Poor posture at a computer for 8 hours a day used to decrease my grip strength in many ways. My hands, wrists, fingers, and forearms suffered muscle tension from repetitive strain and lack of blood flow. Poor posture on my keyboard and mouse for long periods of time caused carpel tunnel syndrome.
If you’d like to learn more about the causes of poor hand posture and its negative effects, check out my article titled, Why Does Typing Weaken Grip Strength.
Today, I’m focusing the rest of this article on a more optimistic, productive mindset. Continue reading below to learn how to enhance grip power.
Nothing in this article is medical advice. It’s for educational purposes only. I talk about my own personal experience of sitting at a computer for long periods of time. I share information that took me from poor posture to good posture. To improve your computer posture, do your research, make good decisions, and be the best advocate possible for your own healthcare.
How to Improve Grip Strength
Invest in a flat, low-profile keyboard and mouse.
This change I made to my ergonomic computer workstation was valuable in improving my poor posture. In the past, I used my laptop keyboard and mouse. In order to lift my hands up onto the laptop keyboard and mouse, this caused me to engage my wrists for long periods of time. This led to carpel tunnel pain in my wrists. A misconception in the good posture community is that typing causes carpel tunnel. In my situation, it was caused by overusing my wrists to lift my hands onto a high laptop keyboard. Once I switched over to a slim, low profile, external keyboard and mouse, my wrist pain went away within a couple days. It was pretty eye opening.
Side note: These are not paid ads. I’m not compensated by Apple or Onnit. These products have greatly improved my poor computer posture. They’ve also helped increase my grip strength. I’m just a satisfied customer, who paid his own money for these products.
The above section about using a flat, low-profile keyboard and mouse is a shortened version of my article titled, Best Ergonomic Devices for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. Check out that article if you’d like to also learn the worst ergonomic devices for carpel tunnel syndrome.
Steel Mace Workouts
One of my favorite grip strength building exercises is using a steel mace. A steel mace is kind of similar to a kettlebell. But instead of having a handle, the weight is at the end of a short, thick, barbell-style rod.
Sitting at a computer for long periods of time, 8 hours a day, with a low-profile keyboard and mouse keeps the wrists straight when using good posture. But sometimes, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Especially when it comes to repetitive strain injuries and lack of blood flow. Holding my wrists straight with good posture on my keyboard and mouse didn’t only cause pain, it caused joint dysfunction in my wrists. I needed to find dynamic hand strengthening exercises that would give me better wrist joint functionality, as well as a stronger grip.
This video is me doing one of my favorite steel mace exercises (with an Onnit 10 pound steel mace).
Since the weight on a steel mace is at the end of a short barbell, it’s far away from my hands. The momentum generated when swinging a steel mace is much more intense compared to swinging a kettlebell. This requires me to hold the steel mace tighter, which greatly increases my grip strength development.
STEEL MACE
The steel mace pictured is made by Onnit. I bought 3 different sizes (7 pounds, 10 pounds, and 15 pounds).
I bought the 10 pound mace first. It was a little heavy for me as a first-time user. I could do it, but my movements were very slow. So, I bought a 7 pound to get used to the movements. Using the 7 pound steel mace increased my speed a lot. At that point, I was ready to use the 10 pounder again. The 10 pound mace is the one I use the most these days. I recently added the 15 pound Onnit steel mace to my collection. This is pretty heavy for me. So I usually keep the repetitions low (around 3 to 5 per set).
This video is another one of my favorite steel mace exercises (also using the Onnit 10 pound steel mace).
The above video is a similar exercise, but with a modification at the end. I like both of these exercises because they are great ways to increase grip strength. Also, when the weight goes over my head and behind me, it does a great job of opening up my front lines. This is important because it helps counteract the anterior compression from slouching forward at a computer for long periods of time. Sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day adds up quickly. The muscle tension and lack of blood flow in the front of my torso used to be one of my biggest poor posture problems caused by a computer.
There are tons of different steel mace (hand strength) workouts available on YouTube. I still consider myself somewhat of a novice, so I won’t explain how to do any exercises. I just wanted to introduce the steel mace to my readers since it has helped my grip strength improvement. It really has been a game changer.
Side note: Amazon has cheaper steel maces, but I can’t speak for their quality since I’ve never used them.
Use lifting straps while weightlifting
This topic tends to divide the weightlifting community. Many people think lifting straps are terrible for grip strength development. On the opposing side, me included, lifting straps have been key in boosting hand grip strength.
I feel like lifting straps help me get a better grip on the weight. This allows me to lift heavier, and enhance grip power at the same time. Barbells and dumbbells often have a slippery grip. Then, add in the variable of my hands sweating. Of course, I could use chalk on my hands to absorb moisture and get a better grip. But I’m not a fan of chalk. It’s a pain to carry around and keep up with. Plus a lot of gyms don’t even allow the use of chalk. Finally, I put my hands through enough physical labor as it is. The last thing I need is chalk drying my skin out too much.
I don’t wrap the straps around the weights tightly. That would put pressure on my wrists. This is a common practice among weightlifters. I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m just saying I’d prefer not to do that. Then, it would in fact be taking away from my grip strength improvement. I just like to have that small amount of fabric between my hand and the weight. This absorbs sweat and helps with my grip strength development at the same time.
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Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
If this article was helpful, check out my book titled “45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.” It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These variables include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep quality, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
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