"How can I improve my grip strength?"

Answering a reader question about how to deal when dumbbells get kind of ouchey

Heh, cute. Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash

A training client of mine — who is now a How to Move reader, so this totally counts as a reader question! — recently updated me on her progress:

I’m really liking this new routine. It’s getting me into some heavier weights — which is starting to challenge my grip strength. [My partner] has suggested I get some of the squeezy rubber donuts instead of a gripper thing with a spring. Got any opinions on this? I feel like you were maybe working on grip strength recently?

First of all, I love messages like this so much! Liking the routine, yay! Heavier weights, yay! This is all so good. Lots to love.

Second of all, yes, absolutely. When we start getting into heavier dumbbells (what counts as “heavier” will of course vary from person to person), especially if we’re doing a longer set of exercises and have to hold onto the weights for a while, our hands often start to let us know. It’s hard to keep hold of heavy things! In fact, sometimes when we get into really heavy lifts, like deadlifts, our hands can be the limiting factor for the amount of weight we can pull.

And third, yes, I have been working on my grip strength! A year ago, one of my favorite pelvic PTs on Instagram, Hayley Kava, posted a fascinating review of two recent studies showing that grip strength correlates with better pelvic floor function (all while hanging from a bar!).

While I’m thankfully experiencing pretty good pelvic floor function at the moment, Hayley’s post got me thinking about frailty in general, and how being strong in a well-rounded way is such a great insurance policy as we age. It also reminded me that it’s been years since I even attempted a pull-up (no, I haven’t successfully performed one unassisted — yet), and I’d like to get back on that particular training…train.

In any case, I’m pleased to report that grip strength work has yielded one of the most impressive returns on investment of any kind of muscle training I’ve ever done. I started off barely being able to hang onto a pull-up bar for five seconds, and within two or three weeks of regular (but not super time-intensive) practice I was up to 30 seconds (and counting!). Fast results are so rare, but damn are they kind of fun.

Anyway, back to my client/reader! Here’s what I shared with her (slightly edited), in case it’s helpful to you:

• A workout routine that involves moving heavy-ish dumbbells will, on its own, help improve your grip strength. As the muscles you’re targeting strengthen with each move, so will the muscles in your fingers, hands, and wrists. So stick with it. BTW, exercises like farmer’s carries are a great way to improve grip strength as well — just grabbing a super-heavy dumbbell or kettlebell (or one in each hand) and carrying it around for as long as you can while remaining upright with your core engaged.

• On top of that, anything you can squeeze is probably good! Those squeezey stress balls some physical therapists use are nice. I wasn’t familiar with the grip donuts but they look great, too (note: this is not an affiliate link, and I have not tried this product! Just linking to save you a Google in case you’re curious). I have one of those gym-bro things with the springs (again, not an affiliate link, and this is not the exact product I use, but it’s basically like this) and I like it pretty well. I keep it at my desk and mess with it during meetings sometimes.

• Possibly the biggest game changer will be hanging practice — grabbing onto a pull-up bar and hanging on. It sucks at first and you may be able to do only a few seconds, but you can work your way up pretty quickly. (Note: This might not be an option for you if you have frozen shoulder syndrome or another shoulder, wrist, etc. injury. Please consult a PT for the best course of action for your condition, and alternate ways of building grip strength.)

  • If you try hanging onto a pull-up bar and literally cannot, you have a few options. First, if you’re at a gym, ask if a trainer can teach you to set up a resistance band on the bar. It takes a little practice to learn how to loop the band around the bar and how to wrap it around your feet or knees — professional help is ideal!

  • If this isn’t an option, pull up a chair or stool underneath the bar. Stand or kneel on it, then reach up for the bar, and bend your knees as needed until your arms are fully straight. Then, experiment with trying to hold a little more of your bodyweight with your hands, and a little less with your feet. Maybe you can lift one foot off the surface. Maybe you can slightly lift the other foot for a second or two, then gently put it back down.

  • Whatever your starting point, take note of it. You can literally write it down! Think “5 seconds, one foot on the stool.”

  • Consider a practice routine of something like three sets of your starting point, between two and four times a week, adding on as it becomes possible. (Think: more time, a looser band, less weight in your feet.) This shouldn’t take very long, although even if you’re holding on for just a few seconds, you’ll need to take a good break in between sets to let your hands recover.

  • Note your progress! It’s fun and motivating to see those seconds add up.

  • Also, while you’re hanging, you can throw in some additional strengthening work if you’re up for it. Think turtle-giraffes (that’s where you shrug your shoulders up high, then depress your shoulders and fully engage the stabilizing muscles around your shoulder blades), or knee raises, which are great for your core.

I know I said this wasn’t going to be a gear-focused newsletter, but this is one situation where a little gear can be helpful. Specifically, the aforementioned grip strength squeezy thingies, and possibly, your own pull-up bar. I got mine on Buy Nothing, and it’s great! I placed it on the doorframe of our laundry room, which has the lowest door in the house (easier to reach) and the sturdiest-seeming frame (it’s metal), and this has made it really easy to fit in some grip training here and there. If I’m walking by, I will basically take my wedding ring off*, hang for a bit, then go about my day. You can absolutely do this practice at the gym, but it’s pretty nice not to have to, if you’re able to get your hands (heh) on a pull-up bar.

Beyond that, don’t forget some basic hand care: Gentle wrist rolls, wrist extension and flexion stretches, even just interlacing your fingers and pressing your palms away from you can all feel really good when your hands are sore. If you start getting calluses from all the grip work, be sure to treat them with care as well: soaking your hands, gently scrubbing the calluses with a pumice stone, and keeping them moisturized are all smart moves. (This isn’t about vanity, btw, it’s about preventing the calluses from — eek — ripping off mid-workout, which is yucky and not fun at all!)

I hope this was helpful! What questions can I answer for you? I’ve had my comments set for paid subscribers only because I don’t love having gym bros lecture me online, but given the makeup of my free subscribers so far I’m less and less concerned about that — so as an experiment I’ll keep commenting on for everyone here. Please let me know!

Thanks so much for reading. Let’s keep going!

xo
Anna

*I wasn’t doing this at first and accidentally squished my ring into an oval shape! Luckily my local jeweler was able to fix it for me. But… be cautious.