than the good old hand expander. One of its best variants is called “Captain of Crush”. It simply looks like two handles connected by a steel spring. Highest efficiency Such a simple design has stood the test of time. There are also exercise machines with adjustable loads that use both hands at once. Example: Hammer Gripper. And, of course, don’t forget about a simple rubber “ring” or ball for tennis. Although they do not have such loud and beautiful names, they can easily give odds to famous simulators...
Finger grip.
Holding a glass of water or any other object of sufficiently large diameter or size with your hand is a finger grip. In most cases it is only static. We use this grip when the shape of the object does not allow it to be pressed against the palm with four fingers, so the thumb has to take the lion's share of the load.Exercises. The most famous and probably the most effective exercise is holding a plate off the barbell with your fingers. Choose a heavy pancake, place it on its edge, grab the top edge tightly and lift it low above the floor. Hold for approximately 30-60 seconds. When you can hold it for a longer time, then it’s time to take a larger and heavier pancake...
There are other techniques for developing a finger grip, but they, as a rule, require additional equipment (homemade), and are in no way superior in effectiveness to the method of holding a pancake mentioned above.
Wrist strength. Dynamics.
Our wrists are very fragile joints. And this additional reason to their conscious strengthening. At the same time, the development of the dynamic functions of the forearm will lead to its growth, and with large muscles it is much easier to become strong than with small ones... Moreover, along with muscle growth, tendons, ligaments are strengthened and even bone strength increases. Not a bad prospect for a weak joint, right? Exercises. It’s easy to guess that the most effective movements for developing the wrist flexor-extensor muscles are these same flexions and extensions with weights in the hands. Moreover, if in flexions (lifting the barbell with your hands, palms facing you) only 4 fingers work, and even then not very much, with extensions (lifting the barbell with your hands, palms away from you) the situation is completely different. The exercise uses the thumb as much as possible, and the other 4 insure the barbell from falling out. This feature allows you to very successfully develop both wrist extensors and finger grip strength!
Usually starting position in these exercises is the position of the forearms lying on the bench so that only the hands hang over the edge. But there may also be variations, such as bending your wrists behind your back or extending them in front of you with your arms vertical. No one can tell you whether this or that type of exercise will work for you. You yourself must try, think, “try on” the movement and make your choice.
Wrist strength. Isometrics.
But this is vital for bodybuilders, and indeed for everyone who develops their body. In many cases, the “purity” of performing exercises for other parts of the body depends on the level of development of this function. When we lift the barbell for the biceps, we need the “forearm-hand” line not to break until the end of the set, so that the wrist remains in the position in which it was in the first second of the approach. This is isometrics.Exercises. Take the position as when bending or extending your wrists (with your forearms resting on the bench), keep your hands horizontal. Let your partner help you grab the barbell, which you should hold in one position for 15 to 45 seconds.
You can also hold a long, heavy stick at one end, trying to keep it parallel to the ground, or come up with some exercises of your own to develop static wrist strength.
We combine it into a complex.
Well, we have reached the most desired part - practice. But we can’t just throw everything together and perform it several times a week, because doing each new exercise will significantly reduce the results in subsequent movements. This means that you will have to break down your wrist training into parts and add them at the end of each workout as part of your split. Here are a few simple rules that will help you create the right training system:You can train: isometrics and wrist dynamics at the end of arm training or after bench presses;
Static grip after heavy back rows, deadlifts or pull-ups;
Dynamic and finger grips after any workout pulling muscles.
Not advisable: do something for your hands if you are scheduled to train pulling muscles or perform deadlifts the next day.
Let’s assume that the training follows a simple “pressing-pulling-legs” scheme. This means that a specific set for training the hands should look something like this:
Day 1.
Main muscles: chest, deltoids, triceps
Additionally: we don’t do anything, because the next day we will need functional forearms.
Day 2.
Main muscles: broadest backs, biceps
Additionally:
Exercise function reps or time sets note finger grip
holding weights off the bar
30-40 sec
3
the weight must be chosen so that by the end of the repetition it will fall out of your hands
wrist isometry
holding hands horizontally with a barbell in support with forearms on the bench
15-25 sec
2 direct grip and 2 reverse
Same
dynamic grip
squeezing the wrist expander
20-50 times
2
depending on the elasticity of the expander*
* a wrist expander must be selected that you can squeeze no more than 20-25 times, otherwise you will be training mainly not strength, but muscle endurance. Day 3. Main Muscles: Vadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves Additional:
Exercise function reps or time sets note grip static
"farmer's walk"
from 10 sec
3
Be sure to keep your back straight and your shoulders turned
wrist dynamics
flexion-extension of the wrists
8-12 times
2 palms up and 2 palms down
since these are purely pumping movements, the number of sets can be safely doubled if you consider it necessary
Myths about wrist belts.
Wrist straps are simple devices that allow you to perform heavy pulling movements without fear of dropping the weight from your hands. Modern minds have invented so many legends and myths around them that sometimes ordinary sports fans are completely at a loss as to what is truth and what is fiction. Let's find out...Opinion: Straps allow you to focus more on lifting the weight and improve your maximum deadlift performance.
This is the absolute truth! Most pulling movements are performed with the participation latissimus muscles and the common back extensor, which is assisted by the rear (largest) deltoids and biceps. Naturally, the joint work of such large muscles is capable of moving enormous weights that may be beyond the strength of small forearms. This is where belts will save us. We put it on, attach the weight to our hands, give out 100% power in the deadlifts and rejoice at our own achievements. Otherwise, the bar may leave us a little earlier than we would like... This time. And two: according to leading institutes for body development, a person’s confidence that he will conquer the weight increases the maximum result by 4-6 percent. Add to this the same amount due to the purely physical ability to still hold this weight (if, of course, you train the strength of your hands...) and you will get an increase in deadlifts of more than 10%!
Opinion: Constant use of belts contributes to atrophy of the muscles responsible for grip strength.
This can be considered true ONLY if a person does nothing AT ALL to develop his hands. Proponents of this theory constantly remind us that avoiding belts leads to a significant increase in the load on the forearms. They say that, they say, additional load gives additional muscle growth. Why then, too much stress on other muscle groups (biceps, deltoids, etc.) can lead to overtraining and stunted growth, but the forearms need to be trained with each approach to weights? Who came up with these rules?
