(Last Updated on October 23, 2025 by Henry)

  • Name: Fat Gripz Pro
  • Type: Thick Bar Handles
  • Purpose: Pinch Grip, Open Hand Strength
  • Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
  • Availability: Amazon (Prime delivery)

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  • Barbell Grips: Transform Any Barbell or Dumbbell Handle Into a Thick Bar
  • Extra Durable: Years of Refinement to Make it Next to Indestructible
  • Military Grade: Made from military spec materials

Not Sure How to Improve Your Pinch Strength?
Learn How to Train Your Fingers with the Pinch Grip Guide.

Overview:

I’ll be honest, Fat Gripz completely changed the way I train my forearms and grip. The first time I wrapped them around a barbell, I realized how much I had been leaving on the table with traditional handles. These thick bar adaptors force your grip, forearms, and stabilizer muscles to work overtime, and that’s exactly what makes them so effective if you’re serious about improving your grip strength.

What I really like about Fat Gripz is how simple yet powerful the design is. They’re compact, easy to carry, and fit perfectly on dumbbells, barbells, pull-up bars, and practically any piece of gym equipment. I can literally turn any lift into a grip-focused exercise in seconds.

Curls, rows, presses, deadlifts: everything gets tougher, and my forearms light up fast. That’s the beauty of thick bar training: the added diameter recruits muscles that usually stay dormant, helping to build size, density, and crushing strength.

The material quality is spot-on. It’s firm yet slightly pliable, allowing me to really dig into the grip without losing control. They’ve never slipped, torn, or cracked on me, even after years of use. And unlike cheaper knockoffs, Fat Gripz actually hold their shape, which is why so many athletes, from powerlifters to fighters, swear by them.

If your goal is to improve grip strength, build thicker forearms, and add functional power to your lifts, I can’t recommend these enough. They’re one of the best investments I’ve made in my training, small, portable, and nearly indestructible. Wherever you are on your fitness journey, Fat Gripz will push your grip to new levels and make every rep count.

What are the Pros & Cons of Fat Gripz Pro?

Ease Of Use

Pros:

  • Easy to Attach & Remove: Carry them with you & add them to any bar like a gripping platform to add dimension to existing exercises or create entirely new ones.
  • Versatile: The flexibility of use is off the charts with thick bar handles. There are countless devices you can attach to Fat Gripz. Barbells, dumbbells, specialty bars, pull-up bars, free-standing machines, and cables.
  • Praised By Professionals: Countless athletes swear by it, recommending you to do all of the exercises you can with them. Pro bodybuilders, weightlifters, martial artists, special forces, and climbers. Using this gear has proven itself over & over, putting everybody on the same page about this gear.
  • Pocket-Sized Apollon’s Axle: Fat Gripz handles can replicate the feel of exclusive strongman specialty equipment called Apollon’s Axe, which is specialty equipment that 99% of gyms simply don’t have.
  • Multiple Progression Levels: There are three different stages that you can benefit from: Fat Gripz One, Fat Gripz Pro & Fat Gripz Extreme
  • Eliminates the Need to Use Chalk: The rubber-like compound offers a good gripping surface, eliminating the need to use chalk. That in turn makes exercising more secure & safe, you get your stuff done faster & get better results.
  • Portable: These handles are fairly small; throw them into the gym training bag as you hit the gym. Easily portable, so you can always keep a pair nearby.
  • Military Grade: Crazy durable, made of rubber-like composite, military spec materials refined over the years of testing. Likely, you’re never going to break a pair of these handles.
  • Odorless: Products from copycats smell bad, becoming a constant nuisance & unpleasant to deal with. This one is clean, no-nonsense smelly stuff.

Cons:

  • More Expensive Than Other Brands: Knowing the quality you receive compared to copycats is not really a deal-breaking con. Just know that you have to prepare yourself to pay a bit more.
  • Too Much For Some Users: Fat Gripz Pro happens to be the most popular, well-known, so-called standard version of thick bars. However, this thing can be too brutal for you if you’re completely new to this gear. Going one size smaller could be more than enough.
  • Only One Inside Diameter: This means fitting these grips on regular barbells & dumbbells works perfectly. All nice and dandy. But if you have a fancy dumbbell with oval-shaped or slightly larger handles, your Fat Gripz won’t fit them well or at all.

Still Deciding if it is Fitting Your Aims?
Compare it With Other Pinch Grip Tools.

