Kettlebell Grip Strength
By
Adam Signoretta
The
kettlebell
is an amazing, completely versatile tool. You can build speed,
power, strength, endurance, and flexibility. If you’re an athlete or just a
sedentary office worker, this implement is for you.
Enough of me praising this tool of old Strongmen greats. Let’s get to what I
want to share with you—kettlebell grip strength. If you aren’t training your
grip, you had better start. Your grip is probably the most important part of any
lift. If you can’t hold on to the bar, you can’t lift the weight. The stronger
your grip, the stronger your pull and shoulder strength will be. By training
with kettlebells alone, you’ll greatly increase your wrist strength. Your wrist
must be completely straight the entire time you’re holding the kettlebell.
Otherwise, it will be painful.
The following exercises greatly increased my grip strength and contributed to
increases in my deadlift and pulling power.
Bottoms up clean and press
First up is my favorite—the bottoms up clean and press. This exercise is great
for building your crushing strength. Not only will it add strength, but you can
add good size to your forearms and make those veins bust out.
To perform the bottoms up clean, your hand placement is very important. If
your grip is off, you most likely will end up smashing your face with the
kettlebell. Set the kettlebell in front of you as if you were going to just
perform a regular clean. The kettlebell should be vertical so your hand is
neutral like a hammer curl. Grip the bell closer to the top of the handle with
your four fingers. Your fingers should form a hook. Grip it loosely with the
hook and don’t crush it. Sniff some air in through your nose into your stomach,
swing the kettlebell through your legs, and pop it up almost like a hammer curl.
Make sure your elbow is glued to your side. As soon as the kettlebell gets
upside down, crush it!
As you crush the bell, crush your other hand as well. This will create
tension throughout your entire body. You should have a white knuckled fist. The
fist is right over the elbow, and your elbow is glued to your side. The elbow
pushed against you will engage your lat. Your entire body should be tight. Most
people forget to squeeze their glutes. Keep your ass tight, crunch your stomach,
and try to make your pelvis and belly button touch. Now, you’re solid. Hold the
kettlebell tight for about three seconds to make sure it doesn’t fall and that
you have control of it. You can either proceed to the press or work out the
kinks on your clean by doing 1–2 sets of five reps.
Now for the press…before you do anything, make sure your ass is still tight and
that you still have air in your stomach. Your press is going to come from the
lats. Flair your lats and grind the kettlebell straight up. Try to keep it
directly over your elbow. If the kettlebell moves, you move. You must stay right
under it. Proceed to lockout. Hold for one or two seconds and pull the
kettlebell down with your lat. Repeat this 3–5 times. I usually add this in at
the end of my workout.
If you don’t think the bottoms up press is hard enough, try putting soap on your
hands and trying it again. Now that’s fun. In addition, use all of the tips on
breathing, body tension, and alignment with every lift you do. They will greatly
increase your strength.
Towel swings
This is an exercise that I use with beginners who use their arms too much in the
swing. By using their arms, they use too much of their back. The towel swing is
also good to use on big guys or overweight clients who have shorter arms and a
harder time keeping their shoulders back on the down swing.
To do a towel swing, take a normal-sized bell. A 53-lb kettlebell will do
just fine. Loop the towel through the handle and grab one end in each hand. Set
up in your swing stance, and hike the bell through your legs. As the towel
touches your legs, stand at attention. The bell should shoot forward. If the
bell flops around, you’re using your arms too much. Let the hips and momentum do
the work. Don’t worry about how high the bell comes up. Just focus on squeezing
the glutes and locking the knees and hips out.
I don’t want to get into too much detail on how to actually perform the
swing. (I’ll leave that to another article.) The swing itself is great for grip
work, but a towel makes any exercise tough on grip. The towel swing work your
crushing grip and will also strengthen your finger strength. It’s a great
movement for MMA fighters or any combat athlete. You can work on endurance for
your grip by performing three sets of 50–100 swings with a 53-lb kettlebell, or
you can work on max strength using heavy bells doing five sets of five. Make
sure your towel can support the bell.
Towel deadlift
If you really want to work the max strength of your grip, the single arm towel
deadlift will work better than the towel swing. It’s the same thing as using the
rolling thunder for grip work. You can do two arms, but one would be best
because then you won’t need as many kettlebells. Work on your weak hand.
