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Developing a Vise-Like Grip |
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by Thomas Incledon, PhD(c), RD, LD/LN, RPT, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
The deadlifter exploded off the ground and just as quickly, the bar fell right out of his hands. It’s hard to deadlift big weights when you can’t hold onto the bar. If you have this problem, you’re not alone. Lots of big guys have relatively weak grips. Before starting the program in this article, my grip was pathetic. I couldn’t even hold 250 pounds in each hand for the Farmer’s Walk. Now, I’m saying hello to 400 pounds. You can do the same by trying these simple but unusual exercises.
Thicker Handles
Of all the things I have tried, nothing seems to work as well as using a pair of thick handles, like the IronMind Rolling Thunder handles. They attach to cable-type machines like regular cable handle attachments. The difficulty lies in the diameter of the handle - about 2.5 inches. That may not sound like much, but the first time you try them don’t be surprised if you have to reduce the weight you’re lifting by 50% or so. For exercises like one-arm cable rows or even cable curls, you will find that your grip is working like never before. After a few workouts, you should be able to handle much heavier weights with ease. Now when you go back to lifting with a regular handle, the weights will feel considerable easier. If you don’t have the handles, you can achieve a similar effect by wrapping a towel or sponge around handles, barbells, and dumbbells. You can even use a thick towel for cable rows.
Farmer’s Walk
Try picking up a set of dumbbells and walking around the gym while holding them at your sides. You’ve just done the Farmer’s Walk. Most guys can’t walk very far with even 60-pound DBs. Now imagine the behemoths on ESPN, literally running with 300+ pounds in each hand. They started with lighter weights, developed their technique, and progressed in weight accordingly from there. The key is to learn how to walk fast without oscillating from side to side. Keep the lats flared so the DBs hang further out from your sides. This will allow you to walk without the DBs hitting your thighs. Push off the back foot as you paw the ground with the front foot and use it to pull yourself forward. When done correctly, you can develop amazing speed, even with very heavy weights. If you don’t have any heavy DBs, you can wrap a towel around the handles of lighter DBs to make it harder, or you can run a towel through some plates and hold the two ends in one hand.
Bar Hanging
Like the name indicates, you hang from a chin-up bar. I would suggest doing this at the end of a workout. You hang for 30 seconds with just your body weight. When that becomes easy, start holding a DB between your legs as you hang. When you can hold over 100 pounds, try hanging from one hand. The key here is to learn how to relax and focus on squeezing your hand just tight enough so that you hold onto the bar. Squeezing too tightly will make you fatigue prematurely.
Deadlift Holds
Another grip trainer is to hold a weighted barbell in both hands in front of your thighs. Set up the bar in a power rack above knee height. Unrack the barbell by gripping it and extending your hips and back. Use the same grip with both hands. Hold the bar in front of you similar to the top position of the deadlift exercise for 30 seconds. Most guys will do this without straps. One trick is to use straps, but squeeze the bar as tight as possible. The straps can actually allow the grip to continue past the point where you would normally fatigue and let go. This can have a significant effect over time. In this fashion, the straps mimic the effects of performing forced reps.
Sample Workout Routines
Select two days per week to train your grip. Perform the routines at the end of your workout so that it does not interfere with other exercises. The initial weights and volumes are low so that you can develop some technique. Over time the volume increases to 3 sets and the intensity progressively increases.
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