To be logical, purely practical attention should be paid to wrist straps. That is, if you can give 100% in a particular set without belts, then just go to the apparatus and do the planned number of repetitions. Well, if for the full pumping of large muscle groups If you need help supporting the weight, don't hesitate to use wrist straps and don't worry about the strength and size of your forearms. In any case, you can train them separately and get stable results.
Results.
It is important for bodybuilders and powerlifters to hold firmly the weight they are about to lift. Climbers need tenacious fingers. Wrestlers need grip strength and powerful wrist flexors and extensors... Everyone chooses what they need. Maybe someone will decide to develop only a finger grip and completely abandon everything else. Or maybe someone is already crushing bricks with their fingers and does not consider their development necessary at all... The choice is yours.This manual presents a translation of George Jowett's book "Molding a mighty grip". The translation is very free, but close to the text. All units of measurement are converted to the SI system. The translation was carried out by the respected Kirill Romanych, for which many thanks to him.
Before you begin studying George Jowett's book, we would like to recommend that you familiarize yourself with TRX training loops made in the USA.
Have you ever tried to pick up a barrel of nails and carry it without touching your body, holding the barrel by the edges? I hope you take advantage of this opportunity. You might be surprised by the results. A barrel of nails weighs at least 45 kg, but to test yourself, a 45 kg barrel will be enough. In order to lift this big thing, you will need to tip it on its side. The only way to grasp the edges of the barrel is to grip with the first phalanges of the fingers - the very tips. If you lift a barrel without touching your body, then the lift is carried out solely by the strength of your fingers and this will be a criterion for assessing the strength of your grip.
Many people involved in grip development believe that a strong grip depends on big biceps and massive forearms. Biceps have absolutely no effect on grip strength, while large forearms indicate a strong grip; in addition, it also depends on how the forearms are trained and which muscles are more developed in them. This may surprise you a little, but you may have never thought about the fact that the forearm is made up of nineteen muscles. Of these nineteen muscles, only four are associated with pronation and supination. I would like you to remember this because it may be the answer to your forearm development problems: simply because the main exercises for training the forearms are aimed at developing these four muscles, but it must be said that training these muscles alone is not enough . Nine of the nineteen muscles control the movements of the fingers, and six control the hand.
As you already understand, much of the responsibility for the movements of the fingers and hand more muscles than many people think. This is easy to confirm by checking what exercises you do to develop your forearms. There will be several of them, but there will be even fewer exercises that develop hands and fingers. When at the beginning of the presentation I suggested that you test your abilities on a barrel of nails, I just wanted to show you the absence of the last type of exercise in your training. This test may be unusual for you, but it is very effective.
Since ancient times, strong men have loved to demonstrate their strength by lifting barrels of nails and barrels of water. In fact, such trials often included the entire range of exercises to resolve power disputes. The exercises were not limited to just lifting barrels from the floor by grabbing the edges. They varied, for example, a lift off the floor, a hip lift in one clean movement, then a shoulder lift in one or two movements, or a barrel lift with one overhead jerk with outstretched arms. In all these exercises, grip was allowed only at the edges.
The Canadians had a very difficult barrel exercise that you can only try if you're really good at strong hands and grip. The barrel leans forward and the near edge rests on the thigh just above the knee. Part of the exercise can be simplified by bending the knee and pushing it forward. You grab the barrel by the nearest edge and perform the first part of the exercise, as shown in Fig. 1. The next movement is to sharply pull the barrel towards you and lean back for balance. When the barrel passes the vertical equilibrium position, it will begin to fall towards you. After this, you must quickly release the edge of the barrel and take it onto your shoulder.
The famous Canadian strongman Louis Kier, who, by the way, is recognized by leading strongmen of the past and present as the strongest man who ever lived, was extremely strong in this exercise. The barrel with a mixture of sand and water, which he could throw over his shoulder with one hand, was incredibly heavy. The current European weight lifting champion at the time, Augustus Johnson, was also very deft with barrels. When he and Cyrus competed for the world title, barrel exercises were an important part of the competition. Cyrus met a worthy opponent in Johnson. In order to defeat the strongest European athlete, the great Canadian needed to strain all his strength, which he did. At this long tournament, athletes moved barrels weighing from 136 to 226 kilograms. Cyrus lifted the barrels until his fingers bled. It was a battle of giants that tested the limits of strength and endurance. If you remember the strength competitions of those times, which lasted for hours, then modern competitions, consisting of three or four lifts, make you smile.
Johnson and Kear were known for their tremendous arm and grip strength. Both had arms of impressive size and tendons of steel. They, like many others, along with regular exercises, practiced exercises aimed at developing the strength of the fingers and wrists, which was the reason for their comprehensive physical development. In the future, athletes were already limited to a few standard exercises, and the old exercises were no longer practiced or were forgotten. This is why few lifters these days, no matter how much weight they lift, have a slightly stronger grip than normal. Of course, you must understand that a steel grip is not required to lift the weight above your head. Essentially, the grip is only engaged at the beginning of the lift, when the weight is lifted from the floor and thrown onto the shoulder. The grip receives a short-term load at the beginning of the lift, after which it immediately relaxes, and is also loaded when lowering the weight.
I am credited with introducing the open-grip raise to this country. This grip variation has definitely improved the performance of many athletes I have coached. To develop such an enviable grip, you must perform exercises that contribute to this and, above all, you must know which muscles need to be trained, and not waste time on exercises that seem to develop your grip, but in fact do not. Do not waste time on such exercises, because... they only maintain grip strength, but do not develop it. This is a significant difference. In this regard, the same misunderstanding is often encountered when selecting exercises for the arms. Many exercises require a lot of tension in the arm muscles, but that's all. Tension does not stimulate muscle growth, it simply maintains the existing level, because... the force is concentrated in only one place. In order to stimulate growth, the range of muscle movement must be increased. The exercise should provide all possible stretches and contractions of the muscles, then the result will be visible.
I think that static exercises so popular because practitioners think that the longer they hold muscle tension, the better the result will be. This is only true if there is stretching and contraction of the muscles, but it must be taken into account that all muscles have different lengths and should be assessed accordingly. It is important to remember that the muscles of the forearms, with the exception of one, are short in length, especially those that control the movements of the hand and fingers. This should inspire people interested in developing hand and grip strength because... this means that you can focus your attention on a few exercises, but perform them with full dedication.
