Strong hands are essential not only for athletes or bodybuilders but for everyone who wants to maintain an active lifestyle. It goes beyond lifting weights or doing heavy chores.
Strong hands improve your grip strength that can translate to various daily activities like carrying groceries, opening jars, or even typing on a keyboard.
Having big, healthy, and strong hands are also a sign of good health. It shows that you have been physically active and have a good grip.
With age, our grip strength tends to decline, but we can maintain and even improve it by regularly exercising our hands and fingers.
The Science of Building Strong Hands
The human hand is a complex arrangement of bones, muscles, nerves, and joints. The hand has 27 individual bones, with 14 of them forming the fingers and thumb. The hand has 34 muscles that control their movement and provide grip strength.
When we grip something, the muscles in our hand contract, and the tendons pull the bones towards each other. The force generated by the muscles determines the strength of the grip.
Improving grip strength involves training the hand muscles and tendons through resistance exercises. The following activities help increase grip strength:.
1. Grip Trainers
Grip trainers are simple devices that allow you to work out your hand muscles. They come in different shapes and sizes and are designed to improve your hand’s grip strength.
These trainers primarily focus on strengthening the muscles in your fingers, palms, and forearms. They range from hand grips to finger strengtheners and resistance balls.
2. Hand Gripper Exercises
Hand grippers are small devices that provide resistance when you squeeze them. They are an effective tool that works on building the strength and endurance of your hand muscles.
Knurling on the handles of hand grippers allows for a more secure and comfortable grip.
3. Finger Gripper Exercises
Finger grippers work on the specific muscles in your fingers. They come in different resistances to cater to varying fitness levels and intensities.
These exercises specifically target the small muscles in your fingers and can make a significant difference in your grip strength over time.
4. Wrist Exercises
Strong wrists are an essential part of developing strong hands. The exercises work not only on the muscles in your wrists but also on your forearm muscles.
This exercise helps in improving grip strength and provides an added benefit of reducing the risk of wrist injuries.
The Benefits of Strong Hands
Improved grip strength isn’t the only benefit of having strong hands. Strong hands can also reduce your risk of developing hand injuries like arthritis, tendinitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
These conditions are common among people who engage in repetitive hand movements, and by strengthening the hands, you can reduce the risk of developing them, keeping your hands healthy for longer.
Strong hands are also essential in enhancing your performance in various sports, especially those that require precision, balance, and control.
Sports like rock climbing, martial arts, and gymnastics require strong hands, and working on improving your grip can enhance your overall performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having strong and healthy hands is important in maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. With regular resistance training exercises, you can improve your grip strength and develop big, strong hands.
Improved grip strength not only enhances your physical capabilities but also reduces your risk of developing hand injuries in the future.