A handshake is one of the first ways that we judge one another. Ideally a handshake is firm but not bone crushing. It shows that you are strong but in control of that strength. A handshake can be intimidating when your hand is swallowed up and powerless because of the size or strength differential. It seems odd that a simple cultural gesture could be so important, but when you look more deeply at the matter it makes sense. Hand and grip strength are one of the most important and overlooked aspects of strength…
The hands and feet are important because they are the main interfaces through which we transmit force to the outside world. Sometimes the back and shoulders are used, but these cases make up only a small number of our physical interactions. You cannot express more of your strength than your hands will hold or feet will support.
In Power to the People, Pavel Tsatsouline recommends a weight lifting plan based upon the deadlift and military press. He says that you will reach a point at which you are limited by your grip strength–this is true. I experienced this when I was on the program. One common method of solving this problem is to use straps to allowing the force to be transmitted to your arm through the strap as well as your hand. Pavel says not to do this, but to allow your hands to grow stronger. When your hands get strong enough to lift the weights you will often experience big breakthroughs.
In his interview with Dragon Door, Dr. Eric Cobb talks about how most physical problems have their roots in either the hands or the feet. Here Cobb is discussing physical dysfunctions not weight lifting performance although solving a physical dysfunction may help in strength training. The key point we can take from this is that every part of your body is tied in to your hands and feet.
From these two anecdotes you can see that your hands are an integral part of your training. I have found this in my training as well. One of the hardest parts of moving up to a new kettlebell is grip strength. When I am strong enough to easily control a kettlebell, I have it mastered. Many times the limiting factor I experience when swinging, cleaning, or snatching a kettlebell is that if I drive harder my hands may be unable to hold on.
I do not train my grip specificly although it is possible to do so using grippers. I believe the best way to train your hand is by having them do what they were designed to do–transmit force from your body. Two exercises I find useful are doing large sets of frenchies and kettlebell swings with a heavy kettlebell. Frenchies are described part way down this page about one arm pull ups. I like them because your wrists are stressed at each position of the pullup while your back and arm muscles work differently in each position. When I do several frenchies in a row I find wrists are the first thing to fatigue. Heavy kettlebell swings can be made more difficult by greasing the kettlebell handle and wrapping a towel around the handle.
Filed under: Kettlebells, Physical Training
