How to Stop Slipping on Pull-Ups and Dead Hangs

If you’ve ever struggled to hold on during pull-ups or dead hangs, you know how frustrating it can be. Your back and arms feel strong, but your grip slips before your muscles give out. The problem isn’t your strength — it’s your grip endurance.

The good news is, there are proven ways to stop slipping and finally get more reps on the bar. With a combination of technique, grip tools, and smarter training, you can turn your weakest link into one of your biggest strengths.

Why You Slip During Pull-Ups and Dead Hangs

Slipping usually happens for three reasons:

Grip Fatigue – Your fingers, forearms, and tendons tire faster than your larger muscles.
Sweaty Hands – Moisture reduces friction and makes it harder to maintain a solid hold.
Weak Stabilizers – Most gym equipment (steel bars) doesn’t challenge your small stabilizing muscles, so they fail quickly under load.

The key is to train smarter — not just hang longer, but build the grip to actually support your strength.

Solutions to Stop Slipping

1. Use Liquid Chalk

If sweat is causing you to slip, chalk is the simplest solution. Liquid chalk dries quickly, reduces moisture, and instantly increases friction. A single application can keep your hands locked in for an entire session.

2. Train With Rope Grips

One of the fastest ways to build grip endurance is to train on ropes instead of smooth bars. Monkee Grips are rope-based attachments that girth hitch onto any pull-up bar, tree branch, or beam. The rope flexes and shifts in your hand, forcing your grip to adapt.

This instability recruits more muscles in your hands, fingers, and forearms — the exact areas that give out first during pull-ups and dead hangs. By training with Monkee Grips, holding onto a regular bar feels easy by comparison.

3. Strengthen Your Tendons and Ligaments

Muscles grow fast, but tendons and ligaments take longer to adapt. Slipping is often a sign that your connective tissue isn’t keeping up. The best way to fix this is progressive overload with dead hangs:

Start with assisted hangs for 20–30 seconds.
Progress to bodyweight holds for 45–60 seconds.
Add time each week until you can comfortably hang for a minute or more.

4. Mix Static Holds and Dynamic Work

If all you ever do is static dead hangs, your progress will stall. Add variety:

Pull-up holds at the top, mid-point, and bottom.
Farmer carries with buckets, dumbbells, or kettlebells.
Rows with Monkee Grips using resistance bands.

This trains your grip through different angles and forces, making you more resilient on the bar.

5. Prioritize Recovery

Overtraining your grip is a fast track to tendonitis. If your hands ache constantly, you won’t improve — you’ll burn out. Train grip strength 2–3 times per week, and give your hands rest days to recover. Callus care also matters: file down rough spots and use balm to prevent tears that shorten your training time.

Why Monkee Grips Are the Game-Changer

Most slipping issues come from undertrained hands. Monkee Grips solve this by:

Turning any bar into a rope grip trainer.
Forcing your stabilizers to adapt and grow.
Offering scalable difficulty (Level 1 for beginners, Level 2 for advanced).
Being portable and affordable — so you can train anywhere.

The result? When you go back to the pull-up bar, your grip feels stronger, more secure, and slips far less often.

Final Thoughts

If slipping is stopping your progress on pull-ups and dead hangs, the fix isn’t more reps — it’s better grip training. By combining chalk, tendon work, and rope grip training with Monkee Grips, you’ll build hands that never quit.

🦍 Ready to stop slipping? Grab your Monkee Grips at www.monkeegrip.com and start training smarter today.