This article is
aimed at clearly addressing and explaining several different types of grip
strength and ways of improving them.
Whatever your chosen sport or hobby, an
increase in grip and general hand/wrist strength can be enough to give you the
edge over others or to continually set new personal bests. Whether you are
swinging a golf club, climbing a rockface, entering a grappling competition,
training with kettlebells or just trying to close a certain strength
handgripper, just a few weeks of working your grip specifically and with a
balanced and progressive routine can yield good- to great -results for nearly
every one of us. The training sessions don’t need to be long, just effective,
quite challenging and above all- consistent! 10 minutes 2-3 times a week is
more than enough to develop serious grip strength with several months of
training.
Crushing
Grip:
Crushing grip refers to a squeezing
action where the hand makes, or tries to make, a fist. Probably the best way to
train this type of grip strength is with hand grippers- not any old hand
grippers! But real, strong, metal grippers that are tough and take time and
effort to close. There are many types of grippers to choose from: Captains of
Crush grippers, Heavy Grips, Robert Baraban grippers, Beef Builder grippers
etc. The good thing with different types of grippers is that some sets fall
nicely into the places between the grippers of another set. This has the
advantage of acting as a stepping stone to the next gripper in the collection
you are trying to close.
Training
Crush Grip:
There are several ways of using hand
grips to improve your crushing grip. Included here is information on terms you
may come across to help you progress with your crush grip training:
1.
Cheat/forced close-squeezing the gripper as far as you can with one hand then using
the other hand or a push against the hip to finish the close
2.
Close-when the handles of the gripper touch or the last part of the
squeeze action-after the sweep
3.
Dogleg-the part of the spring leg which is straight compared to the other
4.
Filed gripper-filing down the inside of one of the legs of a gripper. The purpose
of this is to increase the range of motion and therefore the difficulty on a
gripper you know you can already close
5.
Grind-when closed, rotating the hand to cause the handles to scrape or
grind against each other
6.
Hold-when the handles touch, keeping them together for any length of
time
7.
Inverted rep/close-closing a gripper with the spring facing downwards
8.
Negative-using a cheat close then trying to stop the gripper from opening or
allowing it to open as slowly as possible
9.
No-set close-using only one hand to set and close a gripper without assistance
10.
Overcrush-when then handles touch, continuing the squeeze as hard as you can
11.
Setting-using the other hand to position the gripper and often to assist in
the initial part of the close. the hand must then be removed for any
certification attempt and be more than 12 inches from the closing hand on the
last 1 inch of the close attempt
12.
Strap hold-placing a weighted strap between the ends of the handles and using
an overcrush to keep the strap between the handles for as long as possible or
for a set time until the weight falls
13.
Sweep-the first part of the range of motion of a gripper. this is the
larger action which takes the handles from the start position up to a nearly
closed position
14.
Timed hold-holding a gripper shut for a timed duration
Pinch
Grip:
Pinch grip is a squeezing action similar
to that of a crab’s claw- the fingers and thumb move together to clamp on
either side of an object before lifting. The most common types of pinch grip
training are plate pinching and block weight lifting.
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Training
Pinch Grip:
1.
Plate Pinching-a good test of
pinch strength is to see how you rate against some Olympic plates. Place the
plates upright and together (smooth sides out) and pinch on to them from the
top, then squeeze and try to lift them. Try 2 x 20lb plates then work up. The
pinch can be trained close grip (2 plates) or wide (several small, lighter
plates-usually 10lb). Passing plates you can lift from hand to hand is a very
good workout and requires good pinch grip endurance. The aim of many people who
train their pinch with plates is to lift the infamous 2 x 45lb plates!
2.
Block weights-the most common
types of block weight are usually the ends of cast dumbbells believe it or not!
The bar is removed leaving 2 block weights and a small bar that looks nice.
Block weights are a superb way to train the hands as they can be lifted from
the face (wide side) or top (thinner side) and also thrown about. You can spin
and catch them, throw them hand to hand, drop and pick them out of the air and
so on. With heavier block weights the only way to really lift them from the
floor is with the pinch action, or a claw action of you lift from the face of
the block. The heavier the block the wider it is so the pinch gets worked at
different angles. Block weights are also referred to as “blobs” and “the blob”
is ½ of a 100lb cast dumbbell, or a 50lb block weight. Lifting this weight from
the floor is the aim of most people who train with heavy block weights. For an
adjustable block weight a pinch block can be attached to a loading pin and
loaded with weights for a similar style of training.
