Quote:
Originally Posted by TALO
Thanks , Kane.
What is your opion on training the individual finger for grip strengh. I just picked up a nine pound finger gripper from ATP - it is very easy to do , but my pinky is def my weakest finger. I've been trying to train the indiviual finger lately with the feeling that my grip is only as good as my weakest finger.
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Individual finger strength is more important for hand and finger control and strength. It probably won't increase your grip strength a whole lot, as the larger muscles of the forearm are the major gripping muscles but it will definitely improve overall hand health and strength.
From what I've read hand strength (not grip, just hand) needs individual finger training and that is very good for athletes that throw balls or use racquets, bats, anything handheld really. But it is also very good for everyday things we do with our hands. We rarely use our grip strength to its fullest outside of the gym but we use our fingers and hands a lot.
I've actually been looking into those recently (or I may buy a No. #3 CoC), not so much for increasing grip strength but just for overall hand function and health.
Personally I prefer training my grip with either my whole hand or half of my hand (bottom 2 fingers + thumb or top 2 fingers + thumb). And I like using low volume and very heavy grippers, we're talking singles and doubles for working sets (plus holds and negatives and a bunch of other fun stuff).
BUT If your pinky is overly weak then it may cause a weakness in your grip because those muscles are underdeveloped. BTW, IronMind (the captains of crush guys) say that you shouldn't work the pinky on its own, it should be paired with the ring finger. I'm not entirely sure what the reasoning is. I think it has something to do with the relationship between those two fingers (the pinky is pretty much the only finger you can't move by itself, you can't curl the pinky without bending the ring finger) but I would have to do more research to know for sure, or at least get a better idea.
Those things can be great for pinching grip too! There aren't a lot of pinching exercises that aren't make or break (plates falling or grip slipping).
I can't say for sure if working each finger individually will really bring up your grip strength but I CAN say for sure that it won't hurt you.
My Strength Blog!!
). There's also some stuff in there about general strength training. I've got an article on that site, that I co-wrote with Eric, about single rep training as well. 
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