Grip Exercises

When is the Best time to Work on Grip Exercises ?

Your First and Last Exercises of Each Workout are the Best to Work on Your Grip

Since a strong grip is a mix of strength and endurance you can work on both during most workouts. The first exercise you perform for each workout is the best time to work on grip strength.

When you first start your workout, your muscles should be fresh. This is the best time to test your grip strength with a heavy exercise. Great heavy exercises to start with are dead lifts, pull-ups, dumbbell rows.

You can even perform the farmer's carry which is simply picking up heavy dumbbells and hold them for as long as you can. You will probably walk around while you do it because the burning in your forearms will be so intense.

At the end of your workout, especially a back workout which has a lot of pulling is a good time to work on your grip endurance. This is the time to use grip exercises which are specifically for your grip.

Always remember though, most exercises can help strengthen your grip, especially forearms exercises.

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Should you Use Wrist Straps for Grip Exercises ?

Wrist Straps are More like the Anti- Grip Exercise

Wrist straps give you an artificially strong grip. You should only use wrist straps if you already have a strong grip. They are good for extremely heavy maximal lifts such as dead lifts in which the weight is mega heavy.

Wrist straps are also good for people who look to isolate their lats to the max on pull-ups or lat pull downs. They are also good for heavy barbell or dumbbell shrugs. Basically if you have a strong grip and it gives out before your muscles do, you can benefit from wrist straps.

You wrap them around your wrist. When you cinch wrap the strap around the bar you can cinch it on your wrist so hard it is like the dumbbell, or bar is attached to your hands. The wrist straps made from leather are much better than the cotton straps. Don't confuse wrist straps with wrist wraps, which are for wrist support.

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What are some Good Grip Exercises to Strengthen Your Grip to the Max ?

There are many exercises which you can use to strengthen your grip as previously mentioned. Here are a few exercises which are versions of common exercises which will really test and help you strengthen your grip.

One Grip Pull-ups

One grip pull ups are one of the best grip exercises because they allow you use your grip like you would in a real life situation. These are not one arm pull ups because you will use both arms pretty evenly.

These are especially good for anybody who needs a strong grip for their sport or job such as wrestlers, MMA fighters, rock climbers, or police officers.

Start: Take a deep breath and focus. Jump up, or grab on a bar or ring or whatever you are pulling up to. You can either take an overhand grip, or a grip where your palm is facing you. Grab the bar with one hand, and grab your wrist with the other.

Begin the motion: Pull yourself up until your chin approaches the bar. You can pause on the top for a split second before you let yourself down slowly all the way back to the original position and repeat.

Modifications: You can either perform as many reps as you can on each hand, or do a single rep at a time. Your grip should fail first. If your grip does not fail after a certain number of repetitions, just hold on as long as you can until it does.

Alternating Multi Curls

This set of three different alternating dumbbell curls will work all the muscles in your forearms, and all the flexors in your upper arms.

Your grip will be tested through different movements and planes of motions. You will get an incredible pump in your forearms from this exercise. You can either use them as arm or grip exercises.

Start: You can either stand or sit on something. Hold a pair of dumbbells at your side and have your palms face your body.

Keep your body in upright posture and draw in your core and stabilize your shoulders back in retraction.

Begin the motion: Start with hammer curl. Curl your arms up with your thumb going up toward the ceiling. Slowly lower the weight all the way back to the original position.

Next, perform a supinating biceps curl. As the dumbbell passes your leg externally rotate your hand. Lower the dumbbell back down the exact opposite of the way you raised it.

The final curl is a reverse curl. Pronate (internally rotate) your hand slightly before you raise it. You do not have to fully pronate your hand. Do whatever your wrists are comfortable with while you try to keep your elbows in at your side.

Modifications: You can set your own rep scheme. Usually you will alternate each curl and do 21 reps, but you can do whatever you like. You can use a free motion cable machine instead of dumbbells for this and many grip exercises.

