Grip it and rip it

Is your grip one of the first things to go when performing deadlifts, pull ups, lat pull downs etc? If you find yourself thinking about using gloves or wraps because you think they will help with improvig your grip then I recommend you read this first.

Showing off his grip

Having impressive grip strength dates back a couple of decades now as old time strong men were famed for being able to bend nails, rope climb , rip phone books in half, carry heavy objects for long distances etc So much of this could have been attributed to daily hard labour work on building sites as the men used their hands and grip all the time. Whereas now the most challenging way most peoples grip is tested is opening a jam jar!  

For this reason and just so you find it easier to even carry your shopping I recommend the following –

1. Improve the quality of the muscle – this goes for any muscles but if your forearms are very tight all the time then their quality is poor which makes maximal muscle contraction difficult and holding it for a longer time even more challenging. For this reason I recommend rolling and stretching the forearms as follows (this can be done on any smooth surface) –

2. Deadlift – nothing is going to increase grip strength than building up your deadlift as its the one exercise that you can hold the most load. I would also recommend you throw in partial deadlifts or rack deadlifts into your program weekly so your grip and really all your connective tissue gets used to holding a heavier load than you can currently use for a full range deadlift. Here is a short video showing a 220kg deadlift for 3reps and please keep in mind that partial lifts regarless of the exercise used can be done in any number of ranges e.g. deadlift slightly below the knee, slightly above the knee, just taking the bar out and holding it etc

 Do not be afraid of doing some high rep deadlifts with 50% of your max also (20reps +) as the challenge to keep holding on is super for increasing grip strength.  

3. Pull ups/chin ups – I find it quite common when dealing with new clients that it can be their grip that goes on pull ups/chin ups sooner than their upper back muscles. To resolve this I recommend you simply do one of two things –

A) High rep pull ups/chin ups – again like in deadlifts (and safer than high rep deadlifts) there is massive benefit in doing say 100rep pull ups/chin ups. You just keep looking at the bar and getting back on until you get all reps. The first time you do this you are going to be as stiff as a board the next day but it’s a great way to get you over the mental hurdle of not letting go. You could also do this with one arm rows and inverted rows but I prefer pull ups/chin ups as you are working with your own body weight.

B) Just hang – This one is simple you ust hang from a bar for time. I recommend 60secs and then add weight hanging from you when you can do this. Place a clock somewhere you can see and it’s not only great for grip but brilliant for loosening out the back also.

get back up on the bar for your pull ups

4. Rope work – using a tool that you have to grip in an alternative way as compared to holding a barbell or dumbbell is an excellent way to massively increase grip strength. When using battling rope for dynamic/power execises as shown in the video below your grip is going to get challenged in a big way due to the twisting and turning forces you apply to the rope. Rope work like this is great for developing increased power and for me a much preferred method to doing core work.

Seated rope work with deadlifts –

Ropes can also be used for a griptastic chin up workout.

If you do not have a rope then a thick towel can be used to perform the chin ups. Overall, if you are involved in a sport in which grip is an essential component (e.g. Judo, Rugby, Rock climbing, GAA) then I would consider rope work – rope pulls, rope climbing, dynamic rope work, chins on ropes etc an essential part of your training.

5. Kettlebell swings – If you do not have the space or train in a facility where ropes are not available then kettlebell swings can provide an excellent grip alternative or addition. Like with rope work, kettlebell swings are a massive challenge on your grip due to the massive forces you apply when swinging that bell. Take this metcon as an example of a big grip strength challenge – in all three movements the grip is being called into play. Doing workouts like this can really boost your gripping ability. I find that when a workout calls for toes to bar or knees to elbows I can cycle through them much quicker than others as I regualrly work on my grip in constantly varying ways rather than just turning up and hoping you will hold on.

Another way of using your kettlebells or even just a dumbbell is for farmers walks. This is a really simple exercise where you pick up a single weight, two different weights or the same weights in each hand and walk for time or distance. Again so simple yet so many people do not do this and it’s a really easy exercise to work into a metcon or workout. Remember to vary it up from set to set or round to round (if doing a metcon) i.e. one weight, two different ones, two the same weight. Here Elaine does it as part of a metcon.

A few weeks ago one of my clients who is in her 50’s was moving house and  has moved house 4 times in the last ten years. She said that this most recent move was the easiest as she was able to pick up, carry items, drag , move boxes and keep going all day easily whereas in previous moves she was shattered after just an hour or two of that type of activity. Please keep in mind that what I recommend here is NOT for the exclusive benefit of guys and is something I use with all my clients regardless of gender, age and ability. All you have to do is scale it to your level.  

Dominic mid-swing on the kettlebell

I hope that gives you a complete understanding of the many ways you can work and develop better grip strength that will help in everything from your workouts to every day life.

Train heavy to look your best

From time to time I get emails from prospective clients on getting in better shape and dropping body fat. Invariably the mail will end with ‘but i do not want to get tooooo big’.

When I do start working with the client I may have to ease their notion that by lifting heavier weights they will not get huge. Obviously this question is more common in women but what guys forget is that in order to look amazing you actually have to get bloody stronger. Week in week out the gyms I train in are filled with guys and girls lifting weights that are way below their potential, lifting with poor form and mostly doing exercises that do not give them much bang for their buck. For example, which exercise is going to have a more beneficial effect on your body – a few sets of biceps curls or a few sets of chin ups. Are the chin ups going to work more muscle than biceps curls – YES.

On the technique front, I was in a gym last week doing a few overhead squats (up to 70kg now for reps so its going ok) when the guy beside me was doing deadlifts. I admired the fact that he was doing deadlifts but it was with such poor form that I just had to stop him. On my first comment on his poor form he actually responded with “but it’s just my warm ups”. Well then warm up properly man. After some correction he was lifting much better and if he maintains the advice given he will not hurt his back doing a massively beneficial exercise. The really funny thing was that the guy on the other side of me was also doing deadlifts with even worse form – think of the hunchback of notre dame and he was a trainer in the gym! I did not correct him.

Deadlift help needed!

This is why when the average person attends a gym they tend to get a cookie cutter program i.e. the same program everyone gets. A client told me today that her mum went to a gym for the first time recently and the program given involved over 10 different machines and that was just the weights part of the feckin program. Simplify people.

Overall, if you want to get fitter, drop body fat and look/feel your best then you most certainly have to get stronger and this goes for all exercises and in particular exercises like pull ups, inverted rows, press ups, deadlifts, squats, lunges, overhead presses, squats, olympic lifts etc

Please have a look back at some of my videos of any of my clients lifting really well with decent weights. Note that the girls and guys do not look MASSIVE yet are in very good shape. So do not moan about flabby arms, stomach etc if you have not gotten any stronger recently. By getting stronger not only will you increase muscle tone but your energy will increase, your metabolism will increase, you will drop more body fat, have better control of sugar levels and overall have a better quality of life. All of this becomes more important as you get older as you will lose muscle as you get older unless you weight train. Keep preserving your muscle and this will give you a better quality of life every single day.

Finally, I will finish with a video of my good self doing deadlifts using 190kg on a final set for 5reps. This is over twice my bodyweight and although I do not consider this amazing but I do think that any guy who wants to look his best needs to be hitting double bodyweight deadlifts. For a woman a bodyweight deadlift is a good standard. Remember if you are not getting stronger on the basic exercises then please do not expect to get in better shape.