Are your Grips Weak or do you struggle with PAIN IN YOUR arms AFTER TRAINING: I used to as well, let me tell you how I fixed the problem
I think every grappler has experienced that deep burn in their forearms and hands.
The kind of thing where it’s like all of the blood in your body is somehow stuck in your arms and you can’t use them.
I also think every grappler has been in a situation where they almost had the match winning choke or roll ending submission but they lacked the physical strength or endurance to finish it.
Their grips give out.
So like any good grappler should, you train your grips, and then later on your run into hands that ache in pain from gripping too much.
If any of this sounds familiar to you then follow me in this letter.
As a 3rd degree Black Belt in BJJ who still competes, a competitive grappler for over 20 years and a guy in the weight room who likes to pick up heavy stuff.
I’ve went from weak grips to vice grips for hands to arms and fingers that ached in pain after training.
I've spent years testing out different exercises, stretches and methods to find the sweet spot when it comes to grip training.
And in this letter I’m going to share the good, bad and ugly when it comes to grips.
(Chewy winning No Gi Pans in the Ultra Heavy division while only weighing in at 207lbs)
The compliment every one of my opponents gives me
Since I was a young 18 year old whippersnapper the most common compliment I’ve received from my opponents in competition and my training partners is,
Your damn grips are so damn strong!
And after obsessing over them for years I’d hope so!
When I was 15 years old I started wrestling in high school and after my 1st few matches the part of my body that always seemed to get fatigued and give up before the rest was my grips!
Around this same time I was getting big into weightlifting and realized I couldn't even deadlift 315lbs without straps. I had the leg and back strength, but my grips just couldn't hang on.
I would know what to do but physically couldn't.
I don't know about you, but that's a feeling I don't enjoy! So while my buddies were doing curls for the girls in weightlifting class I started to train my grip.
As I got into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the need for stronger grips only increased since there were long periods of static holding involved.
So for over a decade I started incorporating exercises like. . .
- Heavy pulls
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Forearm rolls
- Farmers walks
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Exercises with towels or old gis
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Hanging from pull bars for time
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Grip fighting training in the gym
And this worked out great!
At the time of writing this I’ve deadlifted as much as 505lbs without straps, my grips remains strong throughout the whole competition and I can tell you that my gorilla-like grips have saved my arse more than once on the mats.
Like this one Black Belt match from 2012. . .
My opponent had a bearhug around my leg and strained to extend my leg to finish the kneebar.
The match started off with my opponent sweeping me. Then I swept him and then he swept me again. I was down 2 points and there was 2 minutes left on the clock.
The ref stopped the match because my pants were falling down.
This was a recurring problem with these particular pants since the drawstring seemed to come undone anytime I did something.
But it was a good thing this time. As I was tying up my pants I caught my breath, saw the time and focused on just not stopping for the next 2 minutes.
When the match resumed I quickly swept my opponent and recovered the 2 points to even the score.
Then my opponent (a good leg locker) rolled under me for a kneebar and I was unable to defend it with my other leg which would have been good technique.
Instead the only keeping me from going home with a silver medal was my hand which had a death grip on his lapel.
His face turned red as he tried to extend his hips forward.
After about 10 seconds he let go and I was able to take the back and get a collar choke with the same hand I had been holding off his kneebar with!
Technique is always KING. But a physical conditioning goes a long way.
In this match I was "out-techniqued" but the grip strength and endurance I had built up over the years won.
And this is just 1 of many times my grips have secured the win for me in a match or a roll.
There is a downside to having vice grips for hands
A few years after this match I started noticing a few not so side effects of my grip training focus. . .
- My fingers started curling up into a ball all the time (even if I wasn’t training) and just ache.
- I had sharp medial elbow pain (the inner side of your elbow) every time I grabbed something.
- I couldn't train as long otherwise my hands would ache all night long.
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My knuckles always felt tight and swollen.
At the time I thought it was just old age. I mean I was almost 30 years old and everyone says everything starts to hurt at 30.
So I just accepted the situation as permanent.
Until. . .
Do you know how much that hurts my burly bearded soul? 6 foot tall ,215lbs of hardened muscle and sinew, multiple no gi pans champion, pro mma fighter. . . handing over a jar of pickles for my 4’11 girlfriend to open.
I mean I’m all for equality of the sexes but when it comes to opening the pickle jars, that’s my job dammit!
This is when I changed my grip training for the better
I simply couldn't accept that I could choke another man out in combat sports but couldn't open up a damn jar of pickle vegetables.
So I started going deep down the rabbit hole of exercising and figuring out what my problems were.
And here's where I found out what my problems were.
I had spent so much time training the muscles I needed for BJJ and weight training that I ignored all the other muscles in my hands and forearms.
I did forearm rolls, heavy pulls and carries along with an assortment of other BJJ specific grip strength exercises.
