Want to develop your grip strength? Take a close look at a simple technique that you can apply at home with just a couple of minutes a day. This is a very simple yet effective exercise designed to strengthen your grip. All pro-athletes are obliged to work on grip strength, as this allows them to hold large weights without using straps. There are other movements to attach the muscles of the forearm, but hanging on the bar to increase grip strength can be considered indispensable.
However, this is not the only advantage of this exercise. With its help, you can also relieve the stress accumulated on the spinal column, which is very useful. If you have scoliosis or a stoop, then hanging on two arms will be useful. At the same time, if you have problems with the spinal column, then in no case jump off the bar, but use a stand for this if you cannot reach the ground with your feet.
Let's first look at the main types of grips that are used by athletes:
- Closed - used to hold sports equipment.
- Plucked - is necessary to hold objects in the fingertips.
- Open - used to hold thick bars or a bar.
- Fingers - often used while carrying, say, dumbbells.
How to use the hang on the bar?
It is necessary to grasp the crossbar with a grip from above, placing your hands at the width of the shoulder joints. You just need to hang on the bar and hold on to it for a certain time. Your breathing should be calm and even, and your body should be relaxed. In doing so, you must firmly hold on to the crossbar. To eliminate the possibility of hand slipping, you can use sports magnesia.
To effectively strengthen the grip, you just need to hang in one set for one minute. Gradually, you have to increase the time, as the muscles will strengthen. In addition, you can complicate the exercise in order to constantly progress. The easiest way to achieve this goal is to use weights. You need to attach, say, a barbell disk to your belt, as you do when doing weighted pull-ups. Once you've been able to hang one minute, add five kilos. You can also use a hang on one hand, which will double the load at once. When you can again hang for 60 seconds already on one arm, then start using weights.
You can use the hang on the bar to increase your grip strength one set after each session, or do several sets once or twice throughout the week. You should also remember about the need for a complete recovery of the muscles of the forearm. They also work actively when performing other movements and therefore it is necessary not to overdo it with the load.
Other ways to improve grip strength
It should be recognized that often athletes do not develop grip strength. Of course, when working with large weights, you can use straps, but this parameter is still worth developing. It should be noted that the size of the palm does not affect the grip strength. For example, Paul Anderson, who became the champion in the Olympic triathlon, had small palms, but his hands had tremendous strength. Thus, it is possible to have large weak hands and small but very strong hands.
This is because grip strength is primarily influenced not by muscles, but by tendons. To strengthen your hands, you need to work on the tendons and ligaments, not the muscles.
Let's see what exercises can be used to increase grip strength:
- Position yourself one meter from the wall and rest your palms on it. Start push-ups on your hands, pushing strongly against the wall.
- Pick up the weights and lower them down. Perform circular motions with your brushes.
- Place your forearms on a horizontal, stationary surface such as a table. Twist your forearms with dumbbells.
- Use a hand expander or tennis balls by squeezing.
- Grasp the disc from the barbell and hold it at your fingertips.
- Hanging on the bar to increase the grip strength, which we described in detail above.
- Climb the rope using only your hands to move. This exercise can only be done after you are able to pull up on one arm.
- Use the special trainer "bison" created by Sotsky.
All of these exercises should be performed in two or three series, each of which will have from 6 to 8 sets. You can increase the grip strength not only in the gym, but also at home. A strong grip is useful not only in sports, but also in everyday life.
For more on how to increase your grip strength, see this video:
