Professional Documents
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ticipating in this program.
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CONTENTS
Part 1: Why Grip Train? 05
Intro
MMA Applications
Types of Grip
Forearm Movements
Training Considerations
Part 2: Crush Grip 08
Grippers
Climbing
Towel Work
Squeezes
Odd Objects
Part 3: Pinch Grip 10
Weight Plates
Holds
Block Weights
Hubs
16 Part 6: Wrist/Forearms
Curls
Rollers
Rotations
Isometric Holds
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Part 1: Why Grip Train?
Take a second (hard to do these days I know) and have a think about
how often you use your hands? Really sit and think about it.
In most gym goers routines, the hands and grip are often neglected. Per-
haps more so than any other facet of training. This is a shame. Building
a solid grip is so much more than pumped Popeye forearms and a great
handshake.
Having strong hands, wrists and forearms aids in day to day activities.
Simple task like carrying groceries and opening jars will become easy.
The biggest carry over though, is in your sporting activities.
Tennis players for example put themselves at risk of injury when they
have a weak grip. A lax grip on the racket causes the risk of developing
lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) every time they return the ball. This
kind of stress over the course of an entire match is cause for concern.
Its common knowledge that in the weight room, more weight equals
more muscle. The amount of weight an individual can move is directly
related to what the hands can grip.
For those guys who do nothing but bicep curls, little do they know the
lack of grip training is impacting them in a negative way. Studies have
shown that if the bicep muscles are stronger than that of the forearms, an
uneven tension occurs. This tension in the arms is damaging to the soft
tissues and can cause significant elbow pain.
Having an iron grip when going for an arm drag is going to mean you
have a successful transition.
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Supporting Grip
When you have any grip on an opponent in a takedown, the
last thing you want is to be worrying about your grip giving Supporting grip on the surface looks similar to the crush
out. grip, but differs in an important way. The crushing grip is a
concentric one, where as the supporting grip is isometric.
The same thing applies when locking up a submission. With
all the work it takes to obtain the position, the last thing youImagine, in one hand crushing an empty can. In the other
want is to lose it due to weak hands, wrists or forearms. you are holding heavy bags. The hand crushing the can is
applying a concentric crush, whereas the hand with the
Having a stronger grip doesnt only benefit the grappling arts. heavy bags, is isometrically locked into position fighting an
When you have strong hands, wrists and forearms you are external force.
less susceptible to injuries caused by striking. Your hands are
precious. If you have weak hands and wrists you will never be Open Grip
able to strike with 100% power.
The open grip is possibly the most awkward of all. It is usu-
The hands and forearms are complex systems. There are ally done on objects that have no conventional handle or any
35 individual muscles at work in moving the forearms and groove for gripping. In general, its objects that are so big the
hands. Certain muscles are used to flex, creating strength, thumb cant wrap around the fingers to form a conventional
while extensors of the forearm stabilize the wrist. grip.
The Types of Grip This is grip that you will come across most in MMA training.
When broken down into its simplest form, grip training can
be covered in four main parts. Crush, Pinch, Supporting and
Open.
Crush Grip
Crush grip is the one most associated with grip training. Its
the one used most and the one most are strongest at.
Anyone who has lifted a barbell, kettlebell or dumbbell will
be well versed in this type of gripping. For those of you who
have never lifted iron its the same grip used in a handshake.
Pinch Grip
The pinch grip is rarely trained in gym movements and isnt
generally addressed in every day life.
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The Movements of the Wrist and Forearm Things to Consider
Circumduction is the accumulation of the above. Here your This is something that doesnt need specific gym time. These
hand moves in a circular fashion around the wrist. can be done at your desk in work, on the train during a com-
mute or when you are sat at home.
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Part 2: Crush Grip
Grippers Towel Pull-ups
Grippers are usually the first thing that comes
The true beauty of grip training is how accessible it is to
to mind with grip training. In essence, grippers
anyone. If you have no access to a rope, no worries. Simply
are two handles attached to a tough spring. The ten-
throw a strong towel over a pull-up bar, branch or whatever
sion of this spring differs dramatically from gripper
and perform your pull-ups or chin-ups using the towel grip.
to gripper.
