These simple little gadgets are common and familiar to all of us. They are so familiar you may wonder “Do hand strengtheners work?” This post is an explanation of hand strengthers, or grip strengthers, and why you need one yourself.
It’s simple enough to remember to work out your arms, abs, and legs at the gym. But, when was the last time you spent a few minutes on strengthening your hand grip?
Even though we seldom think of it, your grip strength is an important part of your overall fitness. And that’s especially true if you are an athlete or working out. And the best way to improve your grip is with hand strengtheners.
Do Hand Strengtheners Work?
It’s easy enough to think a strong hand grip is just about showing off when you shake hands, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
Strengthening your grip with hand strengtherers is easy, and provides numerous advantages. If you think about it, you quickly realize how stronger hands and a stronger grip aids you in other aspects of your workouts.
Have you ever tried to lifting heavy and your grip failed first? It’s easy to see why strengthening your grasp is so crucial. Opening a jar, and just don’t have the grip or forearm strength to make it happen?
Just like lifting weights has no option but to increase strength and muscle mass, hand strengtheners have no option but to work the same.
Using most any device to repeatedly squeeze with your palm and fingers on a regular basis works to increase strength in your hands and possibly your forearms.
Related Post: What is the Best Hand Grip Strengthener?
What Are Hand Strengthers?
A hand strengthener is a little gadget that fits in the palm of your hand that you squeeze with fingers and hand muscles. Depending on the model and brand it usually has clamps or springs that provide resistance.
You merely hold it in the palm of your hand and squeeze repeatedly to develp and improve your grip strength.
There’s actually a pretty wide array of gadgets and devices to add and maintain strength in your hands. You can really use a tennis ball, but the results wouldn’t be as good as the spring loaded strengtheners I refer to in this particular post.
The hand grip strengthener is quite simple to use, but when used consistently, it can make a significant difference in your athletic performance as well as day to day activities.
A hand grip strengthener is useful to have at home, in the gym bag, or in your automobile. You can use most hand strengtherer models just about anywhere and anytime to enhance hand strength.
Do Hand Strengtheners Work Forearms?
If you are looking to build muscle mass in your forearms, there are better exercises, particularly with dumbells. However, hand strengthers do work your forearms.
Every time you squeeze a grip strengther, you activate all the muscles in your forearm. Just try squeezing and making a fist right now as you watch the muscles in your forearm. You will see those muscles tighten and flex with each squeeze of the palm.
Do Hand Grippers Build Forearms?
So, there’s no doubt that if you are regularly fatiguing your hand with a hand strengther, you will strengthen and build forearm muscles.
However, I find that hand grip strengthers primarily strengthen my fingers and hands while doing more to tone my forearms.
Benefits of Grip Strength
If you want to improve your total-body strength, you must first strengthen your grip. Deadlifts and pullups, two of the most important exercises you can perform for your body, necessitate a large level of grip strength. Barbells, dumbbells, and even resistance bands require grip strength.
How To Use Hand Strengtheners?
It’s easy to see how to use hand strengthers from the video above with more detail below.
How Often Should You Use A Hand Strengthener?
How often to train your hands and fingers for more strength depends a lot on:
- Your present hand fitness
- The tension settings of your hand strengthener
- What Brand device you have
Your Present Hand Fitness Level
I’ve found that even the cheapest grip strengtheners can leave my hands and fingers sore with too much use. I realize that “too much” is far too vague for good answer. So, let me say that it’s not really rocket science.
If you have a name brand device with a good spring or tensioner — 3 times a week with reps and sets just as if you are lifting weights.
If your hands are weak, start out by only compressing the strengthener as far as you can without a big strain. Go for 3 reps and 3 sets with each hand and a little more than comfortable. The end goal is to fatigue your hands with each training session. Only you can know the difference between fatigue and injury.
And because your hands are made up of of over 30 muscles, you can definitely strain, over fatigue, and injure them the same as any other part of your body.
The Tension Settings
Hand strengtheners come in a wide variety of models, descriptions, and price ranges. In fact, the options are almost limitless. And with all the different options comes just as wide an array of tension settings.
You can purchase the type pictured above most anywhere. They are ridicously cheap, better than nothing, and hurt my palms.
Until you try them you have no clue how strong or how weak the spring tension is. I doubt if the manufacturer knows or cares about the tension or resistance your hands will meet in the cheaper ones?
The Brand
On the other hand, there are higher quality hand strengthers built with specific resistance settings that can be trusted.
Some of these come pre-set from the manufacturer, others are adjustable. Adjustable strengthers come a couple of different ways, such as adjusting the handles so that they are longer or shorter, and others have an adjustment cam at the spring end.
So, the brand name you decide on will often depend on if you want to spend a little more and how serious you are about your hand grip strength.
Do Hand Exercises Work?
Wondering what muscles do grip strengtheners work?
A human hand has roughly 27 bones, 29 joints, and at least 123 ligaments. A hand grip workout ensures that the muscles in your hands work together and do not tighten as you get older.
Using a grip strengther on a regular basis works virtually every muscle inyour hand and forearm.
Most any type of hand exercises you do repeatedly work to strengthen your hand and forearm muscles along with keeping your fingers flexible. And that’s true in spades if you have any type of arthritis in your hands.
You may think age or arthritis is the only thing that causes a weak hand grip, or a diminishing grip.
However, age isn’t the only influence. If you don’t use your muscles on a regular basis, they can lose mobility and rigidity. The greatest strategy to keep these muscles active and mobile is to exercise them on a regular basis.
Are Hand Grip Strengtheners Bad for You?
Hand grip strengtheners are usually good for you! The only time they would be bad for you is if your hands are injured, recovering from injuries, or you are overusing them. And if you are overusing hand grip strengthers, you can have sore hands.
You can stretch stiff muscles and joints using a series of hand movements without any gadgets or devices. Grip strengthers and exercises may not be appropriate for you if you have trouble moving your hands.
If you experience any unusual or severe pain, stop immediately. Start slowly and gradually increase the time of the workout. You don’t want to make things worse by injuring your fingers. Certain hand workouts may be impossible for people who have injury to their hands and knuckles. Consult your doctor if you’re not sure if these exercises are good for you.
Who Can Benefit from Hand Strengtheners?
Physical well-being and in particular muscle strength—estimated by grip strength—may increase health-related quality of life and is therefore an important source for well-being during old age.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Summary
Having a superior grip can boost your ability to perform along with your confidence, whether you climb rocks, ride motorcycles, practice martial arts, or do a lot of hand shaking.
Although most people believe that having a good grasp is beneficial in life, few people devote the time and effort necessary to enhance their grip.
In fact, aside from breath control, grip training is likely the most under-appreciated aspect of all physical training. A healthy and strong grip is essential to everyday life when you’re young and as you age.
So, the answer to your question “Do hand strengtheners work?” — yes, they do work, and everybody on the planet can benefit from a strong and confident hand grip.