This post was written by Easton Embry, human performance assistant, Parkview Sports Medicine.
Grip strength is an important part of training that often gets overlooked, but it’s key to overall health and function.
We often see individuals experience low grip strength because they’re new to the weight room, have past injuries or simply because they’ve never considered putting energy into training this skill. Luckily, it’s easy to incorporate movement to tip the scales in the other direction.
Developing stronger grip strength
When working to improve grip strength, try to stay away from using straps to aid in lifting, as this takes away from training the muscles.
The muscles involved in grip strength are the forearm muscles and the smaller muscles in our hands and fingers. You can train these muscles by making little adjustments to everyday lifting movements. You don’t necessarily need to dedicate a whole session to just grip strength like you would lower body or upper body.
Here are some ways to improve your grip strength:
- When gripping bars for a deadlift or Romanian deadlift (RDL), use an overhand grip.
- Do not wear gloves or protective hand gear while lifting. Accept your calluses, they will help build up toughness in the hands.
- Practice dead hangs from a pull-up bar.
- Add a carry to the end of your lift (e.g. farmer’s carry or suitcase carry).
- Incorporate forearm or wrist curls into your lifting routine.
- Practice pinches by grabbing heavy plates between your fingers.
- Try doing push-ups or planks on your fingertips.
- Get hand grippers and squeeze them as part of your workout routine or when convenient.
Learn more about our services available through Parkview Sports Medicine here.
