Get Crushing Grip Strength with This Workout

There are many athletes who could benefit from increased grip strength. Many sports require a strong grip to be successful such as wrestling, football, baseball, weightlifting, and judo. Although many athletes value the importance of grip strength, many are confused about the proper training techniques to increase grip strength and prevent injury. Many times I have heard "Can I train grip like other muscles?" The answer is yes. You must train with high intensity and proper recovery time to prevent over training, just as you would any other muscle group. Here we will go over the proper exercises and training regimen to increase grip strength for improved athletic performance and injury prevention.

As you may know, there is much more to grip strength than your ability to crush something in your hand. There is also pinch strength, spreading strength, twisting and bending strength of the forearm and individual finger strength. To have a well rounded grip training program you must incorporate all of these types of training into your workout.

Pinch Strength

Pinch strength is your ability to pinch weight between your fingers and thumb. The level of strength is often measured by how much weight can be pinched or how wide the fingers can be from the thumb while still holding the weight. In this type of strength, being able to pinch five 5lb plates is far better than being able to pinch one 25lb plate. You can increase this grip strength by doing timed holds. This means finding a plate, or putting two plates together and holding the pinch for a set amount of time. Start with a lighter weight for 20-30 seconds and work your way up from there with more weight, more plates and more time.

Crush Strength