Strengthening your hand requires you to strengthen both the muscles and tendons of your hand and the muscles of your forearm. Both work together, so you can train them both together. You must perform exercises for the muscles on both sides of your forearm to maintain balance and stability. Using dumbbells and a few simple items allows you to strengthen a weak hand and build better gripping strength. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any exercise program.
Step 1
Hold a dumbbell in your weak hand. Sit with your arm braced across your legs, palm facing down. Moving only your hand, curl the dumbbell up by extending the back of your hand back toward your forearm. Perform this exercise for three to five sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.
Step 2
Sit with your arm braced across your legs while holding a dumbbell in your hand, palm facing up. Moving only your hand, allow your hand to lower to the limit of your flexibility, then curl your hand back up. As you get better at this exercise, allow your fingers to open slightly, then curl them back up against the resistance of the dumbbell. Perform this exercise for three to five sets of 15 to 20 repetitions.
Step 3
Squeeze a racquetball with your weak hand. Do this often; carry it with you if necessary. If a racquetball does not provide enough resistance, use a tennis ball. You can do this every day, multiple times per day. Either squeeze for as many repetitions as you can, or squeeze hard for as long as you can hold it.
Step 4
Fill a sturdy bag with small rocks, sand or anything that will provide extra weight. Hold this in your weak hand and walk with it. The more weight you use, the shorter your walk should be. The swinging action of the bag makes your hand work harder. To strengthen your thumb, grip the bag using a pinch grip for variety.
Tips and Warnings
- If necessary, hold your working arm in place with your empty hand when performing dumbbell work for your forearm. It is important that you focus on letting the muscles in your forearm do all the work. Allowing your elbow to move defeats the purpose of the entire exercise.
- If you feel pain when exercising, stop.
Things You'll Need
- Dumbbells
- Bag that you can fill with sand or rocks
- Racquetball
- Tennis ball
References
- "The Grip Master's Manual"; John Brookfield; 2002
- "Mastery of Hand Strength, Revised Edition"; John Brookfield; 2009
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