False grip work

Since one of the things I'm working on is the muscle up, I have been wondering if I should use a false grip for the RC progressions, or add specific grip work at the end of the workout.

Anyone doing anything similar?

False grip work can be added to really any point of the workout.  I think the most beneficial method for developing it is to do false grip pullups at the end.  You only need a few.  If these are too difficult then you can do a set of the RC variations with it.  Just don't let it alter the range of motion of the exercise.

Likewise I am working on the muscle up too (a la Andreas Aguilar, hah!) and the false grip is my current sticking point before getting to the transition stage. I practise whenever I go near the garage (where the rings are) at home - so little and often.

I'm doing false grip hangs (30s), normal grip pull ups (10r), and false grip pull ups (3r) using a thick piece of sponge between the ring and hand for the false grips. When I start feeling less wimpy, I'll remove the sponges and put a stick between my teeth...

I've started with false grip rows, only got a couple tho.  I've taped up my rings with some gorilla tape, which should help stop my hands sliding about.

I was thinking of just using false grip all the way up to RC/PE5 and using false grip on MN/PE4 and up.

I understand that it will take me a while to get all the way to false grip pullups, but I would have a hell of a false grip when I get there...

by the time you're in F2, you're already going to have a ridiculous grip from all the pulling PE's. you -can- do the false grip now, if you want, but its already been said, if you MASTER RC progressions it will bear much more fruit in carry over strength to muscle up specific work.

my muscle up reps have gone up, just leaving it alone.

also, if you are doing H1 wrist work, you'll by default have flexible and strong wrists that will be able to grip into a false grip, not hold on for dear life.

/2cents

KeilaniG said:

by the time you're in F2, you're already going to have a ridiculous grip from all the pulling PE's. you -can- do the false grip now, if you want

I doubt that somewhat. False grip has it's own part of active flexibility you just won't get without training for it. Even HS1 wrist stuff doesn't really hit that rom. Of course great grip helps a lot but little compared to actual false grip work.

Flameous said:

I doubt that somewhat. False grip has it's own part of active flexibility you just won't get without training for it. Even HS1 wrist stuff doesn't really hit that rom. Of course great grip helps a lot but little compared to actual false grip work.

Many people never train for a false grip and can simply do it. It's within the realm of possibility that one could pick it up as a result of other work.

I did not state that as gospel. I'm just reitorating my experience and not recommending my trajectory(which has been short) on a matter that clearly does not pertain to my level of skill. but if you do see my muscle ups now compared to how they were dec 30th, you'd see clear improvement, like no kip, no panic kicking legs, no throwing head forward while ascending and keeping false grip on my way down, for 3-5 reps which is 2-3 more reps than i could do previously without any prior muscle up training.

as stated before, not gospel, just sharing personal experience^_^

Back in the day I found my false grip right away and only ever worked it during muscle-up training, like Joshua said. Chalk helped a lot when my hands got sweaty. I'm surprised others find it so hard. Blame it on individual strengths and weaknesses. I certainly do have my weaknesses.

Flameous said:

I doubt that somewhat. False grip has it's own part of active flexibility you just won't get without training for it. Even HS1 wrist stuff doesn't really hit that rom. Of course great grip helps a lot but little compared to actual false grip work.

Mm, I disagree. I think wrist pushups in particular and all the wrist mobility working together would go a long way. It's not going to increase your hanging endurance, but I think it would make false grip easier to learn and more comfortable to maintain.

Charm said:

Mm, I disagree. I think wrist pushups in particular and all the wrist mobility working together would go a long way. It's not going to increase your hanging endurance, but I think it would make false grip easier to learn and more comfortable to maintain.

I agree with you. I struggled with false grip, then worked on  wrist pushups until I was doing them full lay, and then false grip gave me absolutely no problems.

I feel this needs to be pointed out.  You people are discussing H1 not F1.

Bipocni said:

I feel this needs to be pointed out.  You people are discussing H1 not F1.

Didn't realise which forum it was honestly To be fair though I was directly addressing the query on H1 wrist work.

Just wanted to add that using chalk on my wooden rings really helped massively in maintaining a false grip.

I am doing RC work with both types of grips now - still lagging behind on reps when using the False Grip compared to normal grip, but it's improving all the time.

Also, paradoxically, I feel much stronger in the movement when using the False Grip.

I needed to train false-grip a lot earlier, then taped my rings and nowadays can hold the false-grip effortlessly for long periods of time. Sweaty non-wood rings without the use of chalk can be the culprit for false-grip problems

F1 or F2 won't really give you good grip strength at all... because all of the elements are two-hand with the bodyweight only. Eventually when rope climbing and especially cirques appear, probably in F3/F4, you can expect good grip strength gains. 

Just as an update: I found false grip too confusing while trying to learn hinge rows, in part due to the rotation element.  I have been working false grip isometrics, and have found that holding an isometric false grip with fully extended arms is actually quite a bit harder than false grip rows.  I assumed it would be the other way around, but this is not the case.  Anyone know why?

This is usually due to a lack of wrist and forearm mobility.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach Sommer said:

This is usually due to a lack of wrist and forearm mobility.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

This was my problem. It took me around 3 months to develop what I needed.