Hook Grip - Deadlifts

[jimmybro1]

Wanting to change my deadlift grip currently pull with double over hand until grip fails then go to mixed grip or use straps. Recently I have tending to go to mixed grip once my double over hand fails but it has lead to me injuring my lower back on one side (uneven pull) also have developed a trap imbalance (uneven loading of traps). 

So pretty keen to give hook grip ago which allows more weight to be handled than the double over hand grip. My question is how many of you use this grip and what advice do you have. 

It was painful as hell the first time I tried it today, would static holds be the way to go to build tolerance? 

 

[Pseudonym]

Hmm. I used mixed grip, and have also injured my back on one side. I wonder if I should try something else? I do alternate the grip though, so in theory I shouldn't develop one side unevenly.

What's a hook grip, Jimmybro?

[reddog]

id say static holds would be a good start, i see this dude i follow does them quite often, iv played with it but just cant take the pain, once the nerves get killed off you will be away

[Realtalk]

If your hips are torquing so much that you hurt your lower back then your form is poor alternate grip done nice and tight won't cause your hips to torque very much at all. Same goes for trap development, will be something else.

unless you are a competitive power lifter or have aspirations to compete then just use straps.

[Phedder]

Yeah if you're not worried about competing I'd say don't worry about hook grip. It's too bloody painful to be worth it. I gave it a decent shot a while ago, got up to 220kg and then just stopped for a while, building it back up now but currently topping out around 170/180kg.

Taping the thumbs can help a little bit to preserve the skin, have had it tear twice and that's not pleasant. Otherwise it just takes time and consistency to build a tolerance. What I can say is it never felt nice for me, but my tolerance certainly increased. When I first tried it 100kg was excrutiating, and I'd say that the 220kg wasn't any worse, and now 100kg feels like nothing. 

 

[jimmybro1]

 

What's a hook grip, Jimmybro?

Hook grip is when you tuck your tumb under your pointer and index finger effectivity using it as a strap. 

id say static holds would be a good start, i see this dude i follow does them quite often, iv played with it but just cant take the pain, once the nerves get killed off you will be away

Yeah I thought that would be the way to go. I tried pulling 100kg and it was painfully as hell, started using alligator clips to get the tumb use to the sensation. 

Realtalk wrote:

If your hips are torquing so much that you hurt your lower back then your form is poor alternate grip done nice and tight won't cause your hips to torque very much at all. Same goes for trap development, will be something else.

[Wookie]

Tape the fingers using multiple 3-4inch long strips, not too tight as you still want to be able to bend the thumbs. Not too loose lest the tape slides off. The chalk the thumb up well. Same if you're not using tape.

I only tended to use straps for a few sets or a few singles. All reps over 3 usually done with straps or reqular overhand grip on lighter sets.

Have done partials up to almost 400kg with the hook grip, just deal with the pain and use it for a few sets each week.

[Wookie]

And btw, it is perfectly legitimate to have just a slight back twist while using a mixed grip. Partly it can be fixed by making sure the grip is equally spaced, and also by flaring the lats. Another way is to switch the mixed grip over. I used to train with a national record holder in the deadlift who had that problem. Straps and hookgrip to give the body a break. Some guys just have weird dimensions.

[jimmybro1]

And btw, it is perfectly legitimate to have just a slight back twist while using a mixed grip. Partly it can be fixed by making sure the grip is equally spaced, and also by flaring the lats. Another way is to switch the mixed grip over. I used to train with a national record holder in the deadlift who had that problem. Straps and hookgrip to give the body a break. Some guys just have weird dimensions.

I've tried switching over mixed grip and when I go to the irregular mixed grip feels absolutely retarded. Will have to work on mobilty more. 

Will try the trick with the tape. 

[drizzt]

Good advice from the guys above.  I hook gripped for a while - did as much as 272.5kg with it, which was my max at the time - could've held heavier I believe.  I didn't actually think it was that hard to get into, and the pain never goes away, it kinda just gets manageable (I think Phedder said the same).  I started like the guys have suggested; doing it for warmups, until you get confident enough (or the pain isn't so bad) that you can start doing it for your top sets.  Even if you can only do 1 or 2 reps of a set with it before switching back to mixed, everything counts.

I found when I switched to sumo, that the overhand grip scraped my thighs a lot more because they're in the bar path, so I didn't try to carry it across the styles - add the thumb pain, to having your nails scrape your thighs on every rep, and you quickly get tired of it :-/  (Old Bull does it though!)  

But with alternate, I only scrape one leg at a time, and usually switch grips so I do them fairly evenly.

As alluded to above, another option is to switch the mixed grip around.  I know, it feels terrible, but do it for warmups, and then switch back to the comfortable one when you need it - eventually it becomes nearly as comfortable, although I don't know if it ever catches up.  In a way, it is kinda like being right or left handed I guess, you might be able to train the other hand to be alright, but it might never "feel" as good.

[Phedder]

 

I found when I switched to sumo, that the overhand grip scraped my thighs a lot more because they're in the bar path, so I didn't try to carry it across the styles - add the thumb pain, to having your nails scrape your thighs on every rep, and you quickly get tired of it  (Old Bull does it though!)  

Heh, I'm the opposite! I only started taking hook grip seriously when I started training my sumo as well, I find the alternate grip forces me to twist a lot as the under hand gets dragged over the thigh, whereas hook grip there was no twisting, and I've never had an issue with the scraping. 

 

[drizzt]

Ha, I've walked away from a few sessions with skin under my nails and blood trickling from the scrapes from just alternate gripping, and there are semi-permanent stubble patches on my thighs where the nails scrape up, haha.  The few sessions I tried to hook while sumo'ing was just doubling the pain, so I gave that ambition up pretty quickly! 

But I do agree with the twisting - in particular, the hand that scrapes the thigh causing a twist.  I definitely preferred the "straightness" of the hook, as I find I get a little bit of a twist with alternate.  If I could deal with the scraping (and I don't think I can because it might change my tech - which is going ok), I would look at hook again.