Ok so I believe that my main problem with my deadlift is that I have small hands. I know bring on the lady comments. My squat and bench are fine and my grip could be contributed to this problem.
I pull sumo because I feel that it saves my lower back from further injury because of bad form a few years ago pulling conventional, that injury still lags on me. Does any one else have a grip problem because of the size of their hands?
I’m curious why none of us are considering the possibly that a persons hands may be thicker than another, and that this too can contribute to hand size issues when it comes to grabbing a barbell.
I have very long, slim fingers and a thin palm, so my hands wrap around the bar. I have met people with longer fingers than me, much much thicker hands and fingers, which effectively shorten how much of their hand they can get around the bar. There is far more at play here.
That said, I will echo my sentiment. I think most everyone should pull with straps when they deadlift, and simply train grip outside of the deadlift.
I just hate using straps because I want it to stay as authentic as possible. My grip is always getting worked as well, I try to work my grip atleast 3-4 times a week.
[quote]Ertz86 wrote:
I just hate using straps because I want it to stay as authentic as possible. My grip is always getting worked as well, I try to work my grip atleast 3-4 times a week.[/quote]
Perhaps I misunderstood your goals.
When you train, is your goal to make progress, or to make the lift as authentic as possible? If it’s the latter, don’t sweat the grip strength/small hands issue, and just keep lifting what you can. If it’s the former, you’re going to most likely have to make some sacrifices along the way, and that will include training in ways you don’t particularly like.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I’m curious why none of us are considering the possibly that a persons hands may be thicker than another, and that this too can contribute to hand size issues when it comes to grabbing a barbell.
…
There is far more at play here.[/quote]
I agree that it’d definitely help to know the guy’s height, weight, and general fat level, as well as how much he’s actually deadlifting/squatting/benching for some perspective.
But he first said “small hands”, not pudgy fingers, fat palms or whatever. 8 inches from middle fingertip to base of palm isn’t really small at all, so I’m inclined to think the guy’s reaching for an excuse.
No excuses I just want to see if there is some ways to help if you have smaller hands, Im 5’6’ 180 lbs with 14-15% bf. My palm is definitely bigger than my fingers. Like I said, i have no excuses, just looking for advise to see what other people think about how to train grip with smaller hands.
Long story short, I’m glad to see I’m in good company, considering Wendler’s take on the situation:
“I personally think you are looking for a excuse. You can always find an excuse if you look hard enough. But it’s even harder to find a winner. Which one are you?”
How am I looking for an excuse? I literally just said I just need advise… aka im at a sticking point someone know anything that can help me push through this? an excuse would be me saying yeah I can never pull more than now because of my hand size. I never said that. I stated this is what Im working with what can I do to improve.
[quote]Ertz86 wrote:
No excuses I just want to see if there is some ways to help if you have smaller hands, Im 5’6’ 180 lbs with 14-15% bf. My palm is definitely bigger than my fingers. Like I said, i have no excuses, just looking for advise to see what other people think about how to train grip with smaller hands. [/quote]
I think the best way to train grip is by directly training it, rather than attempting to indirectly do so through other exercises. Do some timed holds with a barbell and get some captains of crush grippers and close them for reps/time and you’ll do well.
However, this will heavily tax your grip, which will impact your ability to grip things in training.