yakri Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Alright, what I actually do is tricking and a tiny bit of bboying on the side. But I figure most people will know what I mean when I say gymnastics. Anyway, I have really, really weak skinny wrists. As an example; my wrists only recently became strong enough to do the crab walk without wrist pain. Well, I've gotten past that at least, but they still hurt when attempting handsprings, and their the weakest link in things like freeze's and handstands. Also, I recently sprained my right wrist, and as far as I can tell the injury was mostly just because my wrist/forearm didn't have the strength to absorb that flat impact (no twisting was involved). Point is, to help prevent any further injury's (I've had 4 minor and one major sprain in 2 years between both hands) and to help with Tricking and bboying, I want to train wrist strength. And this board is the best place I know of to ask for help. I'm going to be doing this in conjunction with swimming or a full body workout routine. (depends on what happens first, them finishing the rebuilding of the local public pool. Or my wrist healing fully.) And I'll be doing both of those (though not at the same time) sooner or later anyway. So, I'm wondering if there is anything I'm going to need to take into consideration with building wrist/grip strength for the purpose of use in a high impact sport. Verses for the goal of closing harder gripers or bending or any of the other topics discussed here. Will it interfere with weight lifting (Barbells, bench press, squats, etc). And should I just start with the generic basic workout I read around here somewhere or make any special allowances? Any tips in general for training grip for sports would be great too. Thank you for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arande2 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 You've certainly come to the right place - I can tell you that. My knowledge is limited, but if anything, wrist training should improve weightlifting..? I wouldn't think training for 'gymnastics' would be much different fro training for bending, if at all. Strong, stable wrists and tough hands are important and some exercises that can help that I do are Sledge Levering, Plate Wrist Curls, etc.. http://www.grapplearts.com/Grip-Strength-Training.htm I found that page to help in explaining some basic exercises. I know it talks about combat strength, but the training isn't much different (if at all) in my experience. Training grip with grippers (and other stuff) is also important in injury prevention. That's just one way to look at it, I'm almost sure others will chime in. For now... I have to go. I think this might belong in the GripBoard area, not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalachiMcMullen Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 When you train things like grippers, thickbar, etc, the forces involved are transferred through the wrist. So even training grippers can strengthen your wrists to a lesser extent than sledge levers or bending. I don't think bending is necessary for you if you're not interested in going for the RED or bigger bars. Just get yourself a 6lb and an 8lb sledgehammer. Easy to find at any hardware store. Check out that link that Arande posted, it's a good one. The sledge exercises in that link are exactly what I do and I still use a 6lb sledge. Definitely start doing sledge levers!!! Every angle you can imagine, train it. The best exercises are outlined in that link though. The one where he uses a thicker white pipe for levers to the side, you can still use a hammer and it will work just fine, I do. Overall, just keep working those handstands and handsprings and do sledge levers. Oh yeah, when my wrists are fatigued from levering, and your forearms are where you'll feel it, my pressing seems to lag a bit but I don't really lose anything but repping power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VahnCruz Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Zach is right, number 1 hands down is using a sledge hammer. Choose a weight that is comfortable and adjust along the handle for variable resistance. Just don't expect anything too fast, remember that you are strengthening tendon and bone; which takes a lot longer than muscle. However initial strength gains in the forearms will help tremendously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvod Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 My favorite thing for building up wrist strength... http://strongergrip.com/Docs/leverageblock.html You can also do these with regular plates and curl but you have to make bigger jumps in weight which are tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJan85 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 My favorite thing for building up wrist strength... http://strongergrip.com/Docs/leverageblock.html I just built myself one of these on friday and I can honestly say it is my new favorite piece of equipment. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve wrist strength and it makes a great supplementary excercise to sledge levering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvod Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Yeah I recommend buying one or building one but for the folks with no cash... you can watch Adam Glass doing plate curls (I think he uses these now for the most part) working his way up to the big 45lb'er. I've done the curls with 25lbs pretty easily... the jump to 35lb plates is incredible though. It feels like my fingers will snap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJan85 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Yeah I recommend buying one or building one but for the folks with no cash... you can watch Adam Glass doing plate curls (I think he uses these now for the most part) working his way up to the big 45lb'er. I've done the curls with 25lbs pretty easily... the jump to 35lb plates is incredible though. It feels like my fingers will snap. Yeah the way Adam Glass manhandles that 35 pounder I have no doubt that he will be hittin the 45 by mid year. I agree with you about the jump being huge between 25 and 35 because I can do a pretty high amount of reps with the 25 but only a couple semi strict reps with the 35. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakri Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Thanks a lot for the information guys! ^_^ I've got an adjustable gripper now, and I'll be getting a 6lb sledge hammer and a 10 lb plate soon. And I don't expect to get results over night, although I do hope I'll be seeing some effect in the 3-6 month range. :P Also, what I meant by weather or not it would interfere with weight lifting was, if I say, did a full routine of wrist training in the morning, And then went to lift weights (with bench press, squats, etc) would it negatively effect my weight lifting? I don't really want to drop a bar on myself because my wrists are tired. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalachiMcMullen Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Thanks a lot for the information guys! ^_^ I've got an adjustable gripper now, and I'll be getting a 6lb sledge hammer and a 10 lb plate soon. And I don't expect to get results over night, although I do hope I'll be seeing some effect in the 3-6 month range. :PAlso, what I meant by weather or not it would interfere with weight lifting was, if I say, did a full routine of wrist training in the morning, And then went to lift weights (with bench press, squats, etc) would it negatively effect my weight lifting? I don't really want to drop a bar on myself because my wrists are tired. :p I do this all the time. Did it today in fact. It will affect you to a small degree, but I actually quite like the pumped up forearm feeling while I'm benching. It actually helps me stay "tight" or at least feel tighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvod Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Also, what I meant by weather or not it would interfere with weight lifting was, if I say, did a full routine of wrist training in the morning, And then went to lift weights (with bench press, squats, etc) would it negatively effect my weight lifting? I don't really want to drop a bar on myself because my wrists are tired. :p You just have to experiment with what works best for you... Some people get away with working some grip a lot more often. Some people dedicate an entire day to you. You might be fine doing wrists/grip and then training later... you might find you want to switch it up and bench in the morning then do wrists at night. Since you're just starting you can play around with a little to find your groove... The important thing is to just keep working hard. You'll probably be fine though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Parker Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I find that lifting negativly affects my grip workout but my grip workouts never affect my lifting. I always do grip before I go to the gym, or the night before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealonzo Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 itll affect your cleans and any sort of lifts that require grip, and pressing and youre fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VahnCruz Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I prefer weight and cardio in the morning to "wake me up" and grip in the evening cuz for me I tire out my grip way faster than I break a sweat. So I don't have to take a second shower. haha So for me its just an excuse to break up my workout and convenience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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