If you want to make a fast increase in your hand strength the two hand pinch lift is a great add in to your current fitness program.
This movement strongly taxes the thumb and fingers as you clamp on to the top of the discs and pin them in order to lift the weight off the floor.
In the video I am lifting on the European pinch apparatus, but you can do this at your gym or home set up with two large plates, either 35′s or 45′s. The europinch is one of the main lifts in grip sport, but many people have built powerful thumbs simply by grabbing a few plates and lifting them.
Another set up I use is my Strongergrip pinch bar, seen in the video below. It feels different then the europinch and does an excellent job of training the pinch.
A few goals to shoot for to help you stay on track- pinch two 45′s. Pinch three 45′s, pinch two 45′s plus 30 lbs (run a bar through the plates to attach more weight) and start shooting for body weight. If you can pinch lift your body weight you have some seriously strong thumbs.
Another way is to pinch on both very wide and very thin objects. Here is a video of some pinching I did yesterday on a 6 mm setting. This by the way is very popular with the Finnish grip athletes who have a unique set of events with a variety of pinch challenges.
I have been training very high frequency with this lift in preparation for a grip contest in Dallas next week. My best lift of the week was 94.5 kg, and I think I will be able to easily get over 100kg this next week. Either way it will be a fun way to get this year off to a start.
Would you like to learn more about grip training? Start here with my DVD industrial strength grip, designed specifically for beginners in the extensive world of grip.
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