Hand strengthening exercises

Question by Briar
(Wales)

Can you recommend any hand strengthening exercises (bear in mind I am female!)? I get very frustrated at how little time I can spend practicing, especially barre chords at the moment because the pain stops me. I can do only a few minutes at a time.

Suggestions

Every guitarist goes through the pain barrier with barre chords. Just keep at it and you'll find the length of time you can practice before feeling pain will gradually increase.

Here's some additional exercises that will really give your fingers a workout!

Barre your index finger across as usual and try the following sequence, changing fingering every couple of seconds (you don't have to play anything, since the chords don't exactly sound very musical!)

















Try moving up and down the fretboard as you do this for some more pain/gain!

If you feel your hand cramping up, stop, shake off and start again.

Persistence is key, as with so many things in life.