deadlift grip switching to straight bar

frogbyte · Post by **frogbyte** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:50 am

I don't think external rotators are really affecting the loss of reps - my hand position relative to my shoulders and legs is identical on the new bar. The difference is just that the easy curl bar doesn't try to torque itself out of my fingers.

I did try a hook grip with 40 lbs last night - it was immediately painful like my thumb was in a vice and after 30 seconds my thumb was white as a sheet, but recovered fine. There is a noticeable help with grip. But, it may be quite a while before I'd be comfortable trying it with a big deadlift.

ApolytonGP · Post by **ApolytonGP** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:56 am

Radical idea, but what about sticking with the EZ curl bar? You can work grip by farmer's walk, without having the wrist torque.

frogbyte · Post by **frogbyte** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:28 pm

I managed another rep 2 days ago, same weight as last week. Grip was still an issue, but improved. Did 4 farmer's walks at the end - major grip soreness. (Still working on hook grip, but not ready to try it on heavy deadlifts.)

One thing I thought was noteworthy was that with grip still an issue, my lower body was more taxed. I found myself almost subconsciously lifting slower, because the normal faster acceleration of the bar would've required more force than my grip could handle. Anyone else ever noticed that?

Post by **Jungledoc** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:07 pm

I've sure noticed that when the grip feels secure, I am more confident and aggressive with the lift.

I'd suggest doing some grip holds out of a rack. Rack the bar a little lower than hand-height. You can try different grips for a few seconds at a time to see what feels most secure, and to practice hook grip, or go ahead and hold for as long as you can to test your grip endurance. When the grip gives out the bar will fall an inch or two onto the pins.

frogbyte · Post by **frogbyte** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:35 pm

Hmm, I have no rack, but I could maybe do that same thing kneeling on the ground or something. Sounds like a good idea - I'll give it a shot.

Jason Nunn · Post by **Jason Nunn** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 4:40 pm

Jungledoc wrote:I've sure noticed that when the grip feels secure, I am more confident and aggressive with the lift.

I'd suggest doing some grip holds out of a rack. Rack the bar a little lower than hand-height. You can try different grips for a few seconds at a time to see what feels most secure, and to practice hook grip, or go ahead and hold for as long as you can to test your grip endurance. When the grip gives out the bar will fall an inch or two onto the pins.

This. Also, another thing that has worked great for me is plate pinches. Grab a 45# or 20kg plate with your fingers on the smooth part and hold one in each hand for time.

frogbyte · Post by **frogbyte** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:04 am

Well I had my first ever failed deadlift rep. My grip has improved over the last few weeks, as on the previous couple reps I was aware of it, but got through those reps without issue. On the last one, however, I made it almost to lockout (don't think I fully got there) and suddenly my grip gave out and the weight skidded down my thigh. Although badly bruised/contused, it will hopefully will be healed in a week or two.

I did holds to failure with a bar kneeling, per Jungledoc. I think really feeling failure over and over is probably a good idea in light of the above. I added a bar pad which brought the bar width up to around 2.5" or so, which seemed like a good idea too.

I only did a few reps (for ~20 seconds) of those, because I was in a hurry to get home and ice my leg. (In my distraction I forgot to try the plate pinches.)

GTO · Post by **GTO** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:38 pm

Jason Nunn wrote:I'm assuming by pronated grip, you mean double overhand? I would recommend learning to use an alternatining grip (one hand pronated, one supinated) or learn to hook grip (thumb under).

Jason - when you use the alternating grip do you switch which hand is pronated each set and if not is muscle imbalance a concern?

frogbyte · Post by **frogbyte** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:35 pm

I've been meaning to follow up on this one. When I started doing grip work I noticed that I could feel the failure point better without gloves. I've since incorporated more RDLs, which hit the grip quite a bit, especially done with a bit of explosiveness at the bottom.

Anyway, the point is that I feel like with gloves, I couldn't detect weight slippage quite as easily, which I suspect is a big reason I had a dropped weight failure that time.

So, I'm now more in the Rippetoe camp on this one, even though I've never heard him give that particular reason.