In the gym, basic compound exercises are often best and should make up the majority of a training programme.

However, for your accessory exercises, there’s almost unlimited exercises and equipment for you to choose from. One underutilised bit of gym kit is the thick grip dumbbell.

What Are Thick Grip Dumbbells?

Thick Grip Dumbbell Bars are dumbbells with a thicker than average 50mm diameter grip. The average dumbbell bars grip diameters are around 25mm.

Because of their smaller size, dumbbell bars should only be used with plates that are 5kg or smaller. Multiple plates can be added to each bar, and fractional plates are especially suited, due to their smaller diameter.

What Are the Benefits of Training with Thick Grip Dumbbells?

A popular benefit and use of thick grip dumbbells is to improve grip strength. The thicker 50mm diameter grip requires more work at the forearm during traditional dumbbell exercises, giving you more bang for your buck if you want to train your grip strength and perform your normal accessories.

Grip strength is essential in strength sports like Strongman and Powerlifting, in events like Farmers Carries and Deadlifts, but it is also a very common measure of physical function as we age. So, improving grip strength may be beneficial for strength sport athletes and the general population alike.

3 Great Thick Grip Dumbbell Exercises

1 - Seated Thick Grip Bicep Curl

• Sit on an incline bench, with the back rest set to roughly a 60-degree incline.

• Let your arms hang long, with the dumbbells in your hand, so that they sit behind your torso.

• Lift the dumbbells up to your shoulders, flexing around the elbows, keeping the shoulders back and down.

2 - Thick Grip Farmer Carries

• Stand tall with your shoulders back and down and a dumbbell in each hand.

• Start your walk with small steps, slowly increasing your stride length so you control the load.

• When your grip starts to fail, come to a controlled stop, and put the weights down.

3 - Thick Grip Lateral Raises

• Stand tall with dumbbells by your side and your shoulders back and down.

• Bend your elbows slightly and then raise the dumbbells out to your side until your elbows are in line with your shoulders.

• Pause at the top and then slowly lower back down.

Thick grip exercises can also be performed with specialised cable attachments, axel bars or thick grip barbells. If you are looking to increase your grip strength, add a combination of thick grip exercises into your next training block to get more bang for your buck with your accessories and watch your forearm strength blow up!

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Tags: Equipment > Dumbbells ; Exercise Type > Strength