Any advice for training your grip / fist?

[Sukerkin]

I remember that too, Tom. Sorry for the off-topic but wan't the lead Raquel Welch? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part ?

 

[morph4me]

A cigar for the man with the long sharp implement of destruction

 

[Em MacIntosh]

The awkward methods are awkward because they rely on less "popular" muscle bundles. Take a stick and 2 feet of string and tie it around a can of beans. Hold the stick horizontally and roll it up with one hand until the can reaches he stick then roll it back down. I like to fill a couple of jars with water, with mouthes on the jars almost too big for my hand making it an awkward grip. Try moving the jars around in big circles, increasing the grip strength to compensate for the cetrifical force. Fingertip pushups are great. I also like to open doors with my index finger braced by my middle finger. Palming (or attempting to palm) basketballs, coconuts, pinaples and even watermelons is a great way to develop those awkward muscles, especially when you try moving your arms around while holding them. Another thing that's important is how quickly you can apply your maximum grip. I think the best way to do that is to make fists and open them really quickly, pushing it as your wrists get fatigued and sore. The speed at which you can grip something tightly is as important as how tightly you can grip it, take the handshake, for example. It doesn't work with everybody but the first person to apply their grip to "fold" the other's hand tends to have the advantage.

 

[Ninjamom]

A few exercises I'd recommend:

1. Captains of Crush: (Available through IronMind, and others) These handgrips are pierless for strength development. CoC has a range of products, starting with grips appropriate for noobie middle-aged Moms(like me), all the way up to grips suited to helping the Hulk improve his hand strength. They even have an elite club for those who can close their top grip.

2. Squeeze a tennis ball. The 'poor man's alternate' to professional quality grip strengtheners. My father had the most massive forearms of anyone I knew growing up. That's all he did. Watching TV, reading a book, just any free moment as a kid, he sat with a tennis ball in one hand or the other, squeezing and releasing.

3. Coiling Exercise: Get a section of broomhandle, or other appropraite dowel. Tie a long piece of rope/twine around the middle. Tie a weight to the other end (a milk jug filled with water to your level of comfort works very well). Hold the dowel/handle at arms' length with one hand on each side of the twine/rope, palms facing down. Roll up the twine/rope until the weight reaches the handle by rolling your wrists back towards your body, alternating right and left hands. Then, lower the weight back down to the floor by rolling the handle forward. Repeat. You'll thank me. (Well, you *might* thank me, after you recover from feeling like your wrists are going to fall off.)

4. Squeeze all the water out of a wet towel by twisting it. Use your hands/wrists only.

5. Knuckle push-ups. This is one of the best exercises for building functional stability in your wrists. It forces proper allignment in your wrists/forearms for proper punching and strengthens all the supporting muscles. It will improve your punching immensely, in the event you find that you ever actually have to hit something, not just move through air.

6. Kettlebells. Those who do kettlebells sware by them (or at them). Kettlebells have a range of strength benefits, one of which is improved grip strength. I wouldn't advise going out and buying a bunch just to improve your grip strength, but if you have access to them, they will help in your quest.

7. Padding/Grip on weights. For any sport beyond tiddliewinks, IMHO EVERYONE should be lifting weights. It improves any martial art training so much that I cannot recommend highly enough adding some basic weight training (squats, deadlifts, and variants for lower body strength, especially) to ANY training routine. Once you are lifting, just changing your grip on the bar (or adding a pad to make the bar feel 'thicker' so you must grip it more tightly) will improve your grip strength during your regular workout.

 

[KenpoTex]

Great suggestions Ninjamom, I too am a fan of the Captains of Crush grippers...they will definately help develop that "Road house" level grip-strength D). The nice thing about these is you can drop one in your backpack and work with it anywhere (stuck in traffic, on the train, etc.)

The wrist-rollers using a stick with a weight suspended by a rope is also excellent.

Wringing out a wet towel works great, one way I do it to make it harder is to start by holding a wet hand-towel by just the very corner with one hand. Start rolling it into a ball as you squeeze the water out. Be sure you squeeze as much water out as you can before your roll it any more. It gets progressively harder as you roll it since you're having to hold on to a bigger chunk of cloth, the goal is to not be able to squeeze any more water out once your done...just make sure you only use one hand...don't cheat

Kettlebells are good, in addition to the normal workouts, take a bath-towel, loop it through the loop on the k-bell, and do curls that way. Holding the handfull of cloth as you work will fry your grip as you must squeeze tightly to keep from dropping the weight. (the same thing can be done with a dumbbell, just be careful).

here's a link with a variety of exercises (just click where it says "next tip" or "previous tip" to get more)
http://www.strongandhealthyhands.com/ironmind/opencms/ironmind/GripTips/GripTip40.html

here's a couple of threads on another forum that demonstrate some good stuff:
http://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168
http://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185

 

[ShaolinBoxer]

I use a 6ft wooden staff.