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Fat Gripz Pro – Ranking 96 out of 100

Excellent Equipment

How Can You Benefit from Fat Gripz?

More Grip Strength

You’re only as strong as your weakest link. Fat Gripz is a simple yet outstanding tool for your forearm strength & becomes quickly notable in your training routine. If we mention deadlift, the king of all lifts, if you’re walking up to a loaded bar with a weak grip, it feels like being handicapped. The difference is tremendous in having a stronger grip.

The biggest weakness in almost every athlete’s arsenal is in the hands & forearms. These are the points of contact with the weight in most exercises.

Using Fat Gripz for increased muscle activation throughout your entire arms solves the grip problem by adding strength as well as size to the forearms & biceps.

Thicker handles benefit your whole upper body. More muscle activation leads to bigger muscle & strength gains. This is the new worldwide training phenomenon recommended & used by many top-level athletes as well as military, martial artists, arm wrestlers, cross-fitters & pro bodybuilders.

You can also use Fat Gripz to reduce joint-related problems. The older you get, the more problematic your joints can become. If you are unlucky & a victim of joint pain, it’s essential to take the pressure & stress off the joint. Put it where it counts. The muscle. Increasing the surface area of the targeted muscle can work wonders & result in fewer joint problems.


  • Gain More Muscle Faster: Fat Gripz is the new worldwide training phenomenon, it’s recommended & used by many top pro-level athletes. It’s used by military, martial artists, arm wrestlers, crossfitters & pro bodybuilders. Thicker handles greatly contribute to pinch gripping & also benefit your whole upper body. More muscle activation leads to bigger muscle & strength gains.
  • Build a Powerful Grip: Remember, you’re always going to be only as strong as your grip is. For example, think about a deadlift, one of the biggest lifts of them all, you probably know that walking up to a loaded barbell with a weak grip feels like being handicapped. The difference is significant if you want to stay ahead of your competition. Fat Gripz is one of your quickest & most convenient ways to fix that.
  • Reduce Joint Problems: Use Fat Gripz for recovery & to reduce joint problems. If you suffer from joint pain in your hands, the more you want to focus on hand recovery while you keep training effectively. Get rid of that joint pain by taking the pressure & stress off the joints. Put it where it counts. The muscle. Improving your muscle balance & increasing the surface area of the targeted muscle can work wonders.

Technical Details

  • Item Dimensions: ‎‎‎‎2.36 x 5.2 x 4.72 inches
  • Weight: ‎1.1 Pounds / 0.5 kilograms
  • Color: Blue / Black / Pink / Orange
  • Materials: military-grade, high-density compound
  • Quantity: Two (2), pair
  • Progression Levels – Three (3)
  • Manufacturer: Fat Gripz
  • Warranty: 1 year

The biggest problem training grip strength with thick bars, odd lifts & strongman equipment often makes such training exclusive.

This is specialty equipment & 99% of gyms simply don’t have such tools.

Fat Gripz can replicate the feel of exclusive strongman specialty equipment like Apollon’s Axe.

What Exercises to Focus On With Fat Gripz?

Versatility is Off The Charts

1 Olympic Bars: Focus on repetitions, not max lifts – Deadlifts, curls, shrugs, all types of bench presses, flat/incline/decline, J.M. presses, close grip, military press

2 Dumbbells: Almost all dumbbell exercises will work in conjunction with thick bar handles. Please note that not all dumbbells can accommodate Fat Grips due to the dumbbells’ handles’ shape & size

3 Odd bars: Fat Gripz are working well with specialty bars that are thinner than standard Olympic bars. Grips may rotate on an inert bar, but the resistance of the weight will keep grips in place once the exercise starts.

4 Cable machines: Just about any cable attachments are ideal & will be fitting for your Fat Gripz handles. Use them for a variety of exercises ranging from rows, pull-downs, and curls to all sorts of extensions.

5 Free-standing machines: These grips can easily be applied to most & any commercial gym’s functional trainer machines.

6 Pull-up bars: Same thing here, Fat Gripz can be quickly applied to most of the pull-up bars within seconds, & you can start your exercise.

This Gadget Primarily Builds Your Pinch Grip Strength:
One of the 5 Primary Hand Movements.

Fat Gripz VS Copycats – Details You’d Like to Know About

No Bad Smell

Fat Gripz Pro VS copycats

Are There Any Downsides With Fat Gripz?

