is there something wrong with doing bent-over rows without closing your hands?
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canadianlbs
Posts: 5,199 Member
i had this interaction in the gym today which has kind of demoralized me. very very nice kid, super-respectful, positive attitude, intelligent . . . probably weighs 10 pounds more than me and squats like a hardcore demon with really good form. but he knows a whole lot and that means being approached by him always makes me tense up. there's always a little 'do you mind if i just make a suggestion . . .' thing after the opening pleasantries, and i'd almost prefer it if he just waltzed up and said Don't Do That You Fool. i never know if i should take the complimentary phase at face value, or just brace myself.
so i'm gonna ask. i do pendlay rows without closing my hands on the bar. i just go overhand, curl my fingers under and pull with the bar sitting in the crook between the top of my palm and the base of my fingers. it gives me a bit more of a friction-callus, i guess, but i've never had any trouble with feeling like i couldn't handle the weight. and i do it because it lets me keep the straightest forearms/wrists, out of all the options.
the little kid today was working right next to me and when he'd finished watching my last set of the day he was all 'seriously? whoa' about it, but i couldn't get him to say if it was a problem or if he was just surprised. he SAID he was just surprised and 'i just wouldn't have expected it', but past experience with his tact makes me nervous about assuming it's my strength rather than my stupidity that he hadn't foreseen.
anyone? the weight he saw me working with was 80 pounds, for whatever that's worth.
so i'm gonna ask. i do pendlay rows without closing my hands on the bar. i just go overhand, curl my fingers under and pull with the bar sitting in the crook between the top of my palm and the base of my fingers. it gives me a bit more of a friction-callus, i guess, but i've never had any trouble with feeling like i couldn't handle the weight. and i do it because it lets me keep the straightest forearms/wrists, out of all the options.
the little kid today was working right next to me and when he'd finished watching my last set of the day he was all 'seriously? whoa' about it, but i couldn't get him to say if it was a problem or if he was just surprised. he SAID he was just surprised and 'i just wouldn't have expected it', but past experience with his tact makes me nervous about assuming it's my strength rather than my stupidity that he hadn't foreseen.
anyone? the weight he saw me working with was 80 pounds, for whatever that's worth.
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I can't think of anything wrong with it. There is nothing dangerous about it. If your grip fails, the bar will just fall to the floor. The only problem with it is that your grip is going to fail before your actual strength does, but you can always just use a firmer grip when that happens.0
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I actually have a better range of motion when not wrapping my thumbs around on the rows (like you said, straighter forearms/wrists and stuff), but I tend to mix it up as it does make the bar a lot more slippery, in a sense.
I don't wrap my thumb when doing pulldown/pull-up movements either. It tends to make my forearms hurt and, again, not quite the same range of motion otherwise.
So no, absolutely nothing wrong with doing that IMO. Without the thumb "hook" though, your finger grip does tend to be called into play more. While that could be a limiting factor on deadlifts, if you can manage on rows I really don't see a problem there!0 -
okay thanks. so i'll choose to believe he was impressed my fingers could handle an 80lb bar for 25 reps
eta: and also choose to believe it was impressive. i could use a little food for the ego right now.0 -
*I* think it's impressive. Rows are hard!
Also see no issue with the grip if you're not struggling with the weight.
xo0
