Total Body Muscle Building and Strength Gains

Whether training for quality gains in lean muscle mass in preparation for bodybuilding competition or for elite level athletic performance, we could all benefit from additional strength and muscle size increases. Several limiting factors thought to adversely affect both strength building and muscle mass results include compromised grip and wrist strength; insufficient coordinated tension (or irradiation) between muscle groups, which, when activated, can assist the greater application of muscular strength throughout a targeted muscle grouping; and inadequate muscular stability when executing the major weight training movements.

Though a seemingly complex set of problems, which, when addressed, can help us to smash through any strength training plateaus we may have, these can nevertheless be attended to with one simple training addition—the act of maximizing hand tension when clasping training weights. The method I have personally found to most effectively achieve such an outcome is the incorporation of the revolutionary new Grip4orce grippers into all upper body workouts. By transforming a regular bar into a two-inch diameter grip building device while providing a counterweight that forces the application of maximal pressure so as to retain a solid grip while working through a full range of motion on resistance training movements, Grip4orce grippers allow the greater recruitment and development not only of the targeted muscle groups but also the smaller, auxiliary muscles that are often taken out of the equation when utilizing standard training bars. More directly, Grip4orce grippers create greater gripping strength. Once developed, such hand, finger, and wrist strength gains can enhance one’s capacity to handle heavier weights while ensuring greater stability when executing heavy sets. So what makes Grip4orce grippers so effective?

Total muscle activation

Other than the more obvious pure grip strength and associated muscle mass increases that Grip4orce grippers produce, there are amazing overall developmental benefits to be realized. While regular bars, especially those of a greater thickness, can produce decent muscle building results over time, nothing comes close to Grip4orce grippers when aiming to activate more total muscle mass while maintaining tension on the working muscles. Here’s why.

Unlike regular bars and additional training aids that are often used to increase bar thickness (such as towels) and attachments, Grip4orce grippers employ unique inner polymer core technology, which, enfolded within each grip to exert force and keep the grips in an open position, forces one to maintain constant grip tension when grasping and lifting a loaded bar. As soon as tension is released, the grips spring open, causing a dramatic reduction of intensity throughout the working muscles. To successfully complete a set using Grip4orce grippers, one must be in complete control of the bar at all times. Thus, when using this device, the cheating and momentum that so often accompanies regular bar training and limits the degree of intensity one can generate through a full working set is minimized. We can, as a result, train harder and more effectively.

Further—and this is where Grip4orce grippers really shine—we are able to target as close as humanly possible 100 percent of total muscle fiber recruitment rather than partially activating the targeted muscles, which occurs when insufficient continuous tension is placed on them. The concept at the center of this phenomenon is called irradiation, and it is, according to no less an authority on strength training than renowned former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor, Pavel Tsatsouline, one of the best methods available for ensuring that correct force is placed on all targeted muscles. By squeezing the hands tightly around a bar (and maintaining such tension) when executing upper body movements (e.g. a biceps curl), one is better able to cultivate radiant tension through the hands and into the biceps. A pulsating intensity is transferred to and maintained within a specific muscle grouping as a result of sustained grip tension. By encouraging greater grip involvement, we gain a superior command over the weight by forcing the arm to work as an entire muscular unit (which also helps us to establish better training form). A weaker grip means less tension can reach the working muscles, therefore deactivating their response to the resistance forced upon them.

This same principal of irradiation can be applied to all major muscle groups. For example, when training the chest, a strong grip that encourages constant tension will ensure the pressure exerted on the major chest fibers (and all associated harder to reach muscles) is maintained through the course of a set. With Grip4orce grippers, the user must constantly fight against the resistance they provide, thus forcing the user to maintain such tension through the entire repetition count. The result—larger and stronger muscles.

Significance of grip strength (and its added benefits)

By increasing wrist stability across all planes of motion while enhancing finger, thumb, hand, and forearm strength, Grip4orce grippers can (as well as maximizing the aforementioned irradiation to produce increased sustained muscular force) allow one to lift increasingly heavier weights (often our grip gives out before the muscles under pressure are ready to quit). Such increased upper body strength produced through stronger hands is translated into larger, better performing muscles, providing a practical application for bodybuilders and high performance athletes alike. Weak grip strength can also seriously impact our ability to correctly lift weight (loaded barbells and dumbbells). With wrist strength as a limiting factor, our training form is significantly compromised, a state which can result in injury, insufficient progress, or ultimately, both. Indeed, the added stability to the wrists and shoulders brought about through increased hand strength enhances one’s effectiveness when performing resistance training movements. For example, when performing the incline dumbbell press, the smallest change in wrist positioning (from straight to slightly askew) can result in an entire set being compromised. If during this same set, one’s grip collapses, serious injury can result. In pulling movements such as the deadlift, poor grip strength will sap upward of 50 percent of the pressure that can be applied to the working muscles, something that can't be compensated for with the addition of training wraps (which don't and can't address weak gripping strength).

Further, in building grip strength with Grip4orce grippers, our forearm muscles are stimulated with unaccustomed levels of intensity. Typically, after two to three weeks of training with Grip4orce grippers, an inch or more of solid muscle will be added to one’s forearms. Being a stubborn muscle grouping that requires sustained high volume intensity to provoke muscle gains, the forearms respond extremely well to the consistent tension Grip4orce grippers provide, making their inclusion arguably the best forearm building method around.