1. Twirl it 50 times both ways, building both arms
2. Hold the very end, and let the pole stick straight out, leveled with the ground
3. Hold the the very end, and practice your blocks and strikes.
4. Twirl it and toss it up and catch with the other hand continuing the roll. This builds a brain for each hand. And especially teaches you to hand the stick yourself... like someones hand.. arm.. leg.. finger..

Eventually, after swinging it so much, you not only gain stronger and smarter forearms(meaning your left/right hand should have thier own brains now) you learn about gravity more. Your body learns to shift suttlely to add power to your spinning. Excellent for understanding your opponents gravity, and shifting yours and adding force with small room to deliver.

 

[Sukerkin]

Nice idea, Shaolin. It is an extension of the same effects that I get from swordwork. The 'lever' being longer may well enhance the beneficial outcome.

 

[Hawke]

Hey Jenna,

Take a look at:

Hand Health
http://www.gripfaq.com/Hand_Health/

The muscle imbalance may hurt you, so training your opposite (antagonist) muscles will help your muscles stay in balance.

Hope this helps.

 

[jks9199]

I use a 6ft wooden staff.

1. Twirl it 50 times both ways, building both arms
2. Hold the very end, and let the pole stick straight out, leveled with the ground
3. Hold the the very end, and practice your blocks and strikes.
4. Twirl it and toss it up and catch with the other hand continuing the roll. This builds a brain for each hand. And especially teaches you to hand the stick yourself... like someones hand.. arm.. leg.. finger..

Eventually, after swinging it so much, you not only gain stronger and smarter forearms(meaning your left/right hand should have thier own brains now) you learn about gravity more. Your body learns to shift suttlely to add power to your spinning. Excellent for understanding your opponents gravity, and shifting yours and adding force with small room to deliver.

It's been a while -- but I used to do many of these, and some others. For example, take a 6 foot stick, hold it very close to or at the end, then extend it forward (similar to a one handed thrust), draw it back keeping the far tip high and rotating your elbow up, then rotate it (best word; easier to show than describe) under and forward so that the long end goes behind you... rotate it back to the start and repeat. Like I said -- easier to do than describe...

There's a lot you can do using a stick to build forearm strength...

 

[chinto]

yep all the above, and the squeeze things that have one for each finger .. you can get them at any sporting store that caters to the rock/ mountain climbing folks... and believe it or not knuckle push ups! the individual finger squeeze ones.. I have a "GRIPMATER" heavy tension model that I use ... that and knuckle push ups and kata really do train the grip really well!!!!!!

 

[Jenna]

Wow! Many, many thanks for all these replies. I had no idea that there were so many variants of these exercises. Wish I had asked earlier! Each one is a new string to the bow. I am endebted A friend took me to the gym for some 'new possibilities'. I am afraid I cannot tune myself into the gym-type workout properly. I grew up in my dad's boxing club like a right tomboy skipping rope and drumming the speedball and not much else These exercises suggested here are 1). way more interesting and fun and much less easy to become bored with than the weights machines in the gym, and 2). mimic much closer the contraction of muscle needed for the grip, and 3). for the most part cheap or free and so thank you all again very much indeed!
Yr most obdt hmble srvt,
Jenna

 

[jarrod]

the farmer's walk is an excellent grip exercise, & hits your legs, back & shoulders as well, although i feel it primarily in my hands & forearms. a description is as follows:

pick up a heavy weight in each hand. walk as far as you can with them. don't run.

hope this helps.

jf

 

[shihansmurf]

Jenna,


In order to have good grip strength the forearm need to be developed well. To that end, overall weight training is, of course, desired. However, to target train the grip this is what I do.

1. The weight throw and grab-

Toss a barbell with 10 to 30 lbs (whatever you can handle) upward to about eye level. Reach out and grab the weight with the other hand not letting it fall lower than your chest. Do 3 sets of 15-20 on each hand.

2. Wrist curls-

Perform exactly like bicep curls but support the forarm and actuate the wrist. 3sets of 15-20 on each hand with same weight wsed for weight throw.

3. Tennis ball crush-

Compress a tennis ball in each hand for three sets of 10-15 reps. Close your hand as tightly as possible.

Any weapon work will strengthen your grip as well.

Hope this helps.

Mark