Fat Gripz: Combat athletes and the importance of grip strength

Julien Solomita | MMA Journalist

   There are sports everywhere that require athletes to have skillsets unique to that of any other activity in order to be great. Gymnasts must be nimble, and compact while basketball players have to be tall and durable. Football players must be explosive and extremely aware of their surroundings and runners have to be able to push past their limits. While these sports have their individual requirements, there is one universal principle that separates a person’s strength from that of the rest. Grip Strength.

   The ability to control another object or human being with the forearm and grip strength is something that people are immediately aware of and often intimidated by. Anytime you shake a person’s hand with a strong handshake, or when you were a child and your parent grabbed your wrist making you feel powerless. The feeling of being dominated simply by grip, often the first type of strength you notice in a person, can be disheartening.

   While there is a lot of physical contact in many of the sports listed above, not many of them allow one player to grab another player’s arm or wrist to control them. That is generally against the rules; but not in combat sports.

  Judo, wrestling, Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts are fast growing combat sports with more and more new members joining academies and teams every day. With the different regulations of each sport separating them from each other, it comes down to one competitor versus another.

   In this one on one scenario, the ability to have physical advantages over your opponent can dictate the pace of the entire match and ultimately determine a winner.

   This is where Fat Gripz comes in.

   Fat Gripz Extremes is a workout tool that forces a forearm into any other lift that would otherwise not. The two cylinder shaped grips are snapped onto a barbell or dumbbell and make that weight harder to lift as the handle has increased by a significant size. This makes doing curls not just a bicep workout but also a forearm workout. It turns deadlifts into a tough challenge but adds unprecedented grip work in the process. Being able to do pull-ups with the new Fat Gripz Extremes ensures that a person not only has exceptional body control and manipulation but also a grip that supports their entire weight.
   My experience using the Fat Gripz for over one year and recently switching to the Extremes has been incredible. I have found my new go-to ability on the mat in BJJ class is grabbing wrists and tiring my opponent out while I simultaneously rest. I have skyrocketed nearly all of my numbers in the weight room. I went from 16 pullups without fat gripz to now being able to do 16 while using the gripz and 30 without them. My deadlifts have shot up and my bench even has improved. Cosmetically, my arms have become significantly more vascular and any time I am gripping just the bar (usually after a set with the Fat Gripz, I feel like I'm grabbing a toothpick). I don't need to specifically work my forearm anymore as I can incorporate my grip training in my everyday lifts. I don't see this tool as becoming obsolete as certain fitness appliances can. Grip strength will only become more important as people realize the uses of a strong forearm and fat gripz being the path to it. This tool can only benefit athletes.

   Any person that competes or even trains in a combat sport knows how important gripping an opponent can me and how a weak grip can be the downfall of their game. That problem can be solved with the Fat Gripz Extremes. Take a look at the videos and testimonials from numerous professional athletes and read into the Fat Gripz 177 Arm Routine and Bench Program.