deadlift

[stubbs]

i had my first go at doing heavy deadlifts this week. i was able to do 4 sets of 6 at 220lbs which i was quite chuffed with. it was mainly my grip strength which stopped me from going any heavier, i might use hand wraps next time. the day after i felt alot taller and my posture felt brilliant! im gonna keep them up
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[IronFist]

You always feel good after deadlifts... unless you hurt yourself, I guess... :D

[stubbs]

yeah, i read ElPietro's thread just after i wrote this one. i hope my form's ok!
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[IronFist]

Yeah, I was thinking about that when I wrote that.

[Toby]

Tried the alternating grip? I don't really like it, nor have I needed it yet, but it's always an option. My form goes out the window before my grip fails. My PR last week was done with awful form, and my back felt it over the weekend.

Maybe also try some forearm exercises? Everyone here loves the COC grippers. I also do wrist rollups and I'm considering getting a Heavy Hammer II.

[SevenStar]

Grip is a problem of mine, but I refuse to use wraps. Right now, going over 315 tugs on my fingers - hopefully my grip will get stronger. I' use alternating grips, and I've tried with the left facing away and the right toward me, and also the left toward me and the right away. even though the latter feels more awkward, I am stronger with that grip. Weird, huh?

[Toby]

Well, that explains it for me. My PR was only 314 x 5, and I missed the 2nd one on the 1st attempt :p. Maybe when I get to lifting big I'll need to alternate grip too.

Stubbs and 7*, tried the hook grip? That one scares me. I think I'll end up breaking my thumb.

[Toby]

Oh yeah, forgot to say don't use wraps if you can help it stubbs. I'd much prefer to develop my grip to handle the weight than use wraps. Like using a belt for squats, you miss out on some potential benefits.

[SevenStar]

hook grip? As in keeping your thumb on the same side as your fingers as opposed to wrapping it around? If so, then no, I haven't deadlifted that way, but I do pretty much every other lift that way (the non big lifts - bench, squat and dead I wrap the finger. curls, pressdowns, etc. I use the hook).

[Toby]

Hook grip's when you have your thumb under your fingers. I.e. normal wrapping grip you wrap your fingers around 1st, then your thumb goes on top of your fingers 2nd. Hook you wrap your thumb around 1st, then your fingers over your thumb 2nd. Kinda like how kids might sometimes punch with their thumb inside their fist. The weight of the lift "crushes" your fingers down on your thumb to reinforce your grip. I find it very painful, even with lightish weight.

I never grip with fingers & thumb on the same side. I always feel like I don't have enough control.

[fragbot]

Bar none, they are my favorite exercise (though power cleans are coming on strong lately).

They're the 1-Day supplement for the whole body. They just make everything better.

[ElPietro]

B a s t a r d s! :D



And yeah, definitely use an alternating grip on deadlifts. I know tons of people that try it, it feels akward and they stop. It takes a bit of getting used to, then it's as natural as can be.

As for which hand is over/under try this. Your supinated grip (underhand) is superior in strength to pronated (overhand). So if you are right-handed, use your left hand as the underhand grip, and your right hand with the over grip. This way you are somewhat balancing the strength your dominant hand has over your other. You will only grip as much as your weaker hand can hold, so putting that hand in a more dominant position could help you with your grip by quite a bit.

Sometimes at the top of my lift I don't even have a grip on the bar, other than with my fingertips, which seemed to amaze the guy I was training with at the time. Which is cool since he's an IPF referee who's competed in powerlifting for 20 years. :D

Anyway, that's enough rambling from the crippled deadlifter for now. :p

[IronFist]

The hook grip hurts!

Hey El Pietro, have you heard of people getting imbalanced lats from using an alternating grip? I've heard people discuss it on bodybuilding forums before, and I suppose it makes sense, but I dunno. It's not like your lats have a huge ROM during deadlifts or anything.

[Serpent]

Why not just alternate the grip, change it halfway through a set or between sets?

[ElPietro]

I seriously doubt that any imbalance ever occurs. When you deadlift, your arms are like cables, they should only be holding the bar. Lats are a very small factor in the deadlift, and have practically no ROM. All these people that rant on lat imbalance, why aren't they ranting about trap imbalance or something like that? Also, why would we think that there would be much difference in lat stimulation from pronated to supinated grip?

You could alternate from set to set if you want. I only really worry about which hand is over/under on heavy singles or doubles.

I've heard some people mention the imbalance, just because they think it might happen, but so far I've never heard of a single person with such an imbalance. Besides, you are training your lats anyway, so this would eliminate any imbalance. You will always have some slightly dominant side on your body anyway, so thinking that you will have such an impact from your grip on deads seems somewhat ludicrous to me.

[stubbs]

i've bought some wraps now but i'll only use them once my grip is tired out. i think i will need to use wraps every now and then because my grips getting tired out with nearly every workout.

it was my first time doing them last week and i just used an overhand grip with each hand. i tried having a go at an alternating grip and i found it really uncomfortable but i only tried it out for a couple of reps. i'll have a go playing around with different grips next time and see which one works out best for me. im gonna aim for 4 sets of 6 at 120kgs (which i think's about an extra 40-45lbs or so) with the wraps next time (thursday).

i did some heavy squats last night but i was too scared to go any higher....i thought i was gonna crap myself on the last couple of reps!
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[IronFist]

ElPietro, yeah, that's what I thought.

[Toby]

ElPietro,

Yeah, I often end up lifting with just my fingertips at the top. Never been close to letting go, though.


stubbs,

I'm just gunna repeat - avoid the wraps if you can. Think of the free forearm workout you're missing out on. Develop your grip a bit and you'll be right. Think of crushing the bar just before and as you lift. Also, be careful of your form when you get tired. 4x6@120kg would be a lot volume-wise for me.

[stubbs]

i took the wraps with me but i didn't end up using them. they were laying out on the floor next to me while i was lifting and for some reason that motivated me not to use them.

i used an alternating grip and switched hands inbetween sets and it felt great. i got used to it after a while and it felt a much stronger hold...i think its because it works the belly of the forearm more than the outside.

instead of jumping in straight at 120kgs i did a warm up set with 60kgs. then one set with 100kgs, one with 110kgs and two sets with 120kgs. i was really pleased with that!! no wraps involved!! i even managed to do some pull ups afterwards and my grip still felt strong.

cheers for all the advice folks!!
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