Grip Strength for Rowing: How to Improve It

To improve grip strength for rowing, fix how you hold the handle first, then train your forearms twice a week with dead hangs, carries and pinches. If your grip fails, a long piece falls apart even if your legs and lungs are fine, and the cause is often squeezing too hard.

Why rowing is a grip endurance problem

You rarely need a crushing hold. You need a light hold, repeated many times.

Piece	Rate	Strokes
20 minutes	20	400
30 minutes	22	660
60 minutes	20	1,200

Squeeze hard through 660 strokes and your forearms will burn long before your legs do. That is why technique comes before any exercise.

Grip and the stroke

On the erg, hold the handle with a relaxed hook grip. The hands are hooks, not a vice. Concept2’s technique guide has the wrists flat and the grip relaxed at the finish. The work comes from your legs and trunk, with the arms and hands as the final link, so the handle should feel pulled by your body and not crushed by your fingers.

Try this for 1 minute on your next easy row. On each recovery, open your fingers slightly so the handle sits in the hook. If your forearms feel easier, you have found the main problem.

On the water the same applies to the oar handle. You also need to feather the blade, turning the oar in your fingers, which asks for a grip loose enough to roll the handle. See rowing with bad grip and how to warm up your hands for rowing.

Signs your grip is the limit

• Your forearms burn long before your legs or lungs do.
• Your fingers uncurl or slip late in long pieces.
• You catch yourself squeezing hard on the recovery.
• Blisters or calluses keep forming in the same places.

If you notice these, first check whether you are over-gripping. As a rule of thumb, add grip training only if the problem stays after 2 weeks of relaxed rowing.

The exercises

Choose three or four and do them twice a week, not on your hardest rowing days.

Exercise	How	Sets	Reps or time	Rest
Dead hang	Hang from a bar with straight arms	3	20 to 40 seconds	60 to 90 s
Farmer’s carry	Walk with heavy dumbbells or kettlebells	3	30 to 40 seconds	60 to 90 s
Wrist curl, reverse curl	Light dumbbells, controlled movement	3	12 to 15	45 to 60 s
Plate pinch	Pinch two weight plates together and hold	3	15 to 30 seconds	60 s
Band extensions	Open your hand against a rubber band	2 to 3	15 to 20	30 to 45 s

Once normal rows or pull-ups feel comfortable, try them holding a towel over the bar for extra challenge. Climbing and bouldering also work the hands hard; see climbing for rowers.

Band extensions are not optional. The muscles on the back of the forearm are often neglected, and they help keep the wrist and elbow balanced.

A simple 8-week plan

Muscular endurance suits rowing, so favour moderate loads and longer holds. This is a rule-of-thumb progression, at two sessions a week. Each takes about 15 minutes.

Weeks	Dead hang	Farmer’s carry	Plate pinch	Band extensions
1 and 2	3 x 20 seconds	3 x 30 seconds	3 x 15 seconds	2 x 15
3 and 4	3 x 30 seconds	3 x 30 seconds, slightly heavier	3 x 20 seconds	2 x 20
5 and 6	3 x 40 seconds	3 x 40 seconds	3 x 25 seconds	3 x 15
7 and 8	Build towards 1 x 60 seconds	3 x 40 seconds, heavier	3 x 30 seconds	3 x 20

After 8 weeks, drop to one session a week to maintain.

Common mistakes

• Training grip when it is already tired. Fatigued forearms from a hard row make for sloppy lifting and a higher chance of aches.
• Ignoring the extensors. Only training the flexors can leave the forearm unbalanced.
• Gripping tighter to fix a slip. If the handle slips, dry your hands and the handle and relax your hold.
• Adding load too quickly. Increase weight or time in small steps, about every 2 weeks.

Looking after your hands

Don’t train grip so much that your forearms are exhausted for rowing. Elbow or forearm pain that doesn’t settle is a reason to see a GP or physio; see rowing with tennis elbow for more.

Gloves aren’t usual in rowing; do you need rowing gloves explains why, and our article on whether Olympic rowers wear gloves shows how top rowers look after their hands.

World Rowing’s blister advice covers the basics:

• Wipe handles down after every session.
• Build rowing time gradually, even once calluses form.
• Clean torn skin with warm, soapy water, then cover cracked or raw skin.
• Trim the ragged edges of old skin, and soak hardened callus before smoothing it with pumice.
• Get medical advice if the skin around a blister stays red and angry.