Thick
Bar Grip:
Thick bar refers
to training 1 arm (dumbbell) or 2 arm (barbell) lifts where the thickness of
the handle is much wider than normal-usually 1 inch. The bar diameters can be
anything from 1.5 - 4 inches and sometimes even more.
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Thick Bar Training:
Thick bar training can easily be
implemented on standard training equipment by using a sleeve to place over the
handle of a normal dumbbell bar. Another adjustable thick bar tool is the
Rolling Thunder by Ironmind, which is a revolving 2.5 inch handle that attaches
to a loading pin. One of the most famous thick bar training tools is the Thomas
Inch dumbbell. It weighs 172 pound (nearly 12 stone) and has a handle thickness
of 2 3/8 of an inch or about 60mm. The thickness of the handle is what stops it
ever leaving the floor for most people. Many people that train thick bar
regularly have the Inch dumbbell as their desired lift. Recently, a new monster
has emerged-the Millennium Dumbbell (228lb). This beast has the same stats as
the Thomas Inch dumbbell, but weighs 25kg more and so far has only fully left
the floor for a handful of people!
Leverage:
Leverage refers to the use of training
tools where the weight is displaced to one end-like a sledgehammer-rather than
balanced like a standard barbell or dumbbell. Leverage mainly works the wrists
but is also a great way of training the grip as an incredible level of crushing
power is needed to counteract the torsion produced by the displaced weight.
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Leverage
Training:
Probably the most common form of leverage
training is the sledgehammer or steel/wooden club. These training items can be
used in such a way that a very high level of tension is placed on the grip and
wrists just to maintain control of them. They can be held as far from the
weighted end as possible and either rotated side to side in front of the body
or held out at arms length to the front and side of the body and lowered
towards the nose-a true test of wrist strength and grip confidence!
Active
recovery:
Active recovery is an often overlooked
part of grip training and can be a real bonus to your gains. The idea is to
train lightly so you still maintain what you have developed but not to the extent
where fatigue sets in or injury risk is a possibility. Some really great
training tools have been developed specifically for active recovery and intense
grip training alike-depending how you use them: the Snowball and the gyro
Roller Ball.
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1.
The Snowball can be used to
work the various muscles of the hands in a soothing way after grip workouts or
as part of an active recovery programme on your days off. It can also be used
with force for working various aspects of grip (the crush, pinch, finger training,
thumb training etc.) as well as for warming up the hands or cooling down after
a grip training session
2.
The Roller Ball is a gyroscope
that rotates with slight wrist movements and can reach speeds of over 8000
revolutions per minute. Similar to the snowball, it can also be used for active
recovery at low revs or intense training at higher revs. Roller balls have the
advantage of keeping the hand muscles under varying tension depending on the
speed of the gyroscope while keeping the wrist continuously moving. Because of
this combination, at lower speeds these devices can provide soothing
rehabilitation to: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Strain Injury and
Arthritis.
Grip
Training- where do I start?
The best idea would be to ask yourself
what you actually want before you decide what to do-unless your aim is just
general grip strength. If you want to shut a certain gripper, base most of your
grip training around the grippers, if you want to pinch heavy plates, base a
lot of training on plate pinching and block weight lifting and so forth. Start
off with some basic equipment:
1.
2-3 grippers
2.
Block weight
3.
Sledgehammer or club-a dumbbell
loaded one end only can also do the same job!
4.
Some active recovery equipment
5.
Chalk
This is just a basic example for someone
who is serious about improving their grip-if you want less get less, if you
want more, get more. These items will allow you to train your grip from several
angles and allow for good, general grip progress if used properly and
consistently. If you already follow a training programme then finish the
routine with 5-10 minutes of grip work. If your training is mainly with free
weights, then place the grip session at the end of your normal routine as
fatigued or even moderately trained grip will have a negative effect on your
lifting. If you are worried about your grip training always being less than
your best as it is only trained after a good workout then test your personal
bests on the grip items you use before your workout, then after your weight
training hit the full grip routine. An alternative would be to train your grip
on alternate days to your other forms of training or at different times in the
day-weights in the morning and grip in the evening- when reasonably fresh
again.
To start your journey our free hand gripper training routine can be downloaded in the link below -
http://thestrengthacademy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hand-gripper-training-free-ebook.html
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