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Training the grip can have tremendous impacts on overall upper body strength. It will even improve pulling strength in lower body movements like the deadlift or snatch. While most individuals in a gym setting avoid training the grip, and in some cases compensate for a weak grip with wrist straps, I advocate strengthening the grip through various methods.
One method that can be utilized to strengthen the grip is thick bar training. Charles Poliquin, a world authority on fitness, has an article addressing some of the ideas of using a thick bar for maximizing results. While the concepts and potential benefits of thick bar training are great, the ability to incorporate them into the average person’s workout can be very difficult.
The individual who has their own gym or workout area is stuck spending hundreds of dollars to get a good, thick barbell as well as dumbbells. Those in the typical corporate gym setting usually do not have any options. One solution is to purchase a set of grips that go over the bar that increase the diameter of the bar. I am aware of one product available and am a big fan of it, however it still may be more money than some people care to spend.
With that in mind, I will show how to make various apparatuses for thick bar training for less than $10. A quick trip to the local hardware store and a little handy man work will create many new grip training possibilities.
Step 1: Materials
1 - 1” x 6’ Bulk pipe insulation
1 - 2” x 2’ PVC Pipe
Once the materials have been purchased there is only a little bit of fabricating necessary.
Step 2: Cut PVC and foam to length
The first step is to cut the PVC pipe to length. I used a standard chop saw to cut the 2’ pipe down to four 5” sections. If needed the hardware store may be able to cover this step. At the same time I also cut the foam insulation to obtain four 5” sections.
Step 3: Cut a gap in the PVC pipe
Once that is done some sort of precision cutting device is needed to cut through the length of the PVC pipe. I used a Dremel high speed rotary tool. Using the Dremel tool, I cut a 1 1/4” wide gap down the entire length of the PVC pipe to allow it to fit over a barbell or dumbbell grip. I first used the cutting wheel that came with the Dremel tool to cut the approximate width of the pipe. Then I used the sanding band to smooth out the edges and fine tune the width of the gap. I would suggest starting too narrow and slowly widening the gap to avoid over-cutting.
Step 4: Cut a gap in the foam
After the PVC pipe has been properly cut to fit over the bar the next step is to insert one of the foam insulation pieces in each pipe. It will be apparent that the foam pipe fills the entire gap in the PVC pipe. A pair of scissors can easily be used to cut the foam to match the gap of the pipe. I would suggest lining one edge of the foam insulation up with an edge of the PVC to minimize cutting. It is also necessary to cut the foam wide enough so that the bar fits inside the foam and does not cause the foam to collapse upon itself.
Step 5: Use 
By cutting the foam to match the pipe the fabrication of the thick bar devices for use with barbells and dumbbells is officially complete. The foam itself can be used as an intermediate handle on any barbell or dumbbell. The PVC and foam can also be used on any barbell or dumbbell.
After completing the fabrication of the grips it is also possible to make an additional training device with the left over PVC pipe along with a few other materials. I use this next training tool for pull-ups as well as attaching to a cable column to have a thick handle for different cable exercises.
Step 1: Materials
2 - 5” sections of PVC pipe (Remaining from previous project.)
2 - 2’ section of chain (Make sure the chain has a sufficient load capacity.)
2 carabiners (Make sure the carabiners have sufficient load capacity.)
Step 2: Thread chain through PVC
 
Using the two remaining sections of PVC pipe from the previous project all that needs to be done is threading one chain through each PVC section and then using a carabiner to attach the loose ends of the chain. This is a fairly simple process that will create an immense amount of thick handle training possibilities.
Enjoy.
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