Barbell Shrugs - Hands hurt !

In article <[email hidden]>, "PoB" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands start to
hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

Thans in advance 🙂

Improve your grip? :-)

Barbell finger curls are good for that.
I hold a light barbell with my fingers, hands held down at my sides.
Start with a closed hand and slowly open it, allowing the barbell to
slide down to your finger tips. Bring it back up into a gripped position
again.

There are also spring loaded squeezer thingies widely available.
Oshman's and Wal-mart carry them for strengthening the grip.

Some people just sqeeze Tennis balls.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my

hands

Quoted message said:

start to hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the

hands

Quoted message said:

give way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

I use straps for bb shrugs - 2x10x385. You are exercising your
traps not your grip so go ahead and use them. I use straps on
all pulling bb lifts over 225. I don't use straps for single
deadlifts because the grip is different. If I have blisters I
sometimes use gloves AND straps.

locker

Quoted message said:

Thans in advance 🙂

Quoted message said:

Improve your grip? :-)

Barbell finger curls are good for that.
I hold a light barbell with my fingers, hands held down at my sides.
Start with a closed hand and slowly open it, allowing the barbell to
slide down to your finger tips. Bring it back up into a gripped position
again.

Knowing the level of musculature involved in wrist extension and flexion,
this would be not nearly as efficient in strength development as squeezing.

A worse choice would be wraps. Build the grip strength along with the shrug
strength. Same with deadlifts. avoid wraps.

If the goal is an increased ability to extend the wrist or flex the wrist,
then by all means do that. If the ability to grip things stronger is the
goal, grip heavy things.

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands
start to hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands
give way.

You could get straps, but unless you have been lifting a while I would
suggest that you simply work on your grip. Deadlifts, farmer's walks,
and shrugs are all exercises where your grip gets a serious workout.
I have also heard of people using those spring loaded grippers and
rolling a weighted rope around a stick (I have no idea what they call
that gizmo).

Big traps are cool, but so is a monster grip.

Jason

Jay said:

Quoted message said:

Improve your grip? :-)

Barbell finger curls are good for that.
I hold a light barbell with my fingers, hands held down at my
sides. Start with a closed hand and slowly open it, allowing

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

barbell to slide down to your finger tips. Bring it back up

into a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

gripped position again.

Knowing the level of musculature involved in wrist extension

and

Quoted message said:

flexion, this would be not nearly as efficient in strength
development as squeezing.

A worse choice would be wraps.

Wrong. He is exercising his traps not his grip. If he wants to
exercise his grip he can do it as an isolation exercise.

Build the grip strength along with

Quoted message said:

the shrug strength. Same with deadlifts. avoid wraps.

If the goal is an increased ability to extend the wrist or

flex the

Quoted message said:

wrist, then by all means do that. If the ability to grip

things

Quoted message said:

stronger is the goal, grip heavy things.

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands start to
hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

Thans in advance 🙂

Well, last week I set 850 retaining wall blocks. The ones that are
concrete, 8 x 12 x 4. Carried them two at a time by squeezing between my
fingers and thumb. (Think farmers carry with an object too big to get
your hand completely around.) This was done in three days with a day off
in between each. Not only did it work my grip like no tomorrow, but now
I have some seriously tough guy calouses on my hands too.

Ryan

PoB said:

Hi
After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands start to
hurt a lot.

As in the knurling digging into your hands??

Quoted message said:

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

That's a grip issue. Put some chalk on your hands. Strengthen your grip.
Do some of these near the end of some of your workouts.
http://www.weighttrainersunited.com/plateholds.html
Or resort to wrist straps.

Jay said:

Quoted message said:

Improve your grip? :-)

Barbell finger curls are good for that.
I hold a light barbell with my fingers, hands held down at my sides.
Start with a closed hand and slowly open it, allowing the barbell to
slide down to your finger tips. Bring it back up into a gripped position
again.

Knowing the level of musculature involved in wrist extension and flexion,
this would be not nearly as efficient in strength development as squeezing.

A worse choice would be wraps. Build the grip strength along with the shrug
strength. Same with deadlifts. avoid wraps.

Surely you mean wrist straps not wraps.

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my

hands

Quoted message said:

start to hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the

hands

Quoted message said:

give way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

Thans in advance 🙂

Here's a website with quite a few grip exercises:
http://sab3.tripod.com/ART_griptraining-2.html

Hanging from a chin bar until you drop would be an exercise
that's quick and easy.

locker

locker said:

Here's a website with quite a few grip exercises:

Here's a better one: www.al4a.com

TBR

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day
the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the
White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
"Anyone with degrees from Yale and Harvard is presumed to be intelligent,
but George W. Bush has managed to overcome that presumption."

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands start to
hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

Thans in advance 🙂

if your grip is giving out before traps use alternate grip one hand
supinating one pronating
it still hurts your fingers and you get callouses, but you get used to it

Ryan Case said:

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands start to
hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

Thans in advance 🙂

Well, last week I set 850 retaining wall blocks. The ones that are
concrete, 8 x 12 x 4. Carried them two at a time by squeezing between my
fingers and thumb. (Think farmers carry with an object too big to get
your hand completely around.) This was done in three days with a day off
in between each. Not only did it work my grip like no tomorrow, but now
I have some seriously tough guy calouses on my hands too.

Yeah, I find that construction and such is a great grip developer. I
helped moved a really mf'ing big hot tub this weekend. The bottom was
flat, so all the guys had to support the weight on their extended
fingers bent at right angles from the hand. It was a great forearm
blast. Much harder than if I had carried around the equivalent weight
on a barbell.

- bc

lars said:

PoB said:

Hi

After doing about 6-8 reps (after the 1st set) of Shrugs, my hands
start to
hurt a lot.

I know I can possibly squeeze out a couple more reps, but the hands give
way.

Anyway I can get around this ?

If your grip is failing, try hook grip.

If the pain is stopping you, don't try hook grip.