Hand Strength Part I

Date: Weds, 25 May 2005

First off, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the many people in countries all over the world who emailed, sent cards, flowers, called, and in general offered support and condolences upon the occasion of my Mom’s passing.  It meant a lot to me, and I won’t take lightly the difference I can make next time I’m in a position to help another person during a difficult time.

Onward.

No sooner had I dealt with one situation, than I learned I needed repair surgery (non martial arts related) on my Achilles’ Tendon.  So now I’m hobbling around with a cast on my leg.

What does that have to do with your training?  I’ll tell you what.  Since there’s a lot my Doctor won’t let me do right now, I’m going to spend the next six to eight weeks developing a “Kung Fu Grip.”

My grip’s not bad as it is, but I intend to use this little set back – if there even is such a thing – to take my hand strength to the next level.  You’re cordially invited to join me.

I cover a lot of good grip training material in my book Shaolin Fitness Secrets, but this upcoming series of emails is going to be the Graduate Course.

Lesson #1

Grip - or hand – strength, can be divided into several areas.  They are: handshake AKA “crushing” strength, kung fu “clawing” strength, individual finger strength (including thumb strength), pincher strength, strength in opening the hand.

Here are some exercises you can do for crushing strength:

Important note before you begin.  Warm the hands up by flexing the fingers, rotating the wrists, pressing the fingers together, and tugging on the towel you’re about to use, but without any weights attached.

1)  This one’s in my Shaolin Fitness Secrets book, so it may be familiar to some of you.  Find yourself a pull up bar or a fairly level tree limb and throw a towel over it.  Grab both ends of the towel and simply hang for as long as you can.  If you want to do pull ups, go ahead, but remember, the goal here is to develop the hands, not the upper arms and lats, so focus on hanging.  Try hanging 2 diffferent ways.  The first way is with your thumbs “up.”  The second way is with your thumbs “down.”

2) Get some free weight plates and run the towel through the hole in the center of the plates.  Grasp the ends of the towel so that the weights are hanging down. Now pull outward until the towel is horizontal to the floor.  You can do this either standing up, or in the bent over row position.  As with Exercise #1, change your grip.  Do a set of reps with the palms down, and then a set with the palms up.

Do this three days a week.  Don’t over do it.  Train smart by getting a feel for how much weight you can handle and how much recovery time you need.

Next week I’m going to introduce you to 2 unusual exercises that will not only build your hands, but that have the potential to make your neighbors think you’re off your meds.

Until then, have fun!

Rob LaPointe