Dumbbell Supination / Pronation

Dumbbell supination and pronation is one of those exercises which is more mental than physical. As with most grip exercises, you can use it for forearms, and your upper arms as well.

Start: Take a pair of relatively light dumbbells and bring them up to a 90 degree angle. Hold the dumbbells in the middle so the sides of your hand are not touching either side of the "bell" part of the dumbbells. Keep your shoulders retracted, and your elbows at your sides for the duration of this movement.

Begin the motion: Slowly supinate (externally rotate) your hand with the dumbbell as far as you can go. Hold for a second when you reach maximum supination.

Next, pronate (internally rotate) your and as far as it can go while you keep your elbows at your side. When you reach maximum pronation hold for a second, squeezing your grip and forearms tightly and repeat.

Modifications: You can perform this with something longer such as a baseball bat or body bar increase the difficulty if you are trying to strengthen you supination and pronation for sports

Triceps Protocol

The Triceps have 3 Heads

This is why the muscle is called the triceps. Each head has a different origin and attachment.

This is important to know for choosing your toning triceps exercise selection.

The origin of the lateral and medial head are both on on the humerus ( upper arm bone) while the origin of the long head is on the scapula (shoulder blade).

The Primary Function of the Triceps is to Extend the Arms

The primary function of the triceps is to extend your arm at the elbow joint. If your touch your right shoulder with your right hand, extension is the motion of bending your elbow straight down away from your body.

All 3 heads of the triceps extend the arm, but the long head of the triceps is involved in shoulder flexion and abduction as well. This comes into play when choosing a complete triceps toning resistance training program.

To keep it simple, since the long head attaches to the shoulder blade you must have your arms elevated fully above your head to get the most work for your long head. If you know this, you can get the most complete workout for your triceps.

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Why is Toning Triceps so Difficult for Women ?

Women = Testosterone <>

Women tend to exhibit the gynoid pattern of fat distribution which is due to more estrogen than testosterone.

The gynoid pattern of fat distribution is characterized by the "pear" shape with the excess fat primarily distributed in the hips and thighs, as well as the triceps.

This is why toning triceps is so difficult. Women's bodies store larger amounts of fat in the triceps area than men. This common "problem area" for women is usually the one of the last places where fat loss (toning) is noticed during a weight loss (toning) exercise and nutrition program.

The reason why toning triceps tends to be difficult for women is the same reason why it tends to be very difficult for men with their signature "apple" shape to lose belly fat. Due to hormones, the largest amount of body fat is stored in problem areas and there is nothing you can do to stop this.

Toning Triceps and any other Body Part Requires a Complete Fitness Program

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What are the Best Exercises to Include in a Toning Triceps Workout Program ?

Remember, if you have excess body fat, weight training exercises will do little for reducing the fat in your problem areas. You must reduce your body fat with a fitness program complete with cardio, weight training, and a healthy balanced diet to achieve "toning" results.

If you do not have excess body fat, and look to increase your muscle definition or build your triceps muscles here are some of the best exercises to use to get a complete toning triceps exercise workout

Lying French Press "21s"

Twenty ones are a classic version of the lying French press. This toning triceps exercise works the entire triceps.

There are many different ways to perform the lying French press, but "21s" are the most common. "21s" are actually 3 different motions.

Start: Have a straight or preferably an EZ curl bar and lay on a flat or low incline bench. Push the weight straight up to the ceiling.

Try to keep your elbows in this position for the first 7 repetitions. It may feel more comfortable if you put your thumbs on the same side of the bar as your fingers as it will take strain off your wrists.

Begin the motion: For the first 7 reps lower the weight slowly to your eyebrows or forehead. Try to keep your elbows pointing straight up to the ceiling and raise the bar back up to the original position.

For the second 7 reps you can rock your elbows slightly backwards towards your head, and lower the bar behind your head. Try to fully flex your arms before you extend your arms to raise the bar to its original position.

