Training Safety - False Grip

The basis of a long and productive career in the Iron Game is to actually be able to train. Yes, I admit that sounds like a no-brainer but have a look around the average gym and you will witness an absolute plethora of injury-prone lifting. The most common fault is lousy exercise form.

There is no sense in attracting injury to a greater extent than necessary when training hard. Training hard in itself is an injury-factor so why add to the injury potential? One of the most dangerous practices of bad exercise form is using the false (or thumbless) grip in any kind of pressing exercise. If you have seen an accident happening from using the false grip you don't need further explaining. For the others I will let a movie clip later in the post speak more than 1000 words ever could.

In my experience the reason for using the false grip often originates from one of the following:

• Plain and simple ignorance.
• A belief that the false grip enhances the training effect of the desired purpose of the exercise, e.g. you commonly hear false grippers claim "I feel it focuses the work to the pectorals" in relation to the bench-press.
• The trainee has done an excess of machine-work and avoided free weights throughout his/her years of lifting. For instance, trainees having done most of their bench-pressing on the Smith-machine might have grown accustomed to the locked movement in the vertical plane. Let's for now disregard that machines that do not follow the trainees required movement pattern will also lay the foundation for accumulated injury in relation to not abiding to the, most times, rigid laws of biomechanics. Adding to this potentially detrimental setup the locked plane of movement is likely to open up for bad exercise technique like applying the false grip.

Recently USC running back Stafon Johnson suffered severe injury from using a false grip. At the time, amazingly, he was spotted by his assistant strength coach. What kind of inadequate coaching is it to allow already injury-prone athletes to use idiotic training practices? Racks, spotters etc will do little unless you also apply the absolute basic prerequisites of safe training. Not using the false grip is such a prerequisite!

To sum it up, the thumbs are potential life-savers so just use them! Still not a believer? Have a look at the following clip and you will change your mind.