NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Have you ever heard the saying, "You are only as strong as your weakest link?" This can apply to many facets of your fitness and wellness, but today we are going to look at Grip Strength as it pertains to overall upper-body strength and beyond.

Is Weak Grip Strength Holding You Back?

Thinking about some of the all-time classic upper-body exercises, such as bench press, pull-ups, and even bicep curls, we do not always associate grip strength as a reason we may have limitations or are unable to see quicker progress. Think about this: If your chest is strong enough to bench press 100lb dumbbells, but your grip strength is only strong enough to hold 50lb dumbbells, you probably are not going to be able to challenge your chest appropriately. You are only as strong as your weakest link.

How can you overcome this deficiency? One way is to start implementing grip strength training into your routine. Whether your goal is to open a jar of pickles or to tear a phonebook in half, improved grip strength has its benefits for nearly everyone.

Grip Strength Exercises

Try these creative exercises to spice up your routine and get the most out of your workout.

Exercise 1: Barbell Open/Close Hand

Holding a barbell (size can vary depending on your experience level), stand with good posture. Slowly open your hand, allowing the bar to roll toward your fingertips. As soon as the bar is at its farthest point, slowly close your hand, returning the bar to the starting position.

Exercise 2: Machine Wrist Rolls

Using a cable machine, first attach a straight bar attachment. Stand with knees bent and body in an athletic position, keeping the back flat. Using lighter weight, allow the attachment to spin in your hands while under control. Make sure you go both directions!

Exercise 3: Towel Kettlebell Farmer’s Carry

Using two Kettlebells (one if you are doing a Suitcase carry) and two towels, begin by wrapping the towel through the handle of the kettlebell, creating a "handle" with the remaining towel. Grip the towel and carry the kettlebell with the towel. Maintain good posture, chest up and eyes straight ahead. Walk forward, turn, and walk back to the starting point.

Exercise 4: Bosu and Bodybar Wrist Roll

Begin by standing on a Bosu ball (or any unstable surface). Hold a bodybar at shoulder height and as far from your body as possible. Turn the bar in your hands; it should spin (not unlike accelerating a motorcycle). Make sure you do both directions.

See a NIFS Fitness Specialist to discuss how to improve your grip strength today! Enjoy.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood, NIFS Health Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Imagine a tightrope walker, gracefully walking their path across their suspended highwire. An incredible amount of balance is required, along with stability and strength, to ensure that the performer maintains their position on the rope. Now think about balance as it applies to you and your profession or daily life. You might not even think about it, but you use balance every day. Things that you take for granted, such as walking down stairs, putting on a pair of pants, and getting out of your car require some level of balance, or else we would most likely take a tumble. Thankfully, there are exercises and routines designed to improve and train balance that transfer nicely to daily life.

As with any limitation or injuries, be careful and mindful of the doctor’s recommendations. Loss of balance could be a sign that you need to be checked out by your physician. That being said, we know that exercise can be great, but we would regard and yield to the utmost safety when approaching anyone who may be at risk or falling due to balance issues.

If you have come to the conclusion that your balance needs help, there is good news for you! Like most facets of life, balance can be improved. The answer to a question as simple as, “If you want to run a 5K in 20 minutes, what would you do?” is RUN! So, if you want to get better balance, what should you do? Practice balancing. You do not have to walk a tightrope on day one, but there are many exercises and fitness tools designed to help your balance improve.

Balance Exercises

Try the following exercises and activities, and see how you do with balance, then incorporate them into your routine. Assess your balance from time to time to see how you have improved.

