Get a Grip! Simple, No-Nonsense Ways to Build Vice-Like Hand Strength

Have you tried opening a new jar of peanut butter recently and felt it fight back? Or watched your dead-lift bar peel out of your fingers even though your legs still had more? That’s grip strength calling the shots. Whether you’re chasing a heavier pull-up, steadier yoga inversions, or just want to carry all the grocery bags in one heroic trip, stronger hands and forearms make life easier and safer.

Below we’ve set out a toolbox of exercises that zero in on every part of your grip. Work two or three of them into your normal routine, bump the load gradually, and you’ll feel the difference every time you shake someone’s hand or tear open a stubborn packet.

Train them all and you bulletproof your wrists and elbows while boosting big-lift numbers.

Programming tip: Treat grip work like any assistance exercise - 2-4 sets after your main workout. Rest 48hrs before hitting the same move again so the tiny forearm muscles can rebuild.

Hang from a pull-up bar for as long as possible, shoulders active (pulled down from the ears).

• Beginner: 3×20 s holds
• Intermediate: Aim for 60-second sets
• Upgrade: Tuck knees to chest or add light ankle weights

Grab a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, stand tall, and walk 20-40 m.

• Torches your support grip and postural muscles
• Vary handles, thick bars light up the forearms even more

Hold two smooth-sided weight plates together, smooth sides out, thumb on one side, fingers on the other.

• 3×30 s holds per hand
• No plates? Use two hardcover books

Drape two gym towels over a pull-up bar, grip the hanging ends, and pull.

• Builds judo-level squeeze and challenges the upper back
• Too tough? Start with static hangs

Hold a dowel with a rope and weight plate hanging from it; roll the weight up and back down.

• Burns the extensors (the often-neglected back-of-forearm muscles)
• One up-and-down cycle counts as a set

Palms-down or neutral-grip curls hit brachioradialis and wrist extensors.

• 8-12 reps, slow eccentric (lowering) for extra time-under-tension

Wrap a thick rubber band round your fingertips and open your hand wide.

• 15-20 reps per set balances all the crushing work
• Cheap desk-break drill to fight “mouse claw”

Bury your hands in a bucket of dry rice. Open, close, twist, and claw for 2-3 min.

• Old-school baseball rehab move for bulletproof connective tissue
• Swap rice for sand or lentils to switch resistance

Finish a session by grabbing your PROMiXX PURSUIT Insulated or PURSUIT Stainless Steel shaker bottle with both hands and trying (really trying) to crush it like a soda can. Spoiler: unless you’re some Olympic-level elite, you won’t. These bottles are stainless steel for a reason, but max-effort isometric squeezes light up every muscle from fingertip to elbow without any extra equipment.

• Why it works: Max-effort isometrics tap high-threshold motor units, teaching your nervous system to recruit more fibers the next time you actually need them.
• What you feel: A full-hand “pump” plus a tiny ego check when the bottle comes out looking brand- new.

• PURSUIT Insulated is dual-wall, vacuum-sealed stainless steel, great for keeping your shake chilled, but never for hot liquids (heat can pop the seal and spray contents).
• PURSUIT Stainless Steel comes wrapped in a textured silicone sleeve, giving extra grip and a bit of cushion so you can squeeze without slipping.

Take a mental snapshot of how hard that squeeze feels today, then retest every few weeks. When the bottle still wins (it will) but your hold time jumps or your knuckles don’t tremble as much, you know real-world strength is climbing.

• Pick two grip moves and tag them onto the end of push- or pull-days.
• Progress load or time weekly - heavier plates, longer hangs, thicker towels.
• Balance crush with extension work to dodge elbow pain.
• Finish with the PURSUIT squeeze for a built-in strength gauge (and a laugh).

In a month your handshake will feel like a bolt cutter, jar lids will lose their menace, and that trusty PURSUIT bottle will still be un-dented proof of how far you’ve come. So get a grip, literally, and let stronger hands open new doors (and PRs) every single day.