I'll
be honest…direct forearm and grip training
is something you don't see a whole lot of people
doing in the gym. It's not glamorous, it's hard
work, it takes time away from more "viewable"
bodyparts, and the training it takes to really
get results can be downright painful!
So that intro didn't
send you packing? Good. That means you're serious
about building stronger forearms and better grip
strength! NOW we can get started.
Grip strength is
extremely useful in so many ways…the stronger
your grip, the heavier the weight you can lift
and the longer you can hold it. In the majority
of heavy pulling exercises, grip strength is the
limiting factor. Building thick, meaty forearms
is a great physique enhancement - quite often,
the forearms are the only visible muscles that
aren't covered up by clothing!
I've found that
the most effective forearm and grip strength exercises
AREN'T the typical wrist curls you see many people
doing in the gym. Sure, you can get a good pump
and a good burn when doing them but how practical
are they when it comes to "real world"
gripping?
The following exercises,
tips and techniques are all about "practical."
Here they are in no particular order:
1. A Bucket of Sand
Get a bucket and
some playground sand from a home improvement store
(it's about 3 or 4 bucks for a bag of 50 lbs so
it's really not expensive). Fill the bucket up
with sand. Now dive your hand into the bucket
and start working your fingers through the sand.
A few minutes of
this and your forearms and all the small muscles
in your hand will be fried! Switch to the other
hand and go again. The sand provides excellent
all-over resistance for maximizing the effects
on the hands, fingers and forearms.
2. Squeezing a Tennis Ball
If you can't afford
a fancy gripper, just get an old tennis ball and
squeeze it repeatedly while you're watching TV.
Hockey legend Gordie Howe used to do this constantly
and he had some of the strongest forearms (and
one of the hardest slapshots!) in the NHL. Simple,
convenient and effective. No excuses.
3. Barbell Static Holds
Set up a barbell
in a power rack with the rails set just above
your knee level. Load up a bar (use moderate weight
to start with). Now stand BESIDE the bar, reach
down and grip it in the center with ONE hand.
Stand up with the bar and just hold it for as
long as you can until your grip gives out.
Not only are you
fighting directly against gravity, you're also
fighting to balance the bar in one hand. Very
effective on the forearms and on the grip!
4. Farmers Walks
Grab a pair of heavy
dumbells and go for a walk. Literally. Just pick
them up and walk until you can't hold onto the
dumbells anymore! Gripping heavy objects while
walking creates a lot of instability, which will
work the forearms very strongly.
And it doesn't have
to just be limited to dumbells…there are
Farmer's Walk handles that you can buy that work
for this. You can also use a couple of EZ Curl
bars loaded up and get the benefits of the Farmer's
Walk AND the barbell static holds. Heck even walking
with a couple of pails of that sand from the first
tip is another way to go. Don't limit yourself
to conventional items…even a couple of heavy
bags of dog food will work!
5. Thick Bar Exercises
Gripping around
a larger diameter is a not-so-secret "secret"
that strength competitors often use to develop
grip strength. Gripping around a thicker bar puts
a very different stress on the grip and forearms,
resulting in fast improvements in those areas.
You can use bars
that are built thick for this (you may have seen
"Fat Bars"), or you can use other things
to make your own thick bars. Tape is often used
to accomplish this (wrapping tape around a bar
or dumbell handle repeatedly until it's thicker
in size).
A technique I like
to use is to get some foam pipe insulation from
the hardware store, cut off a couple of 5 inch
sections then set THOSE on the bar. Grip on those
when you're doing you're training and you'll notice
a big different in forearm activation (it's dirt-cheap
and TEMPORARY, which is nice if you train in a
commercial gym which would frown on you wrapping
duct tape around their bars).
Click
here to learn more detail in how to make your
own thick handles now.
6. Do Reverse Curls
Not reverse wrist
curls…actual Reverse Barbell Curls. This
will hit the forearms very strongly AND, as you
fatigue, your grip will get a great workout because
it's the only thing keeping the bar from dropping
out of your hands (not the case with regular barbell
curls).
Secret
Training Tip #733 - Reverse Grip Curls - How This
Underused, Underrated Exercise Can Unleash Your
Arm Size
7. Don't Use Wrist Straps
This is a simple
thing but very important. If you constantly use
wrist wraps or other grip assistance, you'll never
fully develop your own grip strength, which will
limit you in the long run. It's fine to use grip
assistance once in awhile and for maximum lifts,
but the more you rely on them, the less grip strength
and forearm development you'll get.
8. Hanging
Sounds easy enough,
right? Grab a chin-up bar and just hang from it
until you can't hold on anymore. And I mean until
you're hanging by your fingertips and then you
slip off the bar because your hands lock up with
lactic acid.
You'll get a great
stretch in your upper body and you'll improve
your grip strength at the same time.
CONCLUSION:
If you're looking
for forearm size and maximum grip strength but
wrist curls aren't doing the job, change things
up with these techniques. They're easy to implement
and VERY effective - no excuses for not getting
results!
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