You, of course, have noticed that people who practice hand balancing have well-shaped hands and a strong grip. I've noticed that hand balancers tend to have stronger arms (especially forearms and hands) than weightlifters. Arm balance uses the arms and hands to a much greater extent than when lifting weights and, more importantly, the arm muscles and grip work in very unusual ways that they may not be used in normal weight lifting. Naturally, this is why many European athletes are so partial to hand balancing. The average American athlete could use arm balance training more systematically.
On top of everything else, hand balancing requires very strong and flexible wrists. It is necessary that you can bend the hand well back towards the forearm. To do this, the muscles of the inner forearms need to be well stretched. If you haven't done handstands before, you'll quickly feel a lot of pressure on your wrists, but over time your hands will become stronger. Naturally, to some extent this is due to the fact that the hands bear the weight of the whole body, but the main reason is that the muscles of the forearms and wrists work in an unusual way to maintain the body in balance. All handstand practitioners know this to be true.
Many people find some wrist exercises difficult, but hand balancers will find few wrist exercises difficult. Systematic classes which require arm strength to maintain balance, develops a good sense of control. Usually they also engage in arm wrestling, a sport in which main role plays a combination of grip strength, wrist flexibility and arm strength. Lately this sport has been my favorite way to test my strength and for many years in this sport I have wrestled all the biggest celebrities from different countries.
As far as I remember, at first, in order to strengthen my arms and hands for this sport, I found a rather stiff spring, at one end of which I made a wooden handle, and attached the other end to the table. Holding the wooden handle with one hand and without lifting my elbow from the table, I bent the spring using only the force of my forearm until the handle touched the table. I did this exercise several times and then did the same with the other hand. As I got stronger, I increased the size and stiffness of the spring, and soon reached such a level that very few strongmen could bend it. I loved feeling my muscles quiver with tension. Thanks to practice, I did good career wrestler and I know that including hand and grip development exercises in my training will benefit everyone. This is an easy activity that anyone can succeed at.
Hands are of great interest to study. It is often said that they reflect physical characteristics a person as well as a face. A handshake can certainly be regarded as an indicator of your strength and energy - although many people go to extremes. Some people don't see the difference between a firm handshake and squeezing your hand until the bones crunch. You have to think with your head no matter how strong your grip is. Remember, everyone admires a strong handshake, but it’s unlikely that anyone will like it if you crush their hand soft-boiled to demonstrate what a terminator you are.
Hands vary in shape as much as people vary in build. Some have long and thin hands, others have big hands and long fingers, big hands and short fingers, thick hands, small hands, sinewy hands and heavy hands. It's impossible to say which ones are better. I have seen hands of all the above shapes with incredible strength.
Large hands do not always indicate great strength. For example, Morkie and Inch have rather small hands, but despite this, it is difficult to find a person with a stronger grip. Many people have told me that they will not be able to develop great grip strength because their hands are so small. Personally, I think that this is not worth considering at all, because when all is said and done, the result will be obvious. The belief that thin wrists and hands prevent you from developing greater strength is a common misconception. In fact, the rotation and twisting of the hand is not produced by the wrist joint, but by the twisting of the bones of the forearm. The bones of the forearm are designed in such a way that one of them can rotate around the other. This movement of the bones increases the practicality of the hand. Thanks to this, we can make movements such as twisting a corkscrew or rotating a screwdriver.
These bones are called the radius and ulna. The radius is located along the anterior surface of the ulna. If the arm is bent at the elbow and palm down, we can turn it palm up. This movement is called supination. Therefore, thanks to the movements of pronation and supination, we can rotate the hand around its axis by 180 degrees, i.e. half a circle.
Another point that needs to be considered is that most of the muscles located in the forearm and indirectly controlling the movements of the wrist directly control the movements of the fingers. Obviously, if all the muscles that control finger movements were located directly in the hand, this would lead to a significant increase in its volume, because significant space is required to accommodate the muscle fibers needed to generate sufficient force. To avoid this, nature decided to place thick bundles of muscle in the forearm and organize the transmission of force to the moving parts using a series of long thin tendons that fit easily into the wrist, because. take up little space. This easily explains the tapering shape of the hand, which is thin at the wrist and thick above where the tufts are located. muscle fibers. It follows from this that thin wrists indicate weak developed muscles ah the front of the forearms. This often occurs, even among people who constantly play sports.
The muscles of the front and back of the forearm are developed disproportionately. The muscles on the front of the forearm are the muscles responsible for grip. Everyone knows that the movements of the flexor muscles of the hand and wrist are much stronger than the extensors. Therefore, it is obvious that the muscles of the anterior part of the forearm can be much more highly developed than the muscles located on outside forearms and responsible for extension movements.
Please note that athletes with poorly developed muscles in the front of the forearm have inferior grip and arm strength to athletes who have well developed these muscles.
If you make a tight fist and bend your hand toward the front of your forearm, thereby reducing the distance between your hand and your elbow, you can clearly see how strongly your grip muscles are developed. For many, with such a demonstration, the contour of the forearm will not change; for some, a bundle of muscles will be visible just below the elbow.
It is necessary that the forearm is wide at the wrist and widens significantly towards the elbow. The appearance of forearm development is very deceptive. I remember one strength athlete who was described as incredibly well developed. I knew him well, and I know that he was inferior to many in terms of anthropometry and grip strength, but he looked pretty good, because... he had a small wrist. The lower part of his forearm was almost straight, and then suddenly expanded so that it looked like a huge pile of muscle. The grip muscles, by some oddity of nature, were only partially developed, whereas they should be formed from the wrist to the elbow. Look at the forearms of Zottman, Joe Nordquest and Jim Pidley and you'll see the difference.
They say that I have some of the most developed grip muscles. In fact, my wrist used to be an average size, but as my forearm muscles grew, my wrist size also increased. My hands look large and powerful, the fingers are short but very sinewy, and I also have an unusual base of the thumb, which makes it look like a large hook, which gives my hands extra pinch grip strength. We must not forget that the fingers perform grasping and squeezing movements, but the different structure of the muscles of the thumb provides a strong pinch grip, which is impossible for the other fingers, well, perhaps to a very slight extent; therefore, in all the efforts associated with the pinch grip, the most significant role is played by the thumb and a little by the little finger. Despite all this, the middle finger is capable of lifting more weight from the floor than all other fingers. This is due to its location on the hand.
If you look at the illustrations in this book of the hands, wrists and forearms, you will be without my detailed descriptions see how the muscles are positioned and how they affect the wrists, hands and fingers. Instead of these explanations, I'd rather spend my time describing the exercises and tricks that will help you develop the legendary steel grip.
