5 hand exercises everyone must do
What's the story
Improving hand grip strength is critical for several daily activities and sports. A strong grip can improve performance in everything between lifting weights to opening jars. It also contributes significantly to injury prevention and overall hand health. By including certain exercises in your routine, you can increase your grip strength remarkably over time. Here are five such exercises that target various hand and forearm muscles, giving you a firmer grip.
Stress ball
Squeeze a stress ball
Using a stress ball is an easy way to improve hand strength. Just squeeze the ball as hard as you can, hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat this 10-15 times in a session, two-three times a day. This exercise targets the muscles in your fingers and palm, gradually increasing their endurance and power.
Wrist curls
Perform wrist curls
Wrist curls emphasize on building the forearm muscles that aid grip strength. For this exercise, sit with your forearms placed on your thighs while holding a light dumbbell or a similar weight in each hand. Curl your wrists up while keeping your arms steady, and lower them slowly back down. Target three sets of 10 reps.
Farmer's walks
Try farmer's walks
The farmer's walk is a brilliant full-body workout that also improves grip strength. Hold a heavy weight in each hand on either side and walk forward 20-30 meters, resting for a few seconds and repeating the same two-three times. Not only does this exercise strengthen your hands, but it also improves core stability and overall endurance.
Hand grippers
Use hand grippers
Hand grippers are tools designed to improve finger and hand strength by performing resistance exercises. To use, just squeeze the handles together until they touch, hold for a moment, and then release slowly. Start your exercise with 10 repetitions for each set. As your grip improves, slowly increase the number of repetitions. This systematic approach will guarantee an even improvement in grip strength over time.
Dead hangs
Practice dead hangs from bar
Dead hangs require you to hang from an overhead bar, relying solely on your hands' grip strength to hold you up. Start with hanging for 20 seconds at a time, before increasing duration gradually as you go further into training sessions over the coming weeks or months. This depends on the individual goals you set beforehand.