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Fat Gripz Review: Same Old Lifts, Massive New Results

Richard H.
Sep 7, 2017
4 min read

Coming across pictures of bulging biceps and "Popeye the sailor man" forearms, my oedipus complex was under full force attack. Adding the fat gripz product into the obvious advertisement, it was already game over. I shouted "just take my money already" I needed those revolutionary arm building grips.

For those who never heard of fat gripz, it is a thick rubber handle that acts as an extension of regular weight lifting bar handles. The purpose, to make the bar handles thicker. Thick bar training has been widely popular in the past because it was extremely effective in forcing new growth when growth stagnated from tradition weight lifting using regular thin bar handle as you typically see at the gym. The reason was due to cost and popularity. If the average person first walks into the gym as a beginner, they would find lifting these handles to be far too difficult and will most definitely give up the process and possibly the notion of weight lifting in general. The other reason you don't often see thick bars in the gym is simply they are very expensive, and if doesn't attract new gym clients, they are not worth the investment for most gyms.

So you don't have thick bars at your local gym? The answer is obviously no. So we avid weight trainers are in blatant terms, shit outta luck. That was the case, until the creators of Fat Gripz released the cheap alternative. Originally charging $40-50 USD, they enabled the ability to carry around portable rubber attachments to increase the bar handle circumference dramatically and they were versatile enough to attach to most types of bars such as your typical dumbbell, olympic barbell, EZ curl bars and even cable machine handles.

So how does this actually help me build muscle you ask. The increased diameter on the handle(s) makes your lifts more challenging. If you gripped your dumbbell as hard as you could at this moment, you will realize that there is a greater amount of muscle activation throughout your entire arm. Now imagine try to hold awkwardly large bar handle, you would notice you would require to put significantly more effort in order grip the bar well for any lifting. Do you see the correlation, increased stress to your grip will activate more muscle fibers creating a potential for greater hypertrophic(muscle gaining) effects.

Now, assuming your sold on the idea that it has merit when it comes to adding value to your workout. What should you expect when you purchase Fat Gripz. I will run it down on a score system 1-5, 5 being the best score.

Durability/Material Quality - 4/5 The Fat Grips I personally own has been time tested and put through the ringer. I used the fat grips daily when I first purchased them, They are made of rubber that feels strong enough to be run over by a truck and still stay intact. I owned my Fat Grips for over 3 years and they went through hell. I would constantly throw them around/ bending and prying them off when switching to different handles and too this day they look almost as good as new. The only damage is a minor tear from ripping them off aggressively from the very fresh and spiky knurls of an olympic bar after an exhausting dead lift session.

Ease of Use - 4.5/5 - Attach to bar handles via the slit provided on the Fat Gripz. The rubber on the Fat Gripz in not the most pliable in order to keep the shape, so some force is required when you first use a fresh product. No complaints though.

Effectiveness - 4/5 - Within the first week upon using the Fat Gripz you will notice that your forearms are going to feel pains that you never felt before. I personally had enormous gains in size on my arms. 1 inch added to my forearm size in only one week. 1.5 inches added to my biceps within a week and a half. It was a pleasant surprise. However, I cannot attest to strength gains because when using Fat Gripz, You will be encouraged to use lighter weights than you're originally accustomed too.

Cost - 3/5 - For 40 to 50 dollars a purchase, it was definitely hard to swallow as a college student. During the time I discovered Fat Gripz, the idea of Fat Gripz remained fresh to the market and didn't have any generic brands or knock off's so hence the high price point. Ultimately the value was well worth the high price tag in hindsight. Currently in 2017 there has been an increase in competition and Fat Gripz has since lowered their price in order to stay competitive.

Overall Rating - 4/5 - This is a quality product. I will honestly recommend it to any hard gainers that claim their arms won't grow. Fat Gripz is an effective tool. Its very portable and fits into anybody's gym bag. It also is a product where you can buy it once and you will be sure that it will last the rest of your life.

Click the link provided for the best price on Fat Gripz here:

Here's a Video Review as well: