Fat Gripz

Carlos_421
Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Anybody have experience with them? I'm wanting to hit my forearms more without having to dedicate a day to them. I feel like my upper arm growth has been just slightly disproportionate to my forearm growth (this could be in my head, all I know is I want big forearms).

My gym doesn't have any Fat Gripz so I'm considering buying my own but man...$40 for rubber handles...
Anyone have great things to say about them before I shell out the cash?

Replies

  • pansamanchada
    pansamanchada Posts: 158 Member
    I just recently looked up "how to isolate muscles in the forearm" and well the idea of using some kind of thicker handle did come up. And to answer your question I don't have experience with them.
    $40 seems like a lot for a couple pieces of rubber! but probably worth it if they do what they claim.
    Now when it comes to forearm thickness I believe genetics have something to do with it. I love my forearms and I really don't do anything special.
    Just in case you wanted more info on what kind of measurement you should shoot for I found this article a few years ago (you probably know about it) but here it is http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson207.htm
    Enter your wrist size and it gives you grecian ideal sizes.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    I've seen some pretty good forearm results since incorporating farmers walks 2-3 times a week.
  • dstromley90
    dstromley90 Posts: 60 Member
    I love mine. Really hit your bicep/ Triceps differently and they punish your forearms
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    There are some knock-offs on Amazon with good reviews for less than $20.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    could you buy a pool noodle and accomplish the same thing? Just a thought.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Thanks guys! I'll probably check out the knock offs.
    I think the downside to pool noodles would be that it seems like they'd compress with heavier weights.
  • lemmie177
    lemmie177 Posts: 479 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Thanks guys! I'll probably check out the knock offs.
    I think the downside to pool noodles would be that it seems like they'd compress with heavier weights.

    I use a pool noodle for hip thrusts. They don't compress so much as tear, but it didn't start happening til the weight was >200. The plus side to pool noodles is that' they're $1 at the $1 store!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    edited February 2016
    I have them and hate them. They limited the weight I could use so much that the only thing being worked was my grip. At that point I might as well just do grip-specific work (bar hangs, deadlift holds, farmers walks, etc) instead. So I did. And now they are collecting dust.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    I have them and hate them. They limited the weight I could use so much that the only thing being worked was my grip. At that point I might as well just do grip-specific work (bar hangs, deadlift holds, farmers walks, etc) instead. So I did. And now they are collecting dust.

    Well doesn't that just make me want to keep my money...
  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    Have them. Love them. Probably the best $39 I ever spent. Super high quality and nothing made my biceps grow so well. Avoid the knockoffs - a buddy has some - definitely inferior and dont work too well.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    I have them and hate them. They limited the weight I could use so much that the only thing being worked was my grip. At that point I might as well just do grip-specific work (bar hangs, deadlift holds, farmers walks, etc) instead. So I did. And now they are collecting dust.

    This was my experience too.

    Loaded carries and isometric holds are defo the way to go ...
  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    Were you suffering from a miss-match in forearm versus upper arm/upper body strength and if so, what do you think caused that imbalance?

  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    Somewhere (and I can't recall) I saw 2 articles that mentioned that Fat Gripz and large handled bars helped with grip but not forearm size. Something about how they hit different muscles than forearm curls and reverse forearm curls. At least I think that's what the articles said (darn memory).
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Has a lot to do with my genetics as I can grow huge arms if I wanted, but doing 4-5 sets of both seated palm up/down wrist curls off my thighs gives me huge forearms with valleys of cuts that are crazy sic.

  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    Were you suffering from a miss-match in forearm versus upper arm/upper body strength and if so, what do you think caused that imbalance?

    Absolutely. What caused it was using standard "skinny" barbells and dumbbells. If you think about it, they are very artificial - skinny but heavy - so you can make the big muscle strong while the smaller muscles of the upper arm, forearm and hand stay weak. Personally, I think that using thick bars like they do in strongman events or axel bars / Fatgripz like they do in Crossfit make a huge difference in getting bigger and stronger quicker and staying injury free.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    I don't have any problems with grip strength.
    I just want to grow popeye sized forearms.
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    wrap dishcloths around the bar for your deadlifts. do pullups hanging from a towel. on your last rep of deadlift, hold it at the top as long as possible.

    fatgrips DO work, but they will really only work your grip more for pulling exercises. for things like bench press, curls, etc the benefit is way lower. and there are cheaper alternatives e.g. towels.
  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    I don't have any problems with grip strength.
    I just want to grow popeye sized forearms.

    Haha yep same here. I dont care about grip strength - only arm size. The fatgripz added crazy size to my biceps and forearms. Best arm gains of my training career.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    Can you explain how something that artificially increases the diameter of the bar affected your bicep size? Genuinely curious.
  • Vortex88
    Vortex88 Posts: 60 Member
    edited February 2016
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    Can you explain how something that artificially increases the diameter of the bar affected your bicep size? Genuinely curious.

    Absolutely no idea to be honest - but I hear it often from other lifters
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    I don't have any problems with grip strength.
    I just want to grow popeye sized forearms.


    Then just go eat some spinach.
  • idioblast
    idioblast Posts: 114 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    I don't have any problems with grip strength.
    I just want to grow popeye sized forearms.


    Then just go eat some spinach.

    True story.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    Can you explain how something that artificially increases the diameter of the bar affected your bicep size? Genuinely curious.

    The theory I read somewhere was that there are sympathetic responses in that if a group of muscles is worked with enough intensity, other muscle groups nearby will also work harder.
    I'm not sure how much of that is broscience. It's just something I saw while looking for product reviews.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Vortex88 wrote: »
    I've been working out for almost 20 years (I'm late thirties) but here is my suggestion: if the Fat Gripz are hitting only your grip then your hands and forearms are much weaker than your upper arms and upper body. If that's the case you will really struggle to get bigger and stronger until that weakness is fixed (the body only develops long term in a balanced way). When I first started using fatgripz three years ago I had to reduce the weight a lot but I stuck with it and within 3-6 months my overall size and strength had made the biggest gains of my training career. This is why I recommend them so highly. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

    I don't have any problems with grip strength.
    I just want to grow popeye sized forearms.


    Then just go eat some spinach.

    Eh...he eats his spinach out of a can though. I hate canned spinach.
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