Crush Grip Training

Ted Kluzewski, Legendary Homerun Slugger had Billy Club-like Forearms Big forearms instantaneously radiate the difference between a legitimately strong individual and a prissy pump and pose chrome machine junky.

 Sergeant Slaughter Explains Furthermore, a strong grip is crucial for success in any combat or strength sport. Greeting someone with a firm handshake establishes rapport at a cocktail party and a favorable hierarchy between you and your date’s overbearing father. Building a strong, crushing grip is an art and science. Because of this, I decided to consult world-renowned grip training expert, Joe Musselwhite (, affectionately known in the grip training world as “Mighty Joe” or “Dr. Grip.” Joe owns the largest grip training museum in the world and possesses world-class grip strength. Let’s take a look at the routine Joe designed. Crush and Supporting Grip Training Routine Joe had the following to say, “The following exercises transfer or carryover well to dead lifts, pull-ups, rowing or any exercise where a stronger crush/supporting type grip is needed. When it comes to increasing one’s crushing strength or supporting strength then “Thick Bar” Training is King! By thick bar I mean a bar 1.5″ or thicker with 2″ diameter being the standard in thick bar training.” Overhand DL holds with over crush: 3 sets x 3-5 reps, focus on squeezing the bar as hard as you possibly can for 5-6 seconds. Rest at least one minute, but two minutes is optimal between sets. This will rapidly increase one’s crush/support strength! Tips: Instead of making this a back workout, keep the weight low and focus on squeezing the bar as hard as possible. Bar Hangs w/ Fat Grips, 3 sets x 8-10 reps (pulses), on this exercise you will squeeze in pulses as hard as you possibly can. Each pulse should be an explosive and concentrated effort! This will increase one’s crush/support strength endurance. Contrast Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets x 6-8 reps (weight dependent) Make sure you can do the weight 8-10 reps. If not, adjust accordingly. On this exercise you will have two dumbbells of different weight but one will have a Fat Grip type handle on it and the other will not. Begin with the thick handle dumbbell and perform the reps. Immediately upon completion, grab the standard handle dumbbell and do an equal amount of reps. The standard handle (1″) dumbbell should be the weight you would normally do with dumbbell rows. The thick bar dumbbell should be of a weight that you can complete the reps. Post Grip Training: After you have completed the Grip Training Exercises described above then it’s time to reward your hands’ efforts with some rubber band finger extensions. Simply take a couple of medium strength rubber bands and wrap them around the ends of your fingertips and start extending and flexing your fingers until you feel a real good burn in your extensors on the back of your forearms. One set should suffice, assuming you perform this until your extensors are fatigued. Afterward, lightly stretch your flexors (belly of forearm) and extensors (back of forearm) by getting down on your knees and placing your palms flat on the floor in front of you and very lightly start to stretch the flexors. Next, stretch the extensors in the same manner but by placing the back of your hands on the floor and lightly stretch them as well. Be careful if you’re not used to stretching tight forearm flexors and extensors as you can tweak your wrists and cause them to be tender for a few days. The post grip training will create balance in your forearms and grip by training both sides of the forearm along with the stretching to keep the muscles from becoming adaptively shortened (over time) and therefore weaker. NEVER stretch muscles prior to strength type training! Grip included! Final Thoughts Joe advises to give the above routine an honest try once or twice a week and continue to do so for at least 4-6 weeks. You should notice a great improvement in your crush and supporting grip strength and grip endurance strength. Skip at least two days between sessions and preferably set aside a day for your grip training. Enjoy these newsletters? Please do me a favor. Please Subscribe to Our YouTube Channels: This one has our instructional videos and story lines.  This one has client highlights and occasional technique demonstrations.]]>