The final 7 reps are close grip bench press. From the original position, lower the weight to your lower chest. Make sure to keep your elbows in towards your sides. Push the weight straight up and lower it straight down to make this the best arms exercise for the triceps. You may be able to perform more than 7 reps of this motion and may do so, but try to squeeze your triceps so much to only do 7.

Modifications: You do not have to perform 21 reps. You can do whatever combination of reps you wish. You can also use dumbbells. To perform with dumbbells have the dumbbells to the side of your body. The first 7 reps you will lower the dumbbells to your ears. The second 7 reps you will lower behind your head. The final 7 reps you will lower straight down next to your ribs.

Modified French Press

Modified French press is an isometric contraction of the triceps. This is a good way to strengthen your triceps to enable you to perform more advanced triceps exercises.

Modified French press is an exercise in which the triceps are contracted isometrically for the duration of the movement.

Start: Load either a straight bar or an EZ curl bar with a moderate weight. Take a slightly narrower than shoulder width stance.

Lie on a weight bench, the floor, or a stability ball in the supine bridge position.

Begin the motion: Try to keep bar as low as possible and extend your arms from your chest to above your head.

Hold at the fully extended position for a split second and return the bar to the starting position above your chest.

Try not to let the bar travel more than a couple inches above (towards the ceiling) your chest, face or head for the duration of the motion.

Advanced

Medicine Ball Triceps Push-ups

Close grip pushups with both hands on a single medicine ball are not only one of the best functional exercises, but one of the best exercises for triceps.

Start: Have a medium or large sized medicine ball and place it on a flat hard surface such as the gym's rubberized flooring or a hardwood floor. Place both your hands on the medicine ball.

This is best performed with your palms facing one another towards the side of the ball. Push yourself up until you are in a solid push-up position with your spine in neutral alignment.

Begin the motion: Keep your head up with your elbows close to your sides and lower your chest all the way to the medicine ball.

As you lower yourself down make sure you keep your core tight and don't let your hips sag towards the floor.

Modifications: If you cannot perform these push-ups from your feet you can perform them from your knees. If you perform push-ups from your knees start from your feet. Drop your knees straight down towards the floor and keep your back in the same alignment.

Power Ring Dips

If you have power (gymnastics) rings at your local gym or home you can perform one of the toughest exercises for your triceps.

Dips on the rings are advanced because they require very strong shoulder stabilizers as well as triceps.

If you have the protracted shoulders muscle imbalance you should probably avoid ring or parallel bar dips.

Start: Set the rings high enough where you can hold yourself up with your feet folded back behind you. Make sure you are close enough to the floor to where you will not fall and hurt yourself.

Grab the bottom of the rings and hold yourself up. If you are shaking violently it is because your shoulder stabilizers are not properly trained.

You may want to stick to holding the position rather than doing the motion. If you are stable you can start the dips as soon as you are up.

Begin the motion: Keep your core tight and lower yourself towards the floor. You should go down all the way, as far as you can. If you have any shoulder or elbow joint pain, do not go so far down. Push yourself back up to the top position, squeeze your triceps and repeat.

Modifications: Dips are a great triceps toning exercise whether you use the power rings or parallel bars. You can increase the resistance by using a dips belt, holding a medicine ball between your legs or using a weighted vest.

Strength Protocols

Strength is the foundation of nearly all physique and performance goals. When you're strong, you more easily gain muscle size, lose fat, run faster, hit harder, play longer, and move more living room furniture for your wife. We've rounded up 10 no-questions-asked tips to help you make everything in your life feel just a little bit lighter.

1.) Own the "big four."
The squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press are the best strength-building exercises, period. The chinup and row are great moves too, but don't make them the focus of your workout — they can be assistance lifts to complement the bench and shoulder press, keeping your pulling muscles in balance with the pressing ones.

