training the grip

Alex


I like to be able to try new exercises whenever I want and still be good at them. I pulled a 160 kg / 352 pound deadlift the other day with no real deadlift training prior to it. That was fun since it's 2.5 times my bodyweight almost. I also managed a 5 rep dip with +40 kg in a belt with no specific training. I love to be able to just jump in and try fun stuff here and there, so here's my thoughts.

I have good core strength, I have a good healthy shoulder girdle and I have a good grip, so I credit the feats to those abilities.

Build that base and training can become much more fun and experimental. Right now, I have no training program, I simply have a list of many exercises that I like and I just pick a few and hammer them for low, medium or high reps for as long as I like.
Let's talk grip training. It's one quality that I think will make or break you when trying new stuff for training. If your grip is super strong, you will be able to learn new exercises faster. A heavy deadlift can be trained without assistance. One arm chins can be built up to. High rep stuff like kettlebell swings or dumbbell rows can be done without worrying about dropping the weight.
here's a great weekly routine to get a good grip, this will be done on your regular sessions as a compliment.

workout one:
- when you do your pullups, use a towel to hang on to, or rather two towels spaced shoulder width apart. Go for heavy loads here and shoot for 6-8 sets of 3-5 reps with as high weight as you can.
- finish the session with some reverse barbell curls for the extensors. Go for pump, 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps and just make sure to move slow.


workout two:
- train you fingers using a climbers hang board, metolius rock rings, iron mind eagle loops or simply an edge on a door frame. If you cannot find this, use a fat pullup bar (fat gripz or wrap a towel around the bar to make it thick). Do either timed hangs (7 sets of 7 seconds with 3 s rest is a classic) or do pullups on your device of choice, but for a bit higher reps. I recommend quite high volume here so take your time and make room for this session in your time plan. Add weight as you get stronger.


workout three:
- thick object holds. Use a thick dumbbell/barbell or wrap a towel around a regular one. Do holds for time. I suggest doing a few shorter holds that are really heavy (5-10 s) and finish it with one or two longer sets of about one minute.
- wrist curls: take a barbell and lay your forearms on a bench. Wrist curl for high reps, I suggest 30-50 reps and really pump it up. 3-4 sets will do!


Next post from me will be an exposé of some of these exercises!