Personally, I think there are many more different interesting training methods for developing a strong grip than for developing any other muscle group. Of course, I understand that many of these methods are unknown to you, because... most of them are not used in America, although antebellum strength athletes were familiar with some of these methods. I have written many articles about these methods, developed mainly in Canada and Europe, and judging by the many letters I have received, if there were more such articles, then these methods would be popular here too. I studied them when I was abroad in early years my professional career, talking with such arm strength experts as Marks, Vanstittart, Da Kerry and many others.
Of course, the exercises themselves develop grip strength and forearm muscles very well, but I have always believed that doing power tricks gives best result. Training becomes more interesting. They develop dexterity and at the same time increase grip strength and muscle size. It is also very interesting that you can compete with friends in performing power tricks and this does not require heavy equipment. You can train more often and have more fun from your workouts. Juggling a twenty-three kilogram block is interesting, fun and useful for strengthening your grip. I have been doing this sport all my life and can demonstrate many interesting tricks. You will be surprised at the benefits of these exercises. When buying a block, choose one that is absolutely square and compact. Elongated blocks are too inconvenient to handle. You can perform some power tricks with blocks. For example, here's a trick that lets you demonstrate how strong your thumb and pinch grip are. One of my best tricks is to grab a twenty-three-pound block by the handle with a pinch grip with your index finger and thumb and lift it to shoulder level. Some people grab the handle from below with their thumb, but this simplifies the trick. Just try it like I did and you will understand why few can do it again. I have never seen anyone do it correctly, although I have no doubt that Marx, Saxon and Vastittart could do it.
Before moving on, I would like to say that it is not necessary to use a twenty-three kilogram block. This may be too much for you, so use a weight that you can handle. It is better to exercise correctly with less weight than to strain yourself with such weight that requires extreme strength.
To develop pinch grip and thumb strength great exercise is to hold the iron disc between the thumb and the other fingers. Generally speaking, if a person can lift a disc weighing 34 kilograms, he is considered to have very strong arms. Typically I use a 2.54 cm thick disc. It's always better to start with a light weight and gradually increase it. For a change, try lifting the disc by the edge, using first four fingers, then three, etc., in turn with your thumb. until you hold it with just your thumb and forefinger.
One of the oldest ways to test strength is to break horseshoes. When I was very young, I often visited blacksmith shops and practiced on old, worn-out horseshoes. It was great fun. I always looked forward to the day when I could break a new decent sized horseshoe. It was a joyful day for me. Then I wouldn’t change places even with a millionaire. John Marks was the old man in the business of bending and breaking horseshoes. He could bend the largest horseshoe ever made for a horse. He constantly used horseshoes that would support the load of ten or more people pulling the rope. After this, he could bend horseshoes without visible effort. By grip strength, hands and shoulder girdle few could compare with him.
Professor Desbonnet had special horseshoes that were made just to surprise some of the strongmen who came to him and demonstrated their abilities. When Marx came to the professor, he invited him to test the strength of his hands on horseshoes, which for many years had not yet given way to anyone. Marx, to the professor's surprise, bent the horseshoe without much strain.
Another trick to develop your grip is to lift a barbell with a thick bar. If your grip strength is not strong enough to grip a thick bar, you may be puzzled by even a fairly light weight. This has always been a favorite trick of strongmen. One very strong Frenchman named Noel had a dumbbell that weighed 50 kilograms. He claimed that no one except him could lift her onto his shoulder with one hand, her arm was so thick. He gave it to Marx to try, but received the biggest shock of his life when the big man calmly and slowly lifted it onto his shoulder. Can you imagine a person doing slow curls with a fifty-pound dumbbell, even with a regular-sized handle? And how much heavier it must be with a thick handle.
George Zoitman had an iron ball that he could lift by grip alone, and with which he had puzzled many strongmen. You wrapped your hand around the ball and could actually only lift it with your fingertips. Zoitman had large hands and the ball was made in the shape of his hand. A friend showed me this ball and suggested that I try to lift it. I agreed to try, but Zoitman said that my brushes were too small; despite this, I was able to lift it, but Zoitman was not able to do this that day.
Another trick that develops greater arm strength is lifting a billiard cue by the tip to shoulder level. V.P. Cassell was unique in this trick. He had a powerful grip and perfectly shaped hands. He could lift a 200-pound barbell overhead using only one finger on each hand, but Canadian student Fournier was much better at this exercise. He could lift 104 kilograms with two fingers at any time.
One of the strongest men in this country, Henry Galtgrew of Cincinnati, was especially good at the following tricks:
Place a straw broom on the floor and place a brick on the straw. Holding the very tip of the broom, you lift the broom and brick off the floor, keeping a straight line with your forearm.
Ottley Coulter was good at this trick. He said that before he could replicate Golgrew's broom and brick trick, he would rip a telephone directory into pieces and pull himself up to his chin while holding the bottom of the beams, which is one way of testing grip strength. Of course, you need to start light and increase the weight as your strength increases. These tricks are difficult on the wrist and, when performed in the manner that Galtgrew and Coulter did them, are a inhibitory factor for many strongmen who are exceptionally strong in other lifts.
One of the greatest strength performances was demonstrated by Arthur Saxon. He could jerk a pine board 5 centimeters thick and weighing 90 kilograms from the ground to his outstretched arms above his head. Try somehow lifting an ordinary thirty-centimeter board 3.65 meters long and 2.54 centimeters thick. Place it on its edge, and then with one jerk lift it to outstretched arms above your head. I highly doubt that you will succeed. Going with a lighter weight will give you some idea of Arthur Saxon's amazing grip strength.
I don't know anyone who could lift a Saxon board off the ground with the force of his grip, let alone jerk it up to his outstretched arms.
Part 2
PULLING WITH YOUR FINGERS
Fingering is a very popular sport in Swiss Tyrol. These robust climbers seem especially suited for the sport. The opponents hook their middle fingers, as shown in the figure, and then pull each towards themselves. If you pull while standing, then the one who weighs more has an advantage, but if the opponents sit opposite each other at the table, then the advantage of the heavyweight is minimized. If the participants agree that they can push off the table with their free hand, then the fight will be more energetic, otherwise a fair fight will only be between opponents of approximately equal weight. If you can outweigh your opponent, you will prove that you have very strong fingers. The middle finger can withstand a huge load. This is the main finger for lifting weights.
