Want to increase your level of physical fitness? If so then strengthen your grip. 
I was asked to write about strengthening your wrists to correspond with a grip strengthening sports specific article. Everyday activities can be enhanced with strong wrists and forearms. Many sports training requires strong wrists. Activities like rock climbing, shooting, yoga, golf, tennis and other sports/activities require not only strong wrists, but also a strong grip.
pull ups....oh i love pull ups. Pull ups yield amazing benefits including TOTAL body strength. 100% of my clients complain about pull ups because they are "hard." Yes they are hard for several reasons one of them being weak arms and wrists. Start with an assisted machine and work your way to pull ups with a spotter and then.....on your own. Completing my first set of wide grip pull ups without a spotter is a moment that i will never forget.
wrist curls- You can use a barbell (first pic) or dumbells (second pic) to isolate the wrist muscles
If you arn't THAT serious about grip strenghth, but you are aware of the value of these exercises then use straps.
deadlifts- This is my alternate grip. Either pronated (palms facing down) or alternating hands (shown below) is going to strengthen your grip. I prefer alternating my grip because it gives me more of a solid base or foundation when lifting heavy. Much like pull ups deadlifts strengthen the entire body focusing on the core muscles (erector spinae.) The results of the deadlift depend on your form (Romanian vs. traditional, etc.)
wrist rolls-personally i have never done this exercise because deadlifts and pull ups are sufficient for me, but for variety i have included this example. If your gym has this (most do just ask) then use the stick with the rope attached to the middle, and with an overhand grip SLOWLY roll the weight up and down.
Farmers walks (pic of the shirtless man) are a great way to strengthen you traps, core and wrists/forearms, but i decided to talk about shopping to (a favorite pastime of mine.) Shopping for clothes and/or groceries can help strengthen your arms and shoulders BUT...if the load will be uneven so this isn't "an exercise." If you want to be even (you should be even) then you need to use dumbbells and do farmers walks.
a final note-should you use weight lifting straps if you are trying to strengthen your grip? NO. If you are serious about strengthening you grip then stop using pads/straps. Rely on your own strength (NO HELPERS) 
If you arn't THAT serious about grip strenghth, but you are aware of the value of these exercises then use straps.So what works for you? Will you try any of the exercises? Give me feedback with what works!
1 comment:
No excuses this time (apart from the wriggling), but again it leaves me wondering who out there can actually ride 60 minutes straight at a completely steady effort at their WKO-estimated FTP. Yes, I could set my FTP lower, but then all my other intervals -- particularly the shorter ones -- would be overestimated, thus inflating my IF and TSS for every other workout. So this is the flaw in WKO+ I think: basically your single biggest benchmark by which all effort is measured is somewhat impossible to actually achieve! Unless of couse you race 25 mile TTs all the time. Does anyone else have this problem?At any rate I was pleased to see an overall increase in today's race of 5 watts over last time, meaning that my fitness is pretty much at the same place it was last September when I was peaking for Ironman Kona. And it's still April! Lots of summer racing to come. For future FTP tests I'll be more likely to go out and do a Richmond Park 3LC some nice evening. Same ~60-min effort and a lot closer to home!
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