Exercise Handles for Weight Training Cable Machines and Resistance Bands: DIY

Commercial exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands are quite easy to make yourself.

Commercial exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands are quite easy to make yourself.

If you strength train using a cable machine, or use resistance bands, you will probably need exercise handles. These plastic and nylon webbing handle attachments clip to the cable with a carabiner, allowing you to more comfortably pull as well as allowing your wrist and arm to rotate in a more natural position. This rotation is much easier on your joints and greatly adds to your comfort. Conversely straight and rigid attachments such as a lat pulldown bar usually offer no flexibility of wrist angle, which is harder on your joints. A neutral grip for rowing is easier on the wrists, and therefore better for long-term use.

These exercise handles are pretty simple, with no moving parts. There the plastic handle, often covered with a rubber material for added grip. There is some nylon webbing, usually 1″ wide, and there is usually a D-ring. While there are a lot of these listed on Amazon that you could buy, you might want to customize these for yourself. Often times you might want short straps, long straps, or both options. You could choose the rubber grip that you wish, or switch them out for foam. When your DIY handles wear out or you want to enhance them, this is easily done. Here are some DIY options.

The Plastic Handle
I’ve used 1″ PVC water pipe, commonly and cheaply available at a big box hardware store, such as HD. Other commercial handles that I have are 5″ wide and 1.5″ diameter. I had 1″ PVC pipe in my garage, so I used that. There are generally four steps required:

  1. Cut the PVC pipe to 5″: I used a mitre saw to cut my pipe. You get a pretty smooth cut and it is 90 degrees straight. You could use a hack saw or some other means. Please don’t use a table saw unless you have a sled.
    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, cut with a mitre saw,. Photo 1 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, cut with a mitre saw,. Photo 1 by Don Tai

  2. Flare the ends: The ends of the commercial exercise handles are slightly larger so that your hand does not slip off. This flare is easily done with the PVC pipe. Put on gloves, because the pipe will get a bit hot. Use a heat gun on low or a hair dryer to evenly heat up the edge of the handle from all directions. This only takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute, very fast. When the pipe edge is hot it will become pliable. Then you shove the handle against the end of a wooden garden shovel handle in order to flare out the end. Hold the handle against the wood until the plastic cools down and retains Any piece of wood or metal with the right flared shape will do. The wood needs to start out smaller than the inner diameter of your pipe and then become bigger than the flare you want.

    I heated up my pipe for 30 seconds, then shoved it onto the shovel handle end. It opened a little bit. After another 30 seconds of heat I did it again and stopped when I was satisfied with the size of the flare.

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, handle ends flared with heat,. Photo 2 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, handle ends flared with heat,. Photo 2 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, handle ends flared with heat,. Photo 3 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, handle ends flared with heat,. Photo 3 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, wooden handle from a shovel used to flare the PVC handle,. Photo 4 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, wooden handle from a shovel used to flare the PVC handle,. Photo 4 by Don Tai

  3. Round the remaining sharp edges: I used a rotary tool to round off the edges after flaring. You could use files and sandpaper as well.
  4. Add rubber cover: You can use whatever you wish to make the handle more comfortable. I used two layers of bicycle tire inner tube. It is easier if you wet the inner tube first, as this will reduce the friction.

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, two layers of bicycle inner tube used to add grip to the PVC handle, this was before I rounded the edges. Photo 5 by Don Tai

    Exercise handles for strength training cable machines or exercise bands, made from PVC, two layers of bicycle inner tube used to add grip to the PVC handle, this was before I rounded the edges. Photo 5 by Don Tai

Tips on Using Nylon Webbing
Nylon webbing is easily bought at fabric and outdoor stores. There are so many uses for nylon webbing, such as backpack straps. Here are some tips for using it.

  1. Hot cut the nylon webbing: Use a soldering iron with a flat blade to cut nylon webbing. This will melt the ends and prevent fraying. There may be some toxic fumes when you melt the nylon, so don’t breath this air in. If you use scissors or a knife you will need to heat seal the ends with a candle or match (or in a pinch the burner from a stove, but this is not recommended) to prevent fraying.
  2. Sew nylon webbing with a home sewing machine: You can use the hand wheel and manually sew nylon webbing. Since there is little to sew you can go slow. If you are unsure if it is strong enough, then sew more lines.
  3. Use Upholstery Thread: Buy upholstery thread, which is polyester. This thread is very strong and not easily broken. You cannot break this with your hands. Don’t use cheap cotton thread, which will degrade and break. In this case you need all the strength you can get. Sweat will rot cotton thread.
  4. Use a lighter to melt the ends of sewn thread: After you have finished sewing, knot the thread and cut the threads short. Use a lighter or other flame to melt the polyester thread, then smooth it down with the edge of the lighter. This will melt and thicken the thread ends, increasing their strength.

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