How Does Your Grip Strength Measure Up?
Is grip training a regular part of your workout routine? Or are you relying on lifting straps to power through your heavy sessions? If you think your grip is "strong enough" and doesn't need specific training, you might be missing out on some easy performance gains!
Research has shown a strong correlation between grip strength and rotator cuff function.
(Horsley et al, 2016)
It makes sense—whether you're gripping during a heavy lift or hanging from a bar, your shoulder needs to be stable to transfer those forces effectively.
Take a heavy row, for example. The power generated by your back muscles is transferred through your shoulder and down to your hand—the final link in the chain. If either your grip or your rotator cuff is weak, it restricts how much force your brain will allow you to produce.
Training your grip can improve your athletic performance and might even be the key to unlocking better shoulder stability and reducing discomfort.
How to Train Grip Strength
Your body adapts to the specific demands you place on it—this is the SAID principle: “Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands.” There are many ways to build grip strength, but following this simple three-part framework will set you up for success.
Phase 1: Big Compound Movements
This one’s simple. Pick up heavy things and progressively increase how long you’re doing it for. Incorporate movements like loaded carries, double overhand deadlifts, hanging variations and weighted holds.
You can progress these movements by increasing either the duration or total load. Personally I find it best to include both. Longer duration holds allow you to build up muscular endurance, whereas heavier loads will increase your peak grip strength.
It’s easy to build these into your programme. Firstly, drop the straps! Straps might be useful in a few niche settings, but if you’re using them for all your sessions then you’re missing out on easy grip gains.
Another simple way is to tag on a hold at the end of a set. When I was powerlifting we’d often add 30-60 second holds onto the last rep of each deadlift set.
To target max grip strength, heavy pickups are the way to go! Pick a weight you can lift for 3-5 seconds and perform 5-10 pickups. Alternating arms between reps provides a good rest period, however you may need longer between each rep depending on the weight and recovery time. You can perform this with heavy dumbbells, frames, barbells - Variety is key!
Phase 2: Isolated Grip Work
Challenge your grip with awkward objects to build strength from different angles.
Use your imagination on this one. Being able to grip a handle or bar is great, but what happens when your hands are in a more open or awkward position? Remember the SAID principle.
This can be done easily in most gyms without fancy equipment. Some of my go-to's are holding kettlebells by their base, picking up dumbbells from their ends, or squeezing two plates together.
Dynamic grip work, like plate flips or weighted drop-and-catch drills, can further build grip strength. Start light before increasing the load to avoid injury.
Grip-specific tools can be handy, especially for training outside the gym. They also allow you to target individual fingers and your extensor muscles. Anecdotally, I found high rep extensor work helped alleviate triceps tendonitis during my time powerlifting.
Phase 3: Strengthen the Rotator Cuff
Since grip strength is closely tied to rotator cuff function, improving your cuff strength will likely enhance your grip performance. Balance and stability around a joint is important, so it’s best to include a mixture of both internal and external rotation work.
Here’s a few videos of exercises we like to programme in for cuff strength to get you started.
Side Lying External Rotation:
The side lying external rotation is a rotator cuff focussed exercise. Key here is to really work the isometric position and eccentric control.
Banded Internal Rotation
Give this banded internal rotation exercise can be done with a resistance band set up or a cable machine. The key thing here is that you need to feel it coming from the back of the shoulder.
Grip strength is essential in many sports—whether it's hanging for pull-ups in CrossFit, gripping a tennis racket, or grappling in Jiu-Jitsu. It’s also a strong indicator of upper body integrity (Horsley et al, 2016).
Try these tips to level up your grip strength and give your shoulders the attention they deserve. Let us know in the comments how it goes, and feel free to share your own grip-training suggestions!
Horsley, I., Herrington, L., Hoyle, R., Prescott, E., & Bellamy, N. (2016). Do changes in hand grip strength correlate with shoulder rotator cuff function?. Shoulder & elbow, 8(2), 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1758573215626103
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