Get a strong towel. If you don’t have a heavy enough kettlebell, use two
decent sized kettlebells and loop the towel through the handles. Set up in a
sumo deadlift stance. Pick the bells up to lockout and try to hold them for 3–5
seconds. Perform one rep on each hand and rest. Do five sets, and if your grip
isn’t fried by then, do it again. The towel deadlift is great for crushing and
finger strength.
Flip catch or juggling
To do these, you should know how to swing properly first. The exercise is pretty
self-explanatory. You’re going to flip the bell and catch it.
Set up for your swing. You can do a one-hand or two-hand swing. Swing the
bell and release it at the top of your swing. Before the release, either flip
the bell away from you or push the handle down and have the kettlebell rotate
toward you (this is the harder of the two). You have to time the rotation and
then either catch with one or two hands. You can mix it up. Swing with one hand,
catch with two or the other way around, or go from one hand to the other. It’s
your choice.
I either use a light bell—35 lbs—and go until I drop it, or I hit 50 total
flips between each hand. It also works well with a heavier bell. You can use a
53-lb bell and do three sets of 5–10 reps. When you get good, you can try and
tame the beast—the 106-lb kettlebell. That’s a good accomplishment. But be
careful! It took my skin with it. The flip catch or juggling will greatly
increase your hand speed and crushing strength.
Pinch lift
Another self-explanatory lift is the pinch lift. Get a light kettlebell. Start
with an 18-lb bell and work your way up. Set it on the floor and set up like you
would on the towel deadlift. Place only your fingertips on the handle of the
kettlebell. Pinch as tight as you can and lift the kettlebell until lockout.
Hold it for 3–5 seconds and then do the other hand. Rest for a little bit and
then repeat five times. The pinch lift is obviously great for pinch grip and
finger strength.
Finger lifts
The finger lifts are a few exercises that I do here and there just for fun. My
clients think they’re cool. Although cool, they can be beneficial for combat
fighters and any other athlete who needs strong fingers.
First up is the finger deadlift. It has the same set up and rules as the
towel deadlift. Use a light kettlebell. Start with an 18-lb bell and place your
pinky on it. Start with the smallest finger. This way you know that you can lift
it with all fingers. Lift the kettlebell to lockout, hold, and then place it
down. Move on to your next strongest finger. After you get to the index finger,
move on to the next hand. When you finish both hands, rest for a minute and then
repeat five times. You can move up in weight as long as your pinky can handle
it. The movement will hurt the first few times, so I recommend staying light
until you develop a tolerance to the pain.
Next is the index finger clean and press. The index finger is the only finger
that should be used. Don’t actually clean the kettlebell, but squat down,
keeping your hand next to the shoulder or rack position. The hand should be as
close to the shoulder as possible. Grip the kettlebell with the index finger and
let the back of the middle finger rest on the handle. The handle should be in
between the index and middle finger. Keeping the hand in the rack position, pick
up the bell. It’s going to hurt, so be prepared.
When you stand up and are in the pressing position, press the bell over your
head. Lock the bell out and then slowly lower it to the shoulder safely. You can
either finish the lift or grab the bell with the other hand. Try to avoid
dropping the bell at all costs. The finger clean and press is a very tough lift,
but it’s fun and beneficial to some.
There you have it—some odd lifts that can be done with a kettlebell to improve
grip strength. As I mentioned before, any lift with a kettlebell is good for the
grip and can be even more challenging if soap is added. Make sure that every
kettlebell lift is performed as safely as possible. Make sure the ground is
soft, or if it’s solid, make sure no one will get hurt or get mad if you break
it. You will most likely drop the bell a few times performing these lifts. You
don’t need to do all of the lifts. Pick one and add it in at the end of your
workout. You’ll be surprised to see that your pulling power has improved.
As Pavel would say, “Enjoy the pain!”
Adam Signoretta is a natural bodybuilder who has competed in eight
competitions within the past four years. He has also competed in three
powerlifting meets in the past two years, earning two overall best raw lifter
awards. He is NASM, CES, PES, and RKC certified. If you have any questions on
bodybuilding, powerlifting, or kettlebell training, email him at
Asignoretta@aol.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
