Reddit reviews PROHANDS Gripmaster Hand Exerciser, Finger Exerciser (Hand Grip Strengthener), Spring-Loaded, Finger-Piston System, Isolate and Exercise Each Finger, (7 lb Medium Tension, Red-Gripmaster)

I like the grip master. It's marketed to guitarists but it does wonders for pistol grip strength.

I've found Gripmaster quite helpful. It really does develop your finger strength and is especially useful for training the pinky - I rarely used it for playing because it was so weak, and it was so weak because I rarely used it for playing. It's only about $10 and is priceless when you're starting out or don't have the time to practice daily.

The truth is, though, that nothing will be as effective as just playing your bass. Practice for at least an hour a day, play random stuff - even 1-2-3-4 exercises build up your finger strength. If you've only been playing for a month, strength is not the only thing you might be lacking - dexterity is also an important factor, and that unfortunately cannot be trained with Gripmaster. So just find a nice song to play and play it, play it, and play it - you'll notice an improvement in your general playing skills quite soon.

I have smaller hands as well, the best thing is actually hand strength exercises. I started squeezing a tennis ball all day then graduating to a hand grip / finger strength squeeze thing.

If you have good hand strength you can maintain the longer stretches in the fretboard

Edit. This is the grip machine I used worked great for me!

Prohands Gripmaster Hand Exerciser, Finger Exerciser (Hand Grip Strengthener), Spring-Loaded, Finger-Piston System, Isolate and Exercise Each Finger, (7 lb Medium Tension, Red-Gripmaster) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006GC5D8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0DxKDbPZDDVKK

Georgia should add this to their strength training regiment

One of these Hand exercisers really helped me out initially. Build strength by only using your ring and pinky, or using individual fingers.

Also, trying to bend your pinky or ring at the knuckle and form a 90° angle with the rest of your fingers will help build independence. You'll build strength by not holding your fingers back with your other hand.

What does /r/bouldering think of grip strength exercises, like using these or these or these? useful for climbing, or not at all? is a hangboard fundamentally just better? I'm interested in something more portable than a hangboard, but I'm not sure these grip strength trainers will target the right muscles.

So far, 3 years in and I'm still able to play the violin just fine.

Will it stay that way? Can't say. Definitely have had injured my fingers before from grip fighting, recently started using a grip strengthener to both workout my grips and hopefully help prevent injuries.

https://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-14003-BLK-Exerciser-Tension-9-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8/ref=sr_1_3?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1526322668&sr=1-3&keywords=grip%2Bstrength%2Btrainer&th=1

Learn to play guitar (or guitar hero)

Offer girls foot massages (mega brownie points)

Type a lot (minimal gains)

*(best) Get a grip streangthner

Avoid carpal tunnel. Maybe not the best source so do more research.

I read an article about ten years ago or so in Total Guitar which was an interview with Mick Thomson from Slipknot. He spoke about exercises to improve finger independence and strength. He did your standard chromatic scale (1,2,3,4) all the way from low E to high E, then he mixed it up (1,4,2,3) then he reversed it (4,3,2,1), then he mixed it up for a last time (4,1,3,2). He did this from top to bottom and bottom to top and then did it with string skipping.

I found it very useful and I still use it as part of my warmups even now.

If you are lacking an actual guitar, you can buy these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gripmaster-Medium-Tension-Hand-Exerciser/dp/B0006GC5D8

I've never used one, but that would help you.

Mandatory prep for a Trump meeting

>and when I mention grip trainers, I mean the ones that isolate each finger like this

So I just bought one because of your post, and got a good chuckle out of the top Amazon review.

Found another amazon link, this one is the same brand, but has all the strengths: http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1427718805&sr=1-2&keywords=pro+hands+medium

I started with medium.

It might take only 6 weeks to recover but keep in mind you will lose a lot of grip strength in that hand. Just make sure to take it slow going forward with anything requiring a strong grip. Grab you one of these http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427227041&sr=8-2&keywords=grip+trainer or something similar go get that finger/grip strength back. And DEFINITELY do the physical therapy. It helps so much.

One of these in different weights to work on isolating the trigger finger and increase grip strength.

http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1381464401

I did the same thing as you. When I realized that I would have to use my pinky for more difficult songs, I started using one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8
They definitely helped. I started at the lowest tension and then went up.
Hope I helped, good luck.

You want to keep it thin though. You could go with the rubber talon grips, or get one of these and get some stronger hands. imho, there's not much else to do for the grip on it, you don't want to put some big rubber grip on it as that would be defeating the purpose. The grips on it are pretty aggressive/textured as is. Myself, i'm going the stronger hands route - I've never been a terribly big/strong person and it'll help me out with other pistols as well.

I don't know what it is, but this sub has an annoying habit of downvoting people and not commenting. I don't know why your comment was downvoted.

I also have a problem with lack of control of my pinky, and lack of independence from my ring finger. I have started doing the G chord like this and it has helped a bit. I am also trying to get into the habit of using a medium tension finger exerciser like this. That has definitely helped, but it is taking a long time to get better at it.

The guitar suggestion is excellent. There are finger exercisers you can find at music stores which have four, spring-loaded pads so you can work each finger independently. You could definitely use that at work, it's like a stress ball. They sell them in three different strengths, too.

Edit: here is is on Amazon. I have two of these, the red and the black, for guitar - I can attest that used regularly, it will give you much greater finger strength and stamina. It can also help dexterity and muscle control if you concentrate on only squeezing one or two pads at a time. Try doing index and ring, then middle and pinky, alternating back and forth between them. Have fun!

http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8/

Get this with these

Read everything on this site but don't buy anything they sell, and don't find yourself worrying so much about ergonomics that you don't play. Just keep it in mind.

Decide on your goals:

Do you want to play acoustic, electric, or classical guitar?

Classical guitars are acoustic, they're often used for traditional and/or classical music, and they're usually played with the fingers as opposed to a pick.

If electric/acoustic: Do you want to play chords, riffs, or solos? If you don't know what those are, here's a summary:

Chords are multiple notes that you play at once. Musicians have come up with all sorts of chord patterns that create various moods. The most basic sorts of chords are major and minor chords. Major chords generally sound happier. Chords are often played on an acoustic guitar as accompaniment (they're not likely to be the primary focus of a song.)

A riff is a repeated pattern of chords and/or notes that is often used as the basis of a song. This song is famous for the easy-to-play, catchy riff featured at the beginning.

Here is a famous guitar solo. However, they're usually played with some kind of background music like this one.

Some people are going to bash me for telling you to choose one or the other--most guitarists do two or three. But thinking in terms of comparative advantage, you might be more likely to get a gig if you're really good at one. The world already has too many good guitarists. In fact, you should learn drums or bass if you have friends who are musicians.

Do you want to make up your own songs or play other peoples' songs?

If you want to make up your own songs, I recommend starting to improvise as soon as you've acquired some basic competence. I strongly suspect that it's a different skill set than the one you develop from being a human tape recorder. (I am biased.)

http://www.amazon.com/Gripmaster-Exerciser-Medium-Tension-7-Pounds/dp/B0006GC5D8

THIS