# Grip. The way your hand grips the bar.



## Wings (May 1, 2011)

Just brought a Mens Health magazine and it had a book on Arms. In it was quite a useful bit of info about Arms, gripping the bar, exercises, pump etc. It had a few pics of "gripping the bar techniques" standard, thumb offset, little finger offset, reverse and hammer. Basically said each and every one targets a certain area in the bi-cep. I my self always have the "standard" grip but I will be changing some to "hammer" as it is meant to make the arms thicker. Does any one alter the grip and seen any benifits?


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

i use hammer more if/when i do bicep curls doing them slowly to help strengthen the tendon`s , although sometimes mens health and the like have good articles they still strike me as complete bollox i seen one saying `get wash board abs like this in 6 weeks` .... utter garbage .


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## w3lly (Dec 15, 2008)

hammer and standard for me :whistling:


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

uhan said:


> i use hammer more if/when i do bicep curls doing them slowly to help strengthen the tendon`s , although sometimes mens health and the like have good articles they still strike me as complete bollox i seen one saying `get wash board abs like this in 6 weeks` .... utter garbage .


Yh i know some times they do talk poop. But im just trying to see ways that I can thicken the bi cep. So when I stand in a mirror I wanna see them wider.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Wings said:


> Yh i know some times they do talk poop. But im just trying to see ways that I can thicken the bi cep. So when I stand in a mirror I wanna see them wider.


LOL

train your delts then .

you can use a 2 inch dumbbell too .


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

uhan said:


> LOL
> 
> train your delts then .
> 
> you can use a 2 inch dumbbell too .


2" dumbbell? Yh I do train delts lol. But cant u thicken the bicep rather than making it deeper? Or am I talking poop? ha


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

2 inch grip .

TBH ive got small arms and im not bothered about arm size but rather arm strength , i do think the thicker the shoulder is and bigger the tricep is helps with bicep width .

hitting bi`s heavy with less volume would seem to make biceps wider though .


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

uhan said:


> 2 inch grip .
> 
> TBH ive got small arms and im not bothered about arm size but rather arm strength , i do think the thicker the shoulder is and bigger the tricep is helps with bicep width .
> 
> hitting bi`s heavy with less volume would seem to make biceps wider though .


See I dont care about strength. I just want looks tbh. Do u mean a Olympic bar?


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Wings said:


> See I dont care about strength. I just want looks tbh. Do u mean a Olympic bar?


no i mean a 2 inch thick bar m8 like an axle .

http://www.gymcompany.co.uk/strength/gymcompany-thick-olympic-straight-bar.html


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

uhan said:


> no i mean a 2 inch thick bar m8 like an axle .
> 
> http://www.gymcompany.co.uk/strength/gymcompany-thick-olympic-straight-bar.html


Rigghhtttt. Yh well Im ordering some Fat Grips which make it thicker. They attach onto a standard bar. Some one said to me if I grip the bar wider and narrower on a straight bar it hits a different area of the bi's???


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Wings said:


> Rigghhtttt. Yh well Im ordering some Fat Grips which make it thicker. They attach onto a standard bar. Some one said to me if I grip the bar wider and narrower on a straight bar it hits a different area of the bi's???


yeah it may well do


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## Hartman (May 11, 2011)

Hammer curls seem to hit the brachialis a little more then the bicep.... It can also add width to your arm due to the brachialis being under and also slightly to the side of the bicep.

Reverse grip curls also hit this muscle along with the brachioradialis so doing both will contribute to arm thickness.

I usually find I can hammer curl quite a bit more weight then I can with a regular grip as well.....


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## GreedyBen (Mar 8, 2011)

I'v been doing reverse and hammer curls and my bi's have thickened slightly.

I tried some 'fat grips' the other day and they just seemed to hit my forearms a bit more?


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

hskee said:


> Hammer curls seem to hit the brachialis a little more then the bicep.... It can also add width to your arm due to the brachialis being under and also slightly to the side of the bicep.
> 
> Reverse grip curls also hit this muscle along with the brachioradialis so doing both will contribute to arm thickness.
> 
> I usually find I can hammer curl quite a bit more weight then I can with a regular grip as well.....


Good post, I looked at this exact pic too. But am I right in saying that reverse grip will do the forearms?


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## Hartman (May 11, 2011)

GreedyBen said:


> I'v been doing reverse and hammer curls and my bi's have thickened slightly.
> 
> I tried some 'fat grips' the other day and they just seemed to hit my forearms a bit more?


A thicker bar will do.... you have to work harder to grip it

Wings... It will do the forearms as well as the brachialis


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

hskee said:


> A thicker bar will do.... you have to work harder to grip it


Yh thats why Im ordering these FatGripz.... Google em


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## Hartman (May 11, 2011)

They look good mate! Defo better then trying to wrap a towel around the bar!


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## GShock (May 1, 2011)

I always twist from hammer grip around to palms up when doing db curls and wide and then narrow when doing straight bar curls. One of our preacher machines allows you to rotate as you lift so I hog it 

imho hit all the angles and you cant go wrong


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## paddyrr3 (Oct 15, 2010)

\ said:


> i use hammer more if/when i do bicep curls doing them slowly to help strengthen the tendon`s , although sometimes mens health and the like have good articles they still strike me as complete bollox i seen one saying `get wash board abs like this in 6 weeks` .... utter garbage .


Or get massive guns in 2 weeks with body weight exercises. Thing is a lot of people fall for this and will be very disappointed with the lack of results.


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

hskee said:


> Hammer curls seem to hit the brachialis a little more then the bicep.... It can also add width to your arm due to the brachialis being under and also slightly to the side of the bicep.
> 
> Reverse grip curls also hit this muscle along with the brachioradialis so doing both will contribute to arm thickness.
> 
> I usually find I can hammer curl quite a bit more weight then I can with a regular grip as well.....


Many people don't realise that the main muscle that curls the lower arm upwards is *not* the biceps but the brachialis - the biceps is the secondary supporting muscle.

Regular curls with a supinated grip partially inactivate the brachialis and pull the biceps in but is not the most optimal exercise/movement from a biomechanical point of view for either muscle - curls where you supinate the forearms (move them from a hammer position to a supinated position) as you bring the arms up are the best way to hit the biceps, and hammer curls where you pull the arm somewhat in front of the body as it's raised is the best way to work the brachialis.

You should be stronger in hammer curls than regular curls exactly because the biceps are largely removed from the motion and the brachialis can work in optimum position.


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## Wings (May 1, 2011)

Cheers people. Some good advice there


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