Gripping the towel in this movement makes a massive
Its worth noting early on that grippers available
difference. In a traditional pull-up or chin-up, your hands
in sporting stores are useless. They offer
will passively hook onto the bar. By gripping the towel you
little resistance and will take no more than a few
are forced to squeeze tight the second your feet leave the
attempts to master. Companies like Vul-
ground. Those who compete in a Gi will appreciate the sim-
can and
ilarity in grip requirements. Play around with the thickness
Cap-
of the towel. The thicker you have the towel, the harder the
tains of
exercise will be. I like to have athletes perform the required
Crush
number of reps, and then when the pull-ups are completed
are the
just hang from the towel until the grip gives out. This hang-
stand-outs
ing addition is not only physically tough, but also mentally
in the gripper world. The tension of these grip-
demanding.
pers is phenomenal. The Captain of Crush num-
ber 4 for example, takes 356lbs of force to fully close.
Towel Work
To set the gripper correctly, place one handle in the palm
of your hand. The other handle rests just under the fingers. When training your grip, towels really can be your best
From this starting position squeeze the gripper as hard as friend. With a little creativity an ordinary towel can become
possible until the handles touch. When the handles touch, a mega grip workout.
you have done a full rep.
Loop the towel through the handle of a kettlebell and per-
The beauty of grippers is in their convenience. I carry around form rows or swings. Everything about the movement re-
two or three of the grippers with varying difficulties in my mains the same. The only difference is the active squeeze you
bag. Throughout the day I will take out a gripper and per- have to do to hold onto the towel. This same principal can be
form a few reps. Each rep is done with 100% intensity, but is done using a barbell. Loop two towels over a loaded bar, grab
still not enough work to break out a sweat. This grease the one in each hand and again perform a set of rows.
groove method of training is perfect if you work in an office,
travel or commute a lot. For a simple and deceptively demanding finisher, soak a tow-
el in water until it is completely saturated. Then using your
grip and forearm strength, ring it out dry. Expect to feel a
Rope Climbs burn on this one, especially when done at the end of a tough
Rope climbing is perhaps one of the oldest strength exercises session.
performed. Its one that combat athletes have used through-
out time. Rope climbing is mentioned as far back as 1569 Another simple, yet tough finisher is towel tug of war. Part-
by Hieronymus Mercurialis in his text De Arte Gymnastica. ner up and both of you grip the towel tightly with one hand.
Mercurialis wrote that only rope climbing and wrestling Have something as a marker on the ground and try to pull
were wholesome. Even today, rope climbing is still found your opponent over the line as they do the same. Be sure to
in nearly every military training program in the world and work both hands evenly and use a strong towel! A small thick
within most wrestling gyms. piece of rope works great for this too.
When climbing a rope, it is best to leave your legs out of the Bench Squeezes
equation. Climb the entire length of the rope in a hand-over-
hand fashion. Not only will this give you an intense grip, it While the name bench squeezes sounds self-explanatory,
will also be a great supplement to your back training and its likely you will never have seen them. Bench squeezes are
pull-strength. an obscure exercise, found mainly in strongman circles. Even
though it is a simple exercise, it is effective none the less.
Which is why its a shame it is underused.
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Stand in front of a bench, bend at the hips and grab
the padded bit, double over hand, thumb-less grip.
For short intense intervals grip down and squeeze
the bench as hard as possible. For any onlooker it will
probably not look like nothing is going on. Chanc-
es are you will just look really angry at the bench as
youre pulling your best squeezing face. Well, regard-
less of the strange looks, work this into your program
to reap the benefits. No-one will give you strange
looks when you have a monster grip and mega fore-
arms.
Rice Bucket
The rice bucket drill is another exercise that has been
used by combat athletes throughout the ages. The rice
bucket drill is unique in that not only are you working
your crushing strength, but, you also work the antag-
onistic muscles on the back of your hands. This makes
the rice bucket a very well rounded drill for your
hands, wrists and forearms.
Tennis Ball
While grippers are the greatest tool for crush strength, they
can be very demanding and costs can mount up when you
have to buy a few of them. Hockey legend Gordie Howe was
a fan of using the humble tennis ball for his crush and fore-
arm work.
Whie watching TV, squeeze the tennis ball. At the office,
squeeze the tennis ball. Hold each squeeze tight for a count
of three, release and repeat. As simple as it sounds, it is de-
manding and works. Watch any footage of Howe and see just
how hard his slapshots were and the size of his forearms.
