Training with thick implements increases the effectiveness of the strength training process.

Changing the diameter of the grip can be a challenging training stimulus. I am a strong believer of using extra thick dumbbells (2” to 2 1/2″) and barbells (3″).  However, one must note that the concept is not entirely new.

Alan Calvert, one of the fathers of weight training, recommended it in 1924 in his book Super-Strength. I highly recommend thick bar and dumbbells for all upper body exercises and even for deadlifts. Thick bar pressing movements (seated press, incline press, bench press etc…) should be done in a Power Rack with safety pins, as the trainee may drop the bar at first.

Many advanced trainees will experience new growth in mass and strength when switching to thick bars. We are strong proponents of thick bar training for the following reasons:

1. It increases motor unit activation The more motor units you recruit and the higher their firing rate, the faster you gain in strength.  Even though this has to be verified in a more scientific setting, MM2K writer Jerry Telle showed that electrical activity in movements using thick handles was higher than in standard dumbbells. One of the mechanisms responsible for the enhanced recruitment could well be the fear factor as in 3″ bench press, one must concentrate not to drop the bar. Chiropractors and neurologists were consulted on what would be the exact mechanism responsible for the strength increase. The best answer that one has come up with is that the thick handles may inhibit an inhibitory reflex. If you inhibit an inhibition you are stronger. Everybody we know who trains on them finds they can handle 10-12% when they return to the small diameter handles. You can’t shift onto the mental “auto-pilot” that most reps are completed with. 

2. Builds functional strength. In real life, when you push or pull against something, whatever you are gripping is superior in diameter to the 1 1/4″ diameter dumbbell. For example, athletes from the grappling sports like jiu-jitsu will have to grab limbs which far exceed the diameter of bars. In strongmen competition, more than often enough, gripping strength is the limiting factor.

3. Takes care of your grip and forearm work. Every single person we have put on thick bar training has experienced increases in grip strength and forearm development as the fingers, wrists, thumbs and forearms are more challenged by the bigger diameter. You will find that the muscles that adduct the thumbs to be quite sore when you start using these bars. This will also help you forgo the use of straps for chins and rows as they will become unnecessary. Hence your strength will be more functional.

Try doing  chins or curls with oversize bars for a new kind of  training effect for the elbow  flexors. Tape, foam, plastic pipe or a combination of both can be used to thicken your bars.

4. Corrects the bi-lateral deficit. A recent doctoral thesis showed that subjects using thick dumbbells vs standard dumbbells corrected the difference in strength between the non-dominant and dominant arms. This was an unexpected finding, with unknown physiological mechanism, yet an important positive byproduct of thick bar work.

Incorporate thick implements in your training now to break plateaus.  At Laylor Performance Systems all of our dumbbells are thick and we use many different diameters in fat barbells. For the vast majority of gyms that do not offer thick handled dumbbells or barbells, there is an alternative training tool…Fat Gripz.  Now anyone can benefit from the muscle building advantage of thick handled bars.

By Clance Laylor