Apr 27 โข General discussion
๐๏ธโโ๏ธ Let's talk about the deadlift โ and specifically, why your grip might be the thing quietly holding you back.
The deadlift is a hip hinge movement where you pick a loaded barbell up off the floor and stand all the way up with it. It works your glutes, hamstrings, entire back, core, and traps all at once โ making it one of the most efficient exercises you can do for building a strong, powerful body. If you're not deadlifting yet, you're leaving serious gains on the table. ๐
Here's what inevitably happens as you get stronger: your posterior chain โ your glutes, hamstrings, and back โ will outpace your grip. Your legs and back will be ready to pull far more weight than your hands can hold onto. That's not a weakness, that's just physics. Which is exactly why knowing your grip options matters.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ (๐๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ) โ Both palms face toward you. This is the most natural starting point and the best grip for building raw grip strength because the bar will challenge your hands on every single rep. The downside is that as the weight gets heavier, your grip will give out before your legs and back do. I use this grip for all my warm-up and lighter sets specifically to keep developing my grip โ but I don't let it be the ceiling on my heavy work.
๐ ๐ถ๐
๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ (๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ/๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ) โ One palm faces toward you, one faces away. The opposing hand positions prevent the bar from rolling, allowing you to lift significantly more than with a double overhand grip. It works โ but it comes with two real risks that don't get talked about enough. First, the supinated (underhand) arm is in a vulnerable position under heavy loads and can lead to bicep strain or even a torn bicep tendon. Second, using the same hand in the same position every set can create muscle imbalances in the lats, traps, and lower back over time. If you use mixed grip, always alternate which hand is supinated from set to set.
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ โ These are two completely different tools that constantly get confused with each other. Lifting straps loop around your wrist and wrap around the bar, connecting you to it so grip is no longer the limiting factor. They allow you to pull in a double overhand position โ keeping both shoulders loaded symmetrically โ while letting your posterior chain work to its full potential. Wrist wraps on the other hand provide compression and stability to the wrist joint, and are primarily useful for pressing movements like bench press and overhead press. Straps save your grip on pulls. Wrist wraps protect your wrists on presses. Both deserve a spot in your gym bag โ they just do completely different jobs.
My honest take? It is genuinely silly to let forearm endurance cap how much your glutes and hamstrings can lift. I use straps on my heavy sets, I use pronated grip on my lighter sets to keep building my grip, and I use wrist wraps for the added wrist stability they provide. I personally stay away from hooks because I don't like not being able to feel the bar โ that connection matters to me. And mixed grip, while useful, carries enough bicep risk at heavy weights that I'd rather reach for straps when the weight gets serious.
Use straps strategically though โ never on warm-ups or every single set, or you'll stop developing the grip strength you actually need.
The deadlift is one of the most empowering things you will ever do in a gym. Now go pull something heavy. ๐
๐ What grip are you currently using? Have you tried straps yet? Drop it below โ let's talk!
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๐๏ธโโ๏ธ Let's talk about the deadlift โ and specifically, why your grip might be the thing quietly holding you back.
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