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New Grip Enthusiast Looking For Advice


Kaskelotten

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Hi, I'm new to the forums =)

Since I found out about grip training, I have loved it! I think bending stuff is cool. I also love to arm wrestle friends, but I'm quite bad since I'm very skinny. I have just joined a gym so I can bulk up. I have also looked on the internet for the best ways to train your forearms, so I have put some of those exercises into my weight lifting routine.

In the gym I do squats, deadlifts, military presses, rows, and bench press, 3 days a week. After this, I do towell pull ups (3x11), then I use my home made wrist roller for 1x3, 1x2 with 2.5 kg. Then I do wrist lifts with a hammer. Finally, I use COC grippers. Is this good?

All this I do on my lifting days. Should I do anything at all on off days?

And my last question: I have looked on ironminds website and found John Brookfields 60 grip tips, which are 60 small exercises you can do for finger / lower arm strength that he made up himself. These look really fun to do, but I'm afraid I'll be overtraining if I do them too. Could I do some of those on my off days perhaps? I'm sure you're familiar with Brookfield and his exercises.

Any opinions?

Edited by Kaskelotten
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Ok, well I think that thickbar and pinch are probably the most beneficial exercises for over all hand strength.

Nothing against brookfield but I would not do those exercises.

Train your body with big compound movements in the gym.

Eat alot.

Get enough rest between sessions.

Feel it out. Dont over Do it when starting out. Ease in to it.

Atm I train grippers and rest 2-3 days and then I train hub and blockweights, another 4-6 days of rest and then

I Do grippers again.

I've been following Chezs grip program for a while and getting PRs every session :D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NHQdtyoiR08

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj9Ue9co4us

Read "the grip well" threads on this forum for really good advice.

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Peter has pretty much covered it all, solid advice there.

Get stronger all over, eat like a machine, have separate days for grip, squats before grippers are also good as it fires up the CNS system.

Where are you at with COC grippers, whats your max close?

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Vary training . Train at least two of the componants of grip per session. Intensity low reps, rest rehab, coax not kill your grip. Make thumb strong and involved.Highest natural need in hand strength is holding strength , followed by pinch and crushing. Set your program up accordingly. Train as you wish to compete. Card set and no set crushes ! Do them! Partial and or high reps give you strength at basically that position and no high end power through a full range. Best of luck!

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First have fun with it - but don't go overboard. It's easy in the beginning when you're all excited and your body isn't work hardened yet to do too much and get injured. Take your time and get your body used to the new things you're asking of it before going at it full bore. Train everything - not just grippers or your favorite lift.

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Peter has pretty much covered it all, solid advice there.

Get stronger all over, eat like a machine, have separate days for grip, squats before grippers are also good as it fires up the CNS system.

Where are you at with COC grippers, whats your max close?

What do you mean by having seperate days for grip? I usually train grip 3 days a week after my lifting sessions.

I can close the CoC #1 7 times in a row with my right hand and the Trainer 4-5 times on my left. How would you recommend I go from here? I usually do 3x10 with the Trainer on both hands, but on my right it's WAY too easy, and for my left, it's too hard. And I can't close the #1 with my left.

To PeterSweden: I have some block weights but they are only 2 kg each. Can you recommend some good exercises with them? (Or should I just buy heavier??)

And just out of curiosity: Why you wouldn't do Brookfields exercises?

And I've never tried pinching exercises before... do you just take some weight plates and hold them with 2 fingers? I have 1.25 kg and 2.5 kg at home, is that enough?

Edited by Kaskelotten
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First have fun with it - but don't go overboard. It's easy in the beginning when you're all excited and your body isn't work hardened yet to do too much and get injured. Take your time and get your body used to the new things you're asking of it before going at it full bore. Train everything - not just grippers or your favorite lift.