Real world results and training tips

What is often first experienced upon initially using Grip4orce grippers is the great effort required to maintain constant tension throughout an entire set. The simple act of completely closing them and executing a couple of reps presents great difficulty. However, it is such difficulty that underpins their eventual effectiveness, as will be noted two to three weeks after having included them in all upper, and when required, lower body movements. Once the ability to use them has been mastered (to where constant grip tension is maintained at all times and training form isn't compromised), strength increases are duly noted. For me, a gain of 10 kg on my bench press, five additional reps on the chin-up, and 5 kg on the standing barbell curl were initially achieved. Shortly thereafter, size increases begin to manifest. After three weeks of using Grip4orce grippers, I personally noted tremendous increases in forearm, shoulder, chest, back, and overall arm size. Further, I felt more confident and secure when performing all major resistance movements including, interestingly enough, the squat (Grip4orce grippers allowed me to more securely hold the bar lower on my back during this movement). Lifting weights into position and focusing effort of intensity on to the working muscles has drastically improved, as has completing those final difficult reps of a set. (Before using Grip4orce grippers, my form, due to poor wrist control, grip strength, and the strength of assisting muscle groups suffered on the final two to three reps of a set—the most important growth producing reps of all.)

Coming in two varieties—regular and stiff flex—Grip4orce grippers are designed to accommodate all strength capabilities. It is advised that one begin with the regular flex grippers before, if necessary, moving onto the stiff flex (which are designed for those who require greater tension to experience the positive changes inherent in using them). Because of the greater effort required to close them, the stiff flex gripper can be used as a standalone hand squeezer to further maximize grip, hand, and wrist strength.

Additional benefits

As well as encouraging faster and more effective total muscle mass and strength gains, Grip4orce grippers hold a practical application for those wishing to improve athletic performance and functional ability. The most important of these benefits follow.

Grip stability: Arising from the improved wrist strength they create, Grip4orce grippers encourage a stable grip under conditions of instability. For example, when trying to maintain a forceful grasp on an opponent (as would be expected with an MMA fighter), the grip will often give out, causing technique to suffer and lessening the control one can have in such a combat situation. A strong grip will allow one’s energies to be applied in areas conducive to overall performance rather than on trying to maintain grip control.

Support grip: Maintaining a solid grip over either an opponent or training aid for long periods is crucial to optimal performance and results. By employing Grip4orce grippers, we build not only immediately resourced strength in the wrist and hand, but we also cultivate more long-term staying power in these areas. Rather than immediately countering any rapid shifts of control in an unstable environment (as with grip stability), support grip is the kind that creates consistency of control. For example, with chin-ups, one will be as strong on the fifteenth rep as he is on the first.

Pinch grip: One hand strength indicator that is often overlooked when addressing one’s grip strength is the importance of strong fingers, which, when sufficiently trained, can greatly assist overall grip strength and in tasks that require pure strength in this area (such as carrying a 20-kg barbell plate pinch grip style). This aspect can be directly addressed through closing Grip4orce grippers with finger strength only.

Crush grip: When one has to respond fast, often without warning, he may need to apply what is termed crush grip (or the ability to squeeze with maximum force over a limited timeframe). By requiring the user to apply maximal pressure at all times (during their use), tremendous crush strength is developed. Because all the gripping muscles of the hand are activated during their use, all of these muscles will work in concert to generate incredible force when it comes time to apply rapid crushing strength.

Encourages muscle confusion

An important strength training principal is that of muscle confusion (or the ability to enhance physiological adaptation and compensation to a given training stimulus). Once a muscle has adapted to a specific workload or training method and consequently improved, it has no further need to change its structure. To overcome any challenge, a muscle must continue to compensate. In other words, it must become larger and stronger so as to offset any further such stressor. However, if this muscle continues to receive the same treatment, it no longer requires such added size and strength. It adapts to one training stimulus and may, as a result, plateau. This is where the principal of muscle confusion makes its appearance.

Using Grip4orce grippers encourages the body to work in unaccustomed ways. In fact, when using them, the entire physiological structure of our muscles (and the connective tissues that support them) is forced to overcome more sustained, systemic pressure and force than ever before. Such intensive overload challenges the muscles to become both larger and stronger (especially when graduating from regular flex to stiff flex grippers).

Easy to use

Once mastered, using Grip4orce grippers is a relatively straight forward process. Simply place each gripper on to the bar to be used and squeeze while ensuring the gap in each gripper faces away from the palm (to intensify the grip needed to hold them closed). Unlike other grip training equipment, Grip4orce grippers are lightweight, easy to store and clean, and effortlessly incorporated into all resistance training movements (they can also be attached to ropes and cable equipment).

Conclusion

Advanced training knowledge is more accessible than ever before, yet aspiring champions are often limited to the same basic equipment that has created the countless greats that have come before them. However, unlike past and current champs, many of us have time and genetic constraints that may impede the kind of progress we would ultimately like to achieve. This situation also applies to the average lifter who wishes to progress beyond the norm. Whatever way you wish to spin it, great training progress stems from an ability to properly activate our muscular system. By doing so, we recruit more muscle fibers to become larger, stronger, and more explosive—essential attributes for any sporting pursuit. Surely one of the best and simplest ways to achieve such outcomes is though Grip4orce gripper training. Through the irradiation so essential to technical enhancement, muscle fiber recruitment, and increased stability of key muscle groups, we can smash through previously insurmountable training barriers. With improved wrist, hand, and finger control, we can handle progressively heavier weights while tightening our form to target more of a particular muscle grouping, all through the use of a simple, yet profoundly beneficial piece of training equipment—Grip4orce grippers. My personal results—upon using them for three weeks—reflect the science behind their construction and the rationale supporting their usefulness.