A Grip Change is an Equipment Change With YBell
Posted by Aaron Laurence on Dec 29th 2020
A Grip Change is an Equipment Change With YBell
Training with the YBell is as simple as changing your grip to seamlessly change the piece of equipment that you’re using. When you’re holding the YBell in center grip, it’s a dumbbell. When you’re holding it in under grip, it’s a double grip med ball. When you hold it in outer grip, it’s a kettlebell. And when we use it in top grip, it's a push-up stand.
The award-winning multi-handle design essentially makes the YBell a dumbbell, a kettlebell, a double grip med ball, and a push up stand all in one piece of equipment. And to switch between those four pieces of equipment, all you have to do is change how you’re holding the YBell — or more specifically, change the grip that you’re using.
Changing the grip changes the weight distribution of the YBell, allowing it to act as a different piece of equipment. This is also what makes the YBell great for compound exercises and functional fitness training.
But those are just four of the possible ways to hold and use the YBell. The YBell’s multi-handle design allows for multiple grips and multiple exercises.
Let’s break down the various grips and exercises you can do with your YBell.
Under Grip
You’ll use an under grip for all of your double grip med ball exercises.
Holding the two outer handles, your knuckles are facing straight up, and the point of the YBell is facing straight down (the YBell will be positioned as an inverted pyramid).
Using under grip, you can easily punch up with the YBell, or press overhead. It’s great for squatting, lunging, or pressing. You’ll also use under grip for more advanced dynamic exercises like squat jump punches and skip lunges.
Double Grip
Double grip is similar to under grip in that the palms of your hands are facing together while holding two of the outer handles of the YBell. The difference with double grip is that your knuckles and the point of the YBell are pointing straight ahead.
Double grip is used for doing halos, tricep extensions, and any ab work that we do using the YBell.
Center Grip
You’ll use the center grip for all of your dumbbell exercises.
To hold the YBell in center grip, you’ll simply hold the center handle of the YBell. The weight is nicely distributed around your hand and you can also keep the weight nice and close to your body.
There are two types of center grips: top lock and loose grip.
Top Lock
You’ll use a top lock when performing curls.
Top lock is when you’re holding the center handle of the YBell and you lock the top handle hard up against the inside of your wrist.
This will help to stabilize the wrist when you’re doing exercises like bicep curls and twist curls. Top lock lets you shift the focus up to the upper part of the arm, as opposed to using a whole lot of wrist momentum to get that curl started.
Loose Grip
Loose grip is where you release that top lock against your wrist to let the YBell form a perfect upside-down triangle.
This makes for much better positioning of the YBell on the shoulder when you’re doing exercises like presses or hammer curl squats.
Top Grip
You’ll use a top grip for push-up work and groundwork.
Top grip is where the YBell stays on the ground and you use the top handle as a push-up bar. The weight, shape, and neoprene coating of the YBell make it incredibly stable as a push-up bar, and it also works well with push up rows.
This will help to keep straight wrists, and allows for more depth in your pushups and burpees.
Outer Grip
You’ll use the outer grip for all of your kettlebell exercises.
For outer grip, you can grip any of the three outer handles the way you would a kettlebell. The YBell will form a triangle with its bottom side parallel to the ground.
Use the outer grip to perform one-side swings and bent over rows. The free outer handles also provide a safe way to perform alternating low and high swings, by allowing you to keep hold of one handle until you have hold of the free handle that naturally presents itself in the upswing.
Rack Grip
Starting from the outer grip with the YBell by your side, simply twist the YBell up and underneath your chin to form the rack grip.
Rack grip allows you to perform kettlebell rack squats, kettlebell rack lunges, and kettlebell rack presses, but without the discomfort through the wrist and on the forearm that can come with the traditional steel ball of a kettlebell.
This is a small sample of the many exercises and training techniques you can perform with the YBell’s unique design. In our next post, we’ll discuss grip transitions and YBell-specific mobility exercises.
For more great exercises, check out the YBell App and try out some of the free workouts I’ve created that showcase the YBell’s functional design, as well as many of the exercises mentioned in this post.