Fat Gripz Review

Fat Gripz Review The Thickest Barbell Dumbell Grips, December 2021

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The title of this article might seem a little bit far-fetched. But an important part of barbell workouts that most people neglect is the grip.

Gripping a barbell is not rocket science. Most people grip this equipment without even thinking about it. But how you grip the weight could drastically determine the benefits you receive from a barbell or dumbbell workout. 

The first time I heard about Fat Gripz was a couple of months ago from a few gym friends and the benefits of using them seemed too good to be true. So naturally I had to give them test run. 

Fat Gripz claim to increase grip strength, increase forearm size, and bicep strength. Those are some serious claims and I was more than willing to see if they deliver!

Firstly, the Fat Gripz are just that - grips. They are grips that are fixed around the handles of dip bars, pull-ups, machine weights, barbells, cable handles, and so on.

They come in a total of three sizes:

  • Ones — 1 ¾ inch
  • Pro — 2 ¼ inches
  • Extreme — 2 ¾ inches

The larger the size of the grip, the more difficult exercising with it will be. I tested the "Fat Gripz Original" version. Fat Gripz add value to any workout you couple it with because it makes the weights harder to grip and creates a more effective workout. 

As a result of this, just to hold the weight you'll need to recruit a lot more muscle fibers! This will result in rapid increases in both power and muscle mass. 

How Fat Gripz Improved my workout

After using Fat Gripz for a few weeks I can honestly say that serious workout freaks should not pass this up.

I used it for only a couple of weeks and I could not help but notice how much more difficult and effective the exercises became. Simple Dumbbell curls became an exercise in gripping power and endurance. The 25lb dumbbells I used for curls suddenly felt much heavier and more difficult to lift. I could actually feel how much more my biceps had to work in order to lift the same amount of weight. 

Being able to lift less weight while simultaneously getting a better workout also has the added benefit of reducing strain on my joints. If you lift heavy weights, this is definitely something you cannot ignore. 

Fat Gripz could be one of the best strength accessories you could invest in for both muscle gains and joint relief.  I’ll be highlighting a couple of the benefits I noticed in my weeks of using the Fat Gripz.

Increased Grip Strength

The Fat Gripz made gripping a lot more difficult, so I had to deliberately transition into using more strength to grip. It took a while but my hands got used to it and my grip got significantly stronger.

When adjusting to the thickness of the bar for the first time, it's not unusual for power to decrease by as much as 40%.

Of course, this isn't a permanent lack of strength; it's just a reflection of not being able to accommodate the additional grip challenge, but it's a loss of strength in any case. It may feel demoralizing at first to not be able to lift as much but the improvements in strength are quick to show and worth the added effort. 

Forearm Size Increase

In just a few weeks of using the Fat Gripz, I noticed a marked increase in the size of my forearms. 

This is a straightforward idea to understand. The thinner the bar is, the easier it is to grip the bar and do some action.

Your fingertips won't be able to "hug" the bar as easily as the bar becomes thicker, resulting in more wrist, forearm, and arm muscle engagement in all upper body workouts.

This boils down to one simple fact; Fat Gripz force you to exert more grip strength, and in doing so engages the muscles in your forearms more effectively while simultaneously targeting other muscle groups such as biceps. 

Increased Upper Arm Strength

Developing stronger forearms means I can lift extra weight in my workouts by being able to exert that grip strength and bear down on the barbell or dumbell. This can be easily tested by simply making a fist and feeling your bicep. As you squeeze your fist the action also causes your bicep to flex nearly as much as your forearm. 

This just goes to show the role that bar thickness plays in upper arm strength. During arm drills, the thicker the bar, the more your biceps, and triceps have to do.

Do you want more proof? Give the Fat Gripz a shot and you'll see what I mean. Curls, extensions, pushdowns, pulldowns, and other arm exercises will also be enhanced using the Fat Grips.

Upper Body Muscle Activation

I know what you’re thinking. What does bar thickness have to do with upper body strength? I was a bit surprised at the results myself. 

The fact is that your body works like a kinetic chain, and the more work is done on the arms, the more it affects the upper body.

This means that you will be engaging a lot more muscles throughout your entire upper body by using thicker barbells and dumbbells.


Best way To Use Fat Gripz

  1. 1
    Try to Limit Upper Body Pulling Exercises: A good example is the Chin-up. Since the forearms have two-joint movement, meaning they contract to both stretch the elbow and curl the hand, chin-ups with fat grips will put a lot of strain on the elbow. Since it has to perform two things at once, the muscle may easily get overworked, resulting in cramping and ripping.
  2. 2
    Go For High Reps Or Finishers: High-rep sets are beneficial to the forearms. Both forearms and upper arms appear "full" due to the prolonged period under stress. Since the two-joint movement of high-intensity upper-body exercises may be risky, reducing weight on fat-grip exercises and concentrating on fewer reps and longer duration under stress is a better solution. This combination will provide a great pump and cause the metabolic stress that helps break down muscles, forcing them to grow bigger.
  3. 3
    Don't Rely On Them To Build Absolute Strength: When an exercise aims to improve maximum strength, such as with a 3-rep max deadlift, the goal is to carry as much weight as possible. Using Fat Gripz on such attempts, on the other hand, would lower your results by making your grip the weak point. If strength is your goal, this combination of endurance work and heavier-resistance work will lead to fantastic results.

Final Thoughts

In recent years, utilizing the Fat Gripz and other gripping accessories has gained a lot of traction.

Until recently, the only issue was that very few gyms have thick bars or thick pull-up bars in stock. 

I'm a big fan of fat-grip workouts. I've seen how a larger grip will help athletes develop power and muscle mass, and they're a must-have in my workout.

Denver Matheson
 

I spend a lot of time at the gym and even more time in the kitchen giving my body what it needs to repair itself and grow stronger. The third most important place for any athlete is their research zone. That's exactly why this site exists, to help me share all of the information I've learned throughout the years just like people did for me in the first place!

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