All of this gave me the grips that won matches.
But it also created a situation where my arms and hands were 1 giant muscle imbalance.
It would be like a guy who trained arms everyday but never worked his legs. It's not a great way to train and will lead to dysfunction and injuries down the road.
And that's exactly what was happening to me around this time.
So, I started working on the other muscles in the forearms and hands that you don’t use as much during BJJ and weight training.
Along with this I added in specific stretches targeted to loosen up problem areas.
This created balance in my arms which was what was missing.
The pain that I thought was permanent, wasn't. It was just signal from my body telling me that we needed to do something else. So I listened.
And now. . . You know who opens the pickle jars in the house? Your bearded internet BJJ coach (that's me).
Here's the best part to his new found balance in my gripping muscles. . .
By evening out the muscles in my arms I was able to train more often.
We all know recovery is important but it's hard for your body to recover if you're racked with muscular imbalances.
By putting things into their rightful place your body is able to bounce back faster which allows you to train more.
More training means better BJJ and the ability to get stronger.
And over the years as a teacher to hundreds inside my gym as well as hundreds of thousands online I noticed something based on the questions I received. . .
Almost every grappler has the same problem I did. . .
They either have a weak grip and want to make it stronger
or they have a strong grip but their hands ache with pain.
It's like goldy locks and the 3 bears. 1 porridge is too hot, the other too cold and 1 that is just right.
You want to take the same approach with training your body.
Too much training leads to breakdown.
Not enough training leads to inability to perform when you need it.
It's about finding that middle ground.
So with that in mind I created a grip training program highlighting my favorite exercises I've personally used over the years to both strengthen my grip and fix my imbalances.
Here's how the program works. . .
1. Corrective Exercises
Before we worry about trying to make your grips stronger we need to bring back the balance in your hands and arms. Inside the program are specific exercises to target those muscles that normally don't get much attention during training on the mats or weight room.
2. Specific Stretches for BJJ problem areas
As we strengthen those weak muscles we also need to loosen up those overly tight muscles.
In my Unbreakable program we'll focus on how to loosen these tighter muscles to bring relief to those overworked muscles.
3. grip training exercises for strength
Once we have things balanced out it's time to pack on the strength by using exercises designed to build that scary death grip that your opponent can't get away from.
4. GRIP TRAINING EXERCISES FOR STRENGTH for endurance
I experienced these changes myself!
And I’ve compiled a plan of the best methods I've used over the years into a short and sweet program I call Unbreakable which is currently available as a digital product.
ONLY $27
$19.97
INSIDE Unbreakable YOU WILL FIND...
- A short and sweet program that will eradicate muscular imbalances caused by BJJ and traditional weight lifting. (Most people overcomplicate grip training when it doesn't have to be)
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Details on why muscular imbalances happen and how to fix them. (This will arm you with the knowledge needed to correct the problems rather than just following me blindly)
- Weird exercises that will make your chokes stronger. (A lot of people ignore the small muscles we use for BJJ so I've included specific exercises to target them)
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How to fix the issues in your arms by literally doing the opposite of what your normally do. (Most people train their forearms and grips with one style of movement and ignored the others)
- Easy to follow videos that will explain the exercises to you. (I'll walk you through how all of this works)
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A powerful banded exercises you can do from your car to correct imbalances. (I use this one after almost every hard BJJ session)
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Why you don't have to train your grips everyday! (Between BJJ and proper weight training your grips are being built already, we just need to add a little extra on)
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Massively strong grips that are less prone to injuries. (Less injuries, means more training)
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A plan to implement these into your regular strength training. (This course is an add-on to the training you're already doing in the gym)
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Easy to understand exercises that can be mixed and matched and added to the end of any workout.
If all that sounds good to you just click the big yellow button below to get started on building your gorilla grips.
Here's a question that might come up. . .
Is your grips well-being worth the price of this program?
This is totally on you of course.
For me I've paid far more than this price dealing with physical therapists and weight training experts as well as spending hours of researching and testing new exercises.
Oh and don't forget the time miss in the gym and weight room due to aching elbows and grips.
I'd pay $19.97 for that all day.
But if your answer is no,
That’s totally fine with me. You can continue to have grips that fail when you need them the most and wake up in the middle of the night with hands that are wracked with pain.
Just understand that more information will be added and the price of $19.97 will go up later.
So if the health and ability to have strong pain-free grips is important to you then click the big button below to begin building grips that would make a hairy ape envious.
Only $27
$19.97
btw I’m taking all the risk out of this deal
When you buy the UNBREAKABLE program today, you also receive my iron-clad, no questions asked, money back guarantee.
So if for some reason you’re the 1 in million who DOESN’T get results from the program. Just hit up the wonderful young lady at support@Chewjitsu.net and we’ll get you taken care of.
