It’s important to have grip strength in all aspects of life, but it’s critical for athletes and people who are physically active. Whether you’re a baseball player, weightlifter, or runner — or simply want to pick up heavy items without dropping them — you want to ensure your grip strength is up to par. But there’s more. Research links a stronger hand grip with better quality of life and less risk of disability as you age.
In addition, having a stronger grip can help you when you strength train. Lifting weights depends on the strength of your grip, and if it isn’t strong enough, you will have difficulty moving heavy objects. Grip strength is an important part of muscle strength — it’s related to the amount of weight you can lift using your hands and arms.
For example, if you want to use heavier weights for a chest press or shoulder press exercise, it’s much easier if you have strong grip strength because you won’t have to worry about dropping the dumbbells on your chest or shoulders. If you want to do deadlifts or pull-ups, for example, having a strong grip will allow you to hold onto the bar longer and complete more reps with heavier weights. Let’s look at some simple ways to improve your grip strength.
Improve your grip strength by doing pull-ups or bar hangs
Pull-ups are the undisputed king in building upper-body strength. Pull-ups work your lats, rhomboids, biceps, and forearms, so you can expect them to be challenging. And if you do them regularly, you’ll also improve your grip strength and develop upper body strength too.
If you’re new to this exercise, try starting with negatives (where you start with your chin above the bar and lower yourself slowly), jumping pull-ups (where you jump up into the air and grab the bar before lowering yourself), or easier variations like modified pull-ups. If you can’t do full push-ups, simply hanging from a pull-up bar will improve your grip strength.
Improve your grip with deadlifts
Deadlifts with a barbell are an effective way to strengthen your grip but take care with this exercise and don’t rush through the motions. Take your time and do the movement correctly with good form, from getting into position to lowering the bar.
It may be tempting to push yourself as hard as possible when doing deadlifts, but it’s important not to progress too quickly, or you’ll not get the most out of the movement or end up injured. Use a lighter barbell at first and work up to a heavier barbell as you get more comfortable with the movement. You’ll need to lift heavy to get the most hand grip benefits.
Squeeze a tennis ball for a strong grip
Do you have a tennis ball lying around? Here’s a simple way to boost hand grip strength: do tennis ball squeezes. A tennis ball is one of the least expensive tools for building up your hand muscles and improving your grip. Squeezing one repeatedly will help strengthen your hands and fingers, and it’s easy to carry with you and work on grip strength when you have free minutes.
It’s simple to do. Squeeze the tennis ball and hold it for 30 seconds. Then, rest for 30 seconds. Repeat this process three times in a row several times per day, and you should increase your grip strength over time. Be sure to work both hands.
If you don’t have a tennis ball handy, you can still get the benefits by squeezing a stress ball or even clenching your hand shut and holding it for a few seconds. Don’t forget to work both sides. You don’t want your grip strength on one side to be weaker than the other.
Use a hand grip strengthener
Did you know you can buy a metal hand strengthener, a dedicated tool to build hand strength? Using a hand grip strengthener is simple — all you do is squeeze the handles together and hold for 20 seconds. Do a set of 5-10 squeezes twice a day.
Once this becomes easier, add more sets per day until you’re doing five sets daily. Bonus: A hand grip strengthener will also strengthen the muscles in your forearms. You can buy a hand grip strengthener at sporting goods stores and online. Keep one on your office desk and use it when you take a break.
Improve grip strength with arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a fun way to improve your grip strength. It’s also a sport, so if you love it and are good at it, you can challenge yourself by entering local competitions.
There are plenty of other benefits, too. Arm wrestling enhances hand-eye coordination. The hand motions required for arm wrestling help develop coordination between the eyes and wrists. When you arm wrestle, you also boost upper-body strength. Any motions that require pushing, pulling, or lifting heavy objects help build upper-body strength. Try it! You might enjoy it and build strength at the same time.
Conclusion
Grip strength is an important part of overall fitness, and it’s something you can work on with minimal equipment. You can even work on hand grip strength when you sit at your desk at work with a tennis ball or hand grip strengthener. There are plenty of ways to work on your grip strength and it will improve all aspects of your life from strength training to the tasks you do every day. Use these tips as a guide and see what works best for strengthening your grip.
References:
Giampaoli S, Ferrucci L, Cecchi F, Lo Noce C, Poce A, Dima F, Santaquilani A, Vescio MF, Menotti A. Hand-grip strength predicts incident disability in non-disabled older men. Age Ageing. 1999 May;28(3):283-8. doi: 10.1093/ageing/28.3.283. PMID: 10475865.
Bohannon RW. Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clin Interv Aging. 2019 Oct 1;14:1681-1691. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S194543. PMID: 31631989; PMCID: PMC6778477.
