I’ve been meaning to hit this topic for a while but it always seems to get pushed back, so today, we are going to go over The Best Grip Tips for Deadlifts and Deadlift Accessory Movements.
Before we go over the tips, let’s cover one important subject:
the types of grips and the pros and cons of each.
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Double Overhand
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Mixed Grip
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Hook Grip
The Double Overhand grip is the simplest to perform, just grab the bar with you palms down and squeeze as hard as you can.
This technique is generally the weakest of the three, so unless you have a massively strong grip, I suggest avoiding this for the classic Deadlift.
The Mixed Grip or Split Grip is the best choice in my opinion for most as it is very strong and pretty simple to do.
One palm goes up, and one palm goes down.
The opposing hand placement makes your grip on the bar very strong due the fact that it prevents the bar from rolling in your hands.
This is the grip I would recommend for most lifters.
Later on in the article I’ll give you some tips on how to make it even more secure.
The major downside of the Mixed Grip is bicep injuries. If you don’t lock your “palm up” arm it can increase the risk of a bicep tear.
There is also some debate as to whether this Mixed Grip can cause micro trauma to your lower spine area, as it can possibly case you to twist. While I’ve never seen this happen as a result of the grip, I have seen it happen as a result of improper bracing of the torso.
The Hook Grip is the last, and possibly the most miserable grip you can do.
The Hook Grip is performed by getting the bar as deep into your hand as possible, wrapping your thumb around the bar and then wrapping as many fingers around your thumb as possible.
This grip technique literally makes your hands like steel hooks if you are good at it.
Hook Grip is arguably the strongest of the three, but it has it has its drawbacks.
The major drawback of Hook Grip is that it just hurts most people. Usually we see people give it a shot and bail on it due to the pain in the thumb. If you work at it and give it some time, the pain will subside and you won’t notice it.
When I tore my bicep, I switched to Hook Grip at Vincent’s suggestion when I returned to training the pull. It worked very well, but when I got to over 500 pounds, I was not committed enough to stay with it.
It just hurt too much, so I went back to Mixed Grip.
Pro Tip: Tape your thumbs when doing Hook Grip. It gives you some more friction to lock in the Hook and is much easier on the skin on your thumb.
Okay, so now we have covered the three basic grip types.
Let’s go over tips for the one I recommend for most, the Mixed Grip.
Motorcycle twist and long arms, that’s all you need to know about keeping your grip in order.
Instead of typing a bunch of words, here’s a video I did about 75 pounds ago that has it all covered.
(When you hear me talking about the lats and triceps in the video, that is long arms.)
NOTE: ON ALL GRIPS_BE SURE AND GET YOUR HAND AS DEEP INTO THE BAR AS POSSIBLE!!!!
More of The Best Grip Tips for Deadlifts and Deadlift Accessory Movements
Let’s go over your Deadlift warmups.
There are two schools of thought here on grip, and I’m only referring to Mixed Grip because it doesn’t apply to Double Overhand or Hook.
School #1:
Many coaches want you to use a Double Overhand grip on your lighter sets as you warm up on the Deadlift. The reasoning is that it gives your grip a little work and helps it get stronger.
This is a perfectly acceptable line of thought, but I disagree with it, I’ll explain why in a minute.
School #2:
Use the same grip during warmups and work sets.
This is why I said it doesn’t apply to Double Overhand or Hook Grip.
If you pull Hook, you do it all the time, same for Double Overhand.
My suggestion is that you do the same with Mixed Grip.
All of your classic Deadlifts (not Assistance/Accessory) will be done Mixed Grip.
Why?
Easy answer.
You are warming up for work sets. You are preparing your body for heavier weights and intensities.
Right?
Why would you change your technique for heavy sets?
That doesn’t make sense to me.
Do a small experiment next time you are in the gym.
Pull a few sets Double Overhand and pay attention to your lats and your tightness.
Then do the same thing for the same reps with the same weight, but switch to Mixed Grip.
I’ll bet that it feels different with each grip.
Most people say they can get tighter with Mixed Grip and that they do indeed notice a difference in feel.
Therefore, if you are using two different techniques from warm up to work I’d say that isn’t the best idea. You need to prime the pattern that you are using in your warmups.
You wouldn’t do one style of squats for warmups and then switch to a different one would you?
I’d guess no.
Same thing here.
If it feels different and actually is different, it makes more sense to use the same technique for all of your sets.
Again, that is my opinion, and if yours if different, this is America and that’s ok.
This just makes sense to me, the other way does not.
Okay, now we are on to Grip Tips for Assistance and Accessory work.
My suggestion here is that you use only a Double Overhand grip for most pulling movements such as:
- RDL
- Keystone Deadlift
- Koklyaev Deadlift
- And similar.
Why?
Well, as I said earlier, some of the drawbacks to Mixed Grip are bicep injuries and the minor possibility of twisting to one side due to the Mixed Grip.
Why risk it?
It doesn’t make sense.
I also think it is a good idea to use Straps on heavier sets on these if you must.
I think straps should be used sparingly, but appropriately.
The Assistance and Accessory work will help you build grip strength, but is that your primary objective, or is to build your Deadlift?
With that in mind, let’s say that you can do Koklyaev Deadlifts for 5 with 315 and your grip shits the bed, but if you added straps, you could hit 365, 405 or more with equally good form?
Why wouldn’t you use straps in the heaviest sets?
The goal is to build the Deadlift movers right?
What about overload work and block/rack pulls?
This is where I’d say to stay mixed grip.
Why?
Well, you are doing a shortened range version of the Deadlift, so in my opinion, keeping it all the same is a good idea.
If you are going really heavy doing overload work in a specific range, say 5” blocks, and it is pretty heavy, use straps and a Mixed Grip.
If you are concerned that your grip isn’t strong enough for a third attempt, adding in extra grip work is easy. Add it in a few days a week.
That’s a topic for another article though.
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