Adrian Schmidt was especially strong in this sport. He weighed only 57 kilograms, but he could outmaneuver such a bastard as Joe Nordquest.
His fingers looked like they were made of steel. He could pull himself up by holding the last link of a suspended chain with a pinch grip using only his index fingers and thumbs. He is the only person I know who could do this. Moreover, I know that he could do this even when he was already 58 years old. He certainly developed a strength that stayed with him for a long time.
ARMWRESTLING
Arm wrestling is a real test of grip and arm strength. You need to clasp your hands without lifting your elbows from the table, as shown in the figure. The opponents sit down and place their free hand on the table. Holding the edge of the table with your free hand is prohibited. When the referee gives the command to start, both competitors must begin to slowly increase the pressure. Trying to tackle an opponent with a jerk is not allowed, because it is not a valid test of strength. The person who scores the opponent three times out of five or two times out of three is declared the winner. People with well-developed forearms and strong deltoids have always excelled in this sport. One of my hardest challenges was when I fought a Canadian lumberjack. He wasn't particularly healthy, but what a grip he had. It was something unreal. We fought like two bearded goons, but in the end I defeated him.
I am often asked who was the hardest to arm wrestle with. It’s difficult for me to answer this question, because... I fought with many very strong people, the fight with whom required the utmost effort of my strength to win. By the way, the strongest of my rivals were practically unknown as strongmen, but they were experts in armwrestling.
FIRST EXERCISE
The exercises in this book should be very interesting for all athletes. With such exercises, your workouts will never be monotonous. Here, for example, is the exercise shown in Figure 1 (a). You'll be surprised at how weak your fingers will be, provided you're using a decent weight book, of course. And please note that the book lies only on the fingers and does not touch the palm, and also that the palm does not lie on the table. These are two very important points. Of course, you understand that the book needs to be of decent weight, but not so heavy that it causes undue stress. Working at the limit of strength is pointless, because... The correct execution of the exercise is important. If you place your palm on the table, the main value of this exercise will be lost.
Please note that the book lies entirely on the fingers, and also that the thumb is not involved in the exercise. First, lift the book with your index finger as shown in Figure 1(b), as high as you can. After you have lifted the book to the limit in this way, lower it to the starting position and lift it with the next finger and so on, with all the fingers of both hands except the thumb. But we don’t forget about it, we’ll deal with it later.
You can do this exercise for a few repetitions with each finger before moving on to the next one. This option will be even preferable.
When you get to the little finger, you may find it a little difficult to lift the book. The back of the book may touch the table and this should not bother you. If you feel resistance, then everything is fine.
After you have done this exercise as written above, try lifting the book with your fingers quickly one after the other, as if playing the piano. This will make your fingers not only strong, but also fast.
Under normal conditions, your fingers are quite flexible, but you will feel that they will become clumsy if the speed and strength required for movements like playing the piano are required.
If you find a book that is heavy enough, lifting it with all your fingers at once is also a good exercise.
All finger exercises have a very beneficial effect on the development of the tight muscles of the forearms, which naturally results in an increase in the thickness of the wrist.
SECOND EXERCISE
To perform this exercise, simply turn your palm towards the table as shown in the figure. For some, this exercise will be a little more difficult than for others, but this is no reason to worry, the exercise is actually not that difficult. This exercise works the muscles of the thumb and little finger that affect the pinch grip. As these muscles are worked, you will notice a difference in their control and strength. Control will be better and power will be more pronounced.
You can do this exercise in a speedy manner as described for the first exercise, exercising each finger as if you were playing the piano. The only thing that requires more attention in this exercise than in the first is the inclusion of the little finger. As you get closer to the little finger, starting with the third finger there will be a natural tendency to engage the thumb. The little finger has a certain significance for the pinch grip which, together with the thumb, plays a major role in squeezing the hand and holding objects.
Although what I am about to tell you now is a bit of a departure from the main topic, it will perhaps make it clearer that developing the strength of the little finger is important in protecting against strangulation. When the hand squeezes the throat, the strength of the compression depends on the strength of the pinch grip. The little finger does not squeeze as tightly as the other fingers, so if you pull on the little finger of the squeezing hand, it easily paralyzes the compressive force of the hand and releases the grip. This explains the connection and interaction of the little finger and thumb, and also the fact that the thumb involuntarily tends to help the little finger when performing this exercise. Therefore, when you begin the exercise with your middle finger, your thumb will press down hard on the table, assisting your little finger.
There is another way to develop hand and finger strength that you may already be familiar with. I'll outline it for you. For the first time, there is a feeling of loss of control and strength in the hands. However, this exercise gives an incredible increase in arm and finger strength. It is especially important that it develops the tendons in the fingers. They will become like steel ropes, and your fingers will be more controlled, flexible and faster. I highly recommend you try it.
The exercise is essentially a pull-up and is performed in exactly the same way, the only difference being that you are using a flat board rather than a round bar. Holding the board with a pinch grip, try doing pull-ups several times. To make the exercise more difficult, you can hold on not with all your fingers.
As children we often spent time at the port and one of our activities was similar to the exercise described, with a slight difference. Along one of the piers there was a board fence on which we hung, holding on with only our fingers, as explained above. There was water three meters below us. We wondered how far we could crawl over the ledge before falling off. If you look at how far the protective ledge is, you can test the strength of your fingers, as well as find out how far you have progressed.
THIRD EXERCISE
The pinch grip lift is generally very popular. In this movement, the muscles of the fingers are especially strongly involved in the work. It's a good trick and good exercise. If a person can lift a 34-kilogram plate as shown in the picture, then this indicates that this guy is really strong. Usually they use a 2.54 cm thick plate. Naturally, I don’t think you can lift 34 kilograms right away, that would be very stupid. Start with an 11-pound plate and lift it off the floor several times. To increase finger strength, try using only your index and thumb in this exercise, then your thumb and middle finger, then your ring finger, and finally your little finger. Then you can increase the load using pancakes more weight(whichever one you can hold) and holding it with two fingers and a thumb. And so gradually increase the load until you reach the point of holding with all your fingers, as shown in the picture.
There is a significant difference between lifting weights for training purposes and demonstrating strength, i.e. lifting as much weight as possible. For training, it is quite acceptable and even desirable to bend your arm at the elbow and wrist to put it into work more muscles. Although this method has a good effect on developing strength, it is very difficult to lift weights in this way, so you will have to take a smaller weight than the one you can actually lift.
