Get a Grip!
Before we dig into the activities to develop grip strength, let’s talk about why it matters.
Let’s start with the gymnastics benefits of strong grip strength:
- Less risk of pinging off the bar
- Better endurance to hold on to the bar for longer
- Greater confidence& safety when re-gripping/changing grip on bars
- Increased control in handstands (using fingers to help balance)
- Increased control when hands are required on beam for skills, dance or even just getting up!
- More effective object manipulation (in particular for rhythmic apparatus – clubs, ribbons, hoops, ball…)
Outside the gym, kids require grip strength for many simple life tasks, like:
- Holding a spoon, crayon or toothbrush
- Zipping up their coat
- Tying their shoe (or even fastening velcro)
- Writing their name
- Throwing a ball
- Holding a hockey stick or tennis racket
- Picking up small objects
- Opening containers
- … and SO much more!
So you can see that as gymnastics coaches – particularly ones who coach preschoolers – there is a huge opportunity for us to teach grip strength as a skill for success in gymnastics AND in life!
Developing Grip Strength at Gymnastics
There are countless ways to work on grip strength. Here are some examples – both using a bar and other props/apparatus! Start easy and increase difficulty as grip strength improves!
Activities that use props
As a starting point, I highly recommend you check out the blog post at Happy Gymnastics (“Baby Bars: Grip Strength Ideas for Preschool Gymnastics”) which has some SUPER cute ideas to work on grip before the kids ever touch a bar. My fav activity over there is the Animal Launch.
There are countless ways to get creative with using props to improve grip strength. Lots of these make great games, side stations, and fun little challenges to try with your gymnasts.
Roll up the string to catch the fish! This is awesome for grip strength AND learning how to shift your wrists for skills like hip pullovers (and many more advanced skills down the road). You can make these yourself too – just adapt this DIY video as you see fit.
Hold on to your hula hoops to play Hungy Hungry Hippos!
Tug of war — you can SEE how hard those kids are hanging on!
Speaking of ropes – they are excellent bar substitutes for many reasons. Holding on tight is extra important when you add some swinging.
Another rope variation, but this one is horizontal!
Picking things up over and over also works on grip strength. Try this “quick gather” game – make it a race, try colouring sorting, or add as many creative twists to it as you like!
What about a ladder? You start super simple with the littles to introduce grip changing, like in this one…
Or get much more advanced by hanging upside down like this one!
Or try a similar idea – but under the beam (make sure you have a squishy mat under there!)
*note – I recommend teaching kids to hold, then fall safely first – before adding “walks”!
This next example below is a double-whammy – there is a ton of grip strength required to hold on & climb the wall bars, PLUS the grip + coordination to unclip the flower from the string!
Activities on Single or Uneven Bars
Start with small bursts of hanging – increasing endurance over time. You can add a small task or challenge like kicking a block while hanging to add a little difficulty.
Break it down even more – before you start hanging on a bar, begin with supporting grips on top on the bar. This example below adds in the adding “gripping” of moving the small cones as well.
Adding a block to support as kids learn how to re-grip as they turn is a great way to help them gain confidence as they practice finding a good grip every time they let go and grab back on to the bar.
Once hanging and simple grip changes are looking good, start playing games like this one – “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” to increase confidence!
Grip strength is not just about bring able to hold on tight to the bar, but it’s also knowing how much to loosen while still keeping control on various kinds of swings. It’s also about being strong enough (and practiced enough) to only let go when you WANT to.
Don’t forget about P-Bars & Rings!
There is some GREAT stuff on parallel bars an rings too – which both require confident grips to hold on tight! Some gyms have parallettes which are lower to the ground and can be moved to get creative!
Here is one that has kids problem solving, motor planning AND gripping (+ re-gripping as they move)!
Increase grip strength endurance by hooking knees over the p-bars as support to relieve some of their body weight from direct hangs. This example adds chin ups for more strength work.
Change up the angle to make grip changes harder!
Ring swings – with some support. This creative set up is a stepping stone to independent hanging & swinging!
Just one ring, but this one looks like a lot of fun!
Hopefully this list can inspire you to try new ways to incorporate grip strength into your lesson plans. I’d love to know — what are your favourite grip-strength activities? Tag us on Instagram or use #recgympros so we can see it!
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