Rock climber's top six exercises to up your grip strength

Grip strength is an underrated skill.

"Having a strong grip will help you lift heavier in the gym, especially with compound movements, and give you increased endurance," says professional rock climber and Bulk Nutrients ambassador Anna "Queen of the Grip" Davey.

"It will also help you to impress your friends when you can whip out your mad ninja grip skills!"

Davey shares her top six top exercises to improve grip strength, ranked from easiest to hardest. 

Exercise 1: Grip tools — easy

Train using grip tools such as Club Strong forearm pumpers (pictured) or hand grips. Try 6 sets of 15, three to four times a week.

Exercise 2: Climbing — easy to advanced

Climbing anything is the fastest way to build your grip strength. Courses in climbing gyms are graded from very, very easy climbing to extremely hard! Try adding in climbing once a week for some versatility. It will also work your core, back and shoulders.

Exercise 3: Barbell finger curls — easy to moderate

Kneel down on the floor and hold a barbell with both hands and your palms facing up about shoulder-width apart. Lower the bar as far as possible to the ends of your fingers, then roll it back up and squeeze the bar in your palm. Do 3 sets of 10-15 with around 15-30kg depending on strength. You can also just do this with dumbbells at each side (pictured below).

Exercise 4: Pinch blocks — moderate

These are tools such as ones made by Club Strong. Fasten a weight (start at 10kg) and hold for 8 seconds at a time in each hand. Keep increasing the weight by 5kg until you reach your max for 8 seconds. Do 3 sets of 8 seconds using each hand with your max weight. If you don’t have access to pinch blocks, you can also use weight plates by pinching them between your thumb and fingers. 

Exercise 5: Deadlifts — moderate

Try focusing on gripping really tight when performing deadlifts. Make sure you are using correct form and don’t lift more than what you are capable of lifting. Ask a PT for help with this. Gradually document and increase your weight as you get stronger.

Exercise 6: Dead hangs — moderate

Jump up to a bar and hang for as long as you can in a dead hang (no shaking out one arm) Aim for 1–2 minutes at a time. Rest for as long as you hung and then repeat for 3-4 reps. Dead hangs will increase your forearm endurance and grip strength.

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