To demonstrate strength, the pancake must be placed on the edge between the legs. You need to take the pancake by the very top of the head so that it does not spin when you lift it. You don't need to take the pancake with as deep a grip as you can, leave a small distance between the pancake and your palm, as shown in the picture. The arm from the elbow should be straightened and make a straight perpendicular line with the center of the pancake. Hold firmly, but do not pull with your fingers. Pull with your shoulder. The fingers should just be a connecting link, they should hold, but not pull. Raise the weight by moving your shoulder and by slightly extending it. For balance and greater strength, push off your knee with your free hand.
In this manner, I often walked around with 34-pound plates in each hand, and also lifted them onto my shoulder in one step.
When gripping with the thumb, there is important point: you have to keep it big and index fingers to grip flatly with the thumb and finger), otherwise the effect will be the same as if you hold a ball between your fingers. You can squeeze the ball so tightly with your fingers that it simply slips out of your hand.
I hope you're still wondering about the value of these exercises for performing strength tricks. With this in mind, you will be able to lift the plate you have been training with in several different ways.
First try swirling the pancakes. I don’t mean rotating them around an axis, but throwing them into the air and catching them as they fall, then swinging them between the legs ( like when they do a kettlebell snatch - approx.) Do this several times with each hand, then toss with one hand and catch with the other. And thirdly, when tossing, try to twist the pancake as tightly as possible. This will make it much more difficult to catch, but it will significantly increase the strength of your fingers.
Another training option is to walk while holding the weight plate with your fingertips. Also walk around with a plate in each hand. To increase the load, lift the plate from the floor to your shoulder. As your grip strength increases, lift the plate to arm's length above your head. When you become completely powerful, jerk two disks over your head with your outstretched arms, one disk in each hand.
While you are doing these exercises, you can come up with some others that you can compete with your friends. Competitions among friends are great fun. This strengthens your character, and also reveals physical abilities that you didn’t even know you had.
Combine fun and exercise. This will give you real pleasure and the results will not keep you waiting, because you will train longer and more persistently.
Part 3
FOURTH EXERCISE
This is a very old exercise and is also a way to test wrist strength. Previously, this exercise was very popular, but, unfortunately, now they have begun to forget about it. This exercise can help you identify weak links in your arms, hands, and wrists. First perform it with only one broom. If it is very difficult for you to hold it at the very end, grab it a little closer. As you get stronger, move your grip closer to the end. Then add weight little by little by placing a small object on the other end of the broom, as shown in the picture. It shows an athlete lifting a broom with a brick at the other end. When you can do this with a broom with a regular long handle, you can already be proud of the strength of your hands.
The broom should be in a straight line with the forearm and the elbow should not rest on the knee. Only one hand should be used in the exercise without any support.
This trick is similar to what blacksmiths performed, the only difference being that they used a sledgehammer, holding it at the very end in line with the forearm. Many people I know with fairly strong wrists and forearms couldn't do this trick because they had weak wrists and forearms. deltoids or shoulder muscles. Unfortunately, it is currently impossible to assess the respective abilities of these blacksmiths. Sledgehammers in old forges weighed from three to five kilograms, but the length and thickness of their handles were different. Thickness and length are much more important in this exercise than weight. The shorter the handle, the easier it is to perform the exercise. The longer or thicker it is, the more difficult it is.
As previously stated, Gotgrue of Cincinnati, one of the strongest men who ever lived in America, was especially good at this trick. So did Al Treloar, Joe Nordquest, Coulter and the great Schmidt. The last of them, with very little own weight(approximately 57 kilograms) was inimitable in power tricks related to grip strength.
Talking about famous strongmen, we can’t help but mention Warren Lincoln Travis. Without a doubt, among Americans he is one of the most colorful figures in the world of power. The strength of his hands and fingers is simply phenomenal. In the old days, he knew all the greatest strongmen in the world and everyone admired him because... he had enormous strength, but despite this, he never boasted.
He was very strong in power tricks involving finger, hand and wrist strength and also had extensive knowledge in this field. He knew the mechanics very well and this greatly helped him perform all his power tricks.
Here is one of the tricks that Travis performed: he held a horse weighing approximately 272 or 317 kilograms by the saddle while hanging upside down. It seems incredible, but it’s true, his grip was so strong.
Another character very little known to most American athletes these days is Frank Funks. He himself is very light, but has the strength of a first-class heavyweight. His hands became hard as steel due to performing many difficult iron bending tricks.
FIFTH EXERCISE
As I've written before, barrel lifting was very popular among strongmen of the past. There is nothing better for developing finger, wrist and arm strength. In addition, lifting barrels has a very good effect on general physical development. Of course, a barrel is not the most convenient thing to keep at home, but if a person is serious about developing great strength, he will find a way to train.
I would like to draw your attention to the fifth exercise. It consists of lifting weights solely with grip strength. Notice how the athlete holds the barrel by the edges. In fact, you can only hold the barrel with the first phalanges of your fingers. You need to lift the barrel as high as you can, keeping your legs and back straight. After this, lower the barrel to the floor and stretch your fingers, then repeat this exercise several times. When you're done, move on to exercise six.
SIXTH EXERCISE
This way you lift the barrel onto your hips. This is the usual way of lifting and holding barrels. I've seen some guys walk this way while holding barrels weighing over 300 pounds.
For this you need very strong legs, as well as fingers and hands. Perform exercises five and six several times with a 45-pound barrel of nails and you will be amazed at the results.
Don't forget how to hold the barrel. This is very important.
SEVENTH EXERCISE
The picture "Exercise 7(a)" shows how an athlete holds a barrel on his shoulders. This is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. This requires a lot of hand and grip strength and a little practice to adapt to the unusual load. The main difficulty is lifting the barrel onto your shoulders, so at first it is highly advisable to train with small barrels with nails or ordinary empty barrels. If you are using a regular barrel, it will be much easier to control if you hold it close to your body and then lean back to help you lift the barrel, rolling it across your body onto your shoulders, as shown in Exercise 7( A)". From this position, lift the barrel with outstretched arms above your head, as shown in the figure "Exercise 7(b)". This exercise, in addition to developing enormous strength, teaches you like no other to keep objects in balance when lifting them above your head.