Thanks for the advice :) But I'm trying to train everything as you say, so I will have no weak spots. Just trying to figure out how many and which exercises, and the volume... Grip / forearm training is really the most fun to train though :D

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Just gotta figure out a volume amount that doesn't cause forearm tendon problems. Basically don't train while you're sore, which will be a lot in the beginning. As your body toughens and gets sore less you'll have to be more attentive to overuse indicators, like tenderness in the forearm and bicep deep tissue. You don't want to train through this stuff. It is basically inflammation from numerous micro tears in your connective tissues. They can result in injuries like chronic tendinitis or vulnerability to tear in a catastrophic way.

Most of grip and strength veterans have dealt with one or more of these types of injuries and hopefully you won't have to learn the hard way. Just be smart and listen to your body, you have limits - never push them or you Will find them.

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I've always trained instinctualy. But above all have fun with what you're doing and welcome to the board.

Hey what do you guys call a "Danish" over there? A donut? Roll?

Just a lil humor as I seen you were Danish.

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Just gotta figure out a volume amount that doesn't cause forearm tendon problems. Basically don't train while you're sore, which will be a lot in the beginning. As your body toughens and gets sore less you'll have to be more attentive to overuse indicators, like tenderness in the forearm and bicep deep tissue. You don't want to train through this stuff. It is basically inflammation from numerous micro tears in your connective tissues. They can result in injuries like chronic tendinitis or vulnerability to tear in a catastrophic way.

Most of grip and strength veterans have dealt with one or more of these types of injuries and hopefully you won't have to learn the hard way. Just be smart and listen to your body, you have limits - never push them or you Will find them.

That sounds like good advice. I just think that when training forearms, I never get sore. The other day I did 85 kg deadlifts, towell pull ups, used my wrist roller and wrist lever, and also did 30 squeezes on my right hand with the CoC T, and 5 with the #1... afterwards I wasn't even sore really, just tired, and my fingers were shaking if I were to point them at something (normal I think). But I never really get sore in the forearms - that's why I think it's so hard to find the right volume.

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I recomend that you buy the book "Grip Strength - How To Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights And Pinch Just About Anything". You can order it from Amazon for 7,20 € as a Kindle Edition or for 11,69 € as a print Version. Very good for beginners. That's the way I started out.

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I've always trained instinctualy. But above all have fun with what you're doing and welcome to the board.

Hey what do you guys call a "Danish" over there? A donut? Roll?

Just a lil humor as I seen you were Danish.

Thanks. We call it "Wienerbrød".

Danskere styrer for vildt!!

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I've always trained instinctualy. But above all have fun with what you're doing and welcome to the board.

Hey what do you guys call a "Danish" over there? A donut? Roll?

Just a lil humor as I seen you were Danish.

Thanks. We call it "Wienerbrød".

Danskere styrer for vildt!!

Nice man I actually just looked up Danish on Wikipedia and it listed what you just said.

Welcome to grip board.

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I recomend that you buy the book "Grip Strength - How To Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights And Pinch Just About Anything". You can order it from Amazon for 7,20 € as a Kindle Edition or for 11,69 € as a print Version. Very good for beginners. That's the way I started out.

I will look into that, thanks!

On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

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I recomend that you buy the book "Grip Strength - How To Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights And Pinch Just About Anything". You can order it from Amazon for 7,20 € as a Kindle Edition or for 11,69 € as a print Version. Very good for beginners. That's the way I started out.

I will look into that, thanks!

On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

You can use wrist roller till you drop but ultimately the only way to add weight to your arms is by adding overall bodyweight. Great advice in this thread. Focus on the actual full body movements and do specific grip exercises only as a supplement in the beginning. You may think that you aren't getting sore but trust me, you are. Ultimately your forearms and hands will adapt to extra workload and there's no timetable for that, you just know it when it starts happening.

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To PeterSweden: I have some block weights but they are only 2 kg each. Can you recommend some good exercises with them? (Or should I just buy heavier??)

And just out of curiosity: Why you wouldn't do Brookfields exercises?

