I am always on the look out for and trying new and different exercises for whole body workouts or for grip strength. It’s good to try new stuff; it helps keep workouts from getting boring and targets the muscles from another perspective. Listed below are a couple things I have tried out recently.
1. I have been using something called a slosh tube, you may already know about them. If not, it is just a length of PVC pipe up to maybe 9 feet long, 4 inch diameter with caps on both ends. You fill it about half full with water and the idea is when you workout with it the water is constantly flowing back and forth and it forces you to compensate the weight.
With mine I adjusted the amount of water in it so I could hold it out in front of me with my elbows in against my sides. Holding the tube with palms down you can rotate it like you would a wrist roller. Roll it in both directions till you can’t go anymore, you will get a good burn.
2. I took two small chunks of 2 x 4 and screwed one lag hook into each into the narrow side. I’ll hang two short lengths of chain over a pull-up bar and loop each hook up too each chain. Gripping the 2 x 4’s with my fingers wrapped around the wood I do pull-ups. If you are strong enough try doing pull-ups this way with just a pinch grip.
Homemade Tools for Grip Strength
If you are serious about building over all strength, do not neglect to develop your hands and forearms. The stronger they are, the more weight you can lift when working out with dumbbells and barbells. There are as many ways to develop your forearms as your imagination will allow; a lot of the tools you can use can be homemade.
For pinch grip exercises you can use a softball and drill a pilot hole part of the into it. Next screw a lag hook into the hole. You could then just run a small chain through the hole in a plate and hook the ends of the chain onto the hook. Hold the ball with a full grip or just with your finger tips and lift. Add more plates or a heavier one for more weight.
A variation would be to use a hockey puck. Drill a hole into the middle of the hockey puck and screw in a lag hook. For a stronger setup insert an eye-bolt through the hole with a washer on either side of the puck with a nut on the top side to hold it together. This makes a great finger tip pinch grip tool.
Two inch thick patio stones are great, you can get them from about 12” x 12” up two 24” x 24”. If you have a pair of them, you could carry one in each hand and do a farmers walk to get more of a full body workout. Squeezing and holding on to patio stones really gives your arms a excellent workout.
For pinch grip exercises you can use a softball and drill a pilot hole part of the into it. Next screw a lag hook into the hole. You could then just run a small chain through the hole in a plate and hook the ends of the chain onto the hook. Hold the ball with a full grip or just with your finger tips and lift. Add more plates or a heavier one for more weight.
A variation would be to use a hockey puck. Drill a hole into the middle of the hockey puck and screw in a lag hook. For a stronger setup insert an eye-bolt through the hole with a washer on either side of the puck with a nut on the top side to hold it together. This makes a great finger tip pinch grip tool.
Two inch thick patio stones are great, you can get them from about 12” x 12” up two 24” x 24”. If you have a pair of them, you could carry one in each hand and do a farmers walk to get more of a full body workout. Squeezing and holding on to patio stones really gives your arms a excellent workout.
Do You Know how Strong Your Grip Strength Is
You have worked hard to get build powerful strength in your forearms and hands. You have been getting some great strength gains and you are lifting stuff like never before. You have even found during your regular weight lifting sessions you are able to lift heavier weights, your stronger hands and forearms have made a big difference. Now you want to see what you can do with this new strength.
You could try tearing phone books in half, if you have the strength and the correct technique you can do it. Maybe you can try a deck of cards which actually could be more difficult than a phone book, the cards can be a bit slippery. If the phone book might be too much to start with start by ripping magazines, use the proper technique and keep practicing.
You could try nails and steel rods. When bending nails you need incorporate your whole body into it. Bending nails will really show the strength in your arms or the lack of it. Learn the correct technique, start off by bending something easy and work your way up.
Check around your area for some competition, grip strength contests are getting more frequent and there may be one close by your area at some time. Go ahead and enter and give it a try or just watch to see what’s going on and prepare for the next. If you know of enough people that might be interested start one up yourself.
Training the forearms and hands has really been gaining some momentum as people have found what having stronger forearms can do for them. If you think a weak grip might be your weak link, now is the time to start fixing it.
You could try tearing phone books in half, if you have the strength and the correct technique you can do it. Maybe you can try a deck of cards which actually could be more difficult than a phone book, the cards can be a bit slippery. If the phone book might be too much to start with start by ripping magazines, use the proper technique and keep practicing.
You could try nails and steel rods. When bending nails you need incorporate your whole body into it. Bending nails will really show the strength in your arms or the lack of it. Learn the correct technique, start off by bending something easy and work your way up.
Check around your area for some competition, grip strength contests are getting more frequent and there may be one close by your area at some time. Go ahead and enter and give it a try or just watch to see what’s going on and prepare for the next. If you know of enough people that might be interested start one up yourself.
Training the forearms and hands has really been gaining some momentum as people have found what having stronger forearms can do for them. If you think a weak grip might be your weak link, now is the time to start fixing it.
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