The problem now is that my hand grip isn’t so strong. When I am exercising on the lat machine for example, I feel like I could easily do a couple more repeats or use 5 kilos more, but my grip muscles (I don’t know the correct term) start aching and I have to stop. Are there any exercises to increase my grip strength?
Also, could/should I start using creatine or any other supplements? Here http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/creatine.html says that using creatine is beneficial, but it also mentions things like liver and kidney failure.
There are various kinds of handgrippers you can buy. You can even just squeeze a rubber ball. One kind is like a little dumbbell that you can twist with your hands and increase the tension as you please. Another kind is like a pair of pliers that you squeeze with your hands and hold the handles together, increasing the time you can hold the handles together.
Creatine is good for weight lifters and sprinters, but as your last link states no long term studies have been done concerning side effects, and anecdotal evidence suggests that there can be some severe side effects.
Water-soluble vitamins are completely safe. There are limits for fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, but I think you mean regarding weight-lifting enhancement, and my answer is no. Never take any hormones. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. The only safe way is hard work combined with a good diet, containing all the nutrients you need. And if you work out hard, either by weight lifting, running, biking, etc., you will produce a lot of free radicals, so get plenty of antioxidants. I’m a big advocate of vitamin C.
Save your money and stick to what barbitu8 mentioned.
As far as grip strength goes, just stick to the exercises that use it. Your grip will increase. Grip specific training is only necessary if you’re an intermediate or advanced lifter with a specific grip weakness, or if you’re looking to show off with feats of amazing hand strength.
Take a broom handle, broken or otherwise - as long as it’s about as long as your shoulders are wide.
Tie a loop of some heavy twine around the middle of the broom handle… I duct-taped mine to hold it in place. Leave oh, say, four feet trailing off the end.
Loop it through a few small weight plates. I believe I used a 5-pounder and a 2 1/2 pounder, although depending on your strength you’ll have to find a weight that works well for you. Duct-tape that as well. It works best if the weights hang about to your knees, in my experience.
Hold your arms straight out in front of you and grip the broom handle with both hands. Slowly roll your hands forward, so that you wrap the twine around the broom handle and, thus, raise the weight off the ground. Once you get it all the way up, slowly roll your hands backwards to unroll the twine. I tried to work in three sets of up and down every time I worked out. YMMV.
You’ll have Popeye forearms and the accompanying death grip in no time.
The stigma of being an “Edward Sissy Hands” never bothered me. I simply couldn’t hold enough weight long enough to work the target muscles. Generally the lat exercises is were I needed them the most. There were also plenty of mutant sized guys in the gym using them so I didn’t see the harm.
The excercise described by Ace309 will certainly improve your grip strength though Dog80.
I made a smiliar device, but used a 3" thick piece of pipe to really force me to grip the pipe. Similar to this. Mine probably cost the same amount to build, including buying 10 lbs. of weight.
Escrimadors, I’ve heard, will lay a sheet of paper on a table, then put their hand flat on it then crumple it as fast as they can to strengthen their grip. I’ve tried it was a stack of to-be-recycled paper at work and it’s a lot tougher than it sounds.
I second some sort of handgrip exiciser and also recommend you leave it someplace where you can use it often while doing something else, in your car for example.
I know several martial artists who do this with the morning paper every day. It’s not as important to do it fast as it is to not cheat. Keep the heel of your hand flat on the table (or at least not moving forward/backward) and use only the fingers to pull the paper toward you and crumple it one handful at a time.
Some of these have been good tips to increase forearm strength or compensate for a weak grip. I have a suggestion for actually increasing grip strength that has worked for me.
Assuming you have some dumbells of your own, wrap a layer of duct tape around the handles at the beginning of every workout in which you use them (not before every set, just one for each day). So after 5 workouts, for example, it’ll have five layers of tape and the handle will have that much more girth. Grip is best improved gradually, which this will do. By the time the layers of tape are getting really thick, you’ll have a bone-crushing grip.
If you don’t work out on your own equipment then just buy a cheap set of dumbells and then always save some of your exercises for home.
