Hand grips

Lockstep

How's it going folks,
I'm not seeing any gains in my forearms or wrists from my workout so bought some handgrips, cheap things so not really a loss for me if they turn out to be useless.
I was just wondering how often I should use them,how many times etc.
THanks

Hanley

Just train them like you would any other muscle, but maybe 2 or 3 times a week since forearms seem to recover quicker.

If you're not doing deadlifts, chins, all your rowing movements and bicep work without straps then it's something to consider thinking about.

HammerHeadGym

For high density muscle groups like forearms, up to 3 times a week should be no problem. If you wqant to make signifigant gains though you will need the proper equipment. Captains of crush grippers being said equipment in this case. I beleive Irish lifting stocks them. That is in addition to doing all yor back exercises sans wraps. You may also wish to check out this bad motherlover. Theres a ton of tips there, so cycle through them. 2 or 3 each forearm day will soon have you looking like popeye.

Lockstep

Thanks a million gents,
one final question:
how many sets/reps should I do?

Thanks

Colm_OReilly

Towel pull ups are also a nice way to work the forearms.

rubadub

kickoutthejams wrote: »

Thanks a million gents,
one final question:
how many sets/reps should I do?

If they are cheap they might not really be of much use, other than warmups

Just train them like you would any other muscle, but maybe 2 or 3 times a week since forearms seem to recover quicker.

If you're not doing deadlifts, chins, all your rowing movements and bicep work without straps then it's something to consider thinking about.

This is true but I think Hanley is talking of using heavy grips or captain of crush grips, i.e. ones where you might not manage 8 reps. The standard ones in sports shops are really weak, if you can manage to close them fully 12 times or more they are not doing much for strength or growth. Some you can open & close all day long, all you get is repetitive strain injuries!

I gave up on deadlifts and restarted now and love them. Wrist strength was my usual weak point for them. I use the heavy grips, also I sometimes do chins and pullups only holding on with my fingers- no thumbs. Another tip in general is to grip your barbell on any exercise really tight. I wear gloves that help too, strenghtens your grip and it can enable you to lift more on a lot of exercises too, the body in tension helps.

If they are too weak you can try them with only 2 fingers at a time, also turn them upside down so the hinged part is near your little finger.

scruff321

my bro is big into his weights he uses them grippers and thinks there great

Gavin "shels"

Sorry for hijacking the topic but saves a new topic, where would be the best and cheapest place to buy a set of these. I had strong plastic one's I got in Elverys for €10 and they broke so looking for metal one's.:D

Hanley

The original and the best http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/ironmind/Main/captainsofcrush.html

Just to give you some idea of how hard these are... My forearms are over 14 inches, I've deadlifted 250+kg and I struggled to close the number one first time I tried it. I actually could only come within about 1/2 an inch of getting it shut.


Maybe my small hands (7 inches from base to tip of big finger) are the problem, I genuinely find it hard to get a good grip on em. My point is, don't buy the number one or two and expect to shut it even once.

rubadub

Hanley wrote: »

Just to give you some idea of how hard these are... My forearms are over 14 inches, I've deadlifted 250+kg and I struggled to close the number one first time I tried it. I actually could only come within about 1/2 an inch of getting it shut.

I have the heavy grips from http://www.heavygrips.com/
I can barely close the 200lb one. The captain of crush are harder for a given rating, i.e. a COC 140lb might be harder than a heavy grip 200lb, I think they measure the force half way on a COC and at the end on a HG. I was deadlifting 127kg last night probably 90-95% of my 1RM.

There are even books on using them, and a few webpages. Some recommend "setting" them, if you have small hands, i.e. partially close it with both hands to get a good grip and have it "seated" in your hand well. I also do much better standing and clenching my other hand while doing them. I also use gloves. Negatives also help a lot.

Mickk is sellng them now too, I thought they would be good to have in a gym, just put a chain on them to stop people nicking them.

djhaxman

I swear by these things, my grip strength has improved no end since I started on them, I bought the 1 and 2 to start with from the ironmind site, like Hanley I could barely close the no. 1 at the start but had it within a week, can close the no. 2 for a few reps now too, so am working on the 2.5 at the minute.

This will show you how to set a gripper properly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SwLNZdUi58

BrianD3

I got the #1 and #2 CoC at first and it took around a month (of fairly sporadic training TBH) before I could close the #1.

A great exercise for the wirst/forearm is the sledgehammer or dumbbell twist. It looks innocuous but is anything but. I think it is a high risk exercise though, easy to hurt yourself and if you do, a wrist injury can be very debilitating.
http://www.geocities.com/ltgodfrey/lever.html

pwd

BrianD3 wrote: »

a wrist injury can be very debilitating.

humourous though

Lockstep

Would a 12/10/8 set of reps do 3 times a week for the hand grips

rubadub

kickoutthejams wrote: »

Would a 12/10/8 set of reps do 3 times a week for the hand grips

Yes, but if you can close them easily they are not doing much good.

Hanley

djhaxman wrote: »

I swear by these things, my grip strength has improved no end since I started on them, I bought the 1 and 2 to start with from the ironmind site, like Hanley I could barely close the no. 1 at the start but had it within a week, can close the no. 2 for a few reps now too, so am working on the 2.5 at the minute.

This will show you how to set a gripper properly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SwLNZdUi58

Wow, thanks for that!

I crushed the number one super easy when I set it was shown.

Lockstep

Can you give me a reccomendation of how many reps/sets I should do? Should I do them fast or slow?

I find them fairly hard to close,

Gavin "shels"

kickoutthejams wrote: »

Can you give me a reccomendation of how many reps/sets I should do? Should I do them fast or slow?

I find them fairly hard to close,

I'd say do them slow;)

Hanley

Gavin shels wrote: »

I'd say do them slow;)

Why slow?

If you're trying to develop your grip strength then move them as fast as possible on the way in and just keep them under control on the way back out.