And I've never tried pinching exercises before... do you just take some weight plates and hold them with 2 fingers? I have 1.25 kg and 2.5 kg at home, is that enough?

2kg sounds a bit light. My 6 yr old daughter pinches 6-8kg blocks for holds :)

I prefer to do specific work on units that matter.

I dont want to squeeze towels or pinch boards if I can train on real equipment. :D

Maybe Id squeeze wet towels for grip training if I went to jail. Hehe

You can train all sorts of pinch.

There are hubs, euro pinch, blockweights, steel gym plates etc.

That is not enough.

2x10kg is a good start on plate pinch Id say :D

Edited by PeterSweden
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Edited by PeterSweden
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I increased my wrist size from 6-7" and my forearms from 12-14" but In that time I gained 20lbs, and ive noticed a difference in strength trust me. I do grip on separate days because if you do them after gripping tightly onto a bar for an hour doing deadlift and rows, it fries my hand and I lose a lot of crushing power so I separate them up and train grip when my hands are completely rested.

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I will look into that, thanks! On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

If you are looking into thicker, stronger wrists and for help in armwrestling, I would highly suggest using some type of sledgehammer work in your training routine. For what you can get out of them, sledgehammers are one of your cheapest all-around tools. You can use them at so many different angles to work pronation, supination, deviation, etc..

Good luck and take it slow. Make sure your mind is strong enough for a marathon and not a sprint.

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I train grip after benchpress, shoulder press or legs but never after back training cause I feel the holding in pulling fatigued me much more than pushing.

We're all different. Try what fits you.

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I will look into that, thanks! On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

If you are looking into thicker, stronger wrists and for help in armwrestling, I would highly suggest using some type of sledgehammer work in your training routine. For what you can get out of them, sledgehammers are one of your cheapest all-around tools. You can use them at so many different angles to work pronation, supination, deviation, etc..

Good luck and take it slow. Make sure your mind is strong enough for a marathon and not a sprint.

Thanks for all the great advice everyone, really helpful.

I just made my own "sledgehammer" a week ago - it's a rather thick pvc pipe, not so long, with 1.25 kg attached in the end (not so much I know, but the 2.5 kg was way too heavy). I use it by standing with the pipe in my hand with my arm vertical and then extending my wrist to horizontal and back. Then I do it backwards, towards my shoulder blades. I do this for 3x20 on both hands, forwards and backwards. I have no idea if it's good though. Would you recommend anything else?

Edited by Kaskelotten
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I recomend that you buy the book "Grip Strength - How To Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights And Pinch Just About Anything". You can order it from Amazon for 7,20 € as a Kindle Edition or for 11,69 € as a print Version. Very good for beginners. That's the way I started out.

I will look into that, thanks!

On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

You have to bulk up and get stronger all over. Train progressively, don't push to hard and eat like a horse! The best and fastest way for a beginner like you that Ii know of is the Starting Strength model.

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I recomend that you buy the book "Grip Strength - How To Close Heavy Duty Hand Grippers, Lift Thick Bar Weights And Pinch Just About Anything". You can order it from Amazon for 7,20 € as a Kindle Edition or for 11,69 € as a print Version. Very good for beginners. That's the way I started out.

I will look into that, thanks!

On another note, is there a way to bulk up your very lower forearms (right at the wrist) to make it thicker there? I'm just so thin and fragile there, and it feels like it's gonna snap when I arm wrestle someone stronger, or thicker than me. I think it's a lot of tendon there, so any way to thicken it out and strengthen it would really help me.

You have to bulk up and get stronger all over. Train progressively, don't push to hard and eat like a horse! The best and fastest way for a beginner like you that Ii know of is the Starting Strength model.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing. But there's no direct arm work, much less forearm work in SS, hence why I decided to supplement with my own exercises. The regular gym goer who just wants bigger biceps really does have skinny forearms too, I noticed....

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