Deadlift grip

fungie · 30-03-2015 10:02pm #1

Have a quick question about deadlift grip width. I deadlift with a v narrow stance, when I let my arms hang down my grip isn't on the knurling since grip is v narrow. I am wondering if its best to keep it where it is or move it out to the knurling?

LuckyLloyd · 30-03-2015 10:10pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1IGeJEXpF4

"Everyone's Deadlift is going to look different"

fungie · 30-03-2015 10:15pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1IGeJEXpF4

"Everyone's Deadlift is going to look different"

Gather that but I have less grip when not on knurling, id imagine long term this will hold me back as grip will go.

LuckyLloyd · 30-03-2015 10:47pm

fungie wrote: »

Gather that but I have less grip when not on knurling, id imagine long term this will hold me back as grip will go.

Worry about your grip if and when it becomes an issue. When it becomes an issue, you can mixed grip; mixed grip with chalk; and even strap up at a certain point. If your current stance is allowing you to deadlift safely and consistently with efficient form keep doing what you're doing.

fungie · 30-03-2015 10:58pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Worry about your grip if and when it becomes an issue. When it becomes an issue, you can mixed grip; mixed grip with chalk; and even strap up at a certain point. If your current stance is allowing you to deadlift safely and consistently with efficient form keep doing what you're doing.

Its a issue at the moment. As soon a I go above 4/5 reps with 160kg mixed grip. Wheres a good place to get chalk in Dublin? How much of a difference does it make?

Mellor · 31-03-2015 1:09am

fungie wrote: »

How much of a difference does it make?

All the difference.

Brian? · 31-03-2015 5:17am

Relax and let your arms hang by your sides. That's the width of your grip. Your stance is decided by your grip width and not vice versa.

Alf Veedersane · 31-03-2015 5:38am

fungie wrote: »

Its a issue at the moment. As soon a I go above 4/5 reps with 160kg mixed grip. Wheres a good place to get chalk in Dublin? How much of a difference does it make?

Aside from hand placement, if you will want chalk, you can get blocks or balls of it in Basecamp and Great Outdoors or you can get liquid chalk on MyProtein, for example.

Mellor · 31-03-2015 7:28am

Brian? wrote: »

Relax and let your arms hang by your sides. That's the width of your grip.

This.

I don't really understand how you are gripping the smooth section. I've a kinda narrow DL stance myself, but even if I bring my feet so close that they touch each other, my grip width isn't affected. It's more a function of my shoulder width than anything else.
Is there any other reason your grip is so narrow?

Sheeeeit · 31-03-2015 8:29am

Sorry to hijack your thread but while we're on the subject of deadlift...
I'm fairly new to the gym (3/4 months) and I have a bit of a posture problem (slight rounding of upper spine/ kyphotic?) so I have avoided deadlift altogether. I have been squatting as I find it easier to keep my back straight when holding a bar on my traps with shoulders back to grip the bar. But things like deadlift & t bar row, where I have to reach forward while trying to keep my back straight, I struggle at. As soon as I reach forward I see my mid to upper spine curving forward. For that reason I've avoided those exercises as I don't want to risk injuring myself.
However, I would like to start doing these type of exercises especially deadlift. Has anyone got any tips or other exercises I could be doing to help train my posture when reaching forward? I'm meeting a personal trainer on Friday to discuss this but would like an input from you guys also. Thanks.

LuckyLloyd · 31-03-2015 8:44am

T Spine mobility could be an issue. Take a tennis ball initially, and later a harder hockey ball, etc to your upper back area.

That said, a slightly rounded upper back is not necessarily the end of the world on Deadlifts assuming A) your lower back is not rounded and

no part of your back moves or rounds further during the lift

My upper back would be slightly rounded when I pull and it has created no issues.

deadlybuzzman · 31-03-2015 9:04am

When setting up for a lift start at the bottom. What I mean is once you're happy with stance foot placement etc. drop all the way down like at the bottom of a squat or olympic lift, get your back nice and straight come up a little bit to where you start a deadlift normally and go from there.
I do this in my warm up sets and I find it helps with flexibility but as has been said already everyone's deadlift is different so it may or may not help

BrianD3 · 31-03-2015 9:11am

I have an Okie Power Bar and always grip on the smooth part when deadlifting sumo but on the knurled part when deadlifting conventional. My best sumo deadlift is 290 kg with a mixed grip and chalk and best conventional with mixed grip and chalk is 250 kg. I much prefer the feel of the smooth part.

Sheeeeit · 31-03-2015 12:18pm

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

T Spine mobility could be an issue. Take a tennis ball initially, and later a harder hockey ball, etc to your upper back area.

That said, a slightly rounded upper back is not necessarily the end of the world on Deadlifts assuming A) your lower back is not rounded and no part of your back moves or rounds further during the lift

My upper back would be slightly rounded when I pull and it has created no issues.

Thanks for the info. What exactly would I do with the tennis/hockey balls?

deadlybuzzman wrote: »

When setting up for a lift start at the bottom. What I mean is once you're happy with stance foot placement etc. drop all the way down like at the bottom of a squat or olympic lift, get your back nice and straight come up a little bit to where you start a deadlift normally and go from there.
I do this in my warm up sets and I find it helps with flexibility but as has been said already everyone's deadlift is different so it may or may not help

Thanks for this, I'm going to give this a try the next day.

