One of my funky little Kettlebell Grip Drills

Sometimes people ask me why the heck I would want to put all of that time into training only 5% of my body.

I understand why people ask this. In fact, when I first heard about training Grip, I thought it was a waste of time too.

However, I did think it would be cool to tear a deck of cards in half so I decided to give Grip Training a try.

Within a few weeks I was tearing decks of cards, but to my surprise, a lot of my other lifts were also going up.

For instance, at this time, I went from being able to strictly perform a seated curl with a 65-lb dumbbell to a strict curl with an 85-lb Dumbbell.

So I could curl a bit more – who cares right?

Well, the fact is, I also started seeing increases in many of my other lifts as well. My Bench Press, Squat, Overhead Press, and my Deadlift all went up when I started seriously training for Grip Strength.

This was somebody who had already been training seriously for full body strength, not just bodybuilding, for a couple of years, and my numbers went up in just about EVERYTHING that involved my hands somehow.

One of the first things I tell anybody that writes me an email, calls me, leaves a comment on YouTube or at the website is that if you want your numbers to go up, you need to start training the grip seriously.

Now, I am not saying that you have to set aside an hour per workout to train all Grip disciplines. And I’m not saying that if you take a sheet of newspaper and crumple it up once you roll out of bed in the morning you are going to PR in the Bench Press – YOU HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT TO GET THE RESULTS.

If you do include Grip training for all aspects of lower arm performance on a regular basis, you will see significant improvement.

When your Grip is strong, EVERYTHING else gets stronger. And it doesn’t have to be a pulling movement like a deadlift, row, or curl.

Even if you are performing a press – Bench Press, Overhead Press, Military Press, if your Grip is more secure, you are going to move more weight. Check it out:

Four Reasons YOU Should Train Grip

1. Confidence:

When you grab the bar and you are shaky, how confident are you going to be in trying to move that weight? You’re not – you’re going to be more worried about dropping the thing on your throat than you are pressing it.

On the other hand when you grab onto the bar and control it so it doesn’t even waver a millimeter from the point of lift off, to the descent, and to the lockout, you’re going to push up bigger numbers because mentally, that is all you’re going to be thinking about – Smashing PR’s.

2. Endurance:

Let me ask you this question. When you are trying to get stronger, do you ALWAYS stay within the 1 to 3-rep range? How about if you are trying to burn off that beer gut, or trying to look better for the gym? Do you just hit a few sets of singles and then head home for a recovery drink?

Hell no.

You probably perform hundreds of reps when you go to the gym. So that’s where Grip comes into play again. Many people I have seen stop their set when their grip gives out. Their set is dependent on how long they can hold onto the implement.

Is that you? Do you set the bar back down when your hands or wrist start to tire out? Wouldn’t it make sense to strengthen your hands and wrists a bit more so your rep per set average went up?

Get stronger hands, and you’ll get more reps whether its with with 60%, 85%, and 100% of 1RM in the Bench. Think I’m crazy? Check out how many articles Jim Wendler has written about Grip Training for a bigger bench.

3. The Link Between the Hands and Body:

Your hands are hard-wired into your central nervous system, guys. When your hands fire harder, everything between them and your spinal cord gets activated more intensely and allows for better performance.

Have you ever seen an arm wrestler arm-wrestling with a limp wrist or hand? NO. They squeeze the other dude’s hand in order to load tension. Loading this tension solidifies their forearm, their elbow, and their shoulder.

It’s got many names – Radiant Tension, Irradiation, Co-Contraction – it doesn’t matter what you call it. When you activate the hands, you will Bench more. PERIOD.

4. Injury Prevention:

Have you ever tried to bench when your wrist hurt? Have you ever tried to bench when you had a sore spot in your forearm? Have you ever tried to bench when something in your elbow was giving you trouble? Chances are most people reading this have felt this and unfortunately when you have pain, it makes your lifts go down and makes you perform fewer repetitions.

Grip has a stereotype of being a “hand strength” thing, but it isn’t. Grip is everything from the elbow down. The muscles in the forearms help keep the elbow stable and safe, while also strengthening the entire region. The same goes for the wrist. So, if you train your Grip the right way, you will have fewer injuries, miss fewer workouts, and lose fewer reps in the gym.

Grip Helps Everything

Right there are just four benefits of having a strong grip. And Grip doesn’t just help you in the bench press. Grip helps everything.

Even if you are doing crunches , if you flex the Grip muscles, you WILL get a better full body contraction. Don’t believe me, then try it right now.

Here are more ways a stronger Grip will help you in your training.

…A Stronger Grip helps you perform more reps per set in your workout.

…A Stronger Grip helps you have better endurance in longer duration sets and in strength complexes…

A Stronger Grip helps you feel more confident with heavier lifts so you can push more weight without worry…

A Stronger Grip helps you you have fewer injuries, by being more resilient. AND if you do get an injury, having stronger lower arms and hands helps you bounce back quicker.

So how do you get a stronger Grip?

Well, a little over a year ago, I started a website dedicated to helping people accomplish their specific grip training goals.

It’s called The Grip Authority, and every single month, I upload information-packed articles, videos and interviews that I guarantee will help you get stronger.

Grip Strength is a Forgotten, Neglected, and Improperly Trained Element in many training programs. But it doesn’t have to be like that anymore.

Join me, and I’ll show you how to take your hands from being weak and feeble to being strong and reliable.

You’ll be amazed how training your hands THE RIGHT WAY will help you out in all aspects of your training.

Join The Grip Authority today. As soon as you join, I will be in contact with you to discuss your needs and begin plans to helping you accomplish your training goals.

I look forward to working with you this year.

Jedd

P.S. I have put up tons of free articles and videos here on this site and my YouTube channel, but that is nothing compared to what I share on The Grip Authority.

P.P.S. If you are already strong enough and your grip never fails you, please don’t worry about joining. I only want people to join my site that are willing to work hard, improve by leaps and bounds, and really love getting stronger in ALL THEIR LIFTS by enhancing their current weak points.

Articles You Might Also Like:

• Strength Coach Resources – Team Grip Training
• This Week’s Grip Challenge: Plate Curl for Reps
• This Week's Grip Challenge: Plate Curl for Reps
• Wrist Pain and the Bench Press
• Row Variations for a Big Back and Monster Grip

Tags: grip circuits, grip training, grip workouts, hand strength, stronger hands for lifting, training the grip

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 at 1:30 pm and is filed under accelerated muscular development, grip hand forearm training for sports, grip strength, how to improve grip strength. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.