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Need some recommendations on preventing grip loss during inclined flys.

Exodist

Senior member
Much like the title says. I am having some issues with loosing grip while doing inclined dumbbell flys. It may just be that my gloves are getting old, but I use Harbinger leather gloves of medium quality. But while doing the flys my left hand is starting to fatigue much quicker this past week and I can feel the dumbbell getting looser in my hand, but the harder I try to hold on, the more my hand fatigues and less of quality fly I am completing. I feel like I may need some wrist braces to help as well.

Anyone got any thoughts or suggestions or anyone else ran into this before?

Thanks,
Joe
 
It sucks I'm having similar issues. Like you I'm thinking about wrist straps. It helps to take more time between sets to rest and I try hard to keep proper form to stop my left wrist from breaking down. Dropping weight is not an option! (pun not intended there.)
 
Your first issue is you're using gloves. Second train grip with deadlifts, farmers walks, static holds or possibly just rack pulls and hold it for as long as possible. Shrugs would also help some, if you're into that sort of thing.
 
1st. When you start losing form, that exercise is finished no matter the exercise or the cause.

There is so much in the gym that requires grip, for one. So you must be preceding this exercise with others? Try doing the exercises in different order. I do fall into the routine thing so I can tell if any progress is being made, but in reality that is often what gets in the way. Think about repeating the same sequence of exercises in a few weeks instead.
 
Your first issue is you're using gloves. Second train grip with deadlifts, farmers walks, static holds or possibly just rack pulls and hold it for as long as possible. Shrugs would also help some, if you're into that sort of thing.

I was thinking about grabbing some of those spring loaded grip things that help you make your hand grip stronger. I haven't used one in over 5 years and since I just started back lifting, little things like this are starting to show up. I was hoping to find something to aid me until my grip has got back to the strength that it used to be. I do use gloves, dang hands have got boney from college work the past two years since I went back to school. Sadly they are about a frail as a teenage girls, so gloves are gonna be a must for at least the first year of getting back into training. Until then I need something with good wrist support and excelent grip. There are excersises like you mentioned that will help, but I need something for now and those will not help right now, but defently things to add in to help in the future.

@ Psi,
Yea no doubt. I focus a lot of form. For something like that to start screwing with my form. I normally try one more time, if it happens again I stop. But I like to finish things I start and having to not finish a set properly leaves me pissed the rest of the day. 🙂 I may try moving my flys to the start of my workout to see if that helps.
 
Your first issue is you're using gloves. Second train grip with deadlifts, farmers walks, static holds or possibly just rack pulls and hold it for as long as possible. Shrugs would also help some, if you're into that sort of thing.

i get better grip when i use gloves. but my gloves also have the straps on them 🙂
 
i get better grip when i use gloves. but my gloves also have the straps on them 🙂
Same here, also my hands are little more bonier and can get slippery if my palms sweat. To me gloves are a safety precaution more then comfort.


BTW, I picked up some Harbinger Pro Thumb Loop Wrist Wraps today and will give them a try to see if that helps on tomorrows workout.
 
The gloves are increasing the diameter of the bar you're gripping which requires more effort to hold onto, this will fatigue your grip faster. You can use some thin garden gloves as a better alternative if sweating is that big of an issue or you don't want to use chalk.
 
The gloves are increasing the diameter of the bar you're gripping which requires more effort to hold onto, this will fatigue your grip faster. You can use some thin garden gloves as a better alternative if sweating is that big of an issue or you don't want to use chalk.
My Harbinger Pro series gloves are not that thick. Just enough pad around the palm to help with heavy weight. Other then that they are very thin cut leather, not that cheap synthetic crap you find from Golds Gym at walmart. Those I would rather go bare handed before I would use.

My dumbbell handles and ez bar is both 1 inch solid steel and chrome plated and the knarl on my older dumbbell handles is still sharper then the knarls on my new ez bar. 🙁
These are not the cheap rubbery crap you get a walmart. If you didnt use gloves you would end up with caluses on your hands worse then most peoples feet. Who the hell would want that, bigfoot hands are not manly, they are fugly..

Between moving my Dumbbell Flys to the start of my workout just after 30min Elipticle and 50 Ab crunches, and using the wrist wraps I got. I didnt have any issues today. Think this will help a lot.
 
I have harbringer gloves myself. I originally bought them because I had dumbbells with some ridiculous knurling on them so I used them until I developed an even callous on my hand. It may not seem like they'd make a big difference but it is more work to grip with the gloves on than not.

If you're in a similar position you can always take a file to the knurling and dull it down a bit. I had to do that on some hex ones I bought since the paint on them bubbled up in areas on the handle bars and created some real jagged spots.

I've lifted without gloves regularly for nearly 10 years and while I do have callouses on my hands they are not really an issue. A little lotion and most people think I have rather soft hands.
 
Between moving my Dumbbell Flys to the start of my workout just after 30min Elipticle and 50 Ab crunches, and using the wrist wraps I got. I didnt have any issues today. Think this will help a lot.