• Stand on an unstable surface. Using an AirEx Pad, time yourself standing on one foot. Other exercises can be done while standing on the pad such as lunges, squats, and dumbbell overhead press, utilizing the unstable surface to challenge your balancing ability. Other unstable surfaces you may use as you advance include the BOSU ball, half foam roller, and sand.
• Try unilateral exercises. Improving your leg strength through unilateral exercise is another great way to improve your balance. Some examples of these exercises include lunges, split squats, and my personal favorite, the single-leg sit and stand on a box. For this exercise, you will want to find a box that is the appropriate height (around chair height). Start from a seated position, then come to a complete stand using only one leg. Try to sit back down onto the box under complete control. This can be progressed with weights and movement patterns such as the overhead press.
• Join a group fitness class. Another way to improve balance is through group fitness classes. NIFS offers several classes that emphasize balance, such as BOSU conditioning and some that help you develop balance such as yoga and BODYCOMBAT. As stated above, the more you practice your balance, the better chance you have to improve it. In BOSU conditioning, we can progress and regress any exercise to fit your needs. The exercise doesn’t have to be impossible, but it should be challenging.

Improve Your Quality of Life

With the improvement of balance comes an overall improvement in your quality of life. Being able to trust your steps as you walk is important, as is being able to do things in life you love to do. Getting better is just a process and takes time. You must take that step forward; otherwise, you might be on shaky ground. For tips and exercises to promote balance, contact a Fitness Specialist at NIFS or join one of our many group fitness classes.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood, NIFS Health Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. To read more about the other NIFS bloggers, click here.

When I first came to NIFS more than a decade ago (I know, right?), I brought BOSU Conditioning with me, and the NIFS community welcomed it with open arms (and legs, and core…you get the idea). I was fresh out of a training opportunity with the inventor of the BOSU, David Weck, while working at another gym. I took to the BOSU very quickly and loved the many training dimensions it provided and wanted to share it with as many folks as I could.

In its debut here at NIFS, BOSU was a hit and saw eight great years on the class schedule with many great instructors and class designs. But it needed a break. Finally that break is over, and BOSU has returned to the class schedule and is getting a lot of hype again!

What Makes BOSU So Awesome?

Here are few things you need to know about this powerful, multi-use fitness tool:

• BOSU stands for BOth Sides Utilized. This refers to the ball itself. You can use the dome side as well as the platform (flat side) for so many different movements. Both sides utilized also pertains to using both sides of the body in harmony.
• You can train all aspects of fitness utilizing the BOSU, including mobility, stability, core strength, power, strength, and cardio.
• Movement options are endless and can be adapted to the fitness level of the user.
• Movements can become three-dimensional, which is how we move in the real world.
• Provides an unstable surface, forcing the user to use important stabilizer muscles of the entire body.

Here are some videos that show some of those movements:

Five Reasons to Try BOSU

Now that we all agree that the BOSU is pretty awesome, here are some reasons to stop waiting and just take a class already. You won’t regret it!

• Be different: There is no other tool like the BOSU, so a class session designed around this one-of-a-kind piece of equipment will be very different from any class you might have experienced. We use different body positions and equipment differently than most training disciplines, making each class different than the last.
• Options for movement: There are countless options for different movement patterns that can be adjusted to suit any fitness level. No matter whether it is your first time on the ball or your 50th, the BOSU finds a way to challenge you.
• Specific adaptations: As mentioned before, the BOSU is an unstable surface that will increase the usage of small stabilizing muscles that are found all over the body globally, and locally to the area directly in contact with the BOSU. An unstable surface elicits a specific adaption of stability. “Use more, burn more" is a direct effect from a class; the more muscle you have to use, the more energy you will burn. If the goal is to increase your stability, balance, and core strength, the BOSU will provide that specific adaptation.
• Unique experience: There are exercises that are done on the BOSU ball, and then there are BOSU movements, both providing a unique exercise experience. There are also unique training effects that can only come from working with the BOSU. Effects such as the increased usage of the foot for grip and stability, which aids in all movement on a stable or unstable surface.

There are plenty more reasons why should try a BOSU class right away, but there are only four letters in the word. So what are you waiting for? Come see me on Sundays at 10am and realize what the BOSU can do for you!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.