21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

Más eamora2012@gmail.com Escritorio Cerrar sesión

Home Book, DVD, & Equipment Reviews About the Author Recommended Gear Peter's Training

Personal Training

Getting stronger, fitter, and healthier by sticking to the basics. It's not
rocket science, it's doing the simple stuff the right way. Strength-Basics
updates every Monday, plus extra posts during the week.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength

(1st edition)

Mastery of Hand Strength by John Brookfield is a book about one

aspect of strength - hand strength. It's a truism of strength that if
your hands can't grip it, you can't lift it. Obviously that excepts
things like weighted vests and some kinds of squats. But generally
your grip can become a limiting factor on your strength. If you can't
hold the barbell, or get your fingers under the tire, or grip that
rope, you can't lift it/flip it/climb it. John Brookfield's book is aimed
at dealing with your grip.

Because of its narrow focus, the book gives a lot of coverage to

different facets of this one important part of strength. The book has
https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 1/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

sections on building your crushing grip (for example, squeezing a

gripper or holding onto a barbell for a heavy deadlift), pinch grip
(holding things with just your fingers), and finger strength (for both
closing and opening your hand). Because the forearms are so
important to a good strong grip, forearm strength is also covered
extensively.

The book starts with some background on past and present grip
strongmen and their feats. Interspersed through the book are
descriptions of strength feats and advice on how to do them (or
make them harder) - ripping decks of cards or tearing off the corner
of one, scrollwork (bending a bar into letters or shapes), pinch-
gripping plates, bending nails, and so on. The advice on these gives
you more of a sense of how hard they are than how best to do them,
but who really needs to know the "trick" until their hands are strong
enough to attempt it?

Each section of the book - those on crushing grip, pinch grip, block
weights (see below), and thick-handled work - contains a series of
exercises and ways to increase their progressive loading. These
range from the simple (use heavier dumbbells or heavier plates) to
very creative (wrapping extra tape around a handle to make it
thicker, using a bucket of water to increase resistance by fractional
amounts).

John Brookfield suggests a number of tools for the job. These

include block weights - a solid dumbbell "bell" hacksawed off the
handle, used for pinch grip training or tossing hand-to-hand. One
suggestion is to pinch-grip a pair of block weights and clean-and-
press them...adding resistance to momentum to the demands of
holding them. Another is a simple 5-gallon bucket, filled with sand
or water, used for farmer's walks or for lifting with a rope, towel, or
even a pair of pliers. One fun suggestion is towel-wringing - dipping
a towel into water and then trying to wring it dry, over and over, for
endurance. Thick-handled tools like axes and sledgehammers - for
levering or swinging - are also covered. One fun idea is finger-
walking - holding an inverted axe or sledgehammer by your steepled
fingertips, and then walking the fingers down, raising the tool. Try it
with a book or unweighted wooden rod and you can see how much
finger strength this would require.

The books shows its age a little - he mentions kettlebells, and how
to improvise them since they are so scarce. Since the Russian
kettlebell craze started over 10 years ago, they've become easy to
find online. But his advice on how to train with kettlebells is still
useful, and the improvised version is handy for a do-it-yourself type
with more elbow grease than cash.

https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 2/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

The book also covers goals and training programs to reach them. The
advice is very specific, with lots of examples. A cross-reference
table will help you match goals with exercises, and sports and
activities with the strength needed most for them. It's not short -
covering 8 pages in a 104 page book - and it's a great way to
assemble a hand strength program.

Two appendixes cover making your own thick-handled dumbbells and

your own kettlebells. Throughout the book, suggestions on how to
improvise equipment or convert existing weight training gear,
lumber, and bags of shot into grip gear abound.

Rating:
Substance: 5 out of 5. If you want a stronger grip, this book will tell
you how to train for it, thoroughly and creatively.
Presentation: 5 out of 5. Like all Ironmind books, it's printed well,
solidly edited, and the pictures are clear and relevant.

A revised edition - entitled Mastery of Hand Strength, Revised

Edition - has just been released. This review is of the older, earlier
volume.

Bottom line: Worth reading, and I'm eager to check out the revised
edition. The older book is still excellent, and you could get pretty
far into grip strength just working with its advice.
Posted by Peter D at 12:01 AM

Labels: book reviews, grip

No comments:

Post a Comment

Enter your comment...

Comment as:
eamora2012@gmail.com (Google)

Sign out

Newer Post Home Older Post

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 3/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

About the Author

My name is Peter V. Dell'Orto.

I am a professional personal
trainer.
I am a Certified Personal Trainer
from the NSCA.

I am also a Precision Nutrition

Level 1 Certified nutrition
coach.

I am also an athlete myself - I

formerly fought amateur MMA
and submission wrestling, and I
train twice a week in MMA.

I also train under a strength

coach - Mike Guadango at Freak
Strength. I am skilled at training
others, but I thrive best when I
have a knowledgeable coach to
direct my own training.

About Strength
Basics
This blog is a collection of
various advice and information
about basic strength training.
I'm interested in strength and
conditioning. The "frequently
asked questions" in this area are
VERY frequently asked.

