Forearm and grip strength is great limiter w/ clubbells

[Contrarify]

Hi,

I'm a 41 yr old, reasonably fit, female cyclist. I've been using Coach Heins' CBFE program for ~5 weeks (which is an awesome program, btw, as is Coach John B's Bodyweight Basics). I'm using only 5lb clubbells for the movements, and I *still* get grip fatigue. I feel that my lack of forearm strength is my great limiter with regards to making strength improvements in other areas. My wrists and forearms get so tired long before anything else.

Is this normal? Do any coaches have any tips for improving grip/wrist/forearm strength separately or in addition to Clubbell® work?

Many thanks,
Renee Taylor

[sakinney]

Hi Renee,

Are you gripping the clubbells tightly, all through the sessions?
While there is a certain amount of strengthening and conditioning involved, there's also a certain amount of technique. Clubbell® grip (and kettlebell for that matter) is kind of dynamic. sometimes you hear it called "tight-loose-tight", but it means that your grip is relaxed when it can be, and tight when it needs to be. Think of a movement like 'clean to order'. when you swing the Clubbell® up, you need a firm grip, at the point where the Clubbell® becomes weightless (at the top of the movement), the grip can relax, when you stabilize it in the order position, the grip will be firm again.
This conserves your grip. If you tried to keep a death grip for the whole movement, your grip would fatigue quickly.
Hope this helps.

[Contrarify]

Hi sakinney,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I don't *perceive* myself as having a death grip, and I actively try to think about the "ice cream cone/OK sign" as I'm performing the movements. But clearly I need more improvement in this area. ;-)

Thanks for your help.

[RolfE]

Hi Renee

I just want to say that you are not alone! I have tried to start doing Flow Force Endurance at level 3 without doing previos levels (with 10 ib). I have just the same experience that you describe, but it is even worse since I am doing a lot of rock climbing I thought I was supposed to have good grip strength - or maybe I do, but it only lasts for 1 minute, not around 10 minutes that is required here.

My plan is just to hang in a while, my former experience with this mix of strength/endurance is that when your do break throu, the gain is quite big.

[Contrarify]

Thanks for your thoughts, RolfE. I do look forward to the big breakthrough, but I'm patient enough to wait. :-)

[RonP]

You're very normal.

[John B]

Renee, most trainees note grip fatigue as a limiter when starting Clubbell® training. So, you’re certainly not alone there.
The Clubbell® challenges the grip in a more dynamic way than most new trainees are used to.

As mentioned previously, it will require a bit more “cycling” of your grip to work more efficiently. Also, what I tend to find in my classes, is that most trainees tend to “muscle” the weight through the grip to compensate for loss of structural integrity somewhere else. As an example, think about an arm cast that relies more on pulling out of back position with the hands/grip as opposed to a cleaner pull-over by engaging the lats and driving with the elbow, then having to “right the ship” on the way into order position because we broke arm lock in transition. Poor hip root or hip snap in a mill, for example, can result in the same over-use of grip to get the Clubbell® where you want it.

Even still, the amount of fatigue is relative to where you’re at (holistically). My biggest limiter in double swipes has always been nasty trigger points in my hands from years of being a desk jockey. So, in my case, accessory work to address “grip fatigue” doesn’t involve grip strengthening, but techniques that allow for a release of tension elsewhere so that I can work more efficiently. So it follows that you may need work on integrating structure and freeing up greater ranges of motion so that the “grip” need not over-work.

[RolfE]

Sorry Renee if I hijack your thread, but I just wanted to say thanks to John - I think he hit the nail for my biggest mistake. I probably overgrip on exercises such as flag position, front jerk etc.
Thank you both for having me to think this over some times I had to check with a 10'er how little force is actually needed to just hold the Clubbell® in a shoulder cast and I was flabbergasted
/Rolf