Bar More Grip

Combat athletes, in particular gi grapplers such as Jiu Jitsu players and judokas, need strong and resilient grips. In judo for example, your grip may be the single resolving element in a match – he who gives out initial loses! While merely training with the gi on may give rise to very strong hands and fingers, grapplers still need to supplement their training in order to maximize their potential.

There are a good deal of training modalities when it comes to grip strength, and while “extra” grip training may serve a purpose, grapplers have fixed time for strength and conditioning work and need to use that time wisely. One of the best ways to get super strong hands while saving time is to comprise grip work into the strength and conditioning work that you already do.

Many of the exercises that I use already implicate the hands to a huge degree…kettlebell snatches, sandbag training, band and rope training, lots of pull ups, sled dragging – you name it. With these movements, not only am I training my entire body, but require a big degree of grip strength…something that you can’t say with regards to training with bozu balls or imagination machines.

But in order to cause further “forearm trauma”, there are numerous ways to make a lot of of these movements even more difficult. Here’s a list of my bestloved grip enhancers…

1. Towel or Gi Chins

2. Towel or Gi Pikes, Leg Raises, and Windshield Wipers

3. Towel or Gi Kettlebell Swings

4. Towel barbell Deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, and Bent Over Rows

5. Thick Bar (make your own by wrapping a towel around the bar) Curls

6. Towel Band Rows, Face Pulls, and Snapdowns

7. Thick Bar Chin Ups (make your own, or go to a local playground!)

8. Thick Bar Recline Rows

9. Sandbag Rows while gripping the canvas (great for finger strength!)

10. Sled high pulls, scarecrows, rowing, and dragging with a gi looped through the end of the tow straps

So give galore of these at try, but don’t blame me when your hands feel like claws after a workout!

Bar More Grip Pic

Bar More Grip Picture

Bar More Grip Pic