This is my attempt to pull

together the stuff I keep saying
over and over. It's also a place
for to put links related to
strength and conditioning, and
to muse on strength training in
general. Further, writing this
blog tests what I know. You
never really know something
until you can demonstrate an
ability to explain it to someone
else. As I write, I learn what I
know and I don't know. In the
process, I hope to pass on
knowledge to you.

I hope this material is useful to

you. Please consider it a
springboard to future study.
Although I endeavor to be
complete and accurate, this is
not meant to be the final
answer to any subject addressed
within the blog. Strength Basics
may teach you something, but
https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 4/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

more than that I hope it makes

you curious to learn more!

Always remember to check

with your doctor before you
begin any kind of strength or
exercise program. I'm a
professional personal trainer,
but I'm not your personal
trainer. Use this information at
your own risk and with the
understanding that not all
exercise advice is appropriate
for all trainees.

Essential Posts
The Best Routine

Martial Arts Training Links

Basics: Rep Range

What I Include in Every Workout

Training Terminology (series)

This Week's Popular

Posts

5/3/1 observations
I've been using Jim
Wendler's 5/3/1 template
for one of my three lifting
days a week. I've also
been training another
MMA practi...

Book
Review:
Maximum
Strength
by Eric
Cressey and Matt
Fitzgerald. Maximum
Strength is a book aimed
at weight trainees who've
been stuck in the
bodybuilding 3 s...

Book
Review:
Beyond
Brawn
Beyond
Brawn Stuart McRobert
512 pages, revised edition
published 2003. Beyond
Brawn is book about
bodybuilding, especially
bodybuild...
https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 5/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

Indicator Lifts
In Joe DeFranco's article "
Westside for Skinny
Bastards III " he discusses
the idea of indicator lifts
. These are lifts that...

Article Review:
DeFranco's Training Rules
for Washed-up Meatheads
T-Muscle just put out a
new article by Nate
Green, called DeFranco's
Training Rules for
Washed-up Meatheads .
No surprise, it's a se...

Blog Archive
► 2018 (5)
► 2017 (32)
► 2016 (53)
► 2015 (62)
► 2014 (44)
► 2013 (41)
► 2012 (52)
► 2011 (212)
► 2010 (253)
▼ 2009 (274)
► December (17)
► November (21)
► October (22)
► September (12)
► August (20)
► July (23)
► June (22)
► May (21)
► April (26)
► March (31)
▼ February (28)
140# with a six-pack
Hard Work, Part II
Hard Work, Part I
Book Review: Power to the
People
Book Review: The New
Rules of Lifting
Dan John and Potato Sack
Squats
Why cables aren't
machines
Write it down
Book Review: The Abs Diet
Get Fit Stay Fit Plan

https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 6/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

Strength Coach Podcast

Making your own sports
drink
Pullup Variations - What
you hang from
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
Training Terms: Complexes
and Circuits
Pullup Variations
Book Review: Tiki Barber's
Pure Hard Workout
Bulgarian Split-Squats
Book Review: Mastery of
Hand Strength (1st
edition...
Free Kettlebell resource
What are your goals?
Product Review:
Magnificent Mobility
Book Review: Sly Moves
Rice Digs
Book Review: The U.S.
Navy SEAL Guide to
Fitness a...
Simple tips from "The
Biggest Loser."
Historical Note: My first
workout
Some basic definitions:
Strength Sports
Deadlift Analysis
► January (31)
► 2008 (4)

Blog Roll
MobilityWOD
S5EP2: Mark Sisson
6 hours ago
ピロクBLOG ( 新潟市江南
区 格闘技
の ジムーピロクテ
テス新潟）
(水)キックボクシング一般ク
ラス
1 day ago
Eric Cressey | High
Performance Training,
Personal Training
CSP Elite Baseball
Development Podcast:
Understanding the Throwing
Elbow with Dr. Chris Ahmad
1 day ago
Precision Nutrition » Blog
6 ‘hand portion’ body
transformations you have to
see to believe

https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 7/8
21/11/2019 Strength Basics: Book Review: Mastery of Hand Strength (1st edition)

1 day ago
Breaking Muscle
You Need More Than a
Training Template
1 day ago
Zach Even-Esh
STRONG Life Insider: Ep. 38
| How to Take Ownership &
Destroy The “Good Enough”
Standard
2 days ago
�Ԥ��ƤƤ���Ʈ����
���ǥߡ��ʥԥ��ƥƥ�
����‫�������ز‬
(月)ブラジリアン柔術クラス
2 days ago
RossTraining.com Blog
Low-Tech Hamstring Training
5 days ago
Bret Contreras
2019 Podcasts
1 week ago
Blog - Official Website of
Joe DeFranco &
DeFranco’s Gym!
How To Become Powerful AF,
The Effects Alcohol Has On
Your Performance & More!
1 week ago

Show All

https://strength-basics.blogspot.com/2009/02/book-review-mastery-of-hand-strength.html 8/8