How long should you hold the fat-grip hold when you are new to the exercise, and how many sets?

Start with three to four holds of 15 to 20 seconds each with a load you can grip hard from the first second, resting a full minute or two between holds. Add time in small five-second increments before adding weight; the forearms fatigue fast under a thick grip.

What can you use instead of fat grips for this hold?

Wrap a thick towel around a regular barbell or dumbbell handle a few times to fatten it, or hold onto the thick handle of a full bucket or jug. Any object with a handle noticeably wider than a standard bar creates the same crushing-grip demand.

What is the fat-grip hold good for, and who should be careful with it?

It builds crushing grip and forearm endurance that carries over to heavy pulls, carries, and pressing lockouts where grip usually fails first. Be careful with it, or skip it for the day, if you have elbow tendon pain, since a maximal grip under load is a common irritant for tennis-elbow-type issues.

Intermediate

Fat-Grip Hold

Widening the handle forces the hand to work far harder to stay closed, so a fat-grip hold builds crushing grip and forearm endurance faster than a normal bar. It carries straight over to heavy pulls, carries, and pressing lockouts where the grip gives out first. Use it as brief, heavy finishing work; a little goes a long way.

Equipment: Barbell, Dumbbell
Body part: Forearms
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Brachioradialis, Extensors

How to do it

1
Clamp thick grips onto a barbell or dumbbells, or use a genuinely thick-handled implement.
2
Load a weight you can hold with a full, hard grip for the target time.
3
Set the feet, brace the trunk, and grip the handles as hard as you can.
4
Lift the load to a standing hold with the arms hanging straight and shoulders packed.
5
Hold the position and keep crushing the handle for the prescribed time.
6
Set the load down under control before the grip fully fails.

Tips

Squeeze the handle as hard as possible from the start rather than easing into it.
Keep the shoulders pulled down and back so you hang from a stable, packed joint.
Stop the hold when your grip starts slipping, not after the bar has already rolled open.

Variations

Common mistakes

The grip starts loose and only tightens once the bar begins to roll, instead of clamping down hard from the very first second of the hold.
Letting the shoulders round forward and up toward the ears turns a grip hold into extra shoulder-shrug work you didn't intend to train.
The wrists bend to try to save a slipping grip, which just moves the failure point from the hand to a joint that isn't built to hold the load.
Once the bar starts to roll open even slightly, holding on for a few more seconds instead of setting it down risks dropping it uncontrolled.

Frequently asked

How long should you hold the fat-grip hold when you are new to the exercise, and how many sets?: Start with three to four holds of 15 to 20 seconds each with a load you can grip hard from the first second, resting a full minute or two between holds. Add time in small five-second increments before adding weight; the forearms fatigue fast under a thick grip.
What can you use instead of fat grips for this hold?: Wrap a thick towel around a regular barbell or dumbbell handle a few times to fatten it, or hold onto the thick handle of a full bucket or jug. Any object with a handle noticeably wider than a standard bar creates the same crushing-grip demand.
What is the fat-grip hold good for, and who should be careful with it?: It builds crushing grip and forearm endurance that carries over to heavy pulls, carries, and pressing lockouts where grip usually fails first. Be careful with it, or skip it for the day, if you have elbow tendon pain, since a maximal grip under load is a common irritant for tennis-elbow-type issues.

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