(Last Updated on May 11, 2024 by Henry)
Better Grip –
- Isometric strength – Improve your static grip, in order to have an increased ability to maintain muscular contraction
- Healthier hands – Muscles are greatly protect your body – The stronger your hands are, the less risk there is for injury
- Superb support – Use smart leverages to hold onto objects as long as you can – Essential for climbing & to improve lifting
- Functionality – Support grip is a fundamental daily function to grab & maintain hold on objects to make your daily life better
An ability to hold onto objects… It’s probably the most important aspect of grip for any climber out there. It can literally be a matter of life OR death if everything really depends on your grip. Whether you’re competitive or non-competitive, using smart leverages to improve your grip comes in handy in both situations.
Support grip sometimes called static grip is your hand’s ability to hang onto objects. Fitness poles, barbells, dumbbells, chin-up bars, shopping bags, holding barre chords on the guitar. You name it. Supporting grip is incredibly fundamental & part of our daily functions.
It is simple in its nature, it’s part of our daily activities that make our lives better but can also be taken to extremes. Doesn’t matter if you’re a competitive powerlifter, pole fitness dancer, OR simple person on the street carrying a shopping bag – We all need support grip for what we do.
The main question is, what is your goal, & how far are you going to take your support grip? Far or not, you’re always going to need it anyway. So, what can you do to improve your support grip capabilities? There are 2 ways to improve your it:
- Your actual support grip muscle strength – Training with farmers walk, static barbell & gripper holds
- Using smart Leverages/Equipment/Tools – Lifting straps, chalk, grip-enhancers, tacky glue, stone sleeves
The more you train static grip, the stronger your tendons get & the more isometric strength you likely have. As a result, the longer you likely can maintain a muscular contraction. Another route is to use specialty equipment to increase grip – I’ll show you where & why you should use those smart leverages.
These two routes can also be combined to achieve an even greater effect – This is also what most professional athletes do.
The Four Major Hand Movements
- Crushing grip – Grabbing & squeezing an object with your fingers – It’s the most basic hand movement, where you’ll be moving your fingers towards your palm
- Pinching grip – Movement that involves your thumb to pinch grip an object – The idea is to always use your thumb in combination with any of your other 4 fingers
- Supporting grip – Also called static grip, that focuses on holding onto something as long as you can while maintaining it in the exact same position the whole time
- Extending grip – Complex extensor movements, in your wrists & fingers, to adjust your grip position, move opposite directions & provide you with muscle balance
What are the Best Tools to Improve Support Grip?
The Best Default Choice
Whether you’re lifting something heavy or climbing, there’s one default choice. Grab some chalk & you can’t go wrong. There a different types of chalk available.
Mainly, you see 3 different versions of chalk: Some chalks are created to be in powder shape, some are shaped as blocks & some are in liquid form
Meanwhile, chalk comes in different shapes & forms. No matter what chalk you use, they have the exact same function.To increase friction between your hands & the object you want to pick up
If you’re a recreational athlete, most of the time you want to go with the cheapest chalk there is, like block-type gym chalk.
It’s the exact same stuff that most major manufacturers are offering to you, simply much cheaper.
If you’re using chalk a lot, technically every day, you may want to seek out more expensive solutions the ones that help you to get the job done but won’t be too hard on your hands.
Yes, chalk can & will mess up your hands pretty well, if you’re a regular user & don’t pay enough attention to this part. So, maintaining your hand health becomes crucial at some point – Always wash your hands!
More Specialty Tools to Tune up Your Support Grip
Another 3 Great Ways
Here are 3 great & simple ways how you can train & improve your support grip strength. Most of this type of equipment is very easy to obtain & it is portable as well, so you can take it with you as you hit the gym.
- Tacky glue – A strongman-style approach, if you’re lifting something heavy & awkward like atlas stones
- Lifting Straps – One of the most common ways to support your grip, for both: Recovery & competitive edge
- Grip-Enhancers – Great for golf & tennis players OR pole dancers etc, less messy, and same idea
#1 – Tacky Glue
Go Strongman Style
#1 Tacky Glue – Regularly used in strongman circuit – This stuff is super sticky & excellent for lifting heavy objects
Tacky is a very strong pine resin specifically made for stone loading Elite Tacky is the most popular tacky used at the World Strongest Man contest every year.
Once you combine tacky with Stone Sleeves your grip becomes even greater & stronger than using tacky on your bare skin.
This way, it also greatly reduces the risks of injury.
It’s also the combination used by the Top 3 stone loaders at the World Strongest Man Contest 2015 as well as many other top pro strongmen around the globe. Tacky works are great if your goal is lifting heavy odd objects.
#2 – Lifting Straps
Recovery for Hands/Improve Support
Lifting straps are widely known & used because of their effectiveness – Support your grip to lift even heavier than your own grip allows you to. There are two different styles of lifting straps: 1. With no sewn loop and 2. With sewn loop. Lifting straps are excellent if you want to lift a weight that your own grip won’t support anymore OR you want more recovery for your hands.
You can use Lifting Straps for deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, snatches, or clean pulls when you don’t want to be limited by your grip.
Also, useful if you want to give the calluses on your palms a rest while you continue to get stronger.
No sewn loop version – Great for quick bailouts on lifts. These are specifically designed for Olympic-style of weightlifters
Sewn loop version – To achieve an even better grip have more control over the weight you’re lifting.
The biggest benefit of using lifting straps is when your hands are sore from training & you want to give your hands as much rest & recovery time as possible meanwhile you keep training.
Your forearms are one the smallest muscle groups in your whole body – It’s easy to over-train your grip & to seriously injure your hands. This is where lifting straps can step in & help you a great deal. Instead of breaking your body use lifting straps.
#3 – Grip-Enhancers
Sticky for Maximum Grip Control
Sweaty hands? Are you a Pole dancer or a Baseball player? Are you playing Softball or Golf, Tennis or Football? Pretty much in any case resin towels can be practical for you.
It helps you with a competitive edge & keeps your grip from slipping. Used by Top professional & amateur athletes alike.
Doesn’t matter what you play if your sport requires a good grip, Grip-Enhancer Towels can improve your performance. So, feel free to take advantage of this nifty tool.
It can be a good solution in one of those situations. Keep your grip from slipping, and get that extra competitive edge that can make the difference between winning OR losing.
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