Strong Hands = Strong Body

submitted by Rob Dales islandheroes.ca

Most typical training that one sees in gyms etc. falls short in one area. That is the training fails to target a very important muscle group. I am talking of course about those muscles involved in giving one a mighty grip.

If you are considering competing in strongman you should give some serious thought to doing some exercises specifically to improve your grip strength.

Once you start training your grip (if you're not training it already) you will find it addictive and fun.

I am writing this article because I believe without a doubt the grip is an important
portion of any strongman's training.

In strongman your hands are a link between you and what you are lifting.
And a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you add strength to your hands there
is no doubt that you will add strength to your lifts.

You should train your grip in all angles: make the fingers strong, develop crushing strength; wrist strength is really
important too.

Here are some exercises to help you train for additional grip strength.

Brick and Broom Lift

This is a fun exercise because it sounds deceptively simple when you first hear how it is performed.

• Get a wooden handled broom, the kind with a straw brush.

• Place the broom on the floor so that it is lying flat on the ground.

• Place a brick on the brush part of the broom.

• Now try and lift the broom off the ground with one of your hands grasping the
  end of the broom keeping the broom parallel with the floor.

You will no doubt feel this in your wrists. This is a good exercise as the weight can be adjusted just as in using standard weights. Try it with your friends.

Once you have mastered the brick and broom exercise you can move on to lifting sledgehammers in this fashion for added difficulty!

pinch griping

Pinch gripping is great for strengthening the fingers. Practicing for better pinch grip will help you get ahold of things moving quickly through your hands.

An exercise that is very popular for pinch gripping is performed as follows:

• Take two standard weight plates of the same size and place them next to
  each other with the smooth sides out.
  
  
• Now try and lift them off of the floor pinching them with the fingers and thumb
  of one of your hands.

Start with 25 lb. plates, then work your way up to 35, then 45, etc.

This is a challenge but regular practice will bring in great results!

use hand grippers

Hand grippers are great for developing crushing grip.

Our sponsor Ironmind makes good grippers, they have and continue to test the boundaries of crushing limit strength.

Farmers Walk

Of course the farmers walk will test your hand strength. No straps. Carry for distance a heavy weight in each hand.

Use farmers walk implements but if you don't have those, not to worry two heavy dumbbells will do the trick.

I hope this article gives you some ideas to add to your existing grip training regime and if you don't currently train your grip I hope it gives you a good place to start.

About The Author

Rob Dales is an amateur Strongman.
He runs the Island Strongman Competition and is the webmaster of www.islandheroes.ca