I just started the Fat Loss I workout from NROL this week, and I felt the A workout went well, but the B workout was slightly disappointing.
The problem was by the end, specifically for the Romanian deadlifts, my grip was failing. I was physically able to lift the weight, but after 8 or 9 reps I had to stop or I would just drop the bar. The exerices that I did earlier in the workout which affected my grip were deadlifts, incline dumbbell bench press, and mixed-grip lat pulldowns.
Due to this I feel I didn't get quite the workout I should have (I could have lifted heavier weights...).
Anyone else experience this issue? Will it just get better with time, or is there anything I can/should do?
I completely feel you on what you are going through. I have run into the same problem with deadlifts as well. Physically I could lift the weight, but I had to cut the set short because my grip kept failing. It was really frustrating to me because I knew that I had at least 1 or 2 more reps in me, and I had to cut it short early to keep the bar from slipping out of my hands. I never run into this problem on the first set though. It is always on my second set that it happens.
I know the book(or at least NROL4W anyway) doesn't really recommend it, but I use gloves.
I lifted for several months without gloves and my hands got so torn up. They never really caloused over or got used to it and it was really limiting my lifting. I started wearing gloves and not only did it keep my hands from bleeding, but it also allowed me to lift heavier because of the extra friction required less grip strength. I love lifting, but am not a competitive lifter and if I need to take shortcuts in order to keep from giving up, I will.
Perhaps you could try gloves?
Grip strength is a matter of using tools and techniques. As a competative powerlifter my deadlift was 615. I did lock outs,which is setting up pets to hold the bar in the squat rack. Set the pegs above the knees and pull weight to the top of the thigh. I was able to do up to 1000 pounds over time doing this technique. You can lift much more from the knee to the thigh vs. floor to thigh, (dead Lift). I also used wrist straps to help lock in my grip until I could develop the muscle strength in my arms,back and grip to pull the bar.
A second tool we used was to hold yourself from a pull up bar and time it so you have to hang on ultimatel for one minute. If you master this then push for 2 minutes. Good luck
M
Original Post by iron-mike:
Grip strength is a matter of using tools and techniques. As a competative powerlifter my deadlift was 615. I did lock outs,which is setting up pets to hold the bar in the squat rack. Set the pegs above the knees and pull weight to the top of the thigh. I was able to do up to 1000 pounds over time doing this technique. You can lift much more from the knew to the thigh vs. floor to thigh, (dead Lift). I also used wrist straps to help lock in my grip until I could develop the muscle strength in my arms,back and grip to pull the bar.
A second tool we used was to hold yourself from a pull up bar and time it so you have to hang on ultimatel for one minute. If you master this then push for 2 minutes. Good luck
M
Did you ever have issues with the palms of your hands? Does it just take longer than I waited(a couple of months) before your skin toughens up?? Or is it just me and maybe I just have extra sensitive plams?
There's a joke in the title of this thead...but I'm gonna be a good girl and be silent. ;)
Anyway, the heavier I started to lift the more of a problem my grip became and I tried various exercises but honestly the only thing that helped was to do my deadlifts with a palms down grip. I figured I’d start training my grip that way and once it was better conditioned, then I would add in some of the harsher work. I would use the palms down grip on all weights that I could hold onto. Early in a cycle that meant I would do the whole deadlift workout with palms down. As the weights got heavier later in a cycle, I’d do all my warm-ups palms down and then use my competition grip on the main sets. Every workout I’d try to go further before having to switch to my competition alternate grip, always shooting for that 5 or 10 lbs. more. I had decided not to use chalk as that forced me to grip the bar even tighter, making me work harder in my mind. It was remarkable how in just 8 weeks my grip got so much stronger!
Original Post by vyperman7:
I completely feel you on what you are going through. I have run into the same problem with deadlifts as well. Physically I could lift the weight, but I had to cut the set short because my grip kept failing. It was really frustrating to me because I knew that I had at least 1 or 2 more reps in me, and I had to cut it short early to keep the bar from slipping out of my hands. I never run into this problem on the first set though. It is always on my second set that it happens.
That's exactly what happens to me. The first set is fine, but the second and third sets I have to cut short.
Do this get better for you over time, or is it still happening?
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Original Post by iron-mike:
Grip strength is a matter of using tools and techniques. As a competative powerlifter my deadlift was 615. I did lock outs,which is setting up pets to hold the bar in the squat rack. Set the pegs above the knees and pull weight to the top of the thigh. I was able to do up to 1000 pounds over time doing this technique. You can lift much more from the knee to the thigh vs. floor to thigh, (dead Lift). I also used wrist straps to help lock in my grip until I could develop the muscle strength in my arms,back and grip to pull the bar.
A second tool we used was to hold yourself from a pull up bar and time it so you have to hang on ultimatel for one minute. If you master this then push for 2 minutes. Good luck
M
615...!! Wow. That is awesome man. I have been lifting for years, but always stayed from deadlifts because I was worried they would kill my lower back. However, after reading about all of the benefits deadlifts offer, I decided to study up and learn the right form. I have only been doing deadlifts for 3 months or so now, but I am already doing double my weight, which I heard is a good goal starting out. Now I only have 185 pounds more to put on my deadlift to catch up with you..LOL
It is funny you mention doing rack pulls, because a guy that comes into the gym I work at was talking about them the other day.
I tried the gloves, but they seemed to cause me more trouble than they were worth.
I have recently found Lynx grips that I like. They basically just give a little bit better grip and I'm hoping my hands won't be as calloused if I continue using them.
I found them at a local sporting store that carries weight lifting equipment and they were pretty inexpensive. Plus, it seems as if they will likely last forever.
Original Post by karozel:
I tried the gloves, but they seemed to cause me more trouble than they were worth.
I have recently found Lynx grips that I like. They basically just give a little bit better grip and I'm hoping my hands won't be as calloused if I continue using them.
I found them at a local sporting store that carries weight lifting equipment and they were pretty inexpensive. Plus, it seems as if they will likely last forever.
Really? what trouble did you get with the gloves? Something I should watch out for?
The weight-lifting gloves -- you know the ones without the fingers -- would just bunch up around where my fingers and palm met. The bunching up of the fabric would pinch and didn't help with the callouses.
Plus my hands would get really sweaty in the gloves, and the black dye in them would get all over my hands. blech...
It's no big deal, but they just seemed to not help much and weren't worth the cost and effort.
On the other hand, I love the grips I got. They're just two curved, flexible pieces of rubber, but they really seesm to help and now I'm not afraid I'm going to drop the bar because my hands are all sweaty.
I would recommend always using gloves, unless you do not mind developing callouses.
My recommendation for performing dead lifts would be to use an alternating grip on the bar. This prevents the bar from trying to roll out of your hand. When you grip the bar, have one hand facing you and the other hand facing away from you. Just be sure not to press yourself too hard as this is an easy way to injure your back (by jerking up) or develop a hernia (a past problem of mine, although I am not exactly sure how I actually got it).
Good luck and remember, if you can't lift with good form, you are trying to lift too heavy of a weight.
