2-in-1 Pullup Handle & Grip Strength Trainer

Hey guys, today I'll be showing you how to make a pair of portable pullup grips, which can be used to train grip strength* or for regular pullup training while on the go. Although the design is quite simple, it is extremely effective and works just as well as commercial versions, which tend to be pretty expensive. The design of these also gives you the option to attach them to anything: from your home pullup bar, to a tree in a park and they are small enough that you can take them just about anywhere with you.

Also, apologies in advance for the poor picture quality; as usual I have not got a tripod.

*Specifically training grip strength tends to improve overall strength and is particularly important for people who participate in sports such as judo, rock climbing, bouldering, arm wrestling, calisthenics, gymnastics and many more.

Supplies

To make these you will need:

A straight piece of branch approx 50cm (20in) long and between 4-6cm thick.

1 meter of 550 paracord

Two carabiners

Two 30-50cm (12-20in) lengths of chain (optional) - this is in case you want to be able to attach these to larger things like tree branches, for which you could also use some heavy-duty rope instead.

Tools:

Handsaw

Power drill

Knife/scissors

Lighter/matches

Step 1: Preparing the Wood

The first thing you need to do is cut the branch into two pieces, each around 25cm (10in) long. When picking a branch for this project it is important you choose one that is, as much as possible, the same diameter all the way along, so that the handles are both of equal thickness.

Make a mark about half a hand's width from the end of each of the handles and drill a hole which is slightly wider than the diameter of your paracord, straight through each of them on that mark.

Step 2: The Paracord

Cut the paracord into two 50cm (20in) lengths and melt the ends to prevent them from fraying. Thread the cord through the handles and use a fisherman's knot to tie the ends together - you can use any strong knot, I just have a preference for this one. (Info on how to tie one can be best found on google, as for copyright reasons I can't show someone else's diagram and I don't have a picture of me tying one myself.)

Step 3: Setting Them Up

Now you have made these it's time to set them up, so first you need to hang them from wherever you will be doing your pullups.

If you have a pullup bar like the one shown in the first picture, you can simply slip the loop of cord over each end. However, if you have a bar where the ends are blocked off, attached to a wall etc, you can clip the carabiner onto the cord, loop it over the bar and connect it back to the cord as shown in the second picture.

Lastly (demonstrated with my outside bar instead of a branch), if you want to attach these to a tree branch, just use the lengths of chain and the carabiner as shown in the 3rd picture.

Make sure to first test the strength of anything you plan to attach these to, as the last thing you want is a branch snapping above your head mid-exercise. As for the strength of the grips themselves, this will depend on the materials you use to make them but mine personally have supported over 90kg (200lbs) each without a problem.

Step 4: Using Them

Now you have them all set up they are ready to use. Remember that, when marking the holes, I said to leave half a hand's width space between the hole and the end of the handle? Well, the reason for that is so that you can use these for regular pullups and not just for grip training.

It can be very hard to get more than a few reps when holding the handles vertically and I tend to simply do deadhangs when using them like this. So, if you're wanting to focus more specifically on pullups rather than grip strength, all you need to do is turn the handles horizontally and hold them with two fingers each side of the cord.

This will mean you're not constantly trying to prevent yourself sliding down the handles and can use them more similarly to a pullup bar or gymnastic rings.

Anyway guys, that's the tutorial finished; I really hope you enjoyed it and will be able to make and use these yourself. If you liked it, please consider voting for this, checking out my other entries in the Exercise Speed Challenge and following me for more tutorials like this in the future.

Stay safe, train hard :-)