Here are some ways to lift a barrel from the ground to arms outstretched above your head. Here is one of these methods, which Swedish athletes call a slow rise from a hanging position. The essence of the method is that you first slowly lift the barrel from the ground to the position shown in the figure “Exercise 5”. Then, after a short pause, jerk it up to the position shown in figure “Exercise 6”, from here you throw it over your shoulders, as shown in figure “Exercise 7(a)” and lift it to outstretched arms, as in figure “Exercise 7( b)"
Another way is that from the “Exercise 5” position, you throw the barrel onto your shoulders with one jerk. This exercise can be replaced by throwing a barrel with a jerk from the ground onto your outstretched arms or just onto your shoulders. There is another option that has a particularly good effect on the development of a powerful grip: lift the barrel to the “Exercise 5” position, hold it in this position for a while and from here jerk it onto your outstretched arms.
In addition to developing core muscles, these exercises have a huge impact on developing grip and arm strength. After such training, you will feel the results very quickly. The strongmen of the past were far superior to modern athletes in grip strength. In general, there is not a single athlete of those times who did not have strong and well-formed arms. Nowadays, we don't see as many hand and grip strength tricks anymore because most modern athletes can't do them.
You should carefully study the illustrations for these barrel exercises. I tried very hard when posing for them to ensure that the artist captured all the details. The position of the hands and grip are especially important, but do not skip any details: the position of the legs, the back, the inclination of the body. The position of the elbows is very important. Study them and you will see that progress will go faster.
I'm sure you do the next exercise a little differently, but it will take a little more courage to do it the way I'm about to explain.
Lift the barrel onto your hips, as shown in the figure “Exercise 6” and from this position squat down sharply, straighten your body and push the barrel out to your outstretched arms. Then straighten your knees, lower the barrel and quickly assume a vertical position ( x** win, what are we even talking about, something like a weightlifting snatch, probably - approx.). If you practice a little with an empty barrel, you will soon understand all the difficulties of this trick.
Another exercise with a barrel is performed from a lying position on your back and with a barrel behind your head. Grab the barrel by the edges and hold it so that your hands rest your elbows on the floor. From this position, squeeze the barrel several times with your arms outstretched. I think you will really enjoy this exercise.
Some people are very good with barrels, but you need to be confident in your abilities before working with them. It's very easy to lose control of the barrel and if it hits you, it will really hurt.
Serbian strongman Peter Zebbits performed incredible feats with barrels. He could spin them, toss them and catch them by the edges. Unsurprisingly, he had a phenomenal grip and wrists that looked like a twisted mass of thick, strong sinewy ligaments.
All of the exercises and tricks I've described require some prior skill to perform correctly, but developing these skills takes practice. However, you will get great satisfaction from the effort and will be rewarded for all the time you spend on these exercises. This also applies to the eighth exercise, which I will describe below.
EIGHTH EXERCISE
Another very difficult exercise with a barrel is lifting a barrel onto your shoulder with one hand. If you ask your friend to perform this trick, he will be very puzzled, he will not immediately understand how this can be done at all. This trick requires strength, speed and perfect balance. As a result of this work, many noticeable changes occur in the body. muscle changes. Some comrades very deftly throw the barrel over their shoulder. First you need to tilt the barrel forward to the front edge. Then slide your knee under the near edge of the barrel. Pull the barrel towards you with the strength of your arms and back, pull the barrel towards your body and at the same time lift it with your knee, as shown in Figure Exercise 8(a). Then, when the barrel begins to fall towards the body, quickly release your grip and catch the barrel in the crook of your elbow. From this position, the barrel is thrown onto the shoulder with a sharp movement, as shown in Figure Exercise 8(b). It may be difficult to remember at first, but if you constantly practice with empty barrels, you will soon get the hang of it. The main thing is to remember the sequence of actions well before you perform them and then work faster, especially after the moment when you lift the barrel onto your knee and throw it. Canadian strongman Louis Kier often threw a beer barrel weighing about 180 kg over his shoulder with one hand.
Lifting a barrel full of water is very difficult. It is especially difficult if the barrel is half filled with a mixture of water and sand. This makes the exercise doubly difficult.
Before I finish describing the barrel exercises, I would like to give you one more thing. When you have thrown the barrel over your shoulders, it does not matter whether it is on one shoulder, as in Exercise 8(b) or both, as in Exercise 7(a), transfer it to one hand. To do this, you need to support the barrel with one hand and place it on the palm of the lifting hand. The barrel should be positioned as in Figure Exercise 8(b). From this position, lift the barrel at arm's length, but first make sure it is perfectly balanced. The barrel is the most evil thing in the world, once you lose control of it.
In conclusion, I would like to say, do not neglect these exercises and do not exclude them from your training. They will produce results much faster than any other grip exercises except pulley lifts and kettlebell juggling, which are nothing more than variations of the exercises I have already described. Barrel stunts are without a doubt the most the best way checking grip strength. And also develops it to an incredible level. The strength of your fingers, the strength of your thumb pinch grip, the strength of your hands, wrists and forearms will increase literally from the first days of classes. You'll have that steel handshake that everyone admires. Doing these exercises will develop forearm muscles that will not respond to any other type of exercise. You will have powerful hands from the shoulders to the fingertips and the grip of each hand will be like a bear trap. By doing these exercises you can become Pidley, Marx, Saxon, Van Stietaert, Franks or Coulter. This is quite real. You can do it if you want, I showed you how.
Don't forget about the benefits of grip in everyday life. Because big press, for example, in everyday life practically not needed. And strong fingers will definitely come in handy. A powerful handshake will also not be superfluous - it will make you respect and envy.
So let's look at ten best exercises to increase grip strength.
1. Tennis balls to strengthen your hands
By using tennis balls You can train your hands, grip and fingers. The following exercises can be distinguished:
- Static with all fingers (squeeze and wait until the hand “falls off”). This exercise especially useful for arm wrestlers.
- Pressing with four fingers.
- Pressing with the thumb. The exercise pumps up the thumb for a pinch grip.
- Squeezing the ball with the palms of both hands. If the ball breaks while doing this exercise, then you are a strong guy.
2. Rope to strengthen your grip
Rope climbing is one of the best exercises for developing your grip. It is advisable that it is not a school one - 3 cm in diameter, but a professional one - 6 cm in diameter. You need to climb a rope without legs. The highest class is one-arm rope climbing. But to do this, naturally, you first need to learn how to do one-arm pull-ups.
If you don’t know how to do pull-ups at all, learn according to the instructions in the following video:
3. Hand expanders
Undeniably hand expanders- this is a wonderful thing for the development of hands, and strong hands, after all, start with strong hands. Are there different types of expanders? How to choose the right one? Buy one that you can squeeze all the way 5-10 times.
