Rogue neutral grip vs pinch blocks
This is a comparison between the Rogue neutral grip and the pinch blocks including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the Rogue pinch blocks
This is an overview of the Rogue pinch blocks including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.
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Overview of the Rogue pinch blocks
Price: $49-$62.50
The
Rogue Pinch blocks are simple but effective. They come in three different sizes, 3x3,2x3, and 1.5x4. The thinner the block, the harder it is to hold onto. This is a simple tool that will improve your grip for a long time to come and has many applications. You can hold weights or hand from a
rack as long as possible. As with all rogue products the finish is great and they hold chalk well.
Pros of the Rogue pinch blocks
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Cheap
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versatile
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Hardcore
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Easy on the hands
The
pinch blocks are relatively cheap and have a big impact on your grip strength. They are easy to use, as long as you know your way around a carabiner and a strap. Compared to other hardcore training tools for your grip, they are easier on the hands and less likely to rip your calluses and skin on the fingers.
Cons of the Rogue Pinch blocks
Pinch grip blocks are challenging and therefore not for beginners. If you consider buying without any prior experience in grip training, be prepared to get frustrated fast. In this case, you might be better off to get a set of low-level
Captain of Crush grippers or the
grandfather clock grips. The setup with a carabiner and strap is also not for everyone as it can be fiddly.
Alternatives to the Rogue pinch blocks
The
cannonball and
grandfather grip have roughly the same price. Both of them are easier for beginners than the
Pinch blocks if you want to progress slowly. I personally see them as a set to be bought together to keep things interesting, but not everyone wants to invest that much money from the start for something they are not sure about.
If you prefer to work with a bar rather than an attachment to a random weight than the
branch and beam are for you. The
branch and beam are bars that have been made fat to be better for grip strength training. They are a good option to train lifts in strongman competitions like lifting wagon wheels or car axles.
Conclusion for the Rogue pinch blocks
The
pinch blocks are a must for anyone serious about strength training. They are a good purchase together with the
cannonball and
grandfather grips. Be aware, that these are the more advanced options and that you will start humbled. With time, your hands will turn into beasts.
Overview and review of the Rogue neutral grip
This is an overview of the Rogue neutral grip including pros, cons, and alternatives. It was published first under which grip strength tool to get from Rogue. Follow the links for more details.
Overview of the Rogue Neutral grip
Price: $65
The
rogue neutral grip is an addition to
Rogue racks that come standard with the fat skinny bar. With this attachment, you can do neutral grip pull-ups for a small price of $65. Compared to other options it is probably one of the cheaper ones. The full specifications of the
Rogue neutral grip are:
This is a good quick fix if you do not mind some scratches on your equipment.
Pros of the Rogue neutral grip
This is an easy setup to quickly do neutral pull-ups on Rogue setup that otherwise would not allow for pull-ups or would need a wrench to swap cross members/attachments. Just throw them on and get going. With a little bit of tale attached to them, you can also avoid the scratching through the metal to metal contact.
Cons of the Rogue neutral grip
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Unstable
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Metal to metal contact
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Not versatile
These grips will go into your monster lite or infinity
rack but will not be as clean and secure as a proper pull-up bar. It can shift a little and therefore also scratch your
rack. In addition, it will be cumbersome to attach these hooks to any other weight to lift it which makes them pretty much single-use.
Alternatives to the rogue neutral grip
The
Rogue XM43 neutral grip rotating pull up attachment is a full specialized pull-up attachment for the monster lite and monster series. Compared to the neutral grips it can be wrenched onto a cross-member, has rotating handles, and several positions to work from. This is the professional tool from Rogue for a neutral grip from a
rack rather than the makeshift pins for $60. with $445 it also costs more than seven times more than the simple grips.
The
crown pull up bar is an attachment for the rogue monster lite and monster series that provides a neutral grip pull up setup amongst others. You will also get several other pull up setups and two different sized
spheres. If straight pull-ups are your jam, this is a very good attachment to invest in. The
crown would be an investment of $225.
A multi-grip cross-member is an option that can be attached at the top of your
rack. With this, you have several grip width options for a neutral grip in a stable setup. As long as your ceiling is high enough and you want to neutral grip pull-ups this comes in at $182.50 and is, therefore, great value for money option as an alternative to the neutral grips. In this setup, you will also not scratch the existing
rack.
Conclusion for the rogue neutral grip
The
Rogue neutral grip is a good quick fix when you have quite a few of the parallel fat/skinny bars which Rogue used to deliver with their
racks in the past. With the monster lite and monster
racks series this item becomes shipped far less and therefore did not age well. The fact, that the neutral grips scratch the existing material does not make it a preferred option if you can invest a little more money. I would always prefer to attach a
crown pull-up bar or XM 43M multi-grip cross member to achieve the same result.