Fat Gripz--legit?

[duaner]

I'm really just curious if there is anything to such claims as:

"Using a thick bar means MORE MUSCLE AND STRENGTH on your body. Thick bar training produces much bigger strength and muscle gains compared to standard training equipment…. and many people find them much easier on their joints too. Thick Bars are not new. Strongmen, champion powerlifters and pro athletes have been using them for decades."

"Thick Bars (and Fat Gripz) work for many reasons including:

Increased muscle activation - thicker handles stimulate much more muscle activation in the hands and forearms and in the upper arms and whole upper body. More muscle activation means much bigger muscle and strength gains.

"Unlocking" muscle gains - thick bars make your hands, fingers and forearms so much stronger that your body can finally stop "holding back" the strength and muscle gains in your uppers arms, back and chest.

Complete training - thick bar training automatically trains your hands, fingers and forearms at all angles. If you are bench pressing, the thick bar will train your hands and forearms in a completely different way than if you are doing chin ups on a thick bar.

Natural movement - thick bars perfectly replicate the natural function of the human hand - lifting heavy, awkward objects.

Automatic training - thick bars means you are training your grip the whole time and you don't even need to do any extra exercises.

Concentration - thick bars are harder to handle so you need to concentrate a lot harder to lift the weight. Some credit this alone with making them significantly stronger.

Less imbalances and injuries - thick bars shift the stress off the joints and onto the muscles because a thick bar spreads the weight over a larger area."


I take such claims with a grain of salt but are bigger diameter bars actually better for strength and muscle size? Is there any merit at all to them, maybe by recruiting more muscle fibers?

Now these are meant for oly size bars but I workout at home and only have the standard home size bars, so I don't know if they would grip tight on the bar. My dumbbells have nice big handles but my bars leave my fingernails digging into my palms.

Fat Gripz at BB.com (http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/fat-gripz/fat-gripz.html)

at Fitshop.ca (http://www.fitshop.ca/Fat-Gripz)

[GQBalla]

Ive seen one guy using something like this at the gym.

Always thought it was something to prevent calasis

[ZorroAMG]

Originally posted by GQBalla
Ive seen one guy using something like this at the gym.

Always thought it was something to prevent calasis

Wait, do you mean callouses? LOL Calasis sounds like a disease...ps how did you not see the red underline?? :D

[GQBalla]

lol sorry for the spellin!!!

[LongCity]

You mean "spelling"?

[403ep3]

interesting..I might buy it when I order my next batch of supplements

[LadyLuck]

On sale, ordered them.

$40.97 at checkout with shipping.

[stevieo]

If you guys don't want to buy it you can always use towels or what not to make the bar bigger as well. I had some hockey socks (old school style, new for like $12) that I used to use I would wrap them around bars to make them thicker. Works as well if you're looking for something cheaper.

[Sasuke_Kensai]

I've read about thicker bars being good for strength, but I don't know about the science. All I know is, pullups on a thinner bar are easier for me than on a thicker bar. It's opposite the other way, if I can do an exercise on a thick bar, I can do it just as well or better on a thin bar. So if nothing else, I think training on a thick bar would train you for more real-world situations/strength, because not everything is as thin as a 30mm bar (or whatever it is).

You could probably use electric or hockey tape if you want just a *little* extra diameter, but it could get expensive. I did one layer anyway to protect my soft and girly hands. Kind of like the grip/feeling of electric tape too.

[A790]

Originally posted by Sasuke_Kensai
I've read about thicker bars being good for strength, but I don't know about the science. All I know is, pullups on a thinner bar are easier for me than on a thicker bar. It's opposite the other way, if I can do an exercise on a thick bar, I can do it just as well or better on a thin bar. So if nothing else, I think training on a thick bar would train you for more real-world situations/strength, because not everything is as thin as a 30mm bar (or whatever it is).

You could probably use electric or hockey tape if you want just a *little* extra diameter, but it could get expensive. I did one layer anyway to protect my soft and girly hands. Kind of like the grip/feeling of electric tape too.
Thicker bars are better for grip strength training, hence why you notice the difference with your pull ups.