4. Holding the pancakes
Take the pancake by the edge with your fingers and try to hold it for as long as possible. Start with 5-10 kg, and increase the load as necessary. This exercise develops your finger grip.
5. Reverse Kettlebell Exit
Reverse exercises with kettlebells are useful because they strengthen not only the hands and forearms, but also the fingers. This exercise is performed in almost the same way as regular lifts of a weight over your head, but only with the bottom up.
For more interesting and wrestling exercises with kettlebells, watch the following video:
6. Hanging on the horizontal bar
Hanging on the horizontal bar strengthens your grip. The more you pull yourself up, the stronger your hands become. To strengthen your hands and grip, it is advisable to do pull-ups on a thick bar or holding on with 2-3 fingers.
When exercising on a rowing machine, horizontal bar or with a barbell, your results primarily depend on the strength of your grip. You, of course, have never thought about this. Perhaps your attention is simply focused on large muscle groups - chest, back, hips, legs - because these are key muscles, helping you push and pull projectiles better than you previously could. The tendency is for forearm musculature to be perceived as an afterthought, but if your grip strength is subpar, you can forget about improving your performance and can prepare to have your name in the basement of the honor roll.
“Most of us think we have enough grip strength until one day we find ourselves lacking,” says Aush Chatman, trainer and owner of CrossFit San Diego (crossfitsandiego.com). “Most often this discovery occurs on the horizontal bar, but the truth is that lack of grip strength can become a limiting factor for a number of other actions and a weak link for a number of exercises.”
What's a real CrossFitter to do? We agree that you must rid yourself of every possible weakness, real or imagined, and become the bulletproof, fire-breathing monster you were born to be. But to do this, you must make your grip an advantage, not a weakness.
“Improving your grip strength can make you 75% more productive as a CrossFit athlete,” says Chatman. “If you write down all the exercises you do in CrossFit and isolate the ones that help improve your grip strength, you'll see that it's 75%. all exercises and most of them are basic. What other exercises can help besides those we already use? There are not many of them."
Grip Philosophy
Before your mind paints a sad picture of you doing barbell curls gym, let's look at the basic functions of the grip. “The first thing you need to understand is grip strength,” says Chatman. “There is grip force, which is when you squeeze something in your hand. There is a holding force that is constantly at work, helping you to hold on to something. And there is the sliver force, which allows you to hold or squeeze something with your fingers. The first two forces are constantly used by CrossFitters, the third is much less common.”
Chatman cites a number of barbell exercises, ring exercises, parallel bars, and kettlebell walking as examples of the use of the pinch grip and its importance. “But arm strength is also important in balance exercises like handstands,” he says. “To be successful at handstands is to be able to engage your arm flexors and extensors while rocking slightly. That is, so that you do not use your shoulders, core, hips and legs when balancing.”
However, Chatman cautions against trying to make grip strength your sole focus, as other aspects of grip are just as important. "There are many small muscles and they are all significant, so endurance is extremely important,” says Chatman. “This is especially true for CrossFit, where you can hang on the bar for a long stretch and then move straight to barbell exercises or rope climbing.”
Ready, attention, grab!
So, I think it's clear to you that grip strength is important. But where to get it and how to develop it? “In my opinion, a CrossFitter doesn't need any special grip strengthening exercises as long as they're doing deadlifts and pull-ups properly,” states Chatman. “To me, this means that you can do 4-5 strict pull-ups and deadlifts with your own weight or one and a half times more.” This allows you to make sure that your grip does not interfere with the development of others. strength exercises. But once you feel like it's time to develop your grip strength, here are a number of tools for this. But go slow, CrossFit doesn't require much compression strength. “Start by developing support strength, then develop finger strength (pinch strength), and then, if you're interested, develop grip strength,” says Chatman.
Expander
Your grip is strongest when your palm is clenched into a fist. And when your hand is unclenched, your grip becomes weaker. So, if you don't train your grip in the unclenched state, then your grip can weaken your overall effectiveness.
Training: After a week, perform deadlifts using a 2-inch thick bar. If your gym doesn’t have this, you can wrap a towel. Start with a weight that is slightly less than your working 10-rep max and aim for 10 reps with it. You can also do this with one arm using kettlebells or dumbbells. Weight walking can also be done in the same way.
Expander
An expander, whether it is made of plastic or metal, is a fairly simple thing. Grab, squeeze, release. This works well if you want to impress in the gym, but if you want to develop grip strength, you'll have to put in more effort.
Training: Find a resistance band that is too tight for you. Make five attempts to squeeze it with each hand. Then turn it over and repeat a series of five more attempts. Then do the opposite exercise - close the expander with both hands, then release one hand, and try to resist opening it with the other for as long as possible. Make three of these reverse exercises with each hand. Repeat these exercises once or twice a week.
Pinch strength
How strong are your fingers? You can find out. What's really cool about CrossFit is that you can do things that other people can't do. Power-ups and handstand push-ups are an impressive demonstration physical fitness. So is carrying two, three or even four plates using a finger grip.
Training: Place two identical pancakes with the flat side facing out. If you're new to finger grip training, start with two five-pound (2 kg) weights. Sit down, grab the plates and lift them using only your fingers. Rise up with the plates, then lower back down. Do three to four sets, five to six repetitions with each hand.
A Balanced Grip Approach
All aspects must be in balance with each other. A CrossFitter is nothing if he does not strive to get rid of any sign of weakness. But in a sport where so much depends on pushing, squeezing and holding implements, why don't we also train a Hulk-like grip? Follow the tips outlined here and you will be able to achieve better positions on the honor board.
Balance your brute strength
Don't ignore your forearm extensors in the race for a strong grip. “Most grip strength exercises only target the flexors, so make sure you do exercises that target the extensors as well,” reminds Osh Chatman. “Stretching rubber bracelets with your fingers or squeezing your palms in a bucket of rice works great. So when you go to any CrossFit competition this month where they're giving out these free bands, get yourself some and start using them."
Grip aids
“Grip strengthening tools allow you to lift weights that you couldn’t lift on your own, simply because you wouldn’t be strong enough to hold them with your bare hands,” says Osh Chatman. “Is it cheating? Perhaps in an alternate reality where we lost World War II. Fortunately, things turned out differently. Use help, but as little as possible, if you want to get a good, strong grip.”
