Why grip harder than you need to? Sounds a bit unnecessary if you can already hold the weight, right?

5 reasons why a hard grip in the gym is important:

1. Gripping the weight hard instantly boosts your strength and power by activating your neural drive

2. A hard grip better stabilizes and works the muscles of the entire arm and shoulder which leads to a better workout, stronger lifts (even lower body lifts), and less risk of injury

3. Grip strength is one of the best predictors of life span, overall health, and overall strength

4. Gripping something hard requires more focus and attention, so it increases your performance

5. If you are a cyclist, you can use a hard grip on the handlebars to improve your sprint to the finish

Exercises to improve grip strength: 

1. Farmers walks/carries (there are dozens of different variations, try them all!)

2. Towel pull ups and fat grips

3. Simply grip the weight firmly when lifting--always

4. A hand gripper device. The powerball is the most fun, and allegedly most annoying :)

5. Swing a sledgehammer, tire flips, shoveling, and any higher intensity activity/sport that works the hands and forearms

6. Avoid wearing weight lifting gloves, they actually weaken your grip

7. Rice bucket, popular with overhead athletes and climbers

Next time you hit the gym, will you make sure to grip it, grip it good? Yes, it's actually not that hard and has tons of benefits, so you will.

P.S. If you want to test your grip strength, get your hands on (lol) one of these.