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Part 3: Pinch Grip
Plate Pinch
Block/Blob Weights
The king of all pinch exercises is the plate pinch,
easy to set up, easy to coach and impossible to Blob weights have sadly slipped out of favour. The original
master. York Blob weights are incredibly hard too get hold of these
days. Block weights are essentially the same thing but are
To begin, stand two ten pound plates next to each other, made by cutting the head off an old dumbbell. In essence,
smooth side out. With your fingers one side and your thumb blob/block weights are the perfect tool for pinch grip train-
the other, squeeze and lift, until you cant hold the weights ing. But, they are pretty hard to get your hands on, and not
any more. everyone will want to destroy a perfectly good dumbbell for
This can be done one handed or two handed using bigger pinch training.
plates, like 45s. Once you try this for yourself, youll come
to see the true difficulty of this exercise. Just some food for The set up is the same as the plate pinch holds. The goal is
thought, the current world record for the two hand pinch lift also the same, hold as long as your grip will allow. The main
is 270lbs set by Britains Dave Horne in 2014. difference with block weights is the sheer size of them. They
are often 3 inches thick and more, making this one hell of a
Pinch Holds pinch exercise.
Pinch holds are a very unique exercise. One that most will Hub Pinch Lifts
have never seen. For the pinch holds you will need two short
pieces of wood. 2x4 is the best size to begin with, but feel free Hub lifts are different from the other pinch lifts. In all of the
to increase the thickness as you make progress. other pinch lifts the fingers are kept together. In hub lift-
ing your fingers are separate and your hand will resemble a
Begin on your knees, with the wood standing upright. Have claw. Adding hub lifting into your program will ensure well
the pieces shoulder width apart. Pinch grip the pieces of rounded development.
wood, with your fingers flat on one side, your thumb on the
other. Lean your weight forward, increasing your need to To hub lift, place a weight plate flat on the floor and lift the
grip the wood tight. plate using only the centre hub. The main problem with
This is a deceptively tough exercise. When you are able to hub lifts is how different the hubs are from plate to plate. To
hold this position for 30 seconds, advance into a full push-up counteract this issue, there are hub lift tools available. If buy-
position. ing an attachment isnt your thing, its easy to make one using
a hockey puck, an eye bolt, a chain and a caribiner. A quick
search online will bring up plenty of helpful results.
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Part 4: Support Grip
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Kroc Rows
Kroc rows get there name from the
creator Matt Kroc Kroczaleski.
Kroc is a man who has an impres-
sive resume. He is a competitive
bodybuilder, record breaking pow-
erlifter and former marine. He is
also a man whose 150lb dumbbells werent heavy enough to
challenge him when performing rows. Enter the Kroc rows.
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Part 5: Open Grip
Fat Gripz Kettlebell Palm Cleans
Fat Gripz are an amazing attachment. They are possibly the The kettlebell palm clean is quite an obscure exercise. Its
single greatest thing you can add to your training to instantly one thats not for everyone and I would suggest staying away
improve your MMA and grip. These little silicon attachments from these if you have never performed a traditional ket-
have one purpose. To turn any dumbbell, pull-up bar or tlebell clean. If you are well versed with kettlebells though,
barbell into in a thick handle. The thicker handle now means these make a great addition to your kettlebell arsenal.
your hands cant fully close around the bar. This makes the The mechanics of the clean remain the same, the only dif-
exercise more grip intensive and more MMA applicable. ference here is that instead of the bell rotating to the racked
If you take away nothing from this book other than add- clean position, you let go and catch the bell in the palm of
ing Fat Gripz I will be happy. I guarantee that even if you your hand. In the top part of the exercise your hand will
keep your current routine exactly the same but add Fat resemble a waiter holding a tray, with the kettlebell being the
Gripz, your grip will improve. Not to mention forearm size, tray itself.
strength and muscular endurance. Im not in anyway affili- The hand holding the bell will be spread wide. Your fingers
ated with Fat Gripz. I have just seen the amazing benefits of will actively grip the bell to stabilize it and prevent it from
using them. falling forward. If you are struggling to image this position,
visualize holding a basketball with one hand, palm facing the
sky. Not only does this require open grip strength, but the
Thick Bar
movement will also require excellent hand eye coordination
and core strength to stabilize throughout.
