Rowing with Bad Grip: How to Cope and Improve

If your hands or forearms give up before your legs and lungs do, grip is the limiter. It is general information, not a diagnosis.

Why your grip fails

Most grip problems are technique problems before they are strength problems. The usual causes:

• Squeezing too hard. Gripping the handle like a rope keeps your forearm muscles tensed through the recovery, when they should be resting. A “death grip” also sends tension up into the wrists, shoulders and neck.
• Pulling with the arms early. If your arms bend at the start of the drive, the load lands on your fingers and forearms instead of your legs and body. Your arms should stay straight until the handle passes your knees.
• Bent wrists. Cocking the wrists up or down makes the forearm muscles work harder and can aggravate sore tendons.
• Sore skin. Blisters and calluses make you hold the handle awkwardly, which creates more of the same.
• A handle that is wrong for your hands. On the water, oar handle diameter matters. A handle that is too thin makes you squeeze to hold it; one that is too thick tires the forearm. Ask your coach or club about adjusting it.

Hold the handle efficiently

On the erg, and in a boat, the principles are the same.

1. Hook your fingers over the handle so the load sits in the fingers, not the palm.
2. Keep your thumbs wrapped lightly underneath rather than clamped around.
3. Keep your wrists flat and in line with your forearms through the stroke.
4. On the recovery, loosen your fingers slightly. The handle should not drop, but your forearms should feel as though they are getting a break.
5. Drive with the legs first, then the body, then the arms. See common rowing technique faults for the sequence in detail.

On the water, sweep rowers hold the oar with an overhand grip, with the outside hand at the end of the handle and the inside hand a hand-width or so in from it. Scullers hold one handle in each hand, with the hands close together and one slightly in front of the other on the recovery so they pass cleanly. Feathering the blade is done by rolling the fingers and wrist, not by gripping tighter. If you find yourself squeezing to feather, the fault is usually a tense wrist.

A simple grip check

Next time you row, do a steady 10 minutes at a comfortable rate, around 18 to 20 strokes per minute. Every minute, ask yourself three questions: are my fingers tight on the recovery, are my wrists flat, and are my arms bending early? If the answer to any is yes, correct it for the next minute. Doing this regularly retrains the habit much faster than thinking about it only when your forearms burn.

Build grip strength gradually

Grip responds well to simple, regular work. Add one or two of these after a session, not before, so you are not rowing with tired forearms:

Exercise	Starting dose	How to progress
Dead hang from a bar	2 to 3 holds of 10 to 20 seconds	Add a few seconds per week
Farmer’s carry	2 to 3 walks of 20 to 30 metres, moderate weight	Add a little weight or distance
Wrist curls and reverse wrist curls	2 sets of 12 to 15, light weight	Increase weight slowly
Thick-handle or towel hold	2 to 3 holds of 15 to 20 seconds	Lengthen the hold

Train grip two or three times a week at most, and take a day off if your elbows or wrists feel irritated. Our grip strength training for rowing guide goes further, and strength training for rowing shows where grip work fits into a weekly plan.

Look after your hands

Warm your hands and forearms before a hard session (see how to warm up your hands for rowing). File down calluses rather than tearing them, and keep the handle and your hands dry. If a blister forms, rest it and cover it until it heals. Do not row through a torn blister, as it only gets worse. Our page on whether Olympic rowers wear gloves explains how elite rowers look after their hands.

Age can play a part too. Grip strength generally declines as we get older, so a steady, patient programme matters more than sudden heavy loading. If you have arthritis or another hand condition, ask your GP or physio what is sensible.

When to get checked

Some tiredness in the forearms is normal. Numbness, tingling, sharp pain or swelling in the hands, wrists or elbows is not. Stop, and speak to a GP or physiotherapist before carrying on. If pain increases during a session, stop.

For more technique help, browse the technique hub.