Never Drop A Dead Lift Again
There comes a point in a lifters career where their back and hip strength far surpass their grip strength and the only thing holding them back (pun intended) on adding more weight to the bar is 10 little digits attached to a slab of meat. I.E their hand strength.
Most information i have seen being given on this subject is just plain wrong and has little carryover to bone crushing grip strength that could hold back a mountain lion let alone a PR Dead lift.
Grip strength is a fickle mistress in that it is very specific to how you train it. Endless reps on a spring loaded gripper or bodybuilding wrist curls will do nothing for your grip apart from exposing you to the delightful feeling of tendinitis.
What we need to do is work the grip in a manner it needs to be strong for. In this case the Dead lift.
This my friends is where the humble thick bar comes into play. If you are lucky enough to train in a gym that has Strongman Axles, or have a home gym with the space and funds to purchase one it will be an investment ten fold. For those that aren’t so fortunate, their is a plethora of Fat Grips on the market that all do the same job and can be taken to any gym of your choice in your gym bag.
“Now Sam how will some blue rubber tubes or a scaffold bar with washers on improve my Dead lift grip?”
I’m glad you asked. These essential bits of training kit work by making the space between your fingers and thumb wider. This in turn will put a lot more strain on the muscles used for gripping the bar. More strain= adaptation= results… see where i’m going here?
The key is to how you use these to how they will improve your dead lift grip. It is my opinion as well as others who are far stronger in the grip world than i am that thick bars should always be used double overhand. This way we are negating the risks of biceps tears as well as putting the full weight into the hands.
The caveat to thick bars is that you will be lifting less with them compared to the standard dead lift. For example: When i was frequently dead lifting from the floor I could work up to 220 KG with a double overhand grip on a regular barbell before needing to use mixed grip or dare i say it… Straps. At the same time of this i could manage 170 kg on my homemade 2.4 inch axle. The issue wasn’t the weight as my back was more than capable of pulling that, it was the thickness of the bar.
The reason i have told you that little story was to state that whilst working with axles or fat grips to improve your grip, i would recommend keeping your normal dead lifts in your programming to maintain the back strength and movement pattern.
The training with axles/fat grips should be treated no differently to how you got your normal dead lift numbers up in the first place. Heavy triples added weight to your dead lift numbers? Use the same for the axle. 531 programming exploded your previous dead lift PR? you guessed it, use the same programming.
To put this all into context here is a sample four week progression for both your conventional dead lift and thick bar to get the most benefits.
Week One
Monday – Conventional Dead lifts- Work up to a max single for that day. Stay with double overhand grip until your grip gives out then use straps until you hit a heavy weight for you for one rep. It should still be technically sound and not grinding (no broken backs here please)
Thursday – Axle/Fat grip Dead lifts- Work up in weight until you hit a max triple for that day. Again remember this is all double overhand grip no straps.
Week Two
Monday- Conventional Dead lifts- Work up to a max triple for that day. Again stay with double overhand until you need to use straps.
Thursday- Axle/Fat grip Dead lifts- Work up to a max set of five reps
Week Three
Monday- Conventional Dead lifts– 10 singles with 90% of week ones max single (wear straps and go double overhand)
Thursday- Axle/Fat grip Dead lifts- Work up to a max single. Don’t worry you wont burn out from two “heavy” Dead lift sessions this week as the weight on the axle won’t be anywhere near your normal Dead lift max
Week Four-
Monday- Conventional Dead lifts- Work up to a max set of five reps with straps
Thursday- Axle/Fat grip Dead lifts- 10 singles with 80% of last weeks weight on the axle/fat grips
Run this programme two to three times in a row for 8-12 weeks and watch your numbers grow on the dead lift as well as the thick bar. This in turn will give you vices for hands when you try out your mixed grip Dead lifts again.
If you want more information on how grip training can enhance your own training, sport or quality of life send me an email on samhornpt@gmail.com
Facebook: SamHornStrengthSystems or
instagram: devonstrongman_sam
and i can hook you up with some online programming or one to one training.
Stay Strong
Sam
