Ever had a deadlift slip out of your hands before your legs and back were anywhere near done? That’s your grip failing first, and it’s holding back your biggest lifts. Grip strength isn’t just about a firm handshake. It powers your deadlifts, carries, pull-ups, and everyday lifting, and for climbers and grapplers it’s everything.
Most grip plans train one thing (usually a hand gripper) and call it a day. This one covers all three grip types so you build complete, real-world hand and forearm strength. Let’s get a grip.
The 3 Types of Grip You Need
Here’s what most people miss: grip isn’t one quality, it’s three. Train all of them or you’ll have weak links:
| Grip Type | What It Is | Trained By |
|---|---|---|
| Crushing (closing) | Squeezing the hand shut | Hand grippers, deadlifts |
| Pinching | Thumb against fingers | Plate pinches |
| Supporting | Holding a load for time | Dead hangs, farmer’s carries |
A balanced routine hits all three. Neglect one and it becomes the thing that fails you under a heavy bar.
The Best Grip Exercises
Here are the movements that build each grip type:
- Hand grippers: the go-to for crushing strength. Treat them like a strength lift, not a burnout. Squeeze explosively, hold closed for 1 to 2 seconds, and open slowly.
- Plate pinches: the best pinch builder. Pinch two smooth plates together and hold for time. Start light (a couple of 10-pound plates) and build up.
- Dead hangs: simple supporting-grip gold. Just hang from a bar. They build grip endurance and are great for your shoulders too.
- Farmer’s carries: the king of grip work. Grab heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, or a trap bar and walk. Training grip under load and movement carries over to everything.
- Wrist curls and reverse wrist curls: for forearm size and balance. Reverse curls (extensors) matter as much as regular ones, so don’t skip them.
- Towel work: towel wringing and towel-grip hangs are cheap, joint-friendly options for home training or warm-ups.
How Often to Train Grip
Your grip recovers fast, but it’s easy to overdo it alongside heavy pulling. For most people, 2 dedicated grip sessions a week (or grip work tacked onto the end of 2 training days) is the sweet spot. Serious grip chasers can push to 3. Lighter towel and rehab-style work can be done more often, even daily, since it’s low intensity. If your elbows or wrists start barking, back off the volume.
The Sample Grip Routine
Here’s a complete grip session. Do it after your main lifts or on its own, 1 to 2 times a week. Start the heavy grip work fresh, finish with the accessory stuff.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps or Time |
|---|---|---|
| Hand Gripper | 3 | 5-8 reps |
| Plate Pinch | 3 | 30-60 sec |
| Dead Hang | 3 | 20-40 sec |
| Farmer’s Carry | 3 | 30-40m |
| Wrist Curl | 3 | 8-12 reps |
| Reverse Wrist Curl | 3 | 10-15 reps |
Rest about a minute between sets. You don’t need all six every time, pick three or four and rotate.
How to Progress
Grip responds well to simple, objective progression:
- Grippers: when you can hit more than 15 clean reps, move up to a harder gripper.
- Plate pinches: when you can hold for over a minute, add weight. If the next jump is too big, use three plates instead of two.
- Wrist curls: start at a weight you can do for 8 reps, build to 12, then add load.
- Dead hangs and carries: add time, distance, or weight as they get easier.
Grip Work for Your Goal
Tailor the emphasis to what you’re after:
- Lifting performance: prioritize deadlifts, heavy carries, dead hangs, and grippers. My deadlift guide covers the lift your grip most affects.
- Forearm size: lean on wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and higher-volume pinch and carry work.
- General hand health or rehab: stick with towel drills, light wrist work, and easier holds.
A strong grip also directly improves your pulling, so it pairs perfectly with a solid back routine.
Common Mistakes
Avoid these grip-training traps:
- Only training crushing grip. Grippers alone leave your pinch and supporting grip weak.
- Too much, too soon. Grip and elbow tendons need time. Don’t blast it daily at high intensity.
- Chasing failure every set. Grip work responds to quality, not constant max-out.
- Ignoring the extensors. Skipping reverse wrist curls creates imbalance and cranky elbows.
- Jumping load too fast on pinches and wrist work. Small increments win.
Equipment: What You Need
You need almost nothing to start. Essentials: a pull-up bar (dead hangs), some plates (pinches), and dumbbells or a barbell (carries and wrist curls). Nice-to-haves: a set of hand grippers, Fat Gripz or an axle bar for thicker-grip training, and a wrist roller. A towel covers you when you’ve got nothing else. Start with what you have and add tools as you go.
Wrapping It Up
A strong grip is built with consistent, targeted work across all three grip types: crushing, pinching, and supporting. Don’t just squeeze a gripper and call it done. Train your grip like any other muscle, with the right exercises, sensible frequency, and steady progression.
Pick three or four exercises from the routine, start with manageable loads, and run it for a few weeks before you reassess. Your deadlift, your carries, and your handshake will all thank you. Now go move some heavy ass weight (and actually hold onto it). Let’s do this.
Resources Used in Research
These are the sources pulled from during research for this article. Worth a skim if you want to verify a stat or grab a more detailed quote:
