Grip Strength for competition

elbigsam

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So, I saw the recent thread on a grip/forearm strength training device. I'm sure it helps, anything is better than nothing. Id like to share my grip strength program that I do in preperation for a comp.

I believe in grip strength, once your grips are burned out, its hard to win. I break it down into 3 exercises that all do different things, and are short duration. Perfect to do 15 mins before class.

Do each workout once a week, synergizes nicely for a 3 day training week.

workout 1, maximum grip strength. Deadlift at your 5 rep max. 3 sets of 5. If you are strong, this will tax your grip to the max, no straps cheater. Builds top end grip strength, you will never have to squeeze this hard in a match.

Workout 2. Chin ups, palms forward. Do as many perfect reps as you can, then hang from the bar as long as you can, completing perfect reps as your muscles recover from hanging. 3 sets, rest for a few mins in between. This is close to the maximal grip you will use in a match. Similar to the amount of strength you will use when attempting submissions.

Workout 3. Find a cable row machine, over head or in front of you. Pick a weight you can do 30 reps with, take off the handle and put your belt through it. Use your belt as the handle. 3 to 5 sets of 30, 2 to 3 mins rest between. This will build your lactic acid tolerance under load, simulating general gripping for sweeps and control.

I normally like to do this for a month leading up to a comp, I feel that my grips are a strong part of my competition wins. Thank you for reading.
 
I've actually been wanting to do something about my weak-ass grips for a while. Now that I know what to do I don't really have an excuse, thanks man.
 
I guess rope climbing without the help of your legs and towel pull ups would help you a lot.
 
Rope climbing and towel pullups are great, not a big part of what I do. Maybe if you are a lighter weight guy they are a good alternative to chins. For me the chins are plenty challenging.
 
climb a rope. do some pull ups do towel pull ups. do more judo or jiu jitsu
 
So, I saw the recent thread on a grip/forearm strength training device. I'm sure it helps, anything is better than nothing. Id like to share my grip strength program that I do in preperation for a comp.

I believe in grip strength, once your grips are burned out, its hard to win. I break it down into 3 exercises that all do different things, and are short duration. Perfect to do 15 mins before class.

Do each workout once a week, synergizes nicely for a 3 day training week.

workout 1, maximum grip strength. Deadlift at your 5 rep max. 3 sets of 5. If you are strong, this will tax your grip to the max, no straps cheater. Builds top end grip strength, you will never have to squeeze this hard in a match.

Workout 2. Chin ups, palms forward. Do as many perfect reps as you can, then hang from the bar as long as you can, completing perfect reps as your muscles recover from hanging. 3 sets, rest for a few mins in between. This is close to the maximal grip you will use in a match. Similar to the amount of strength you will use when attempting submissions.

Workout 3. Find a cable row machine, over head or in front of you. Pick a weight you can do 30 reps with, take off the handle and put your belt through it. Use your belt as the handle. 3 to 5 sets of 30, 2 to 3 mins rest between. This will build your lactic acid tolerance under load, simulating general gripping for sweeps and control.

I normally like to do this for a month leading up to a comp, I feel that my grips are a strong part of my competition wins. Thank you for reading.

These are all great ideas. I'm going to throw in my 2cents.

Using the deadlift for BJJ is an awsome idea. Your posture and grip will get a lot stronger. I would say when deadlifting to use a double overhand grip. You wont be able to pull as much but it will tax the grip so much more. If your training for grip endurance I would hold the last rep of each set until failure. One arm deads would be a good option as well. I find the suitcase/farmers walk version feels more natural.

Chin ups are another awsome way to get stronger for BJJ. I dont know if an average chinup bar is thick enough to challenge your grip enough though. If possible buy a 2" piece of PVC and slide it over the bar to increase the difficulty. I bought two Rolling Thunder handles from Iron Mind and did pullups off of them. It really helped with my wrist and ankle control. Throwing a gi or towel over the bar and doing pullups off of that is also a great alternative to just the bar. If none of those are possible, weighted one and two hand hangs work.

Ditch the row machine and use a barbell for rows. Heavy enough BORs are real tough on the grip. Im sure you could use the same towel/gi concept here to, might be harder to balance the weight. And again, if you concentrating on endurance higher reps and less rest time in between sets would be the way to go.
 
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