3 Great Tips on How to Get Bigger Hands

It can be assumed that your interest on how to get bigger hands is piqued by a desire to improving your sports performance or by plain insecurity in the size of your fists. While you can get past the fact that you were not born to palm a basketball like Michael Jordan or propel yourself in the water like Michael Phelps, you cannot just discount the possibilities, if there are any, in increasing the size of your grabbers. After all, no straight guy will be flattered when someone comments about the daintiness and smallness of his hands.

Your own unique genetic code determines the absolute limit on how much your bones and other parts of your body can grow. Other than your full height, your DNA also dictates the structural form of each of your body features such as the dimension of your head, feet, hands, and more. In fact, every person’s complete biometrics is as unique as their own fingerprints and genetic code. This was proven by the Bertillon System, the first crime-fighting database ever created for identifying career criminals and habitual offenders in France in the late 1800s. This system, which measures and records about a dozen markers in an arrested person such as cranial circumference, length of fingers, size of ears, etc. proved to be highly accurate in determining if said lawbreaker has previous arrests record. 

You cannot escape the limitations set by your genetics for the size and shape of your hands or any other parts of your body for that matter, but there are some things you can do to alter some of its appearance and mass. While there are very few muscle strands in your hands to build up, the bones and skins can somewhat be affected by external factors to have a thicker and stronger appearance.

Wolff’s Law & Davis’ Law

Julius Wolff, a German surgeon and anatomist, studied and proved in the late 19th century how human and animal bone structures can be altered through cyclic and rigorous loading. One classic example that supports this anatomical law is how weightlifters show notable increases in bone density while undergoing continuous training. It was also observed in active tennis players that their dominant and racquet-wielding arms are stronger, slightly bigger, and has higher bone density than their other arms. 

Davis Law, on the other hand, was named after American orthopedic surgeon Henry Gassett Davis, the creator of the first splint for traction and protection of hip joint. It states that soft tissues and ligaments elongate and strengthen when continuously subjected to intense and unremitting tension. That is why craftsmen, technicians, laborers, and other workers who make a living with the intense use of their hands and fingers tend to have thicker and stronger hands, even not counting the callouses that accumulate in their palms and knuckles over the years. 

How to Get Bigger Hands?

Based then on the aforementioned physiological and anatomical laws, it can be surmised that if you want to have bigger and tougher looking hands, you need to regularly subject your fingers, wrists, and entire hands to stress and loading. Meaning, you work them out as well as you do your arms, legs, core, chest, and other parts of your body. 

#1. Do Grip Strengthening Exercises

• Hand Gripper (pictured above) – There are actually several models you can find on the market with varying levels of difficulty. Pick one that is both workable and challenging for your own gripping strength. You need to squeeze the device until the handles are almost touching one another and hold for at least 5 seconds before releasing the tension. Do at least 2-3 sets of 6-8 repetitions per hand every day.

• Elastic Band or Baller ID Stretching – Slip your fingers and thumb inside the band and stretch it out repeatedly by flexing and contracting your digits. It is basically like a reverse grip exercise. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per hand every day.

• Finger Tips Push Ups – A variation of the standard push-ups. Instead of having your palms flat on the floor, your fingers are stretched out to the floor like tiny table legs to support your upper torso. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions.

• Knuckle Push Ups – Another push-ups variation wherein instead of doing the exercise with open palms, your hands are bundled into fists. Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions.

• Stress Ball – Squeezing a firm stress ball repeatedly for at least one hour a day helps strengthen your grip in time. It also provides ample loading on your finger bones and ligaments, thus increasing their strength and density. 

•  Plate Pinch Deadlifts – Instead of using a barbell, dumbbells or kettlebells, you can do your dsadlift sets using 2 to 3 weight plates in each hand. By keeping the plates together during the whole exercise, you give your hands and fingers a good strengthening workout.

• Plate Pinch Curls – Do this exercise by grabbing the top edge of a weight plate with both hands and lifting it in front of you. Both your palms are facing towards you and your arms are fully stretched downward. Lift the plate until your hands and elbows are at almost the same level as your chest. Hold for a couple of seconds and lower back the plate in front of your thighs. Repeat this sequence 10-12 times to make one set. Do 2-3 sets.

#2. Try Some Boxing and Martial Arts Routines

One of the main goals in martial arts training is weaponizing your hands and feet. It involves doing drills that strengthen the body parts used for hitting your opponent or opponents. It also aims to heighten your threshold for pain. That is why practitioners use punching bags, training dummies, and other equipment that are meant to be hit repeatedly. The repeated impact your hands, feet, and entire limbs absorb during training does not only create calluses but also increases bone density and strength. This, in turn, makes your hands look thicker and tougher.

• Punching Bags and Sandbags – Every boxing or MMA gym around should be equipped with these training implements. Just make sure that your hands are at least properly bandaged during training to minimize the risks of injuring or hurting your hands. It is much better to use proper padded gloves though.

• Wooden Training Dummies – There are actually several designs for this equipment. If you are a fan of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or any kung fu films for that matter, chances are you have seen a traditional wooden training dummy being used on screen. You might need a qualified instructor though to guide you for using one. 

#3. Get a Side Job or Hobby that Makes Your Hands Work Hard

In case you haven’t noticed, those involved in heavy work such as auto mechanics, masons, carpenters, farmers, lumberjacks, steel smiths, machinists, etc. usually have thick and rugged hands as a result of their daily routines. This just conforms to both the Wolff’s and Davis’ Law of anatomy and physiology we discussed earlier. Since those career craftsmen’s hands are constantly subjected to rigorous and repetitive loading, their bones, ligaments, tissues, and skins are somewhat refashioned to appear more warrior-like. 

There are various things you can do that are enjoyable and fulfilling which can also make your hands bigger, or at least looks like it in the long run. Who knows, maybe you can even make a few extra bucks with it someday. You can try wood or stone carving and sculpture, furniture making, or restoring vintage cars. You can make mountain-climbing, rappelling, sculling, and other nature sports a nice hobby. Any of these adventurous activities can give your hands some serious cyclic loading and help them get bigger. 

Final Words

Your quest on how to get bigger hands is not a short and easy journey. If you are serious in defying genetics a bit and push through the limit set by nature on the size of your hands, then you must be willing to really work on it. We presented various tips in increasing the size of your hands, which if you would analyze are likewise beneficial to your body’s total well-being. You see, when you workout your hands you also activate your forearms, biceps, shoulders and various other parts of your body in the process. So, all in all, there is nothing trivial about your desire.