As part of my ongoing feats of dad strength, I attempted a 1-RM weighted chin-up with 80 lbs – the approximate weight of my two nephews Eli and Baz.

1-RM weighted chin-up

Here’s 80 pounds. https://youtu.be/WUzyCs0afvw

Why You should do the Weighted chin-Up

• They are challenging

• They’re fun, and mixing things up is important

• They’re useful – pulling strength and gripping strength is highly transferrable to functional activities like moving furniture, construction, grappling, or soldiering

• They save time – they engage a very large muscle group (your lats) while also hitting the little ones (biceps, abs). So you can stop doing 12 types of bicep and wrist curls 🤦🏽.

My history with the weighted chin-up

I’ve been using this as a foundational strength benchmark for at least 15 years, and love doing them. As of 8/14/2021, I’ve been rehabbing my back and posterior chain for about 3 weeks, and am looking forward to closing in on my record of 110 lbs, which I pulled once when I was at a body weight of 165 lbs.

Other Things that Strengthen Grips

• Ring muscle ups

• Rope climbing

• Frenchies

• Farmer’s Walks

• Filling sandbags, laying brick, or even just stacking bricks

• Jiu Jitsu / Judo / Wrestling