Pinch grip training is an incredibly effective way to build up your finger and hand strength.
This is often done using specialized equipment such as The Blob but it can be easily done with normal equipment as well.
For this, you'll need an EZ curl bar and some regular plates (I've got a pair of 45's on each side here, so about 200 lbs total).
Put the plates on the bar with the smooth side facing inwards (where your thumbs will be) and the "lip" side facing out. This makes it a bit of a hybrid pinch grip and not a true pinch grip (as in a Reeves Deadlift), but you CAN do these with the smooth sides facing both in and out to make it quite a lot harder (and make it a true pinch grip challenge), but it will limit the amount of weight you can use.
I like this setup the best for a mix of pinch grip strength, finger strength and overall loading.
Since you're not using a long Olympic Bar, it hits a bit different than a Reeves Deadlift. With a Reeves Deadlift, I find with the arms out wider, it creates more inwards tension through the upper back, which actually helps you keep your grip. Because you're using a shorter bar, you don't develop that same tension and it focuses more on grip.
While not necessary, I do recommend doing this one on some pads or rubber flooring so that if you lose your grip, you don't wreck the floor. You can potentially use bumper plates for this as well.
Bend down and grip the plates - this won't be anywhere near your normal deadlifts weights...it's a grip exercise.
Now stand up.
Set the bar back down, reset your grip and repeat for as many reps as you can.
Don't go to failure on this one, if you can help it. Better to not drop the bar.
You can also do this one with lighter plates. In this next set, I'm using a pair of 25's and doing continuous tension loading where I don't set the bar down on each rep. With the lighter plates, this is where you could potentially have the smooth sides out for true pinch grip training.
Repeat the deadlift until you get close to failure.
Overall, this is a great way to work pinch grip strength with widely available equipment. The bar stabilizes the plates for you, allowing you to push your hand and finger strength hard.
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