Last Updated on June 10, 2020 by Nick J-Pepe
Wondering if hand grippers can strengthen your forearms? You’re not alone. Many people have the same question. Let’s find out, shall we?
A hand gripper is a type of exercising equipment (more of a tool really) that you can squeeze with your hands to work out your hands. It helps build strength due to resistance training in a localized area.
People who use hand grippers know for a fact that they provide a great work out for the wrists and hands. But, do hand grippers build the forearms? Well, all things considered, it seems like they do.
You see, the muscles in all these areas work together when you apply force to squeeze the hand gripper. The grippers that allow individual movement for your fingers, in particular, are helpful when it comes to building your forearm strength.
Hand grippers with independent finger movement
A typical hand gripper has a sort of v-shape with a single spring at the joint. Independent finger hand grippers are different though. They are also known as finger exercisers and hand exercisers.
They have a rectangular shape instead of a v-shape and they have four different spring-loaded buttons at the top, which are small in size and a larger spring-loaded button on the bottom.
When you hold the hand gripper, which allows independent finger movement in the palm, you press it against the base of the thumb while each of the fingers goes on top of each of the buttons. It allows for several squeezing options. You can work out each of the fingers individually or all at once, depending on what you want.
How do hand grippers build forearms
Considering that all of the action just takes place in the fingers, it does make one wonder how to hand grippers to build the forearms. These hand grippers don’t have any weight, but they offer a resistance workout.
While you might think that squeezing them requires force in your fingers, your whole arm to the point of the forearm springs into action to apply the force.
The muscles in the wrist, the forearms are responsible for the movement of the fingers. This is the reason why hand grippers make an effective exercise for your forearms.
The importance of grip strength workouts
Without strong forearms, you cannot have a good grip. Having the ability to have a solid grip is important for more reasons than just being able to give a proper handshake. It affects your ability to lift weight and play different sports. Your limitations depend on what your hands can and cannot hold.
Your grip strength is an important indicator of your overall strength and it can help to predict your functionality as you grow older. People who have a better grip tend to be more self-sufficient as they age.
Try different workouts
Understanding how hand grippers build forearms is just part of the deal. You need to make sure that you alternate between different exercises so that you can focus the muscles on all sides of your forearms.
One last thing you should know is that working out your forearm is just like working out the muscles in any other part of the body – you need to do repetitions for each exercise and limit the amount of stress you put into the resistance training so you build up your strength eventually, without causing any injuries.
