A strong upper body, plenty of endurance, and a fondness for getting rocks in your shoes and dirt in every orifice of your body can help you get through an obstacle course race, but a flimsy grip will be your downfall. Same goes for your gym workouts—you don’t want feeble grip strength to keep you from knocking out those last few deadlifts or rows.  

Some of the most common obstacles you’ll find on a Spartan Race or Tough Mudder course involve at least one of the three types of grip strength: pinch, crush, and support. Here’s how to train all three types.