Hey fellow lifters,
I thought I would mix things up this week and throw some awesome kettlebell exercises your way that will add some serious strength to your grip.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, adding thickness to the bar or object you're lifting will immediately challenge your grip in a completely different way. That's why this week I'm sharing with you the double kettlebell single arm swing. The technique remains the same as the traditional single arm swing with the only difference being that you will be holding two kettlebells (I know Im Stating the obvious but just to be clear). Whether you're a kettlebell sport kinda person or you prefer the hard style swing it works well for both.
It's important you get a really firm grip on the 2 bells before hiking the kettlebells back for the first rep and please don't be afraid to chalk up, it makes a huge difference to the lift.
I like to perform these as heavy as possible for anything between 5-10 reps for nice and explosive reps, however feel free to mix up the rep ranges to cater for your goals. 20-30 reps if you are looking to improve your grip endurance.
Throw this into your regular routine and I guarantee it will add great value to your kettlebell lifting. Using just 1 kettlebell will feel like a piece of cake.
Give it a try, enjoy and I look forward to sharing the next installment with you soon.
Have a great day.
Train smart, eat well and sleep peacefully,
Matt
Hi Matt - I've been thinking about this lately as I am working on increasing endurance for snatch.
ReplyDeleteBy opening the grip position, I think that we spread the load across the whole flexor mechanism. With a smaller grip size, there seems to be a more focused stress on one or two of the flexors predominantly.
I also think that a more open grip means we have to stabilise the wrist in neutral to cope with the extra demand - therefore reduced carpal tunnel stress (and good training for snatch). I may be rambling somewhat here, but it's an area that could do with some research. Things that feel right, often are right but I'd like to know why as well!
Keep up the good work.
Andrew
Hi Matt - I've been thinking about this lately as I am working on increasing endurance for snatch.
ReplyDeleteBy opening the grip position, I think that we spread the load across the whole flexor mechanism. With a smaller grip size, there seems to be a more focused stress on one or two of the flexors predominantly.
I also think that a more open grip means we have to stabilise the wrist in neutral to cope with the extra demand - therefore reduced carpal tunnel stress (and good training for snatch). I may be rambling somewhat here, but it's an area that could do with some research. Things that feel right, often are right but I'd like to know why as well!
Keep up the good work.
Andrew