I got my fat gripz last week and they are great. Hammer curls are much better with them, they kick your ass lol. Close grip bench is great with them, and of course regular curls. I use them for my warm-up sets on any pressing movements also. If you have any grip strength imbalances these will bring them out and humble you lol.
I’ve been using the Fat Gripz for a while and picked up the Grip 4orce’s (soft) a couple of weeks ago.
Fat Gripz
- Very solid and no give at all
- No chance of them coming off accidentally
+/- VERY thick (can be painful on some exercises)
- No texture
- Will leave a sometimes pretty large gap between ends when on a barbell or dumbbell, especially thicker ones
Gripz 4orce
- Lighter than the Fat Gripz
- Good texture
+/- Less thick than the Fat Gripz
+/- Will stick to surfaces but still need to crush to keep them on
Right now I prefer the Fat Gripz for most barbell work and the Grip 4orce’s for most dumbbell exercises. On pullups and DB rows I definitely prefer the Fat Gripz- the “crush” effect of the Grip 4orce is cool on curls but not when I stand a good chance of dropping myself/the dumbbell.
Edit: The version I have is the Regular Grip 4orce, not the stiff.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I’ve been using the Fat Gripz for a while and picked up the Grip 4orce’s (soft) a couple of weeks ago.
Fat Gripz
- Very solid and no give at all
- No chance of them coming off accidentally
+/- VERY thick (can be painful on some exercises)
- No texture
- Will leave a sometimes pretty large gap between ends when on a barbell or dumbbell, especially thicker ones
Gripz 4orce (Soft)
- Lighter than the Fat Gripz
- Good texture
+/- Less thick than the Fat Gripz
+/- Will stick to surfaces but still need to crush to keep them on
Right now I prefer the Fat Gripz for most barbell work and the Grip 4orce’s for most dumbbell exercises. On pullups and DB rows I definitely prefer the Fat Gripz- the “crush” effect of the Grip 4orce is cool on curls but not when I stand a good chance of dropping myself/the dumbbell.[/quote]
I never heard of soft Grip4orce. They only come in Regular and stiff. So for and honest opinion I think you need to find out what your really using. Remember thick bars only work if your squeezing the bar with extreme force otherwise your just palming the grip and doing nothing except working your main muscles. Now if you add resistance with your grips you are now working your grip at a higher degree. muscles, tendons and ligaments only get stronger with tension (resistance) or by weights. Grip4orce added the missing link to thick bar work. Like I said earlier both are good but Grip4orce gives you that extra work that you just can’t get from anything else.
[quote]Cprimero wrote:
grip4orce look good and easy to apply, fat gripz can be tricky to put on and are not the right size for 90% of the dumbells in my gym[/quote]
That is true with fatgripz. I know for a fact that grip4orce will fit all diameters of bars and dumbbells and also fit the crossover handles. They covered it all.
just used my fatgripz yesterday for chest/back, my forearms HURT.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I’ve been using the Fat Gripz for a while and picked up the Grip 4orce’s (soft) a couple of weeks ago.
Fat Gripz
- Very solid and no give at all
- No chance of them coming off accidentally
+/- VERY thick (can be painful on some exercises)
- No texture
- Will leave a sometimes pretty large gap between ends when on a barbell or dumbbell, especially thicker ones
Gripz 4orce
- Lighter than the Fat Gripz
- Good texture
+/- Less thick than the Fat Gripz
+/- Will stick to surfaces but still need to crush to keep them on
Right now I prefer the Fat Gripz for most barbell work and the Grip 4orce’s for most dumbbell exercises. On pullups and DB rows I definitely prefer the Fat Gripz- the “crush” effect of the Grip 4orce is cool on curls but not when I stand a good chance of dropping myself/the dumbbell.
Edit: The version I have is the Regular Grip 4orce, not the stiff.[/quote]
^This.
I own both. Cut and dry if your doing a power move I would use the Fat Gripz all dumbell work I would use the 4ource Grips. They seem to give me one hell of a pump and wont slide like the Fat gripz do on some dumbells.
Well, I’ve just put together a homemade thick DB for DB Row.
Its based on a 'spinlock DB handle, with a strong carboard tube (from the middle of some industrial shrink wrap) then covered in white athletic tape so its not slippy. Not a big/thick as fatgripz- its about 46-47mm in diameter. This feel just right, hard to grip but not excessive.
My feeling is that the Fatgripz at 55mm are a tad too thick for now. I did consider getting a pair and trimming them down, but they are far too expensive. I can warm up using my first (PVC & Rubber tubing) grips, Gym DBs only go to 45kg then use my spinlock upgrade for heavier. Currently using 47.5kg for 5x10 on DL 5/3/1 days.
I see people saying that they use these on warm-up sets, but do you not use them on your worksets or something?
I do 5/3/1 and use the Fat Gripz on all accessory work…but NOT on the main exercise.
I have used fat gripz at 3 different gyms and have never had them slip…quality product…crazy forearm pumps.
I asked Dave Tate essentially the same question on the Elite website. He said that he uses fatgripz for presses and extensions because it relieves a lot of tension on the elbows and shoulders. He uses Gripforce (or however it’s spelled) on pulling movements and curl variations because you have to squeeze the bar to keep them on.
Now, Dave has huge forearms and has always had huge forearms so Gripforce can’t take credit for those. On the other hand, he’s beat up as fuck and has a lot of longstanding injuries, so I think fatgripz can take credit for him being able to safely do some exercises.
If you’re strapped for cash and can only get one I’d just get fatgripz as they can serve all thick bar purposes (if you squueze them) where as gripforce don’t.
I use mine just for warm up sets on curls/hammer curls now (Fat-Gripz). When you take the Fat Grip off the DB feels like a tooth pick. This helps me get more weight up, it’s a mental thing. Helps out.
I have Tyler grips. I like them quite a bit but I was somewhat disappointed at how soft they were, so I ended up buying a fairly cheap (hollow) fat bar. In retrospect I should have probably bought FatGripz instead. I love the fat bar though!
i got gripforce because fatgripz weren’t on the elitefts website at the time
the first time i used them on my db row warmup sets, i used them for the 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90, all sets of 5. when i went to rep our with 95, the db shot up super easily.
chins with the gripforce are really good too, and the prospect of slipping only adds to the fun factor.
i don’t know if you could try to use them for pressing, but they are pretty good for pulls and curls.