Strengthening your grip can help you to be a better Martial Artists. Sure it helps deal with those cocky dudes who tried to put a little extra juice on their hand shakes, but if you fight MMA competitively, it can make even bigger difference for you.
Not only can stronger hands give you a better grip for grappling, but they also contribute to harder punches and more knockout power. Stronger hands also mean stronger wrists. Stronger hands and wrists mean you are less prone to injury.
Because the benefits of strong hands can be so great, many Professional MMA athletes actually focus workout time to strengthen the hands specifically. Jens Pulver was working on his hand strength when he was training to fight Uriah Faber. A very interesting technique he was using was doing pull ups with a tennis ball in each hand. The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen his hands and wrists so he could throw his left even harder at the California Kid. While he did not win that fight, it is likely that he will continue to train his hands as he continues his very successful MMA career.
You may not be able, or want to do pull ups with tennis balls in your hands, so here are some other ideas and ways to strengthen your hands. Try them out. Worst come to worst, you’ll end up with a more confident handshake.
A. Coil spring handgrips.
B. Squeezing a rubber ball.
C. Cable wrist rolls.
D. Dumbbell wrist rolls.
E. Barbell wrist rolls.
F. Finger weights.
G. Weighted gloves.
H. The wrist roller.
I. Reverse curl.
J. Preacher forearms curls.
K. Holding Dumbbells
L. Weight on a rope, on a stick. (This one works really well, but takes a little explaining. Imagine a 1’piece of broomstick, with a 3’ piece of rope tied to it. The other end of the rope is tied to a weight. With both hands on the same side of the broomstick, roll up the rope by twisting the broomstick in one direction thus raising the weight.)
Try these methods out and enjoy your new Kung Fu Grip.