Tip Test Your Grip Strength Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Test Your Grip Strength If you can' t pass this test then your grip is not only weak sauce your elbows will start to give you problems too by Dr John Rusin June 16, 2016October 28, 2021 Tags Tips, Training Besides the obvious problems with having the grip strength of a dead fish, a weak grip can cause elbow pain. If you can't carry a load equal to your bodyweight in each hand for 15 meters (a bit over 16 yards), your grip sucks. Grip and Elbow Pain A lack of functional grip strength not only limits your big-boy gym stats, but it can cause some horrific trauma to the deep finger and wrist flexors that adds up over time. You must improve your grip strength to prevent or eradicate elbow pain for the long run. If you think your grip is more than adequate, you're probably mistaken. The Test: See if you can carry a load equal to your bodyweight in each hand for 15-20 meters. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be able to carry 400 total pounds for that distance. Farmers Walk Yes, that's pretty damn heavy! At the very least, a functional carry should consist of 75% of your bodyweight in each hand. If you aren't here, it's time to just get better at the basics. How to Get Stronger To enhance elbow health while increasing maximal grip force output, increase the load on your carries in a linearly periodized progression. Keep the distance relatively short (10-15 meters) and treat your loads no differently than any other strength movement in your arsenal. Program carries at least twice a week, making sure adequate rest periods are taken between sets. The goal is to increase your anaerobic capacity, not to walk around with 50 pounds in each hand for a half hour like you're a UPS deliveryman. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training 6 Mistakes Fitting Round Pegs into Square Holes It's not always a good idea to do deep squats, overhead presses, or dips, and why is it that fat-bastard bicyclists wear Spandex shorts anyhow? The answers to these mysteries and more in today's article. Training Eric Cressey July 17 Training Tip The Ultimate Push-Up Finisher Add this Tabata-style workout to the end of chest day on Monday. Don't plan on moving around a lot on Tuesday. Chest, Metcon, Push-Up, Tips, Training Kurt Weber July 2 Videos Tip The Hack Squat Drop Set Building legs isn't just about going heavy, but also increasing the time under tension. Drop sets allow you to go heavy for longer sets. Here's how it's done. Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Legs, Tips John Meadows May 3 Training The Rep Zone Method Using your 1RM to determine your loading? You may be missing out. The rep zone method may be better for some lifters. Check it out. Bodybuilding Domenic Angelino September 7