Grip Training, Pulling Exercises, And Finding The Right Progressions For Your Home Workout
Issue
When I first started exercising regularly in high school grip training was the last thing on my mind. When I was handed a doorway Pull-up bar by my parents I loved utilizing it from time to time and getting my numbers up. By the time I was a senior in high school, I could get over 20 full range-of-motion pull-ups. However, the strength of my hands as they gripped the bar was never a priority. I wish I would have been for several reasons.
One’s decreasing strength of their grip is a biomarker of their mortality. Now all of a sudden developing a strong grip won’t give one the fountain of immortality but it is a piece of a larger puzzle and strengthening this portion of the puzzle is easy and doesn't require many tools. It also won’t require much time.
If one has a manual labor job their grip will be a huge determiner of what problems they are able to work through. Working for a concrete coatings company I would often use a 7-inch hand grinder to level the sides of the garage or whatever patch of concrete I was working on.
When the diamond wheel on the grinder wore down I would need to replace it and it was often a struggle for me. On most occasions, I would need help which would slow down the momentum of the crew. This is just one example but I’d imagine there are countless others as it pertains to manual labor.
Heck even opening a jar on the first try.
More outlandish and something most of us won’t have to deal with but one of the Mighty Atom’s feats of strength was changing a car tire with his bare hands. Imagine the strength that would require in his hands.
Resolution
With the regular pull-up or bodyweight row the challenge to your grip will only be above a certain threshold. When starting out it would not be uncommon for someone to feel like the hands are slipping out of the handles while executing a bodyweight row. But with regular exercise and the fat burning off, their strength will be well adapted. But for others who want a greater challenge one option is to find a thicker bar or what I’ll do is pad the bar with a towel to give my grip a little greater challenge. The one armed row in my experience can also not provide an adequate grip challenge. The goal is to train the grip with as much intensity as your bicep, rear delt, and lats with any movement you are doing. Providing better symmetry pretty much.
Maneuver Plan
Incorporating some type of towel or rope bodyweight row into your regime will go a long way toward building up your forearms properly.
This is an introductory two-handed towel row using both hands. I have my feet at the base of the pillar keeping me in place. The nice thing about doing this using a pillar or wall is that you can get as low as you want without worrying about slipping. A gym I was working in had turf beneath its TRX bands and at a certain point, I would need to provide my clients with something heavy to keep their feet in place. I would advise this for those who can already do a considerable amount of body weight rows at a lower angle. Two sets between 8 and 12 either by themselves or as part of a full-body routine will do you well. Over time get either a longer towel or find something a bit higher to wrap it around. 1.5 reps where you spend most of the rep in either the stretched or contracted portion will also provide you a great stepping stone for more difficult variations down the road.
As with all progressive calisthenics moves, start high, get strong, and then go low.
Here I was trying out one-armed bodyweight rope rows using a 1.5” diameter rope. The mulch here does not provide a stable surface but if your calisthenics park has rubber or concrete this is ideal. Next time I’ll execute these outside my garage as there are some firm pillars there and the ground allows for less movement. On this day I did two sets of 8. Next time I’ll use a more stable surface and perform these at a lower angle.
What I enjoy about the one-armed bodyweight rows with a rope is that it's a middle road between the two-handed towel rows above and rope climbing.
Getting stronger with bodyweight exercises is all about finding the proper progressions. The one-armed rope row made it difficult to hold on so near the end of my set my grip was pushed to its max. When rope climbing your hand is holding firm for about a split second meaning its time under tension is too low not providing a good enough stimulus for growth. Pushing your grip to its max while suspended in the air is not a good approach for anybody.
A scene from one of my favorite movies, “Soldier” involves a fight suspended among chains.
The progression for rope climbing would be to spend more time keeping the hand on the rope engaged while quickly disengaging the other hand and slowly bringing it around to the top or bottom depending on which way you're going. But I’m currently rethinking my game plan toward developing a better grip.
Beginner
For those who are beginning or of older age and want to strengthen their grip, I’d advise the tow-handed towel row at a high angle. Build up to two sets of 12 reps over a few months then progress. Don’t go overboard and train this at the most twice a week. It’s not how much you train but how much you rest and recuperate to return for more that matters.
Intermediate
One armed rope row at a high angle using a 1.5” diameter rope, build up to two sets of 12 reps over a few months then progress. Train however often it takes you to advance. But once your progress slows down, decrease the frequency of your training every week.
Also, you can throw in some pseudo-rope climbs here and there. The tip is to go slow and give your grip a little bit more of a challenge.
Advanced
One armed rope row at a high angle using a 2” diameter rope or wrapping a thick towel around the 1.5” you do have and build up to two sets of 12 reps over a few months then progress. By this point, once you jump back into rope climbing your strength and stamina will be on point.
Variations
Training one’s grip can also be done by doing a form of archer pull-ups with one hand on a towel and one on the bar. But the methods above provide a firm measurement by which to gauge your progress. Archer movements are very beneficial in getting you towards your goal but knowing how much the supporting arm or hand is providing support requires a good deal of muscle tension awareness. If I could do my pulling training over again I’d use more unilateral progressions from the bodyweight row to the one-arm pull-up.
Well, I hope this helps, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
