Top tips for grip strength

What on earth has grip strength to do with me you may ask? You may have no desire to swing from monkey bars or become the next Ninja Warrior, but grip strength is incredibly important in martial arts training and in your overall fitness.

For martial arts, it is obviously key when grappling and training take downs whether in Sanshou, Muay Thai or wrestling for example, but it is also essential for weapons training and a lot of the movements in Five Ancestors Kung Fu. Good grip strength also allows your punches to be safe and strong, so your wrists and fists remain solid and straight rather than cocked in any way. Grip strength however is also one of the first things to fail (the weakest link), long before you are ready to give up in mind and the rest of your body, giving your opponent that elusive edge or means that you never quite get that chin up.

The benefits even stretch beyond training as it can help prevent tendonitis, arthritis and improve your fine motor skills so you don’t suffer after a long day typing on your computer, trying to open that new jam jar or walking your dog on a leash. Research published in 2015 in The Lancet showed that grip strength was a better predictor of cardiovascular disease than blood pressure, even when the results were adjusted for other contributing factors such as age, smoking and regularity of exercise.

As part of our hand strength training in Five Ancestors Kung Fu, we trained with medicated stones in a wooden box that we would have to move around, grip and throw down. We would jab through the spaces in the stones with our fingertips and then douse ourselves with the omnipresent Chinese medicine made by our Master.

It is essential to train good grip when using weapons, and in the same breath, weapons training will develop your grip strength. You may have heard that your weapon, whether it be some form of stick/pole or bladed item should be an extension of your body. The weapon should move effortlessly and as part of you. This is the goal. But if your grip is weak, then the weapon will instead be a liability and easily separated. Your hand must be able to hold on and manoeuvre the weapon during impact and extreme pressure and be able to disarm your opponent if possible. Poor grip will mean you will not be able to use the weapon effectively and you can even potentially hurt yourself if your weapon moves unexpectedly and hits or cuts you. To make matters worse, if you lose possession of your weapon it can be used against you.

Someone’s grip is not merely hand strength although that is part of it. Grip involves everything from your fingertips, wrists, forearms all the way up to around the elbow. Grip training doesn’t just strengthen your muscles, ligaments and connective tissue, it can also increase bone density in the wrist and elbow joints. There are 35 muscles involved in movement of the forearm and hand, many of which you have probably never considered and are often ignored in training.

Start your grip training light and increase any weight load slowly so as to prevent injury. Do little but often. I used to keep a gripper in my pocket and use it during my commute to/from work which helped a lot with minimal effort.

Crushing – closing the fingers and thumb against resistance

Equipment: Spring loaded grippers/tennis ball

Grippers come in different tensions so make sure you have the right one – if the gripper does not move at all or if it closes very easily then you need to choose a different strength gripper.

Squeeze the gripper or ball with your entire hand as hard as you can 10 times. If you have a gripper, turn it upside down and repeat for another 10 repetitions. You can also hold the squeezes for five to 10 seconds.

With a ball/gripper, squeeze using just your thumb and index finger to see if you can squeeze it tight, holding again for five to 10 seconds. Continue the sequence progressing through each finger, change hands and repeat.

Build up your number of sets slowly ensuring you rest in between each set.

Pinching – grasping with thumbs and fingers in opposition

Equipment: Weight plate/ brick/ heavy book

Holding your arm outstretched in front of you, with the object between your fingers and thumb, squeeze tight for 30 seconds, release the object from your grasp ever so slightly so that it starts to fall and the recatch it in the same grip. Repeat five times.

Support grip – lifting something where fingers take brunt of the load

Equipment: Kettlebell or heavy bag

Farmer’s carry

Hold a kettlebell or heavy bag in each hand with arms outstretched down by the sides of your legs. Grip the weights tightly with your fingers. Walk forward about 20 feet in front of you without letting the weights bang against your legs. Continue for a minute. Rest and repeat five times. You can increase the distance you walk in one go or start walking in different shapes (circles, zigzag etc).

Hand Extension – opening of the fingers and thumb

No equipment needed

Hold your arms straight out in front of you with your wrists bent back (try to get it to a 90 degree angle) and fingers stretching upwards. Using dynamic tension (your body’s own resistance) and keeping your wrist bent, slowly close the first two joints of your fingers and thumb towards the centre of your palm, squeezing as tight as you can. Slowly stretch the fingers and thumb out as far as you can. Repeat 20 times.

Stretch your arms out straight either side of you, keeping them in line with your shoulders. Ensure your wrists remain bent. Close and open the fingers/thumb 20 times.

This exercise is used in training Five Ancestors Kung Fu.

Wrist rotations

Equipment: thick towel

Soak a thick towel completely in water. Holding the towel horizontally, twist the towel so the water is removed. Keep twisting until it can’t be twisted anymore. Soak the towel again and twist your arms in the other direction. Do this three times in each direction for three sets.

Wrist rotation with or without a small dumbbell or a can of beans

The wrist rotation is the most basic forearm flexion exercise. Make a fist with both hands, rotate the whole fist slowly in a circle. Repeat 10 times. Reverse the circle and repeat 10 times.

Wrist curls

Equipment: Easy to make DIY wrist curl forearm roller

Need: stick, string, weight plate, drill

Hold the roller in front of you (arms straight or elbows bent), forearms parallel to the ground. Curl your wrist alternately to raise the weight to your hands. Reverse the action to lower the weight back to the ground. Repeat five times. Increase weight when no longer challenging.

You can of course train grip strength with proper weights and pull up bars but the exercises above can be done easily with minimal equipment at home.

You are only as strong as your grip allows. Practice strength, mobility and grip endurance and greet the world with the firmest handshake you can muster.

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