#2 Decrease Risk of Injury

Most injuries from strength training result from repetitive overuse and improper progressions, which result in placing too much stress on muscles and tissues that are not prepared to do the job they’re being asked to do. Looking at a pull-up, when we are able to change our hand position we can avoid both, and we just discussed progression above.

Repetitive overuse, as the name implies, is doing the same thing over and over and over. When addressing this concern, it helps to have a little anatomy background. Our bodies are one large bag of many different tissues. Everything is connected. This means that our hands (fingers and thumb), which grab the bar or handles for a pull-up, are intimately connected via muscles, fascia, bones, nerves, blood and lymph vessels to the wrist, elbow, shoulder, and torso. Anything we change at the hand will effect each of these other areas.

While proper progression (discussed above) effects the mechanical elements of the pull-up helping us to use better technique, etc., changing hand position also effects the tissue element. By varying our hand position as we perform the pull-up over weeks or months, we decrease the amount of stress placed on the same line of tissue. This allows our bodies to better recover and repair, which decreases the risk of overuse and ultimately injury. This is vital for reducing elbow and shoulder injuries that can keep us from sustaining our training, and thus not gaining.

#3 Variety

Boredom often comes from lack of variety. Many people get bored with their training programs because they feel stagnated. Adding variety to your training is like adding spices to your food. It can make all the difference in the world. Having the ability to modify exercise on demand making them ‘different’ not only helps our bodies, as discussed above, but it also helps our mental and emotional outlook. Our mental and emotional outlook is every bit as important as the physical aspects for keeping us on track and into our training.

Variety can also make traditional exercises more attractive to many people. Whether using a straight barbell or Eleiko’s specifically designed adjustable handles, creating variety in how pull-ups are performed is essential to continued growth and performance. By using adjustable handles, you are able to generate as many pull-up variations as you want whilst gaining the benefit of decreasing the risk of injury regardless of your ability level.

By Rodney Corn

3 Reasons You Should Adjust Your Hand Position.