the swiss Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 finally managed this last night. had never really tried very convincingly, having a hard time with reps on 2 rafters 10' appart. must say though that I did not start the pull up with my arms fully extended and that the rafter is made of pretty rough wood (not like if it was sandpapered and varnished), thus allowing for a nice good grip (it is 2' wide). Has anyone done this here, because I'm having a hard time imagining doing reps: when I get in the top position, I tend to twist, because my hands are (obviously) next to each other. Other remark: I do not hold the rafter the same way as when I am doing pinch lifts; somehow, my hand is not as deep in the rafter. will try to get some pictures. train hard david Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Say Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 That's amazing! Can you do a one arm/finger chin as well? How much do you weigh? Try 'walking' along a rafter for a few feet & see if you can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the swiss Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 thanks for the kind response. yes I can do a one arm chin, but again, not from a fully extended position. won't be able to try the walking to soon, because I built my self a small rafter-simulation device. the rafters I have at home are another story: 5' wide and smooth: already a great challenge two handed. train hard david Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersqueeze Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 I posted this about a year ago. I only have access to very smooth rafters (fully finished, sanded and stained) so what I did was glue some 120 grit sandpaper to the rafter where I gripped it. This was cheating in my opinion but it allowed me to be able to do chins and get a feel for the movement. 120 grit sandpaper is not very rough and the chins were still very hard for me. The best I ever did was five reps. I would grab the 2X4 with both hands facing the same direction (palms away from my face). I have not done ANY pinching since last september. The reason I stopped was I got something called radial tunnel syndrome. It forced me to stop climbing and all grip training for about three months. Climbing is most important to me and as much as I would like to get that clean one rafter pull up I don't think it would be smart for me to try again. I am really happy to learn that someone else is doing this movement. Keep it up and let me know how you are doing. Maybe I'll give it a go and see if the pain comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the swiss Posted February 13, 2002 Author Share Posted February 13, 2002 sorry to hear about your injury. so you got that with pinching? what are the symptoms ? also impressed that you did your single rafter pull up with both palms facing outwards. Can't do like that for now. I can hold on the rafter, but the higher I get, the less grip I seem to have on the rafter. I'll try again this week. hope you can get back into climbing and grip training soon. david Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersqueeze Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 David - The climbing is back. I really have to hold myself back on some of the other hand related training. The pinching is really what did me in. It is just something with the way my arms are put together. The strange thing is I get stronger toward the middle or end of the range of pulling motion. The real problem appears when my elbows are nearly straight. Because of this I am really bad at pinching plates. If I can keep my elbow about half bent I can pinch without too much pain. Which brings me to the symptoms. They included much pain in the muscle that is on the outside of the elbow (hurt to touch!!! It was actually the radial nerve but the whole muscle hurt), burning numbness down the top of my forearms out to the tips of my fingers, and a rapid decline in hand and arm strength. If you begin to get it you will know by the constant hand numbness and the severe pain in the radial nerve that accompanies any straight armed heavy gripping. As far as the rafter chin goes, I want to stress again that it NEVER happened for me. Not in the very strict style of single rafter with polished surface. That was the goal I set for myself and I never achieved it. I also want to point out that I really am pretty bad at pinching plates. I am an extremely good puller for my weight (150 pounds, 68 kg). I really think that climbing helped me a lot with getting as close as I did. I have been climbing for about 15 years and the body tension used in climbing is CRITICAL in rafter pulls. Any kind of swing and I was off - it required a totally smooth motion and complete body tension throughout the entire range of the pull up. I really do hope you get the pull-up I deamed of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the swiss Posted February 15, 2002 Author Share Posted February 15, 2002 good to hear you can climb. tried your style of rafter pull up yesterday. can't do it. I weigh 74kg right now. I don't know how good/bad I am with plate pinching, I work with a 2' smooth piece of wood and can deadlift about 40 kg with each hand, but as I said, I feel the hold on the rafter to be quite different than that on the plates. I am pretty sure I couldn't pull up on a smooth single rafter. Still have to try from an arms extended position. I do feel it is hard on inside-elbows tendons. but I am careful. I also agree on "climbing style "body tension through the pull. wish you a quick recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 115-1005574997 Posted February 15, 2002 Share Posted February 15, 2002 Radial Tunnel Syndrom Its possibly caused by overtraining without enough rest to recover fully or a bit too much intenity on an unusual movement. Try wearing a 'tubi grip' (elasticaed bandage) on the lower arm before doing 'tests' like rafter chins. Ive had a similar discussion with dave (swiss) on another thread so would aprecite your opinion. http://www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/pate...tun/radtun.html Also http://www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/pated/ctd.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersqueeze Posted February 15, 2002 Share Posted February 15, 2002 Hey Scott, I'll try just about anything. Where can I get a tubi grip? The doc and therapist have me doing nerve gliding stretches and these have kept my discomfort to a manageable level. I am still a bit gun shy when it comes to the heavy straight arm gripping. Mike M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 115-1005574997 Posted February 15, 2002 Share Posted February 15, 2002 Mike I know how desperate things feel when you have a chronic injury. Check those websites out as the descriptions are first class. Here in the UK we can get a 'tubi grip' from any chemist (drug store). they are an elasticated, hollow, tubed bandage that come in several sizes (size b and c for forearms if that helps?!?!) Maybe you have something similar in the US or maybe someone here in the UK can post you one. Check 'tubi grip' out on google. It works by compression of the area (remember your basic first aid RICE) and has helped me a lot with tricep tendon pain. Do you stretch your wrists, fingers and thumb daily? Do you massage the area with deep friction? Have you tried heat packs (a hot water bottle is good) to increase blood flow or ice to decrease swelling? Give them a go and see if they help. If you need any more suggestions just ask....good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.