Get a Grip

Strengthening our forearms and grip is a challenge for most of us. You can use squeezy balls or those plier-looking grips that never seem to fit your hand right... or you can save money and just use a towel. That's right, a plain old towel. You can do it with a dry towel, but it's much more satisfying with a wet towel because it's more visual.

You can do this exercise from several different angles:

1. Both hands on top;
2. Both hands on bottom;
3. Left on top, right on bottom; or
4. Right on top, left on bottom.

Imagine the towel held in a horizontal line, and placing your hands will make sense. In the photo at left, I'm holding the towel with both hands on top. That's simple enough, right?

Now, from this position I can twist the towel two different ways: I can twist the left hand up and the right hand down, or vice versa. (Come on... you know how to wring a towel!) The same is also true from any of the other three positions I listed earlier.

You can do this drill with a dry towel, but with a wet towel you can see the water being wrung out and it will give you a visual cue about how hard to twist. (I'm holding a dry towel here, as I didn't want to mess up the kitchen floor. Do the wet towel over a tub or sink, ok?)

This drill will really help strengthen your grip and your forearms, both of which can be hard to train. In addition, wringing towels is a useful skill, and you can use that as an excuse if people give you a hard time when you say, "I'm improving my golf swing."