Towel Pull-Up Hold
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Loop two towels over a pull-up bar. Grip one towel in each hand. Perform a pull-up or jump to the chin-over-bar position. Hold at the top for as long as possible — goal is 10-30 seconds. Lower slowly — control the descent against the towel's give. Rest 90 seconds. Repeat 3-4 times. If hanging is too hard, use a slightly supported foot on a box.
Why It Works
Hanging from a towel looped over a bar trains grip strength in the exact hand position used for stick handling — fingers wrapped around a cylindrical object under tension. The isometric hold at chin-over-bar level builds the forearm flexors, brachialis, and hand muscles simultaneously. This is a favourite grip strength tool of wrestlers and climbers — athletes who, like hockey players, win by out-gripping their opponents.
Hockey Transfer
Thick-grip work using towels = brutal grip endurance. Directly carries over to holding stick through battles and tie-ups. Useful for athletes who can do many pull-ups but want grip-specific overload. Direct hockey carry-over.
Coaching Cues
- "Drape 2 towels over bar. Grip the towels (not the bar). Hold for time at top of pull-up."
Common Mistakes
Letting the shoulders shrug up — keep them depressed even in the hold. Dropping quickly — control the descent for extra time under tension. Gripping too low on the towel — grip at the top for the most challenging position. Wrists bending backward — keep them neutral throughout.
Progression / Regression
Single-towel hold (both hands on one towel) — demands more grip concentration.
Regular dead hang from the bar — build basic grip endurance before the towel.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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