EmcD123 · 31-03-2015 5:40pm

Okay sorry for hijacking but on topic of deadlift grip, I usually use double overhand until it starts to slip which is at about 100kg, I dont usually bring my chalk to the gym i deadlift in but i could try,i dont know what the policy is on it, my question is would a hook grip make much difference,i use it for snatches but i was wondering would it make a difference on deadlifts? i really dont like mixed grip,really looking for alternatives to mixed and i dont own straps

LuckyLloyd · 31-03-2015 6:18pm

Sheeeeit wrote: »

Thanks for the info. What exactly would I do with the tennis/hockey balls?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drDWl0mA9Jg

Brian? · 31-03-2015 9:20pm

EmcD123 wrote: »

Okay sorry for hijacking but on topic of deadlift grip, I usually use double overhand until it starts to slip which is at about 100kg, I dont usually bring my chalk to the gym i deadlift in but i could try,i dont know what the policy is on it, my question is would a hook grip make much difference,i use it for snatches but i was wondering would it make a difference on deadlifts? i really dont like mixed grip,really looking for alternatives to mixed and i dont own straps

Why don't you like mixed grip? It's a winner.

EmcD123 · 31-03-2015 9:58pm

Brian? wrote: »

Why don't you like mixed grip? It's a winner.

constantly feel twinges in my bicep when i do mixed, its pretty painful and can last a while afterwards

Alf Veedersane · 31-03-2015 10:07pm

EmcD123 wrote: »

constantly feel twinges in my bicep when i do mixed, its pretty painful and can last a while afterwards

You might wanna check you have your arms straight with mixed grip. Just in case that's the issue

jugger0 · 01-04-2015 1:24am

Brian? wrote: »

Why don't you like mixed grip? It's a winner.

EmcD123 wrote: »

constantly feel twinges in my bicep when i do mixed, its pretty painful and can last a while afterwards

Mixed grip gives me nightmares, stay safe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5tF04eTK4

Brian? · 01-04-2015 7:29am

EmcD123 wrote: »

constantly feel twinges in my bicep when i do mixed, its pretty painful and can last a while afterwards

That's strange. Do you alternate your hands every set?

LuckyLloyd · 01-04-2015 8:00am

I'll be honest, I find a lot of the stuff going around Deadlift grip strange in so far as I've never had an issue with it myself. I mixed grip with the same hand pronated each time; use chalk; and have never had grip be a limiting factor on the movement. But that's an anecdotal view of course.

What I would say is that you're training Deadlift for things much more important than grip so I think that if your grip is failing, you need to alternate / chalk up / strap up until it is no longer an issue. So if you're getting to 100kgs and stopping because your double overhand is failing and then walking away from the session on that basis you're selling yourself short.

I also think that video demonstrates what can happen if you don't have your arms slack and straight before you begin to pull. Do mix grip; just don't mix grip with any bicep tension.

Mellor · 01-04-2015 9:41am

Brian? wrote: »

That's strange. Do you alternate your hands every set?

Is there anything concrete behind that thinking, it is just something regurgitated in the name of "balance".

Brian? · 01-04-2015 10:41am

Mellor wrote: »

Is there anything concrete behind that thinking, it is just something regurgitated in the name of "balance".

I don't think there's anything concrete. Bu it seems intuitive to switch hands regularly to ease pressure on the biceps.

EmcD123 · 01-04-2015 10:47am

ya i alternate every set just to let the other muscle recover between sets. Its pretty painful sometimes. i think ive got the technique right,i did it a few times and tbh im a little too scared to try it again

LuckyLloyd · 01-04-2015 10:48am

Brian? wrote: »

I don't think there's anything concrete. Bu it seems intuitive to switch hands regularly to ease pressure on the biceps.

Your biceps shouldn't be doing anything though?

Brian? · 01-04-2015 11:09am

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Your biceps shouldn't be doing anything though?

Did you see the video of the exploding bicep?

Edit: The bicep of the pronated hand shouldn't aid the lift, but it's definitely up to something.

Cuddlesworth · 01-04-2015 11:34am

Brian? wrote: »

Did you see the video of the exploding bicep?

Edit: The bicep of the pronated hand shouldn't aid the lift, but it's definitely up to something.

I would suggest that was more due to a incredibly tight muscle in the first place, with the weight of the bar pulling it straight. For a normal person it shouldn't be a issue.

Alf Veedersane · 01-04-2015 11:45am

I presume you mean the supinated hand?

The biceps contribute to subination of the arm so there is going to be a little more tension on it but if the arm is as straight as it should be, there shouldn't be an issue.

And while I didn't see all of the clips on the video above, the ones I did see were with weights that would put far more tension on muscles and tendons than a lot of us will experience.

But ultimately, it's not the mixed grip that's the problem.

Brian? · 01-04-2015 1:11pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I presume you mean the supinated hand?

The biceps contribute to subination of the arm so there is going to be a little more tension on it but if the arm is as straight as it should be, there shouldn't be an issue.

And while I didn't see all of the clips on the video above, the ones I did see were with weights that would put far more tension on muscles and tendons than a lot of us will experience.

But ultimately, it's not the mixed grip that's the problem.

Yeah supinated, I think. I forever mix the 2 up.

To sum my point up:

Someone said mixed grip hurt their bicep. I asked if switching hand regularly aleviated the problem as sometimes it does.

Mixed grip never hurts my biceps. It shouldn't really hurt anyone's.

EmcD123 · 01-04-2015 1:17pm

Brian? wrote: »

Yeah supinated, I think. I forever mix the 2 up.

To sum my point up:

Someone said mixed grip hurt their bicep. I asked if switching hand regularly aleviated the problem as sometimes it does.

Mixed grip never hurts my biceps. It shouldn't really hurt anyone's.

Maybe im doing it wrong, but i just know it hurts a lot

01-04-2015 1:18pm

I don't switch mine in mixed grip and seems ok. I don't think i could do it with the other way round! I might try it sometime when I'm warming up

I bring chalk to gym in a little sandwich bag so it doesn't spill, don't know the policy and didn't ask

Deadlift grip

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