Grip strength is incredibly important in grappling sports.
But even more so when fighting in the gi or kimono.
So how exactly can you develop massive BJJ grip strength in order to dominate the grips and control your opponent?
Obviously technique is extremely important as well as body positioning, but technique and body positioning mean nothing if you cant get and KEEP a grip on your opponents gi and control them.
So below are the most effective methods of developing BJJ grip strength.
I would recommend not jumping in to trying all of them at once.
See which ones work best for you and also, very important, give them time to work.
Before we get into the specific exercises for developing your grip strength it is very important to first discuss recovery, mobility and nutrition.
Without proper rest, recovery, nutrition and overall health of your hands, your training will not be anywhere near as effective for developing grip strength and you could even injure your fingers, wrists and hands.
1.Protect Your Hands & Keep Them Healthy
Pre-Training warm Up & Mobility
Warming up your wrists, fingers, hands and forearms before training BJJ and before you do specific BJJ grip strength training is very important for hand health.
It is necessary to spend time warming up your hands, fingers, wrists and forearms specifically before BJJ and grip training and taking the time to do so will actually increase their mobility and strength before training.
Getting the blood flowing to your hands and arms as well as increasing the range of motion and mobility through simple warm up and stretching exercises will go a long way toward preserving the health of your hands and fingers and developing your BJJ grip strength.
Post Training – Cool Downs and Stretching
In order to keep your hands supple and healthy it is also very important to stretcth them out after training whether BJJ training or grip stregnthening.
this will actually help in recovery, so you can increase your grip strength more efficiently as well as reducing the risk or tightness and injury’s.
Let your hands, forermas fingers and arms rest and recover after hard training and look after them and you will see excellent results over time.
2.Fuel Your Grip Strength
Nutrition is a major part of any training and BJJ and grip strength specifically are no different.
Exercise and training are important for developing grip strength for sure. But your grip strength will only grow if you rest and recover properly.
And a major part of recovery is nutrition.
We all know what makes up a good diet. Try to improve on what you put into your body with a focus on getting a lot of nutritious foods that a less processed such as fruits, vegetables and nuts.
Calcium intake to develop bone density and strength is also vital and you should be taking in more calcium than the average person if you are training hard and regularly.
This will be important for developing your fingers, hands, forearms and arms to be able to dominate in the grip fight.
3. Gi Exercises for BJJ Grip Strength
Gi Pullups
The most popular method of building BJJ grip strength involves any form of pulling using the gi.
This is a sport specific method that is highly effective and used by most BJJ champions and those who have developed a good amount of BJJ grip strength.
If you can access a pull up bar you simply sling your top over the bar, get your grips and do pull ups.
Simple, easy and also very effective for building BJJ grip strength.
Gi Sled Pulls
You can also attach your gi to a sled and pull that walking backwards to develop your gi pulling strength from another angle.
Partner Pulls
Similar to sled pulls above except that you pull your partner while they are wearing the gi and walk backwards.
This could be done after BJJ training on the mats where it is safer to do and you have space to pull your partner.
4. Grip Training Using Weights
Farmers Walks
Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells and walk with them.
You will need fairly heavy weights and a bit of space to safely walk a few meters.
These are old school strongman exercises that work extremely well for developing your grips, hand and forearm strength.
Plate Holds/Pinches
Using single (or multiple plates depending on your level of strength) you pinch the plates with your fingers.
You can perform farmers walks like while pinching plates, simply hold them or do a variety of exercises while pinching the plates with your fingers.
As you get more advanced you can try pinching more plates together and holding them or performing exercises with them.
5. Bodyweight Exercises for BJJ Grip Strength
Finger tip push ups
These are a standard in many different martial arts and for good reason – they are extremely effective in developing finger, and forearm strength.
If you arent doing them already, start off slow and increase your reps and sets over time.
Rope climbing
Ropes are a standard in any Judo gym across Japan and the world.
Climbing ropes are on of the most effective ways of developing Judo and BJJ grip strength as well as developing your core.
6.Specialized Equipment for Grip Strength
Grippers/Crush Grip
These are a old school method of developing grip strength for BJJ.
There are a wide variety of options available and you can also find them in many different degrees of resistance ranges.
The best thing about using grippers is that you can perform these exercises to increase your BJJ grip strength anytime anywhere.
Fat Grips
Using these forearm and grip strength development tools are excellent as they can be attached to any standard, barbell or pull up bar and even dumbbells to make them thicker and tougher to grip.
Wrist Roller
The wrist roller is one of the most effective methods of increasing forearm strength and subsequently will help in your gripping strength a lot.
It is one of the favorite training tools used by Bruce Lee which speaks volumes to its effectiveness for martial arts training and application.
Rubber Bands
Specially small rubber bands that can be attached to the fingers for finger strengthening and exercising are another very useful tool that can be used almost anywhere any time to strengthen your grip.
There are specially designed rubber band or you can just use normal rubber bands and push out with your fingers to develop their strength.
Over time you can increase resistance by increasing the number of rubber bands.
