Besides having a great physique, the art of weightlifting opens a lot of benefits to the human body. One of the advantages is improved grip strength—an essential measure of muscular strength or the maximum force or tension generated by one’s forearm muscles. Grip strength is necessary for performing many of your daily activities, including sports. But most of all, it’s an essential part of weightlifting.
Having a weak grip for weightlifters is a limiting factor in the intense sport. Through various grip strength training exercises, weightlifters will become better at what they do while avoiding possible injuries and issues along the way.
But how do you boost your grip strength? Here are some exercises that can help boost grip strength for weightlifters, fitness enthusiasts, and active people alike.
Grip Strength Exercises
1. Deadlift
There is nothing more effective than lifting heavy weights to enhance your grip strength. Therefore, you should start with none other than a deadlift. However, since the exercise involves heavy weights, it’s best to consult an instructor before conducting the training to guarantee your safety.
2. Zottman Curl
Building a firmer grip translates to increasing your muscles all over. Since grip strength is connected to a firm forearm, a Zottman Curl’s routine will train the muscles of the biceps and the forearms—leading to a firmer grip.
3. Farmer’s Walks
A farmer’s walk is a routine everyone can try out. It does not require fancy equipment or objects. Instead, anything heavy will work as long as the person carrying the weight walks around with it. However, as long as you experience getting tired, bring the weights down, rest for a while, and restart the routine.
4. EZ Reverse Curl
An EZ reverse curl requires people to hold a bar in both hands and curl up and down. Although it is a simple exercise routine, the difficulty should advance over time—merely moving away from your palm at the bottom of the curl.
5. Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are a familiar routine for people trying to build upper body strength. Other than that, the technique is also applicable for building grip strength. As the person pulls themselves up and down a bar, their forearms and palms get stimulated too.
6. Dead Hang
Dead hangs may be the best exercise to help build grip strength. As the name suggests, the act requires the person to hang from an overhead bar with their arms outstretched while their body is in the open position. For beginners, try holding onto the bar for at least twenty to thirty seconds at a time.
7. Press-Up (Fingers Only)
Besides the exercises mentioned above, the press-up is the most advanced workout for building grip strength. Over time, once people master it, the technique should improve their grip strength immensely.
8. Reverse Press-Up
Instead of focusing on the fingers and palms, the reverse press-up highlights the wrists and forearms more. The routine also improves the chest muscles, making it a win-win situation for everyone.
The Importance of Grip Strength
Although grip strength plays an essential role in weightlifting, it’s necessary for overall health. There have been studies linking weak grip strength to an increased risk of heart failure and mortality. Overall, it serves as an indication for various disorders in the body, which are easily treatable with early detection.
But in weightlifting, a firm grip is most necessary for increasing the amount of weight you carry. For weightlifters to advance into heavier divisions, their grip strength should match the power of what their bodies can lift.
The Skinny is a free health newsletter providing the week’s most valuable health news. Designed to deliver information that helps improve your well-being, our topics are vast and inclusive on which matters most. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter now on our website!
