False Grip Training

[Patrick Keogh]

I wasnt sure where to post this topic, but as I think it has a lot to do with wrist joint preparation I have put it here...

When it comes to pullups on the rings or on a bar I dont have any problems, but as soon as it comes to doing this with the false grip, I struggle! This really became apparent when I started working on strict form muscle ups. Just holding the false grip on the rings was tough.

I looked around to find some information and videos on how to train the false grip and came across a few good ones - including Slizz's video. However just the simple false grip hang on a bar is very hard on my wrists, it feels like I can't get enough wrist flexion to get a solid 'grip' over the bar. Then when it comes to supporting my bodyweight during the hang, I can only hold it for a few seconds. Is this something I just need to stick at and will get better with as my wrists get more used to the position? or should I be doing some kind of other wrist strengthening or wrists stretching exercises first? I'm even hesitant to try the wrist push ups coach talks about as I dont feel my wrists can even handle this type of strain.

Bascially I feel that the strength AND flexibility of my wrists are terrible, and are really limiting my false grip, so I am interested to hear what advice other have about improving this, or if other people have experienced the same thing and have overcome this.

Thanks

[Joshua Naterman]

Rows, my friend! Start with those. You will slowly work into being able to do full ROM, and then you can do leg-assisted pull ups and finally true false grip pull ups!

[Patrick Keogh]

Thanks for that Slizz, I will give them a go tonight.

Whilst I have you here, sort of, i've been wondering what your background is? You seem to know an awful lot about the body as far as exercise, injuries, rehab and nutrition goes. Did you study these things? do you work in the health care field? or did your interest in training just lead you to researching these things for your own benefit?

Hope that isnt too personal to ask here. Maybe you have even answered this in other posts?

[Joshua Naterman]

All of the above!

This IS my field, both in personal performance and in academic achievement. I am also going into Osteopathic Medicine, the exercise science stuff is just so that I have a reputable background for saying what I say. You would be surprised how little you learn and how out-dated a lot of the stuff in degree programs is. Even so, I've picked up a few gems that everyone seems to miss just because I have, at this point, a practiced eye so to speak.

In the past I have been performance nutrition certified through the ISSA, and I try to stay up on the latest information. Being involved here helps a lot because there are always questions and occasionally people bring up information that I simply haven't heard of and I get the chance to integrate and perhaps update my own database.

As far as the injury stuff goes, that is really a function of no one being able to help me. I have had to fix my own body and at this point the end of the tunnel is in sight! My shoulder finally feels like a moderate fresh injury instead of a deep old one that won't go away. I have been able to help many people simply through understanding my own experiences and running into the limitations of the medical system as it is now, which is mostly that no one is pursuing all avenues of treatment. No one is saying "what are the various modes of healing acceleration, what causes these injuries, how do we treat each of these aspects and how can we integrate all of this?" I HAVE asked that, and continue to. I am quite sure that in 4-5 years I will know much much more than I do now.