About Grip and Forearm Strength
Grip strength is essential for a variety of reasons including functional strength and athletics. Functionally, improving grip strength and forearm strength allows you to carry things more easily without your forearms getting fatigued, delay the atrophy of these muscles while aging, and even aid in opening stubborn jars. In the gym, grip strength can help with exercises such as deadlifting and pullups. It can even help with rock climbing, jiu-jitsu and arm wrestling. These exercises will include grip and forearm strength training mainly with barbells and dumbbells.
Exercises
Perform each exercise for 8 reps and 3 sets, and the dead hang and farmers walk for 1 minute (or until failure) and 3 sets. Alternatively, implement these exercises into your own workout routine.
How to Perform Grip/Forearm Strength Exercises
Dead Hang
Hang from a pull up bar with your arms straight and your feet off the ground. Keep your body tight; this will engage the entire body and will be especially beneficial for deadlift grip strength. Hold for 1 minute or until failure.
Wrist Curls
Grip a barbell or two dumbbells with your palms facing away from you and curl the weights with only your wrists. Lower and repeat.
Dumbbell Forearm Twists
Grip two dumbbells with your thumbs over and twist your wrists side to side and repeat. You should feel a burn in your forearms. You can perform forearm twists with your arms by your side or with your arms parallel to the ground like the flexion phase of a bicep curl.
Meow Meows
On a cable machine, use a straight bar attachment and grip with an overhand grip. Pull the weight down with the wrist only (not the shoulders or elbows) while your elbows are tucked in like a cat. Slowly let the weight back up and repeat.
Behind the Back Wrist Curl
Grip a barbell behind your back with your arms straight, your palms facing away from you, using an overhand thumb grip. Lower the barbell using only your wrist until your fingers are barely holding onto it and repeat.
Farmer’s Walk
Grab heavy dumbbells or kettlebells with each hand and walk back and forth until you feel the burn in your forearms. Perform for 1 minute or until failure.
Grip Strength Trainer
Use a grip strength trainer from Amazon, a stress ball, or a tennis ball and squeeze until you feel the burn in your forearms and repeat.
Review
Grip and forearm strength are closely related, as grip uses muscles in the forearms[1]. Training these muscles have functional benefits and performance benefits in the gym, and can also make your forearms appear more defined as they get stronger. The 7 exercises to improve grip and forearm strength mentioned in this article are dead hang, wrist curls, dumbbell forearm twists, meow meows, behind the back wrist curls, farmers walk, and grip strength training with a trainer or ball.
Reference
Abe, T., & Loenneke, J. P. (2015). Handgrip strength dominance is associated with difference in forearm muscle size. Journal of physical therapy science, 27(7), 2147–2149. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.27.2147
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