I have seen a few articles and videos where people in the strength community recommend snatch grip deadlifts for athletes and people looking to improve their athleticism over conventional deadlifts.
What benefits does the SGDL have over its conventional form?
The benefits are:
[quote]Claudan wrote:
The benefits are:
I already read it and that is actually the basis for my questioning why they are better for athletes.
The article recommends straps, I would have thought that would be detrimental to certain athletes who could use a better and stronger grip.
Also it seems like the SGDL would place more work on the lower back, making it more of a squatting movement too because of the emphasis on low hips. Again I understand the benefits of the SGDL, I am asking specifically why they are recommended to athletes over conventional deadlifts.
Okay, benefits for athletes:
It increases ROM. Increased ROM can translate to more power. More explosiveness.
SG-anything specifically put the emphasis on the UPPER back. Maybe, initially your lower back gets affected(due to increased ROM), but that would be temporary because SG activates the upper back to a far greater extent than a regular grip.
Athletes, people, mortals, civilians, animals, we could all use better grips. How strong of a grip do you need? Will you be 10x better if your grip is 2x stronger? What’s the correlation? When does it stop?
It involves your legs more(due to point #1), so, overall for an athlete, since we use our whole body to perform our actions(as opposed to isolating a muscle to do the job), it could make more ‘practical sense’ to do this lift. It’s practically transfers to ‘real life’.
Simply gives you a new angle on an excellent exercise. You can’t go wrong with being efficient with a SG. It allows both your brain and your body to ‘be prepared’ for new things. In real life, we usually have to accept the angles/setups we are given and do our best with it. So letting your body know ‘hey, don’t always expect same ol(comfortable) dead-lift form’ could be mentally strengthening you, and obviously, definitely, providing a physical boost.
They point about the straps is that your hands(grip) will be your limiting factor which is basically not a good thing. To allow the rest of your body to catch up to the fatigued grip, you use straps towards the end of the exercise to basically omit your grip fatigue and continue focusing on your actual lift.
Honestly, I imagine why any deadlift variation is recommended to an athlete over conventional is because, in my opinion, the conventional deadlift is a poor strength builder. It is probably the greatest strength demonstrator available, but I find limited value in actually performing the movement with the goal of getting bigger and stronger.
Now, doing the things necessary to build a bigger conventional deadlift are a different story. Things like front squats, high bar squats, safety squat bar squats, reverse hypers, glute ham raises, kettlebell swings, heavy rows, chins, and ab work are great for any athlete, and I imagine the SGDL would also fit in there (I’ve never performed it myself, as I’ve had no need for it in my programming).
Essentially, the SGDL makes the deadlift a training movement rather than a demonstration movement.
Have you done heavy snatch-grip deadlifts yourself? I think if you did them for a few weeks, using a true snatch grip (hands in their natural position when the bar’s at the hip crease – not just a wide grip, but a really wide grip), getting the hips low, and using a hook grip/straps, you’d get a good feeling for their benefits [for both athletes and non-athletes].
Personally, I think that they are one of the best all around full-body-strength movements, more so than squats or conventional deads. There seems to be better recruitment of the entire hip and leg musculature – anterior and posterior – and the entire back and shoulders girdle are forced to maintain a much higher state of tension than squats or deads alone.
However, the snatch-grip can be awkward, and the hook-grip hurts with heavier loads, and that’s why you’ll often see those coaches suggest Trap-Bar Deadlifts too. Similar benefits, but it’s just an easier learning curve.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I imagine the SGDL would also fit in there (I’ve never performed it myself, as I’ve had no need for it in my programming).[/quote]
If you ever do try it, I’d like to know what you think of it.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Honestly, I imagine why any deadlift variation is recommended to an athlete over conventional is because, in my opinion, the conventional deadlift is a poor strength builder. It is probably the greatest strength demonstrator available, but I find limited value in actually performing the movement with the goal of getting bigger and stronger.
Now, doing the things necessary to build a bigger conventional deadlift are a different story. Things like front squats, high bar squats, safety squat bar squats, reverse hypers, glute ham raises, kettlebell swings, heavy rows, chins, and ab work are great for any athlete, and I imagine the SGDL would also fit in there (I’ve never performed it myself, as I’ve had no need for it in my programming).
Essentially, the SGDL makes the deadlift a training movement rather than a demonstration movement.[/quote]
Thats a really interesting take on it. Do you feel the same about the low bar back squat? Would a high bar squat require more strength to lift the same weight due to the mechanics of the movement, thus making the low bar squat a demonstration movement too?
[quote]Pj92x wrote:
Thats a really interesting take on it. Do you feel the same about the low bar back squat? Would a high bar squat require more strength to lift the same weight due to the mechanics of the movement, thus making the low bar squat a demonstration movement too?[/quote]
I think the low bar squat has plenty of applicability as a strength/size builder. I think one of the key things to look at is what joints are moving and what muscles are being used. A squat, regardless of low bar or high bar, is going to require breaking at the knees and hips with a heavy load for both eccentric and concentric work, and tends to load up the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, etc.
The deadlift tends to require modification in order to achieve this goal. If I do a straight up conventional deadlift, for me it’s pretty much an exercise in learning how to keep my air in my belly and hip hinging as hard as possible. A lot of my muscles are doing a good job of supporting me and keeping me upright, but there is very little contracting happening. If I want to make the deadlift hit my hamstrings and glutes, I make it a straight legged or romainian deadlift. If I want it to hit my quads, I do a deficit deadlift.
However, when it comes to demonstrating my entire body’s ability to function as a unit and move something heavy, the deadlift is top notch. You can’t have any weaklinks.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I imagine the SGDL would also fit in there (I’ve never performed it myself, as I’ve had no need for it in my programming).[/quote]
If you ever do try it, I’d like to know what you think of it.[/quote]
I will report, but honestly, I cannot imagine a time where I would ever need to do it. Just doesn’t appear to be a movement that I need. It’s similar to how I feel about cleans and snatches.
I did them for a little bit 2 years ago. I am not expert but I will state my experience:
1)My traps and upper back grew
2) My grip strength improved
3) I had to use much less weight
4) I felt like it was easier to use poor form
5) I made better progress with regular deadlifts