Upright barbell rows---pain in wrists

[Parker]

I have noticed that if I do these movement with close grip and thumbs around the bar that I will get pain in the wrists, most notably in the right lower wrist...I've tried varying widths, and even a straight bar...
Then I found out that if I have my thumb on top of the bar---thumbs pointing to each other, the pain subsided...

Anyone notice this...

[trapz101]

i guess that's why they're one of the worst exercise in terms of benefit:risk ratio?

[tbombz]

try a wide grip, better for the side delts and yeah thumbs on top of the bar. i never grip anything in the gym using my thumbs, never.

[Donny]

Upright rows are a suspect exercise but try using Dumbbells. You can move your hands the way you want to.

[JasonH]

Upright rows are a suspect exercise but try using Dumbbells. You can move your hands the way you want to.

Agreed - much more effective to use dumbells.

[jpm101]

Agree with Donny & JasonH, DB's do offer less stress. I'll do them one arm at a time for better focus. Follow the natural path of the elbows, which may mean slight wider arc outwards. Because even a closer grip, with the DB, can put stress on the wrist/forearm. BB or DB, keep the weight close to the body when pulling up. Injury's/stress (shoulder joints) do occurs when the weight is too far out from the front of the body. One of the reasons that upright rows get blamed for injuries.  Uprights will build mass in the biceps, delts, traps & upper back. Used them in a GVT program with great results.

Using a false grip (thumbless) can work very well, as said by TbombZ. Excellent for all types of curls, including reverse BB curls & lateral/front raises. False grips on DL's & Chins work the grip & forearms very well. Good Luck.

[local hero]

ive avoided upright rows like the plague for yrs, with my dodgy joints,,,

but recently ive been fucking around with cable variations to hit my traps in different ways... the best 2 ive found so far are


attach 2 handles to the lower cable on a crossover stack, grip the handles with your palms facing out over, and pull up,ive been pulling much higher than i would with bar too,, its almost pure trap, with a great squeeze at top

attach rope( that youd use for rope pushdowns ) to high pully on crossover, lean back slightly, get good stretch with hands together at start, then pull back in arc, squeezing traps together, no shoulder pain at all

[Meso_z]

Agreed - much more effective to use dumbells.

Upright rows are a suspect exercise but try using Dumbbells. You can move your hands the way you want to.

Why should he even bother? It will be almost like doing side laterals with the shittiest form ever.

[Meso_z]

To the original poster.

Have you tried this movement on the low pulley with a straight handle?

[tbombz]

Why should he even bother? It will be almost like doing side laterals with the shittiest form ever.

    kind of but not really. when most people think of poor form for dumbell laterals they are thinking about guys using lots of body language, swaying back and forth, jumping up on their calves to get the weights moving, not controlling the bells on the way down, etc.  dumbell upright rows are a good exercise, hit the front delts a little more than side laterals and allows for more weight to be used. one shoul dkeep very good form, no body language, no sway, no jumping, and controlling the weight down slowly .

[Meso_z]

    kind of but not really. when most people think of poor form for dumbell laterals they are thinking about guys using lots of body language, swaying back and forth, jumping up on their calves to get the weights moving, not controlling the bells on the way down, etc.  dumbell upright rows are a good exercise, hit the front delts a little more than side laterals and allows for more weight to be used. one shoul dkeep very good form, no body language, no sway, no jumping, and controlling the weight down slowly .

[Parker]

To the original poster.

Have you tried this movement on the low pulley with a straight handle?

No not really (I have done it for my traps)...at one point I thought it was the bar, as I used to do them at my parents house (back in the day) with the EZ curl, and I stopped doing them for the longest time, as I would get a sharp pain in my wrist...

When I switched to a straight bar and thumbs on bar, pain stopped.

And dumbells....I would get a clicking sound in my right shoulder when doing front dumbell raises...But not when I do military or behind the neck presses 

ive avoided upright rows like the plague for yrs, with my dodgy joints,,,

but recently ive been fucking around with cable variations to hit my traps in different ways... the best 2 ive found so far are


attach 2 handles to the lower cable on a crossover stack, grip the handles with your palms facing out over, and pull up,ive been pulling much higher than i would with bar too,, its almost pure trap, with a great squeeze at top

attach rope( that youd use for rope pushdowns ) to high pully on crossover, lean back slightly, get good stretch with hands together at start, then pull back in arc, squeezing traps together, no shoulder pain at all

I will try this...

[lesaucer]

To the original poster.

Have you tried this movement on the low pulley with a straight handle?

THIS, one arm at a time, favorite back excersice, i can do this one forever, pumps the back crazy

[exocet]

attach 2 handles to the lower cable on a crossover stack, grip the handles with your palms facing out over, and pull up,ive been pulling much higher than i would with bar too,, its almost pure trap, with a great squeeze at top

attach rope( that youd use for rope pushdowns ) to high pully on crossover, lean back slightly, get good stretch with hands together at start, then pull back in arc, squeezing traps together, no shoulder pain at all

I tried the second method that you gave and it works great. I am still not clear on the explanation of the first one though.

[Montague]

Two things I’ve found work well for me in the wrist discomfort/pain department when doing uprights:
Utilize an exceptionally wide (by most standards) grip, and use straps.

I suspect the wide grip permits a more forgiving angle on the wrist joints - particularly at the topmost portion of the movement.
And, straps allow you to loosen your grip a bit, which eases “some” metacarpal tension; perhaps just enough to make the difference.

[local hero]

I tried the second method that you gave and it works great. I am still not clear on the explanation of the first one though.

the 1st method hurts me shoulders still so i dont do them much,, but it does hit the traps in an unreal way..it almost feels like a nip its suck a good squeeze

attach 2 handles youd use for cable crossovers to the bottom of a pully stack, rotate your hands inward so your palms would be facing away from each other and the outside of your hands facing each other, then just simply pull up

[vic86]

Straining of wrists is an common thing in  upright rows and apart from getting a contraction at the concentric phase there is a lot of movement in the lateral deltoids kinesiologically speaking.One cant expect to go heavy on this.

[funk51]

i guess that's why they're one of the worst exercise in terms of benefit:risk ratio?

shoulder wrecker tooooo.....

[jpm101]

BB Upright Rows are a good example of not every exercise being for everyone. Include BB Benches, Press Behind The Neck, squats & DL's also. Might add to the fact that so many preform any of these exercises incorrectly, or get into bad exercise habits, in the first place. But no matter what any "expert" may say to the value of any exercise, if it's not for you...than it's not for.  Can  try to adapt, of course, to any exercise to experience any adjustments that might be needed.

Upright Rows have been a basic movement for me over the years and without any problems. Presses Behind The Neck are also a basic exercise for me, and again no problems. I have SS'ed them quite often, with good results.  Just the bio-mechanics (bone length, placement, joint structure, muscle inserts, etc.) of my individual physical type. To some other folks, theses two exercises are disasters in the making.  Good Luck

[wes]

Close grip = more trapezius, wider grip = more lateral head of deltoid.

I never do close grips as they suck as far as joint pain goes for me anyway.

I prefer DB Shrugs for trap development.

[Domthemilky]

Crap exercise, agree with dorian's view that what the hell do they actually hit? "its a nothing exercise".

Just do cleans, deadlifts and occasionally all out heavy dumbell shrugs. My traps are probably one of my best body parts and I never train em directly.