Even amid a future of uncertainty, there’s a bright side to this time at home: we now have extra time to really hone in on certain skills we’ve been putting off or haven’t been able to really dive into.

Now is also the perfect time to start a training regime (or even a new one if you’ve plateaued on progress) and work on developing the discipline to carry it out everyday. Many people say sticking to a routine is more important than ever now, especially for mental health, since it gives a sense of structure, purpose, and (to put it bluntly) distraction from circumstances.

Here we’re going to discuss and do a walk-through video of one of the best exercises for grappling. In later blogs, we’ll also continue with this series “Secrets of the Cage” so you can have new exercises and techniques to work on monthly and weekly (just subscribe to the Youtube channel so you’ll be alerted!).

Best Exercise For Grappling

A few keynotes before we get started on grappling: in grappling, we rely a lot of wrist and grip strength and “pulling” strength. This is why even some of the most simple exercises like hanging on a pull up bar (you’ll see me start with this in the video) are so effective to develop grip. Try hanging for a minute, and work up once you hit that.

Once you’ve mastered this, we’ll scale it to having you hold on to hanging loops or towels looped around the bar. This further challenges grip and requires and even tighter hold, while also strengthening your shoulders. Again, try to hold for one minute.

Now for the full movement: hanging from your towels or metal/rubber loops, pull yourself up as if you’re doing a pull up. Optionally, lift your knees for core engagement at the top. This exercise truly hits every major grappling “muscle” and movement all at once, which is fantastic since it’s also a full body exercise. It will improve your grip during chokes and holding your opponent close to you in bars (aka: the pulling motion).

Again, if you want awesome training tips delivered regularly, subscribe to the channel and keep visiting the blog!

Also, let me know below: have you found any moves that improves your grappling?