John Brookfield's Grip Tips

By John Brookfield

Author of Mastery of Hand Strength, Training with
Cables for Strength, and The Grip Master’s Manual


Thick Bar Rotation

This month I will show you an exercise that you have probably never seen before (I feel pretty comfortable saying this for the simple fact that I invented it myself). I have used it on a number of occasions for several months at a time, and each time I had tremendous results. I finally decided to make it a regular part of my training, and I have been consistently doing it now for a while. It is very unique because it is one of the few exercises I have found that builds the fingers, thumbs, wrists, and forearms. It is a great forearm pumper, and yes, it could be used to pack size on your forearms. While this movement is a distant relative to the wrist roller, it is a better finger and thumb builder than the wrist roller.

There are a few ways to do thick bar rotations, which is the name of this exercise. My favorite way is with a round, steel bar about six feet in length and two inches in diameter. I lift this bar and hold it with an overhand grip with my hands fairly close together; then I begin to rotate the thick bar away from my body, rotating it over and back, over and back until fatigued. After this, I lift the bar again and rotate it the opposite direction, towards my body, until fatigued. This may feel a little difficult at first, but you will soon be able to manipulate the bar with your fingers. Remember to keep your hands close to your body throughout the exercise. You can add weight by hanging weights with ropes on the ends of the bar.

You will quickly find out that doing thick bar rotations are very different from using a wrist roller. They tend to be more difficult and produce better results. I strongly suggest that you use the thick bar. However, if you don’t have a thickhandled barbell or thick bar, you might also try a regular bar while wearing thick work gloves, which will also give you a great lower-arm workout. Always be careful not to drop the bar on your toes.

You will find that thick bar rotations will help you develop a lot of dexterity as well as strength. The movement is perfect for baseball, tennis, and golf. It will also give the arm wrestler an added advantage for the top-roll technique due to enhanced finger strength and control.








Previous grip strength tip. / Next grip strength tip.

John Brookfield’s books Mastery of Hand Strength, The Grip Master’s Manual, and Training with Cables for Strength combine John’s limitless creativity with his friendly, downhome manner. John’s articles are also regularly featured in MILO: A Journal for Serious Strength Athletes.

For our world-renowned Captains of Crush® Grippers and other CoC ² Grip Tools, please visit our on-line store.

For more information about how to build your grip, wrist, and forearm strength, please visit our All-About-It Resource Pages on Grip Training, Hand Grippers, and Hand Strength.

Return IronMind’s Grip-Tech hub.