Enhancing grip strength is essential for excelling in ninja competitions Michigan. A strong grip not only aids in conquering obstacles but also enhances overall performance. Incorporating exercises like dead hangs, farmer’s walks, and towel pull-ups can effectively target forearm muscles and improve grip endurance. Additionally, using grip trainers such as grip balls or grippers can provide focused resistance training. Consistent practice and varied exercises will not only boost grip strength but also increase chances of success in the challenging terrain of ninja competitions in Michigan.
Having a great grip strength is essential for sports like Ninja, climbing, bouldering, and calisthenics. A well-trained grip can make the difference between winning and losing. It also increases your upper bodies muscular endurance, and it even helps to reduce the risk of injury. Being able to hold your entire body weight one-handed on vertical rods, bars, or ropes will give you a major advantage over other competing athletes. Read on for more information on how to train your grip strength.
1. Rope climbing
Climbing a rope is a simple exercise that will yield huge gains in the strength of your hand and forearm muscles. The thicker the rope, the better for developing insane grip strength. So, if you have access to such a rope, use it frequently.
If you want to go one step further, then start climbing from a sitting position with your legs stretched in a right angle to your upper body. This will be the ultimate challenge in climbing a rope. Also, it will help strengthen your core muscles.
2. Pull Ups with Towels or Vertical Wooden Rods
An excellent way of intensifying your grip training without external loads to your body is by using vertical wooden rods or towels to hang on. Drape 2 small towels over a pull up bar or through some gymnastic rings. Grip a towel in each hand and try doing some pull ups. Aim for 5-10 repetitions when you are starting out and are already used to regular pull ups. Pull ups with towels or vertical rods will absolutely boost your crush grip.
3. Dead Hangs
Dead hangs on a pull up bar or gymnastic rings will increase not only your grip strength but also your endurance.
Grip the bar with your hands and hang off of it with your feet elevated in the air. Keep your shoulder blades down! Try to hold for at least 30 seconds.
Once you are getting stronger, try hanging with just one hand. Alternate your hands and aim, again, for a minimum duration of 30 seconds. If you want to have a greater challenge, raise your knees or legs up while hanging. Finally, you can also combine dead hangs with some towels and even weight vests, which is the ultimate progression of this exercise.
Once again, it is important to keep your shoulder blades down during that exercise to prevent injuries.
4. Campus board training
If you have access to a climbing gym, you will probably find a campus board there. You should incorporate this into your workout schedule for improving your grip strength.
But be advised not to train on the campus board if you had recently injured your fingers, elbows or shoulders. Despite how great the campus board is, it is also the cause of many finger injuries due to overtraining or improper use. So, start slow.
There are different ways to train on the campus board, with the most common one being the laddering method. As the name implies, it involves climbing up the campus board hand-over-hand without using your feet. As you progress, you can skip rungs as you climb up or use smaller rungs.
Finger and grip strengtheners are great, as you can use them almost everywhere – between sets at the gym, on your couch, while surfing the web, or watching TV.
There are the classic non-adjustable grippers, and there are far better grippers with adjustable resistance. We recommend the Super Gripper for training your crush grip. This tool is a challenge for everyone, from beginner to expert.
For specifically training your pinch grip, you should use finger strengtheners in conjunction with the afore-mentioned gripper. The Gripmaster Finger Exerciser, for example, is a great tool as it allows for training every finger separately.
6. Finger Stretch Trainers
With all the previous exercises you are mainly strengthening the flexor muscles in your hands. To keep your hands healthy and your muscles in balance, it is important also to train the opposite muscles which are called extensors.
The easiest way to do this, is by using a Finger Stretcher. Spread your fingers as wide as possible while working against the resistance of the rubber structure. After doing several reps, you should feel the fingers and the upper side of your hand burning. If you don’t want to spend that money, you can also use multiple rubber bands to get the appropriate resistance.
Conclusion
Improving grip strength is a crucial part of training for any Ninja obstacle. If done correctly and on a regular basis, these exercises will help you in mastering any challenge and also having much more fun. As always, be patient, start out light and move up slowly to prevent injury. Also, if you haven’t already, sign up for The Ninja’s Edge In-Person Ninja Training Classes.