Muscles worked
Grip training with a tool, such as a hand gripper or a grip ring, mainly trains the finger flexors. They sit on the inside of your forearm and pull on long tendons that run out to your fingers, which is why your forearm tires, not just your hand. The small muscles of the hand and the thumb help, and the extensors on the back of the forearm keep your wrist straight. Squeezing something shut differs from holding on to something heavy, as in a hang or a carry, and both are worth training.
Common mistakes
- The tool is too easy. If you can squeeze it shut fifty times in a row, you are mostly training endurance. Choose a resistance you can close about 5 to 12 times with effort, and move to a stiffer one once it gets easy.
- Counting half reps as full ones. With a hand gripper, a rep only counts when the handles meet. Count just those, and use an easier gripper if you only get halfway.
- Only ever squeezing. The finger flexors get plenty of work, while the muscles that open your hand and straighten your wrist get almost none. Give the back of your forearm its own exercise in the same session.
Variations and alternatives
- The dead hang trains your grip with your full body weight.
- The farmer's walk trains holding heavy weights as you walk, with work for your trunk and upper back thrown in.
- The reverse wrist curl gives the back of the forearm the work that grip training skips.
Sets and reps
With a hand gripper, 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 12 closes works well, with a couple of minutes' rest after hard sets. With a tool you hold shut, count time instead, for example 3 to 4 holds of 10 to 30 seconds. The principles are set out in the guide to sets and reps.
Grippers often come in fixed resistances, so add closes or time first, then move to the next stiffness. Logging the tool and your closes shows whether you are getting stronger, and those small steps are progressive overload. Short sessions two to three times a week suit most people; see how often to train.