[scboss]

Jay Cutler (Previous Mr Olympia) swears by these for forearm development. Really good for grip but you can only use them for isolation exercises.

[Darkane]

I have fat grips, they work ok. Nothing like a fat bar.

Uses of fat bars for pressing is amazing. If you guys use a false grip when benching or overhead pressing, fat bar is much more forgiving on the shoulders. Primary reason for me is I can slightly change the pitch of the palm of my hand because of the increased surface of the fat bar. It's like 15-20 degrees and not completely straight like a full grip.

Hard to explain with text. But better for shoulders with a false grip. Don't use it for squats, deads.

Use the thinnest bar you can for deadlifts or pullups. The harder the hold on the bar more force production is available during pulling movements.

Would write more but iPhones suck :)

[duaner]

Oh, thanks for the responses. I didn't get any email notifications.

I half expected to get flamed but now I think I will look into these at some point.

[zipdoa]

I've noticed an increase in grip strength from doing pull ups off my doorframe, which is two 2x4's thick. Get creative!

[duaner]

Originally posted by zipdoa
I've noticed an increase in grip strength from doing pull ups off my doorframe, which is two 2x4's thick. Get creative!
I got creative. Ghetto Gripz:

http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y426/duanerification/GhettoGripzB.jpeg

lol They won't hold in the long run but I just wanted to see how the bigger grip felt. It's interesting because there is give to them, being closed cell foam, but not as much give as I thought there would be. If they break down after a bit, I still have close to four feet to use up. :D

[ddduke]

They have a fat bar at Talisman and I swear by it. I had hand surgery a while ago and I'm sure it helped like crazy with regaining my grip strength.

Anyone know where you can get a fat bar? I called every single fitness store in the city and not a single person had one and most didn't even know what I was talking about. The staff at Talisman couldn't help either.

[KRyn]

Originally posted by ddduke
They have a fat bar at Talisman and I swear by it. I had hand surgery a while ago and I'm sure it helped like crazy with regaining my grip strength.

Anyone know where you can get a fat bar? I called every single fitness store in the city and not a single person had one and most didn't even know what I was talking about. The staff at Talisman couldn't help either.


http://www.bellsofsteel.com/categories/Strongman/

[duaner]

Well, my wife completely surprised me with real Fat Gripz for Christmas. Unfortunately I haven't been able to workout much since then (at this moment I'm doing my fourth workout since Christmas, but it's the third this week), but so far my forearms are feeling it. Definitely have to drop the weight a little bit. They do work great for bb curls and pretty good for bent-over bb rows.

[austic]

So I have been working with them for about a month now. Tried some fat bar cleans last night which was amazing how much harder it was. Found multiples from the hang were the hardest on the grip.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by austic
So I have been working with them for about a month now. Tried some fat bar cleans last night which was amazing how much harder it was. Found multiples from the hang were the hardest on the grip.

That's almost contradictory.

With cleans you want a thin bar and PEAK force production. It's an explosive movement with as much weight as possible right.

Using the clean for grip training is like using a bench press for rotator cuff rehab. It just doesn't go together.

Try using the fat grips with dumbbells farmers walks. That will build grip strength.

[austic]

Originally posted by Darkane


That's almost contradictory.

With cleans you want a thin bar and PEAK force production. It's an explosive movement with as much weight as possible right.

Using the clean for grip training is like using a bench press for rotator cuff rehab. It just doesn't go together.

Try using the fat grips with dumbbells farmers walks. That will build grip strength.
Yes but I was not going for max cleans by any measure. It was part of a complex with thrusters and a push jerk ( 3/2/1 PC/Th/PJ)
The thrusters were the weight limiter for me so the grips allowed me to train my grip as an added bonus.
Felt it in the forearms for sure after that.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by austic

Yes but I was not going for max cleans by any measure. It was part of a complex with thrusters and a push jerk ( 3/2/1 PC/Th/PJ)
The thrusters were the weight limiter for me so the grips allowed me to train my grip as an added bonus.
Felt it in the forearms for sure after that.

Gotcha.