Hey Kids! Sharkbait here. I’m an orange-blooded, spear-throwin’, lilypad leaping OCR nut! I’ll be sharing different workouts and tips, concentrating on training for the biggest upcoming events!
Grip strength is the new sexy in OCR…
Whether it be [eafl id=9895 name=”BattleFrog” text=”BattleFrog Series”] or [eafl id=8283 name=”Spartan Home” text=”Spartan’s”] Rigs, [eafl id=8843 name=”Tough Mudder” text=”Tough Mudder”]’ Funky Monkey 2.0, or [eafl id=9255 name=”Savage Race” text=”Savage Race”] Wheel World, we all are spending more time hanging and swinging like Ninjas; and with the Spartan World Championships, OCR World Championship, and World’s Toughest Mudder just around the corner, we could all use some dedicated workouts to build up our forearm, hand, and grip strength.
There are quite a few grip strength products out there; I’ve heard great things about the Grip Master – easily found on Ebay and Amazon for under $15.00:
But this killer workout is sure to make those forearms and hands BURN:
Start with 3 sets of each below, and work up to 5 sets of each
- Flex arm hang
- Start in a pull-up position, with your chin above the bar.
- Hold for :30.
- Add :10 to the hold at each workout session, eventually working up to 1:00 or beyond.
- Multi-grip hangs
- Hang fully extended, with lats engaged, use a pull-up bar to hang for :30 for each grip.
- Traditional pull-up
- Wide pull-up
- Chin-up
- Side grip
- Wide side grip
- Alternate grips without resting in between for added difficulty.
- I use a pull-up bar that thankfully has many grips; not all pull-up bars provide this variety- use what you have and switch between available grips until fatigue.
- Hang fully extended, with lats engaged, use a pull-up bar to hang for :30 for each grip.
- Weighted Holds
- Alternate between three holds, starting at :30 each and working up to 1:00 each, adding :10 to each workout session – I find it easier to walk around with the weights to keep my sanity.
- Hold 1: Holding dumbbells vertically, use the pads of your fingers to grip the weights…and hold.
- Hold 2: Using a lighter weight, but still held vertically, use the tips of your fingers to grasp the weights…and hold.
- Hold 3: Fully grip a heavy plate. Concentrate on squeezing the grip around your thumb and forefinger.
- Fingertip Push-ups
- With your wrists below your shoulders, elevate as high onto your fingertips as possible.
- Lower down with your elbows close to your body and return to top…pausing at the bottom and top for added difficulty.
- Start this exercise on your knees and eventually work your way to full push-up position on your toes.
- Fingertip push-ups are intense, and I suggest starting with no more then 5 reps in a set. I would only add 1 or 2 push-ups to each workout session- you’re using these muscles in a new, unfamiliar way.
Add this workout 3 times a week, in conjunction with using your handy Grip Strength products, and you’ll see serious improvement pretty quickly.
GET SOME and I’ll see you out on the Course!
Sharkbait OUT
Thanks for the tips Melissa. I found your information on Cory’s facebook post. I had talked with him at Camp Rhino this past Saturday about trying to improve my grip strength. I have some of the little hand squeezer things, and they are helping, but the hanging, carrying weights, and pushup options are great ideas. I will definitely try them all out and see how I can work them into my daily workout routine. Thanks again, and maybe I’ll get to meet you at Rhino some day.