Grip and hand strength can often be an overlooked skill in MMA training. From the observer, there may be many other components or athletic reasons that a fighter may win or lose a fight but more often then not, grip strength will never be mentioned. It is a disservice to an MMA fighter’s career to overlook grip strength.
Grip strength is the applied by the hand to pull on or suspend from objects it is also used by strength athletes, referring to the muscular power and force that they can generate with their hands.
In MMA fighting your hands are the first point of contact to your opponent. Having a good grip will help while in the clinch as well as submissions. Grappling is the perfect example of where grip strength comes into play to either act as a turning point of the fight for or against your favor.
There are simple activities to add to your preexisting training that will grant you countless improvements in hand and wrist and finger.
-Pull-ups using a gee looped over the bar or oversized pull-up handles
-Hammer work
-Simple plate rotation exercises
-Squeezing a simple spring clamp
-Farmers walks using two or three fingers with plates
-Climbing wall activities
Do not allow this small body part to lose a big fight. The hands are not to be taken for granted during training and should be strengthened like any other body part to avoid injury and weakness.
