I need some advice on beginning a good grip strength program. I have pretty small wrists and a right wrist that just recovered from a minor injury. I saw some very good looking products at ironmind.com
My question - there are 2 books by John Brookfield - anyone know which one I should get first and if they are good?
There are also crushmasters (I think thats the name) - which one should I start with and is it necessary to get their accompanying book too?
THANKS!!!
I guess I should add, are there any other products/tools that are very important for a beginning grip/wrist/forearm strengthening program? My primary goal is to develop the kind of grip that would aid wrestling/judo/brazilian jiujitsu (after all my tournament matches, my forearms and hands were so burned out I could not even close my hand - clearly, I need to work on my grip strength!)
I just bought the grippers from ironmind. They're top quality.
http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmind/products.asp?dept=8
For a more practical approach you might consider rock climbing. I experienced an amazing improvement of grip power and endurance since i started climbing, more than months of grip exercises could do.
Your grip suffered in your matches because you were overly tense and simply did not know how to relax and tense at the appropriate time. This is something that you will obviously improve with experience.
I suggest that in the meantime you set up a program
using a wrist roller,timed holds with heavy dumbells and possibly a gripper for crushing strength.
Do remember however that prowess with some of the well
known gripping implements is neither necessary or sufficient for grip strength on the mat. Some of the strongest gripping wrestlers I have tested have not been able to close the CoC no 1.
Sounds like the problem is with grip endurance,
not strength. Peterfield's advice sounds good to
me IMHO.
Stan
do deadlifts with no straps. Lift as heavy as you you can without the strap, do a few sets, go to the straps for the later sets as your grip starts to weaken.
Doing that has made a huge difference in my grip.
trap bar deads and bar hangs
My advice would be to do ALL deadlifts with no straps.
Buy John Brookfield's first book MOHS!If you never used grippers before I would buy the CoC trainer!Also join the GripBoard at cyberpump.com,there is alot of grip info on that site!
If you do not deadlift already then you will probably
get some decent grip benefit from doing so BUT I do not think that you should approach dead lifting from the point of view of increasing your grip strength/endurance as concentration on weight lifted and good form is paramount.
In my opinion you need:
1. To learn how to relax when under pressure
2. To engage in some grip work which duplicates the cramping you experience. You can as I previously suggested use a wrist roller or timed holds of say 60 seconds or behind the back barbell curls or similar.
You do NOT need to engage in specialised grip methods
or develop the specific grip strength required to close the CoC 1, 2 or 3 although high rep closures with a gripper may help.
You also do NOT need either of Brookfields books or the recent book on the CoC by Strossen all of which I have. They are fine in their own rite BUT do not address your problem of gripping fatigue on the mat.
My advice would be to do ALL deadlifts with no straps.Sounds good in theory, but if ondedeadlift ability exceeds thei grip ability, should they shortchange their deadlifting by not using straps? I would argue no.In my own case, I tend to lift in a reverse pyramid fashion (heavy sets first), so my grip gets pretty much torched by the first couple of sets. The couple of high-rep sets I do at the end, I could never finish without straps, simply due to fatigue in those "grip muscles."Hence my approach, of starting with no straps, then putting them on only when I can't proceed without them. Seems like a reasonable compromise to me...
I would disagree. First of all, if you can't grip it, you can't lift it. One
should not compensate for weaknesses by using aids. By relying on
straps, you never fully develop your grip.
Grip strength used to be a problem with my deadlifts as well.
However, I was instructed to never use straps (or any other assistance
or aids) and now, grip is not an issue with even my max deadlifts. This
grip improvement was due entirely to deadlifts and no other grip work.
The use of aids tends to increase the reliance on said aids and
exaccerbates weaknesses in my opinion.
Hmm.. I can respect that opinion, but I'll respectfully disagree with it. When I do deads, my *main* goal is to work my quads / glutes / hams, not my grip. Any grip strengthening effect is just a bonus. And since I can grip the heaviest weight I lift, only needing straps for high-rep sets at the end, I don't feel that I'm cheating myself of anything.
My grip has progressively strengthened as my deadlift has gone up (as evidenced by the fact that I can do my 1-Rep max without straps), so I don't feel that using straps at the end of the workout is hurting me. And the only other choice is to skip work I want to get in for my posterior chain. Given that choice, I'll pick using straps and getting that extra work in, any-time.
And if the day eventually comes when I can do my entire deadlift workout without straps at all, then I'll do that, of course.
edited to add:
Oh, and I should probably point out that my last 2 sets are done without a pause or reset between reps. So I'm having to maintain tension gripping the bar continuously for 12-15 reps. And this is after I've already worn down my grip by doing the heavier sets.
If I did my deadlifts the "normal" way, pyramiding up insteaad of down, I probably wouldn't use straps at all.