Best Way To Increase Grip Strength?

Obviously, the best way to increase grip strength is by actually using your grip to grab on to things. If you do this without really thinking about it, like you partake in an activity like Judo or Rock Climbing, then your grip will most probably be much stronger than the average person. In my opinion, due to so much grabbing and twisting of the Gi (martial arts uniform) some of the people with the strongest grip, and most usable in a real situation, are Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu players. But if you don't do those type of activities there are still many ways to get better grip strength. However, all of them, whether free or paid for (buying hand grips etc), all come down to one thing, and that's usage.

Senshi Japan Gripper

Practise Practise Practise. The more you actually use your grip, especially at its highest physical limit, the more stronger and efficient it will become. There are so many pieces of cheap equipment out there that you can buy which help increase grip strength. But why spend money when there are so many free ways to work on your grip strength. Of course, some of the products are quite cheap and effective, so if you want to buy something low in price to help motivate you, then that's fine.

But lets look at a few exercises you can do for free that help increase grip strength. Some of those are, pull ups, door lip pull ups / hangs (top of the door frame), holding a weight plate with just your fingers, bar hanging for prolonged periods, unscrewing tight lids / tops, manual work (grabbing, shovelling, wood work, lifting, carrying, manual screwing (no drills), certain types of weight lifting, and many many more free methods.

As mentioned, you can buy products like hand grips (many different types), the Wringer, and a whole host of individual finger exercisers, like the Gripmaster range. But really, if you are going to invest in a gripping aid you may as well buy something heavy duty that can last a long time, because with normal hand grips, there are so many complaints about them snapping after a while.

The newer models that have a little spring at the front are notorious for this. And when you consider that products like the industrial spring loaded hand grip by Senshi Japan (pictured above) only cost around £20 - £25, it makes sense to buy that because they truly do last for decades.

You could buy something like the Isokinator, which comes complete fabric cord handles that the user holds onto while training. This will somewhat work the users grip. But why spend that much money, especially if your only goal is hand strength, when there are so many other devices that can do the job much cheaper.

1 comment:

BawBag said...

This is a very well written post. Your methods and logic on improving grip strength are on point. Everything you write on this blog is very well presented and factual. If I could interject my own journey with improving my own grip strength. About a year back I was searching around trying to find information on how to increase my hand and grip strength. I came across many individuals who are known for having very strong grips. But two that really stood out to me were Jedd Johnson and Adam Glass.

If you're familiar with people who can literally rip decks of cards in half (tough, but more about technique), pinch grip training and steel bending, you will no doubt of heard of these two guys. Both Jedd Johnson and Adam Glass hold world records for grip strength. Adam Glass holds 13 world records for grip strength. So its safe to say these two men know a thing or two about increasing grip strength. They each have some of the strongest grips in the world.

I ended up getting the Adam Glass training program for improving grip strength. After the initial first few weeks my grip had improved immensely. Now a year down the line and my grip has improved so much compared to what it was like before. I recommend Adam Glass' hand and forearm training guide 100%. You can find it here if you're interested in checking it out.

I've heard very good things about Jedd Johnson's hand grip /finger grip training program through friends, so would recommend that guide on their merit. My friends have superman grips so it must be good! Who better than these two world record holders to show us novices the ropes. Jedd's training guide | Jedd Johnson's website.