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Fix your Grip for Better Deadlift Technique

guss

guss

MuscleHead
Aug 11, 2010
380
189
One way to increase your numbers in the deadlift is to strengthen your grip. Often a lack of grip strength will show at lockout and the lifter will drop the bar. Gripping the bar with the tightest grip possible is essential for locking your body into a solid weight bearing position. There are many types of grip strength; supporting, pinch, crush, levering, bending and tearing are all examples. For the purposes of this article we’ll focus on supporting, or holding strength, as that is what most directly carries over with your deadlift technique.

Here are 3 simple movements that will help your deadlift grip.

Double- Overhand Deadlifts (double pronated)

This simple adjustment to your normal alternated grip will provide huge gains in your supporting strength. Taking your normal deadlift stance, load down into the bar and grasp the bar with a double over-hand grip. You will be quickly humbled by the amount of weight you can pull, or in this case, cannot pull.. Typically, a person who has never done this will only be able to pull around only 60-70% of your 1RM. The weight will just roll right out of your hands. On a normal training day, use this grip until you can’t hold onto the bar anymore, then switch to your normal alternated grip and finish your workout. Make sure you don’t use a hook grip, where your fingers wrap over the tops of your thumbs. While this is also a double overhand grip, it allows you to hold more weight as it is virtually impossible to drop the weight without ripping your thumbs off. Great for holding the bar, bad for training your grip, so keep your thumbs on top.

Thick Bar Lifting

If your gym doesn’t have a thick bar to use then improvise by adapting 2” ABS plastic pipe to fit around a standard bar, then use it every workout; for cleans, deadlifts, military press, bent-over rows, benchpress or any exercise you can use a regular bar for… The hand and wrist strength you will gain from incorporating thick bar work will transfer your grip strength over to new PR’s.

Wide Pinch

Working your grip in this outstretched position will fatigue the ends of your fingers and teach you to flex the palm of your hand. How do you work wide pinch in a typical gym? Take 3 25lb plates and place them all together, with outer two plates smooth side out. Grasp the 3 x 25’s with a double over-hand grip (fingers on the outside of the stack of weights) and pick them up and hold them for time. This is extremely brutal work and will probably leave your hands crippled the first time you do it but is well worth the pain for what it will do for your grip.

Cycling these 3 movements into your training will turn your grip into a vise, which will carry over to improved deadlift technique and those heavy singles in the gym. Just make sure to do them at the end of your workout.You don’t want your grip to be a limiting factor during your core lifts
 
PozzSka

PozzSka

Senior Member
Sep 15, 2010
189
0
I pull all double overhand until my grip starts to fatigue before switching to an alternating grip.

Oh and one more thing...

NO STRAPS!
 
G

gjohnson5

New Member
Jul 14, 2012
2
0
I always use alternating grip. I feel like I have more control over the bar.
Still using straps or hooks though

I'm working grip by doing wrist 90 degree wrist rotation with 4-6 pound mini bar. You simply hold the mini bar like holding a baseball bat with one hand straight up directly in front of your body. Rotate the wrist 90 degrees while gripping the bar and return to starting position (0 degrees). I want to work up to rotating an 18lb bar but can only do 6lb at the moment
 
N

newbie

MuscleHead
Jun 22, 2012
350
21
'Stumpy' encouraged me to post in this thread (aswell).

Fix your Grip for Better Deadlift Technique was a quite interesting article or start posting - even blogged it but still can't use it. :p

Now I am curious with bench pressing. Yesterday I managed again to do a little of them in the centre - only 100 lbs - late evening.
Very soon my grip felt much more comfortable with open fingers and leave the bar lying on the sides of the hands - can't explain.
 
porky little keg

porky little keg

MuscleHead
May 21, 2011
1,225
647
Andy Bolton ( the first man to deadlift over a grand) said ( in his strength newsletter) that the best way to work deadlift grip is to work your deadlift grip... he can't close a #2 CoC gripper but he can hold over a grand.

The solution is to never use straps. Even on pin pulls and lockout work.

With that said I do think that it's important to work the forearms to help the bench press.
 
Fish77

Fish77

VIP Member
Dec 24, 2010
314
28
Porky, why did you have to go and say that. I have been working my grip with the coc, though no straps ever is my policy as well.
 
porky little keg

porky little keg

MuscleHead
May 21, 2011
1,225
647
Sorry Fish.... just repeating what the big man wrote.... if it makes you feel any better I DO work the piss out of my forearms. Lots of wrist roller, reverse curls, pinch grip work and I've closed the #2 and #3.... not sure if it helps the deadlift ( I've never had a problem with grip) but it does help keep my arms healthy for handling some big benches. So it's definitely not a waste.
 
TheChosen1

TheChosen1

Senior Member
Mar 19, 2012
149
18
I can honestly say that I've been working out for 25 years and using straps. At one time, I couldn't see NOT having them. But when I joined the powerlifting team last year and began training regularly, I hardly even use gloves let along straps when I work out now.
 
Rottenrogue

Rottenrogue

Strongwoman
Jan 26, 2011
6,595
1,882
I have small hands when I go for a max I use straps. I think alot of it is mental. I had a comp in June that straps were allowed I pulled 315 x10 easily .
 
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