How To Improve Your Grip Strength At Home
I have a surprisingly strong grip for a person my size, height, and age. I can carry a 40lb bag of cat litter with one hand, open any jar lid no matter how tight, and stack multiple plates between my fingers when unloading my dishwasher. I wasn’t always this way. In fact, I used to have a pretty weak grip until I started climbing and training my fingers and grip. And now I’m a huge advocate for training grip strength because I’ve experienced the benefits first hand (pardon the pun).
Poor grip usually occurs in older adults, but it can affect anyone at any age. People who have muscle weakness due to a sedentary lifestyle, joint stiffness and pain due to arthritis, and/or medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and nutritional deficiencies can experience a decline in grip strength. But no matter how weak or strong your grip is, training to improve it could be the key to unlocking greater fitness levels, heavier lifts, and better overall health. Read on to find out more about grip strength and how you can work to improve it in the comfort of your own home.
Why is grip strength important?
Grip strength is an extremely important element of our daily lives. We use our grip to carry groceries, turn door knobs, and pick up all sorts of objects. Having a strong grip helps us avoid injuries by stabilizing our joints, and also contributes to bone health and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Psychologically, there is a connection between a strong grip and better cognitive functioning as well. A weak grip, on the other hand, can result in dropping objects, sprains and strains in your fingers, or damage to your joints or ligaments. It can also cause muscle imbalances when your forearms, shoulders, or back have to step in to compensate.
Fitness-wise, a strong grip isn’t just for rock climbers. It’s an essential component of many other sports as well, including golf, tennis, wrestling, and weightlifting. Having a strong grip can help you lift heavier weights for longer amounts of time, perform more powerful movements, and have better control of your equipment. People with stronger grips also tend to have better cardiovascular health, more muscle mass, and overall better physical fitness in general.
What does a good grip workout consist of?
When training grip strength, stimulating muscle growth and strength through progressive overload is really the key. You want to focus on a variety of exercises that target and challenge the different areas of your grip, including your hands, fingers, and forearms. You’ll want to include exercises that focus on crushing, pinching, or holding an object for a sustained amount of time. Finger dexterity is good to train as well. Make sure to start your workout with a short warmup of gentle cardio or stretching to increase the blood flow to your muscles and limbs, and take adequate rest between sets.
What are some good grip strength exercises to do at home?
I’ve listed a few of my favorite grip-strengthening exercises below, all of which can be done with minimal equipment. If you’ve never worked on your grip before, it’s a good idea to go slow and rest 1-2 minutes between sets since these exercises can be intense on your wrists and fingers.
5 GRIP STRENGTH EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT HOME
1. Towel Dead Hangs or Towel Door Rows
Towel Dead Hangs
For towel dead hangs, you’ll need a towel and a sturdy horizontal bar, like a pull-up bar. Drape the towel over the bar and grab the ends of the towel, then start hanging.
Start with 2-3 sets, hanging for 10-20 seconds. Increase the amount of time and/or sets to progress this exercise.
Towel Door Rows
If you don’t have access to a bar in your home, you can perform inverted rows instead. Drape two towels over the top of a door, then close and lock the door. Grab a towel in each hand and lean back from the door. Keeping your body as straight as possibly, you pull your chest towards the door and slowly lower back down again. Please be careful and alert others in your household to what you are doing so they don’t accidentally open the door on you.
Start with 2-3 sets for 8-10 reps. Increase your reps and/or sets to progress.
2. Plate or Book Pinches
Pinch a weight plate or a heavy book in between your fingers and thumb, then lift and hold it at your side. For an extra challenge, you can try to hold more than one plate or book in your hand. You can also perform farmer carries with two plates or two books by pinching them by your sides for as long as you can while walking back and forth across a chosen distance.
Start by holding for 20-30 seconds for 3-4 sets. Increase the amount of weight, time, and/or sets to progress.
3. Wrist Curls
Find some light weight dumbbells or a couple of waterbottles/cans of food if you don’t have weights at home. Rest your forearms on a bench, table, or your thighs with your wrists and hands hanging off the edge. Slowly curl your wrists up and down while holding the weights.
Start with 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Increase your reps and/or sets to progress.
4. Finger Extensions
Place a rubber band around your fingers and thumb, then open your hand as wide as you can. Continue opening and closing your fingers, using the resistance of the band to strengthen them. If a rubber band feels too easy, you can try using hand bands that come in a variety of resistance levels.
Start with 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps. Increase your reps, sets, and/or the amount of resistance to progress.
5. Hand Squeezes
Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it repeatedly in your hand. You can also try this exercise using stress balls with varying degrees of resistance.
Start with 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps. Increase your reps, sets, and/or the amount of resistance to progress.
Are grip strength trainers worth it?
Grip strength trainers can be a fun, easy way to start your grip-training journey. They’re relatively inexpensive, convenient, and (mostly) portable. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and resistance levels, so you’re bound to find one you enjoy using. I personally like using a Gyro ball because it doubles as a fidget toy and is an easy way to train my grip while watching TV. There are also hand grippers, finger strengtheners, and grip rings.
At some point, you will most likely reach a plateau in your grip strength progression when you use the tools mentioned above. They’re a great starting point, but they mostly focus on crushing exercises, and for a well-rounded grip, you want to include pinching and holding exercises as well. If you really want to get serious about your grip strength, it’s a good idea to invest in some additional equipment for your home gym. Using grip trainers like a pinch block, a pinch cylinder, and a rolling handle and attaching them to a loading pin and with weighted plates will really challenge your grip. I myself have a loading pin with a pinch/crimp block at home, and find it incredibly easy and convenient to use. I also use micro weight plates, which have allowed me to continue my progress without straining my fingers.
A grip-strengthing setup with various holds, a loading pin, and weights is perfect for training time under tension. Here is a simple workout you can do with all of the grip attachments:
SIMPLE WEIGHTED GRIP STRENGTHENING WORKOUT
Grip Assessment
Do this first to figure out how much weight you can hold with each grip attachment.
Add a small amount of weight to the loading pin (maybe start with 5 pounds), then pick it up using any of the attachments
Hold for 8 seconds, then rest for about a minute
If the hold was easy, add 5-10 pounds more weight and hold again for 8 seconds
Continue adding weight and holding until you reach the point where you can’t hold for the full 8 seconds
Try this with each grip attachment and take note of the maximum amount of weight you reached for each one
Grip Workout
Attach any of the grip trainers to a loading pin
Load the pin with 50% of the maximum weight you reached in the grip assessment
Grab onto the grip trainer and lift up the pin and weights
Hold for 5-8 seconds, then rest for 1 minute
Repeat this while adding 5 pounds until you reach your maximum weight
Now do 3 sets of holding for 5-8 seconds with your maximum weight
Rest for 1 minute between each set
Complete this workout 2-3 times a week
Try to add more weight, more sets, and/or longer holds to your workout every week
