strengthening Hands

[axis_d]

Just wondering if you guys know any tips for strengthening the hands? I dont really know how to explain it, but you know how there's some people, and you see them make a fist, and it just looks solid and strong, and there's other people who make a fist and its just not as intimidating? thats how my hands are. What makes some good solid "hard" hands? Is it mostly in working out forearms? Or is it strengthening them by punching walls and stuff to make them hard? I'm clueless on this, help me out!

[fraidycat]

Squeezing things makes for strong hands. There are rubber balls, weighted grippers, and finger-independent doohickeys all over. Check out the rock climbing section of a sporting goods store, or go to www.ironmind.com . They have articles on improving grip strength.

Weightlifting helps, too. Deadlifts and chin-ups are great for hand strength. There are muscles in your hands and in your forearms that can be trained for power and dexterity simultaneously.

I have big, thick, mechanic's hands (classical pianist, hobbyist mechanic, & boatbuilder by trade) and I believe that strong hands definitely improves hitting ability.

[SpeedKillz]

- knuckle pushups
- finger pushups
- fill a bowl with raw rice, stick ur hand in and make a fist
- fill a bowl with raw rice, stick ur fist in and open ur hand
- weightlifting (gripping)
- punching

[DA1CATAS]

I've actually never done hand excercises... Gonna have to look into this now. thanx for the post.

[mrrupo]

Just wondering if you guys know any tips for strengthening the hands? I dont really know how to explain it, but you know how there's some people, and you see them make a fist, and it just looks solid and strong, and there's other people who make a fist and its just not as intimidating? thats how my hands are. What makes some good solid "hard" hands? Is it mostly in working out forearms? Or is it strengthening them by punching walls and stuff to make them hard? I'm clueless on this, help me out!

try rock climbing at a rock gym. you will eventually have to be comfortable putting all your body weight on a pinch between the thumb and index finger. it really helps to strengthen the ligaments and tendons in the hands. also, find out what hand exercises rock climbers do. there are several contraptions we use, but i would say the best is: http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/hold..._simulator.htm.
basically, you do pullups with it. you will see your hand strength increase in leaps and bounds. also, to increase muscle power (not just strength, twitch + strength) in your hands, shoulders, forarms, and back, and increase coordination you can build what's called a campus board. Here is a how to on the building. http://www.indoorclimbing.com/campusboard.html

It's cheap and amazing for power. Here is a video of a demonstration... you can find tons of ways to do the exercises. Seriously, if you want to get a ton of power without adding bulk, do this.

[mrrupo]

Just wondering if you guys know any tips for strengthening the hands? I dont really know how to explain it, but you know how there's some people, and you see them make a fist, and it just looks solid and strong, and there's other people who make a fist and its just not as intimidating? thats how my hands are. What makes some good solid "hard" hands? Is it mostly in working out forearms? Or is it strengthening them by punching walls and stuff to make them hard? I'm clueless on this, help me out!

Also, dead hangs. just hang from a chin up bar until complete and total failure. eventually get to hanging with just one hand. this will work your back, forarms, and hands.

[DoctorKillJoy]

try rock climbing at a rock gym. you will eventually have to be comfortable putting all your body weight on a pinch between the thumb and index finger. it really helps to strengthen the ligaments and tendons in the hands. also, find out what hand exercises rock climbers do. there are several contraptions we use, but i would say the best is: http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/hold..._simulator.htm.
basically, you do pullups with it. you will see your hand strength increase in leaps and bounds. also, to increase muscle power (not just strength, twitch + strength) in your hands, shoulders, forarms, and back, and increase coordination you can build what's called a campus board. Here is a how to on the building. http://www.indoorclimbing.com/campusboard.html

It's cheap and amazing for power. Here is a video of a demonstration... you can find tons of ways to do the exercises. Seriously, if you want to get a ton of power without adding bulk, do this.

Definitely. I used to be in to this and some of the fittest, most agile people i've seen in my life I saw at rock climbing gyms. You can develope some amazing upper body strength, hand strength, balance etc. Your post made me remember how much I used to love that sport. I had a couple of friends who had the ropes and knew how to set everything up and we used to go almost every weekend for awhile. I haven't done it in years now though.

Anyway, for the original question I would add that wrist rollers are good too. They're more for wrists(duh) and forearms but you're gripping and turning with your hands cant hurt. Plus you'll need strong wrists to hold up your soon to be massive hands after all these other exercises.

[mrrupo]

Definitely. I used to be in to this and some of the fittest, most agile people i've seen in my life I saw at rock climbing gyms. You can develope some amazing upper body strength, hand strength, balance etc. Your post made me remember how much I used to love that sport. I had a couple of friends who had the ropes and knew how to set everything up and we used to go almost every weekend for awhile. I haven't done it in years now though.

Anyway, for the original question I would add that wrist rollers are good too. They're more for wrists(duh) and forearms but you're gripping and turning with your hands cant hurt. Plus you'll need strong wrists to hold up your soon to be massive hands after all these other exercises.

The balance and the reflexes were the hardest part for me. Learning to work with your body instead of against it. Girls are good at that stuff from the start, mostly because they cant "muscle through" climbs if they cant figure out the moves, but guys have to work for that stuff. It is definitely a good workout, and it's like playing on a jungle gym, not working out.