Strengthening Your Forearms, Wrists, and Hands without Fancy Grip Strength Equipment

Serra BJJ brown belt and strength expert Billy Hofacker reveals the best ways to strengthen your forearms, wrists, and hands without the use of fancy grip strength equipment:

Forearm, wrist, and hand strength are crucial to the success of a combat athlete. Strength in these areas will allow you to crush your opponent when grappling. You will also be able to hit hard when boxing with a lower risk of injuring your wrist or hand.

New grip strength equipment is constantly being invented and marketed to combat athletes and others who desire a strong grip. The truth is that it doesn’t really matter which tools you use. The muscles that you use for gripping don’t know the difference between a $200 piece of grip strength equipment and towel used to hang and do pull-ups from.

Consider performing some of these exercises 2-3 times per week:

Crushing grip strength exercises-This is the type of strength someone with a very firm hand shake has.

Example: Squeezing a tennis ball-While this is very basic, it’s a great place to start if you are new to gripping exercises. It’s also one of the cheapest pieces of grip strength equipment.

(Click Here to Watch Video)Pinching grip strength-This is the type of grip where your fingers are on one side of the object and your thumb is on the other.

Example: Plate pinch grips-Take two weight lifting plates and position them so the smooth sides are facing out. Pinch the plates together without letting them slip. Hold for a given amount of time. Start with lighter plates (2.5-10) and work your way up to heavier (25 or higher) ones.

  Holding grip strength- This type of gripping refers to holding onto an object for a period of time and requires muscular endurance.

Example: Farmers Walk-Hold a dumbbell or other heavy object in each hand and travel a distance holding onto the objects. For more effectiveness, increase the diameter of the object (use a thicker handle or wrap w/ a towel).

 

(Click Here to Watch Video)*Here are some of my favorite exercises for hand, forearm, and wrist strength as well as wrist stability (you’ll notice that all the exercises use very basic grip strength equipment).

Towel or gi pull-ups-Simply perform a pull-up but instead of hanging from a bar, hang from a towel or gi

 

  (Click Here to Watch Video)Gi rows- Straddle over a partner who is wearing a gi. Grip a lapel in each hand and perform a rowing motion. Keep you back arched and not rounded.

 

  (Click Here to Watch Video)Fingertip pushup- I first started doing this great exercise during my high school and college hoops playing days. It is wonderful for developing finger and wrist strength. I got to a point where I was easily doing them on 3 fingers. For this exercise, perform a regular pushups but on your fingertips rather than flat hands.

 

  (Click Here to Watch Video)Knuckle Pushups- Again, you don’t need elaborate grip strength equipment. There are so many great pushup variations and this is another. Perform regular pushups but in this case do them on your knuckles. This exercise is great for wrist stability.

 

  (Click Here to Watch Video)Wrist Curls- Position arms over bench or thighs so wrists are hanging off while holding a bar. Using the muscles in your wrist and forearm, flex your wrists. Lower and repeat. You can also do the same motion with your palms facing down. These are called reverse wrist curls and work the other side of the forearm.

 

  (Click Here to Watch Wrist Curls Video)

OR…  (Click Here to Watch Reverse Curls Video)Plate curls- These are excellent for the wrists, forearms, and fingers. They are also harder than they look. Do the same movement as above but this time hold a plate between your fingers and thump. The plate shouldn’t be resting in your palm.

 

  (Click Here to Watch Video)I suggest working on your grip strength about 2 times per week. You can pick a few of these exercises and perform them as a circuit. For example:

1. Squeezing tennis ball-2 min.
2. Finger tip pushup*10
3. Knuckle pushup*10
4. Wrist curl*10

Repeat 3 times

Or you can pick 3-4 exercises and perform 3 sets each before moving to the next exercise. Try to include the different types of gripping strength throughout the week. Also, some of the workouts can be more intense than others (heavier weight, more reps, longer holds, etc.).

Don’t forget the Principle of Specificity

The ultimate piece of strength training equipment is the one you use for what you are actually trying to get better at. The Principle of Specificity states that if you want to get better at something, do that thing.

For example: if you want stronger grips for gi grappling, then practice grapping with the gi, etc

 

Explanation Of Chokes Video

3 Chokes Video

Sweep Choke Video

 

Now get your simple grip strength equipment and get to gripping!