Won’t Fit Every Dumbbell

In case you have a fancy dumbbell that has a special coating put over its handle, or it’s just a regular dumbbell with an odd-shaped handle, chances are your Fat Gripz might have a tough time fitting around it properly.

This is because all Fat Gripz versions come with only one inside diameter. They fit easily with all of the standard stuff, your regular long barbells, EZ bar, simple dumbbells, or row machine handles.

Anything fancier, out of the ordinary, like oval-shaped handles & is where Fat Gripz adaptors will hit the wall.

In many cases, they still fit, but barely. It still can be functional, but you have to test it first & decide if that’s a deal breaker for you.

The last resort option would be to cut Fat Gripz into a shape that fits your device. However, it will be hard to do so because the material used in these handles is way too tough to just casually slice through.

Did You Know There Are 5 Versions of Fat Gripz?

Three Progression Levels

Fat Gripz options - 3 sizes, 5 colors

What is My Final Evaluation of Fat Gripz?

One of the Best Gears to Own

I genuinely believe Fat Gripz are one of the smartest investments you can make if you want to improve your grip strength and build thicker, stronger forearms. The sheer versatility of these handles is off the charts: I can apply them to almost any exercise in my routine and instantly make it more challenging. Whether I’m doing curls, rows, presses, or pull-ups, Fat Gripz turn every movement into a grip workout that demands full control and focus.

The rubber-like compound offers a perfectly balanced gripping surface, firm yet grippy, and it completely eliminates the need for chalk. Even older barbells with worn knurling feel brand new with these on. With a more secure grip, my push and pull exercises feel more stable, and I can train harder without worrying about losing control of the bar. That alone has made my sessions far more efficient and productive.

I always recommend starting with an easier version unless you have large hands. These things are no joke. The orange Fat Gripz are a major step up in difficulty, while even the blue standard ones can feel overwhelming at first. If you’re new to thick-bar training, Fat Gripz One is the best starting point before progressing to tougher models.

The portability and durability of these grips are outstanding. They take seconds to clip on or remove, fit easily in a gym bag, and can handle years of abuse without tearing or losing shape. Fat Gripz truly embody “buy once, use forever.”

If your goal is to boost grip power, forearm size, and overall lifting performance, these are a must-have. They’ve earned their reputation for a reason. Once you start training with Fat Gripz, you’ll never want to lift without them again.

Thanks for Stopping By

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Looking to Rehab Your Fingers or Improve Recovery?
Check Out My Hand Recovery Guide or Quick Grip Training FAQ for Quick Answers.

Need to Improve Your Grip? As a Fitness Enthusiast, I'm Here to Guide You: Looking to Get More Competitive Edge? Prehab, Rehab, Treating RSI or Just Seeking Fun? Find All the Relevant Tricks of the Trade You Need Right Here. Sharing My Insight to Help You to Improve Both Mentally & Physically, Offering You Various Ideas & Directions to Be on Top of Your Game.

3 thoughts on “Transform Every Barbell into Axel with Fat Bar Handles?

  1. Your blog post about Fat Gripz Pro is fascinating! I’ve heard about their benefits for grip strength, but your detailed breakdown of their advantages, especially for various exercises, is enlightening. Have you noticed a significant improvement in your workouts since incorporating Fat Gripz? I’ve been curious about trying them out but wondered about their impact on different exercises’ effectiveness.

    The way you highlighted their potential to reduce joint pain and increase muscle activation is intriguing. I’m curious, have you encountered any downsides or limitations to using Fat Gripz in your training? Your perspective on their versatility and potential drawbacks would be incredibly helpful for someone considering adding them to their routine. Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights!

    1. If you grab bare barbell with hands all that metal will dig deep into your palms, against bone & tendons. The more weight is used, the more brutal it gets.
      Rubbery handles act like cushion between barbell and your palms, reducing overall stress in these areas. 

      Large handles won’t make workouts easier, pretty much the opposite it makes it way more difficult with the benefit of getting more efficient results, faster.
      Less grind, less volume, but you achieve more with the intensity you’ve put in. That’s the magic of thick handles.

  2. Hi, That sounds like a fantastic piece of equipment! It seems like Fat Gripz Pro really hits the mark when it comes to enhancing grip strength and targeting forearm muscles.

    The durability and versatility they offer, transforming regular bars into thick bars for a more intense workout, sound impressive. Plus, the portability factor is a definite plus for those who like to train on the go.

    It’s great to hear such positive reviews from both athletes and professionals. Thanks for sharing these insights!

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