If you're intent on using wrist straps, just make sure you're also doing stuff without it to work your grip/forearms as pantlegz1 suggests. I also have incredibly sweaty hands, so if I'm doing heavy deadlifts or the like, I'll sometimes use wrist straps just for safety purposes. Chalk I find to be rather useless with my sweaty hands, and I'm not a big fan of gloves.
 
I have harbringer gloves myself. I originally bought them because I had dumbbells with some ridiculous knurling on them so I used them until I developed an even callous on my hand. .....................................
Yea after I have beefend up my hands, then more then likely slowly work away. But havent not lifted since I got married about 7 years ago, hehe they are pretty pathetic right now. Skin seems thin and everything. I get some meat back on those on bones and then I will see. But good point.

If you're intent on using wrist straps, just make sure you're also doing stuff without it to work your grip/forearms as pantlegz1 suggests. I also have incredibly sweaty hands, so if I'm doing heavy deadlifts or the like, I'll sometimes use wrist straps just for safety purposes. Chalk I find to be rather useless with my sweaty hands, and I'm not a big fan of gloves.
Only use them for flys, they seem to help. I also do Isolated Wrist Curls twice a week or more to build my Fore Arms up.
 
Oh snap, son, you got fuckarounditis.

Work your grip. Lose the gloves. Calluses can be taken care of easily. I've been doing Crossfit for 4 years, which is well known to tear up people's hands, and I have smooth, strong hands because I take care of them.

Do real work. Dumbbell flys are stupid and a waste of time for 99% of people. Do heavy deadlifts, farmer walks, pull-ups. Get some chalk, or if it isn't allowed at your gym they do make some chalk-free compounds that basically work like antiperspirants for your hands. Gripper are a good idea, get the Captains of Crush from Ironmind. Start out with the trainer, or maybe even the one below that, and work your way up. They're cheap and effective if you do them right.

I don't mean to be a prick, I just want to see people doing effective training and not whinging about their delicate hands/vaginas.
 
Oh snap, son, you got fuckarounditis.

Work your grip. Lose the gloves. Calluses can be taken care of easily. I've been doing Crossfit for 4 years, which is well known to tear up people's hands, and I have smooth, strong hands because I take care of them.

Do real work. Dumbbell flys are stupid and a waste of time for 99% of people. Do heavy deadlifts, farmer walks, pull-ups. Get some chalk, or if it isn't allowed at your gym they do make some chalk-free compounds that basically work like antiperspirants for your hands. Gripper are a good idea, get the Captains of Crush from Ironmind. Start out with the trainer, or maybe even the one below that, and work your way up. They're cheap and effective if you do them right.

I don't mean to be a prick, I just want to see people doing effective training and not whinging about their delicate hands/vaginas.

THIS.
 
Oh snap, son, you got fuckarounditis.

Work your grip. Lose the gloves. Calluses can be taken care of easily. I've been doing Crossfit for 4 years, which is well known to tear up people's hands, and I have smooth, strong hands because I take care of them.

Do real work. Dumbbell flys are stupid and a waste of time for 99% of people. Do heavy deadlifts, farmer walks, pull-ups. Get some chalk, or if it isn't allowed at your gym they do make some chalk-free compounds that basically work like antiperspirants for your hands. Gripper are a good idea, get the Captains of Crush from Ironmind. Start out with the trainer, or maybe even the one below that, and work your way up. They're cheap and effective if you do them right.

I don't mean to be a prick, I just want to see people doing effective training and not whinging about their delicate hands/vaginas.

LOL all good you made me laugh. Yea I am gonna work on those hands.. 🙂
I used to have grips of death,, gonna get me a new pair of Grippers as you call them. Local sports shop has them dirt cheap.
 
Glad you took it in the way it was intended. Also, take the time to compare the ones available at your local sports shop with the Captains of Crush. A lot of the time the cheaper off-brands are not nearly of the same quality as the CoCs, with plastic handles and cheap feeling springs. I always recommend the CoCs because they're the standard against which everything else is measured, so just be aware. Good luck!
 
Glad you took it in the way it was intended. Also, take the time to compare the ones available at your local sports shop with the Captains of Crush. A lot of the time the cheaper off-brands are not nearly of the same quality as the CoCs, with plastic handles and cheap feeling springs. I always recommend the CoCs because they're the standard against which everything else is measured, so just be aware. Good luck!
They prob only have the cheap ones, only thing here is Hibbets and its prob either a china brand or golds gym brand in which the china brand may be better. I used to have a gripper that was awesome. It had a good amount of resistance but it had independent springs per finger and one larger one toward the palm which worked good. Not sure what went with it after I moved back home.. LOL
 
As a previous poster mentioned, fat gripz can help develop your grip strength. I find them a bit expensive though and so made my own homemade thick bar grips.

thick-bar-handle-dumbbell.jpg
 
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