A grip strengthener can help you pull a deadlift PB and haul heavy luggage around – here’s how
Deployed correctly, a grip strengthener will do exactly what it says on the tin – here’s how to use one
Most people know the muscles they want to target with each workout. Legs and chest are among the most popular options, but few ever set out to train their grip, despite it playing a significant role in many activities both in and out of the gym.
A strong grip can help you hit a heavy barbell deadlift and hold onto chunky dumbbells during split squats, as well as allowing you to lug a load of shopping to your car and strong-arm your way into stubborn jars. A grip strengthener is a handy gadget that can help you strengthen your forearms, making life and lifting that little bit easier.
Sure, there are other ways to do this. Your grip will naturally be working whenever you’re holding anything heavy, dumbbells or otherwise, and you can also use exercises like dead hangs and farmer’s carries to beef up your grip.
But a grip strengthener is still a great way to fully focus on your forearm muscles. And, if it has adjustable resistance settings like my personal favourite (£10, Myprotein.com) you can easily increase the difficulty of the exercise for more measurable grip development.
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What is a grip strengthener and how should you use it?
Grip strengtheners come in a few different forms. The simplest among them are small silicone rings you can compress between your palm and fingers.
Most, however, have two handles held at roughly a 30-degree angle that are connected by a hinge at one end. They will have some sort of spring-loading so it takes effort to press them together, and they ping back to their default position when pressure is released. More advanced iterations add a dial which can be used to alter the resistance.
To use these types of grip strengtheners, hold one handle against your palm and wrap your fingers around the other, then squeeze the handles together to activate the gripping muscles in your forearm.
Do grip strengtheners work?
By working the muscles in your forearms, grip strengtheners follow the same base principles as any form of strength training. You need to do something that challenges your muscles, do it consistently, and increase the difficulty over time to see sustained progress.
This might look like five sets of eight, performed twice a week, to begin with. Then you could perform 10 reps per set the next week, and 12 the week after – this is an example of progressive overload, the principle behind any successful strength training plan, and a surefire way to stop your progress plateauing.
As long as each set feels challenging, this approach should be effective (using a controlled tempo and including a short pause when you squeeze the handles together can help raise the difficulty, if not).
If your grip strengthener has varying resistance, you can also apply the progressive overload principle by increasing the resistance you use over time.
The grip strengthener you should buy
Myprotein quick adjust grip strengthener: £10, Myprotein.com
This Myprotein grip strengthener has a dial which allows you to speedily switch resistance settings, starting at 9kg and working up to 40kg. This means you can gradually progress the difficulty of your grip training over time, helping you haul heavy deadlifts and tackle farmer’s carries with ease. This grip strengthener is compact too, easily slipping into even the smallest gym bags, and it won’t cost the earth either.
Read more: Add this five-minute habit into your day to build full-body strength and boost your fitness