Grip trainers will increase your forearm size and strength. The key to increasing your forearm size is to use grip trainers in the same way you would any weight training tool. It’s important to:
- Perform grip training exercises in sets and reps.
- Allow your muscles to rest between workouts.
- Gradually increase gripper resistance.
- Train to build your muscles evenly.
- Use other exercises to assist in forearm development.
These tenants will build powerful forearms. A good forearm workout training program will use gripper training to increase forearm mass. It will also boost your grip strength, which will increase your ability to lift heavy weights during deadlifts and other exercises.
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How Do You Get Big Forearms with Grippers
Your forearms are key to having a strong grip. Not only are developed forearm muscles part of an aesthetic physique, but they’re also essential for performing many workouts to the best of your ability. Many lifters fail to reach their potential on deadlifts and pull-ups because their grip fails before their other muscles do. For the best results, combine the tips below with a healthy weightlifting diet and a total body training program. Here’s how to build your forearms with grippers:
Sets and Reps
Treat your grip training like you would any other body part. If your goal is to increase the size of your forearms, use hypertrophy training. That means you will perform 8–12 reps of grip squeezes for 5 sets. When training you should rest for 60–90 seconds between sets.
- Train your forearms using sets and reps, as you would with any other muscle group.
- Perform 8–12 reps of grip squeezes per set.
- Do 5 sets per arm, with 60–90 seconds of rest between sets.
By treating grip training like any other muscle training workout, you’ll get the most benefit from your time in the gym. You won’t get bigger forearms just by carrying around a gripper all day and working your forearms nonstop. Working your muscles at high resistance for the right number of sets and reps will yield far better results.
Rest Days
When building your forearms, don’t train with grippers every day. Your forearms require days off to recover and build muscle. Work gripper training into your workout program 1–3 times per week, with at least one rest day in between sessions.
- Rest days are essential for forearm muscle recovery and development.
- Train with grippers no more than 1–3 times per week.
- Rest at least 1 day between grip training sessions.
If you work your forearms without rest, you risk overtraining. This will actually result in slower muscle development, as well as put you at a high risk of injury. Your muscles only grow when they are given a chance to recover from hard work, so put the grippers down and give your forearms a chance to rest.
Progressive Overload
Your forearms won’t grow if you don’t continually challenge them. As you get stronger, you need to use grippers with a higher resistance level. You can find great grippers that offer increased resistance as you progress. These grippers come in 11 different resistance levels for progressive training.
- Increase the challenge level of your gripper training as you progress.
- Once you can complete your 5 sets of 8–12 reps, move to a higher resistance gripper.
- To start, purchase a few grippers with progressive resistance. You can purchase more as you grow stronger.
Once you can complete all your sets of 8–12 grip squeezes with good form and a full range of motion, it’s time to step up from your current gripper resistance to the next level. Constantly push your muscles past their limit to ensure your forearms grow and your grip strength increases.
Correct Muscle Imbalances
Because most people are dominant with one hand, your forearms may not be equal in size and strength. An essential part of weight training is working to correct muscle imbalances. In order to build your forearms to equal size, do the following:
- Measure both your forearms prior to a workout.
- Use this measuring tape to find the circumference of your forearms at the largest point, usually about 2 inches (5 cm) below the elbow.
- If one of your forearms is larger than the other, perform your reps with the smaller arm first when working out.
- Perform your reps with your larger forearm second.
- After finishing your reps with the larger arm, perform 3–4 extra reps with the smaller arm, then rest. Do this for each set.
By performing a few extra reps with the smaller arm each set, you will gradually work to even out muscle imbalances. This results in equal forearm musculature. Measure your forearm circumference every few weeks. Once you have balanced your muscle size, return to performing an equal number of reps with each arm.
Perform Other Exercises that Work Your Grip
Using grippers isn’t the only way to increase your forearm strength. It’s essential to train your entire body and use your grip strength in functional ways in order to build your forearms. To build forearm muscle and stronger hands throughout your workout plan, include the following exercises:
- Reverse-grip bicep curls
- Farmer’s walks
- Deadlifts
- Towel pull-ups and/or wide-grip pull-ups
By working grip exercises into your strength training routine, you will build your forearms along with the rest of your body. Remember, strength training is a total-body endeavor that will improve your strength and physique overall. Grippers are a great tool for increasing forearm size, but you’ll get the best results when you combine them with a healthy diet and full-body training regimen.
Can You Use Hand Grippers Every Day?
Do not use grip strengtheners every day. Not only will you put yourself at risk of injury from overtraining and performing repetitive motions, but you also won’t get great results. Muscles grow best when they are asked to perform at their limit for 4–5 sets of 8–12 reps. After a workout, your muscles must then be given a chance to rest. Performing hundreds of reps with a low-resistance gripper on a daily basis may build muscle endurance, but it won’t increase forearm size.
Does a Hand Gripper Increase Wrist Size?
A grip trainer will not change the size of your wrists. Your wrist is mostly bone and tendon, with very little muscle. The muscles that affect your grip strength are in the palm of your hand and in your forearm, closer to the elbow. As the forearm muscles contract, they pull the tendons in the wrist, causing your hand to close. So, a grip trainer will make your forearms stronger, but your wrists won’t change size.
Do Hand Grippers Increase Grip Strength?
Hand grippers are excellent for building grip strength. If your grip is failing during heavy deadlifts or pull-ups, training with hand grippers will give you a much more solid grip. By progressively training with stronger grippers, you’ll build muscle in your forearm. This will help you bump up your performance across a wide range of lifts.
Are Hand Grippers Bad for You?
Hand grippers are not bad for you if you train with them correctly. Use hand grippers to train your forearms in sets and reps, as you would with bench press or bicep curls. Also, give yourself rest days between grip training sessions. You can injure yourself by overtraining with grippers or performing a massive amount of repetitions. Repetitive stress to your grip can even lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, so don’t carry a gripper around as part of everyday life. Using grippers in the gym as part of a training program will actually increase grip health and reduce your chance of injury.
Are Grip Strengtheners Good for Building Forearms?
You can use grip strengtheners as a tool to build bigger, stronger forearms. Just make sure to train safely and effectively by working in sets and reps, allowing rest days, and gradually increasing the resistance of your gripper. Include a grip strengthener in your gym bag and add it to your arm workout routine. It’s essential to build your forearms along with the rest of your muscle groups as part of a total body workout plan. You’ll reap the quickest benefits from your gripper by training your forearms in a similar way to other muscles.
