Small hands

GeneveSparkles

Does anyone else have issues with having small hands and not being able to grip bars as tightly? Last night when i was doing DLs (125#) it wasn't so much that the weight was too heavy as much as it felt like I was going to lose my grip and drop the bar. I'm concerened that when I increase it will get even worse. My thumb and pointer finger don't even touch when I wrap around the bar. When I do pull ups (assisted of course) i have to bring my thumb over top of the bar with the rest of my fingers because the grip is very uncomfortable. Any tricks on getting a tighter grip? I tried doing the DLs with one hand doing an overhand grip and the other underhand, it helped a little but overall felt awkward. I also wear lifting gloves although they aren't very padded and don't offer wrist support. Maybe better gloves would help??

juliebeannn

i have small hands too, so i've stopped wearing lifting gloves. i find that even without much padding, they do hinder my grip. i really need every last mm of grip; i'll just have to live with calluses.

i've found that as i've been lifting more, my grip strength has been getting better slowly, as well.

hope this helps.

GeneveSparkles

Hmm maybe I'll try without gloves. I started wearing gloves cause I used to get warts without them (ewww gross I know) I can live with callouses but definitely not warts!!!

That makes sense my grip strenght would gradually increase. I think strong grip is associated with strong forearms so maybe as I get stroner overall it will help out.

Thanks for the help!

juliebeannn

oh. and another things i've done to help with grip strength is just hanging from a pull up bar. i have a pull up bar at home so randomly throughout the day, i just hang from the bar. i started with 10 seconds at a time and worked my way up. i think just holding my body weight was enough to gradually see an increase in strength in my hands and forearms. now, i've worked up to assisted pull ups with a goal of doing them unassisted one day.

numindan

I have tiny hands. My fingers don't go all the way around most of the dumbbells and barely make it all way way around the oly bar. That said, I do wear gloves because I found my grip was worse without them.

I have weak forearms and grip so two exercises I've been doing is holding heavy dumbbells in each hand for 60-90 seconds x5(for me heavy is currently 35lbs as that's where my grip is failing on lunges, likely different for you). I also have a open/close hand exercise my physiotherapist suggested. Make a fist and open it as fast as you can for 60-90 seconds at a time. Rest, repeat.

kazzari

Does anyone else have issues with having small hands and not being able to grip bars as tightly? Last night when i was doing DLs (125#) it wasn't so much that the weight was too heavy as much as it felt like I was going to lose my grip and drop the bar. I'm concerened that when I increase it will get even worse. My thumb and pointer finger don't even touch when I wrap around the bar. When I do pull ups (assisted of course) i have to bring my thumb over top of the bar with the rest of my fingers because the grip is very uncomfortable. Any tricks on getting a tighter grip? I tried doing the DLs with one hand doing an overhand grip and the other underhand, it helped a little but overall felt awkward. I also wear lifting gloves although they aren't very padded and don't offer wrist support. Maybe better gloves would help??

I think the mixed grip is preferable to gloves. Gloves are an extra layer to wrap your hands around, so actually make the problem worse. I gave up gloves years ago because of this, even though my hands aren't extremely small. I always use the mixed grip on my heavy set. It might feel awkward at first, but you'll get used to it. Chalk helps, too, and is strongly recommended for this reason, although I have not yet gone this route. There is a liquid chalk product made for this...you just spray it on your hands, so no mess to worry about.

jenluvsushi

Try using wraps.....I can lift way more with them on and only have to barely grip the bar. I basically wrap myself onto the barbell or dumbbell super tight...

tameko2

I don't have small hands at all but I do have grip strength issues at my higher work weights - that's totally normal, your back/legs are always going ot be a big stronger than your grip.

What I recommend is doing what Kazzari does (And its what I do too) - do your lower weight sets with a double overhand grip, and really GRIP the bar - use your warm up to train your grip strength.

Then for your work weight use a mixed grip.

Also you can add some farmers walks (put some heavy things like dumbells in each hand,hold on tight, and walk with them.) But do em after your main lifts.

You will get stronger. I had issues at 155, but now I can do that with the double overhand, but still have issues at 165 after one or two reps.