What to Do If Your Grip Weakens in the Gym
If you’ve ever noticed your grip weakening in the gym, this is for you. Perhaps it was at the end of your training day when you’re doing rows, curls, and pull-downs. Perhaps it was during a deadlift workout that your legs could lift more, but your arms failed you. How to finish a workout if your arms seem to be your weak point? In fact, you have many options. Let’s explore.
Why does your grip get tired in the gym?
When your hands hold something, you use muscles that we commonly call “grip” muscles. Most of the muscles that flex and extend the fingers and stabilize the wrist are located in the forearms. This is why your forearms may be sore after a workout in which you do a lot of pulling movements or use your arms a lot, such as when rock climbing.
Pulling movements are more taxing on your grip because your fingers have to bend to hold the weight or object as you pull it towards you. These types of movements include rows, deadlifts, pull-ups, and lat rows.
Push movements like the bench press and overhead press are not as susceptible to grip problems because your fingers don’t do much when pressing. You simply press down on the weight with your palm and your fingers can more or less relax.
To combat this problem, I recommend a two-pronged approach: strengthen your grip and find a quick solution that will allow even tired hands to exercise properly. We’ll start with quick fixes and move on to a long-term plan.
Hold the barbell correctly
First, a quick skin care tip: make sure you’re holding the barbell (or dumbbell or handle) so it rests against the bottom of your fingers. You should not hold it by the top of your palm, because then part of the skin of your palm will be pinched between the crossbar and your fingers.
By holding the bar at the base of your fingers, you will avoid calluses and blisters that may form there. This will help keep your hands pain-free for as long as possible.
Review your gun
The thicker the shaft or handle, the harder you have to work to hold it. Dumbbells often have fairly thick handles, so if your grip becomes fatigued towards the end of a dumbbell workout, consider replacing some of the movements with their barbell equivalents.
The dumbbells also need to be carried to and from the rack, which increases the amount of time the weight is in your hands. On the other hand, barbells are usually loaded with plates while you are in the rack, so you are not walking around the gym with a loaded barbell.
If you use machines, such as rope machines, consider whether you can replace the attachment you are using with one that is easier to hold. For example, triceps dips are often performed with a jump rope, but your grip muscles will have a much easier time if you use a straight barbell.
Use a mixed grip for deadlifts.
When performing deadlifts or similar exercises such as RDLs (Romanian deadlifts), consider using a mixed grip. This is when the palm of one hand is facing you, and the palm of the other is facing away. This helps because the bar wants to roll down, lifting your fingers off the bar, but whenever it rolls in that direction against one hand, it rolls up the other hand. A mixed grip, sometimes called an alternate grip, is an easy way to add literally hundreds of pounds to the amount of weight you can hold.
Another very secure grip is the hook grip, which is commonly used by Olympic-style weightlifters. To do this, place your thumb between the bar and your fingers. (For best results, make sure your thumb is almost parallel to the bar. Imagine the tip of your thumb pointing toward your little finger.) The hook grip hurts at first, but once you get used to it, it’s very secure, and many lifters I feel like it’s worth it. Try using a hook grip on light exercises during your warm-up, and over time you will find that it becomes more and more comfortable with heavier weights.
Use chalk
If your gym has a chalk bucket, now is the time to learn how to use it. Either dip your hands in the chalk dust below, or take one of the chalk blocks and use it like a crayon to draw everything on your hands. Please wipe off any excess while your hands are still in the bucket . No need to leave a pile of chalk on the floor or smack it at a cloud in the air.
Chalk provides extra friction between your hands and the bar. If your hands are sweaty, the chalk particles mix with sweat to form a rough but effective layer that improves grip. Wash your hands after using chalk, and ideally also moisturize them, as it can dry out your skin.
If your gym doesn’t have a chalk bucket, buy yourself some liquid chalk, preferably in one of the little keychain bottles . Even in gyms that have “No Chalk” signs, liquid chalk can usually be used because it doesn’t leave a mess on the floor. You spray it on your hands and rub in—just like hand sanitizer—and what starts out as a clear liquid dries into a layer of clingy white chalky. (Of course, rub it only on your palms; there is no need for additional grip on the backs of your hands.)
Use belts
When lifting a barbell, the best aid for a weak grip is a set of straps. It’s also an ideal grip training tool because it allows you to train your grip as hard as you want without worrying about whether sore grip muscles will interfere with your deadlift or other exercises.
There are several types of lifting straps and I have an article detailing the differences here . If you just want a cheap basic option, get these . Be sure to wrap them so that they go in the opposite direction from your fingers. If your fingers go over the bar, the straps should wrap underneath it.
Use pens
For pull-ups or other exercises where wrapping a belt is awkward, it is better to use a grip. These gymnastic grips are good for pull-ups and CrossFit workouts. For more casual gym use , the Versa Gripps can easily be used not only with a barbell, but also with dumbbells and machines.
How to train your grip
I have several articles on grip training. Here’s one of the best exercises for training your grip , and here’s one specifically designed to train your “support” grip , which is used in deadlifts and pull-ups.
Some gym goers will tell you that eliminating straps is all you need to train your grip, but that doesn’t make sense. People who specialize in grip strength (which is its own sport) train the grip as a specific training goal and use straps as needed to prevent a fatigued grip from interfering with training the rest of the body.
Dead hangs are one easy way to start: hang from a bar and see if you can hold it for 30 or even 60 seconds. (When this becomes easy, either hang some dumbbells around your waist using a belt, or move on to a heavier exercise.)
Holding the barbell in a deadlift is also great: at the end of a deadlift set, take some weight off the barbell and simply lift the barbell and hold it for a while. Again, when you can do a few sets of 30-60 seconds, it’s time to add weight.
Wrist and finger curls are also good and can easily be done as a superset at the end of your workout. Working with a thick grip or a towel wrapped around a dumbbell or barbell can also strain your grip muscles, but I would use this in addition to the exercises above, not instead of them. Grip trainers may seem like a fun way to work on your grip outside of the gym, but they are generally not as effective as the exercises described above. Basic holds and wrist and finger curls will help you strengthen your grip faster and stronger.