2.) Use barbells first.
Forget all the fad equipment. The barbell is king, the dumbbell is queen, and everything else is a court jester — it may have its place, but it's not essential. Start your workouts with barbell exercises, such as the "big four," as described above. Barbells let you load a lot of weight, and lifting heavy is the first step toward getting stronger. Once your heaviest strength exercises are out of the way, you can move on to dumbbell and body-weight training.

3.) Keep it simple.
Some trainers make their clients lift with a certain rep speed, like three seconds up, one second down. But know this: There's no need to count anything but reps during a set. Simply focus on raising and lowering your weights in a controlled manner, pausing for a one-second count at the top of the lift. Using an arbitrary tempo can lessen tension on your muscles or force you to use varying amounts of weight, slowing your progress. The only way to be sure you're getting stronger is if your loads consistently increase.

4.) Maintain a log.
Write down your exercises, sets, reps, and the fate of each workout. Keep track of your best lifts and the most reps you've done with a certain weight on an exercise. Constantly strive to improve those numbers.

5.) Don't overdo it.
Try to stick to three or four lifts per workout. Keeping your workouts short helps you take advantage of hormonal surges. When you do too many exercises in a session, at least some of them get done half-assed. All you need is one main lift per workout (one of the big four), one or two assistance lifts (for keeping the body in balance and further strengthening the muscles that perform the main lift), and then core or specialty work at the end (ab exercises or some forearm or calf moves, depending on your goals). Doing any more lessens your results.

6.) Think five.
You should rotate many different rep ranges in your workouts, but sets of five seem to offer the best blend of muscle size and strength gains. If you're pushing through one of the big four moves, you'll find that your form often breaks down after five anyway.

7.) Add weights slowly.
The main reason people plateau and stop gaining strength is that they go too heavy for too long. Abandon your ego and do your main lifts using 10% less than the most weight you can lift for the given rep range. Increase the weight each session — but by no more than 10 pounds — and stick with the same lifts. You'll rarely plateau again.

8.) Take to the hills.
Cardio is a must if you want to be lean and healthy, but long-distance running or cycling increases levels of hormones that break down muscle tissue. To get stronger while getting leaner, do cardio in short, intense bursts. Go to a moderately steep hill and sprint to the top, then walk back down. When you're ready, sprint again. In your first workout, do only half as many sprints as you think you could. In your next workout, do two more sprints than you did the first time. Continue adding two sprints to your workouts until you can't improve anymore. Then do sets of sprints.

9.) Balance your training.
Whatever you do for one side of the body, you must do for the other side. Follow that rule in your workouts and you should be able to avoid injury and muscle imbalances. If you're doing squats (mainly a quad exercise), also do Romanian deadlifts (which hit the hamstrings hard). Your chest exercises should be balanced with back-training lifts. You don't necessarily have to do your balance work in the same session, but it should be done in the same week. In general, follow a ratio of two-to-one between your pulling-and-pushing movements. So if you bench-press on Monday (and most of the world seems to), you can do chinups on Tuesday and bent-over lateral raises on Thursday, for example. Every other pressing exercise you do should follow this formula.

10.) Do it right. Form is key.
You may think you know how to perform the big four, but you could probably get more out of them. Here are some quick pointers for each one.

• Squat: Begin the squat by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Keep your lower back arched and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. When your hips are bent, begin bending your knees and squatting low. This is what you need to squat maximal weight.

• Deadlift: Use the same stance you would to perform a jump — your legs should be narrowly placed. When you bend down to grab the bar, keep your hips down and your back straight, with your shoulders directly over your knees.

• Bench Press: Start with your head off the bench. Keeping your feet steady, grab the bar and pull your body up off the bench and forward, so that when your butt comes down on the bench your lower back is very arched. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your range of motion should be significantly shorter for stronger pressing.

• Shoulder press: Flare your lats when the bar is at shoulder level. It will allow you to use more weight.