Thick bars are pretty uncommon outside of strongman
events. Events like axle deadlifts are a staple in strongman
competitions. Thick bars are generally available 2 and 3 Odd Object Pull-ups
thick. Training traditional exercises like deadlifts, bench
You know by now pull-ups work your grip. You also prob-
press and military press with a bar this size is an amazing
ably know that pull-ups are hard. Well, odd object pull-ups
way to work your grip. If you can get your hands on one, use
not only work your grip harder, they also make the exercise
it. If not, the Fat Gripz mentioned above will effectively do
tougher.
the same job.
There are hundreds of attachments available in all different
Newspaper Balling shapes and sizes to challenge your grip. My personal favour-
ite is a globe grip attachment. In essence the globe grip is a
Balling up newspaper sheets doesnt sound tough right? This decent sized sphere that you have to grip open handed to
is a simple, but deceiving exercise. Have a newspaper sheet perform pull-ups. The beauty of this is it replicates a Thai
flat on the ground. Begin in one corner and using only one clinch perfectly. Alternatively attach a kettlebell to something
hand, drag and crush the newspaper into a tight ball. After strong, using something strong and do your pull-ups while
two or three sheets, your hands, fingers and forearm exten- Thai clinching that.
sors will be on fire. Be sure to work both hands evenly.
Another great attachment is cannonball grips. These are, as
When you become more proficient with one sheet, work on the name implies, small spheres that you hang from. Grip-
two together. Work your way up to five sheets at once. ping these cannonballs will force the hand into an open claw
shape- Perfect for strengthening your open grip and fingers.
Alternatively there are a ton of tutorials available online for
homemade versions using baseballs.
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Sadistic Swings
Anyone who has ever put together big reps of kettlebell
swings knows just how grip intensive they can
be. As the bell swings you have to release
your grip a little and rapidly retight-
en it as the bell swings back down.
After the first set of swings you are
very aware of just how much your
hands and forearms are working.
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Part 6: Wrists/Forearms
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Wrist Roller Supination Pronation Rotation
Wrist rollers are unfortunately non existent in many gyms Admittedly supination pronation rotation is
now. This is a shame because as far as building strength, size a bit of a mouthful. Despite this it is a great
and endurance in the forearms, wrist rollers are the king. If exercise. There are several ways to perform
you dont have access to one, luckily they are easy to make this, but the most common is with a sledge-
and pretty cheap to do so. hammer.
When using the wrist roller, start light. You want to make Start by gripping the sledgehammer tightly, roughly half way
sure the weight reaches the handle on every rep. The same up. Begin with the hammer head directly upwards. From
principal as the wrist curls applies. Perform these palms up here, under control, rotate the hammer head until your palm
and down to hit every bit of the forearms and wrists. As the is facing the ground. Rotate the hammer head back around
weight increases, your grip will become an issue. You will until your palm is facing upwards. The hammer head will
have to crush the bar as you perform the movement so it travel in a semi-circle fashion. The beauty of using a sledge-
doesnt slip from your hands. hammer, much like in BJJ, means you can use leverage to
make the exercise easier or harder. By gripping the sledge-
Certain individuals choose to use the wrist roller held out in hammer at the handle, the head will have to travel much
front at arms length. This way is fine, but if grip and forearm further, making the exercise harder.
strength is your goal, it may be best to reconsider. When
holding the roller out in front, more often than not its your
shoulders that will become the limiting factor in the exercise.
The best way to target your grip and forearms is to have the
roller held with a slight bend in your arms, near your waist.
As you are using the roller be sure to keep the bar parallel to
the ground. Any tilt in the bar either way will take away from
the goal of targeting your forearms.
Reverse Curl
The reverse curl is generally done with a barbell. It can also
be done with dumbbells, but more often than not, an EZ bar
works best. The reverse curl works not only your biceps but
your forearm extensors as well.
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Part 7: Fitting it Together
Now its time to put it all together. Luckily, when it comes to
grip training a little goes a long way. Implementing the prin-
ciples you have read here is pretty simple. There will be no
need to devote big chucks of time or full routines to develop
a mighty grip. Instead, just choose to mix in grip exercises
into your current routine.
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Some Simple Programming
Just Grip
Work
Perform the exercises either
during or at the end of your
strength or conditioning session.
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Grip, Wrists
and Forearms
With additional wrist and fore-
arm work, the routine still doesnt
increase too much. Use the above
method, but add in the wrist and
forearm training below.
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One Final Thought
This is the bit where I try to sell you something.
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Dont explain your philosophy.
Embody it.
-Epictetus
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