To most people, it’s never been a problem. Very rarely, would you find yourself unable to lift an object due to your hands being unable to close and hold such an object. More likely, your legs or back (by the way don’t lift heavy objects with your back!) will give out, and your hands and forearms won’t feel any burn whatsoever. 

However, start weightlifting regularly and suddenly, grip strength is suddenly much more relevant. It’s much easier to gain strength and muscle in your legs rather than your forearms and hands. This is most likely due to the size of the muscles in your legs, compared to your forearms. The quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings are the largest muscles inside the human body. These three muscles are often the driving force of lifting heavy weight from the floor (with correct form to prevent injury, of course). In contrast, the forearms, more specifically, the Flexor carpi radialis and Palmaris Longus, are extremely thin unless trained extensively. Thus, the legs will often increase in strength and size at a much greater pace, making grip strength the limiting factor in many core lifts such as the deadlift, clean, and snatch. 

So, don’t neglect your grip strength. Currently, for me, it’s definitely holding me back from gaining more strength in my legs, so I would strongly recommend training your forearms right from the start. If you’re wondering how, then here’s yet another list of ways to do so. 

1. Hook Grip

Both cost effective and a quick fix, the hook grip is essentially when one wraps the thumb onto the bar, and then tucks the thumb into the digits, rather than wrapping the digits around the bar and then tucking them into the thumb. This, in turn, gives the four stronger fingers a gripping point to brace again, effectively allowing for a better grip without actually increasing the strength of your fingers. 

2. Chalk

While chalk is going to require a little investment from you, this is also an extremely effective way to increase your grip strength fast. Now, the chalk I’m talking about isn’t sidewalk or board chalk, but lifting chalk. Lifting chalk can come in the forms of powdered, bagged, blocked, or liquified, but I would recommend bagged. Lifting chalk is composed of Magnesium and Carbonate, forming Magnesium Carbonate, a compound that is insoluble in water. Because sweaty hands cause less friction to be between the bar and the hands, the bar is then more difficult to hold. However, if one were to repel the sweat using lifting chalk, then the friction between the hands and the bar would once again increase, making the bar much less difficult to grip. 

3. Carry Heavy Things

Wow. Who would’ve thought that carrying heavy things would make you better at carrying heavy things. This is the most simple and foolproof way to increase your grip strength, albeit it will take much more time and effort. The hook grip and chalk can only take you so far. One great way to do so is farmers carries, where one picks up 2 dumbbells or a hex bar, and holds them in their hands for as long as possible. Do this multiple times and you’ve got a great forearm workout. 

 

 

All in all, this blog was pretty much useless if you aren’t interested in lifting weights. However, I would encourage those interested or just starting out to start training forearms right away, as it will allow you to progress much faster later along your training journey. Happy lifting 🙂