DL Grip Giving Out Before Lockout

I agree with what goodfellow said , but instead of using the pull up bar put a olympic bar over the top of a power rack . That way the bar rolls just like a deadlift bar would roll in your hands . Wade Hooper showed me that one and it is a beast ! if you can make 1 min then add a chain over your neck or a plate on your dip belt .

i do weighted pullups on deadlift days at the moment. maybe ill work on dead hangs at the very end of my workouts. think it’ll work?

That is what we have been doing . And I have not let go of a bar since .

Towel pullups…
and yes +10 on kroc rows…

hang the towel or big fat rope if you can get it over the chin bar and use it for pullups.
I also have found I have no grip in the early AM, later in the day my grip is solid.

just hang from a chin up bar for time,

What Vz says, hang on 1 hand and make sure u hang a bit more every time. Just do about 4-5 sets 2 times a week.

[quote]Big EG wrote:
For maximum attempts, where fatigue over time isn’t a problem, things are very different. I once read an article on a site that featured “old timer’s” articles from the 60’s and 70’s. The author simply asked: when have you seen a lifter lose grip when the bar goes straight up with no visible sticking points? Almost never (provided no hand injuries). Grip fails often when the bar comes to a stop at a sticking point or when the pulls becomes very slow and all inches of pull are painfully gained. In other words grip fails as a consequence of weakness in a prime mover (hams, glutes, erectors, traps, etc). On a maximum attempt grip will always fail if the necessary time to complete the pull is too long for the grip. His solution: train with straps! His rationale was that straps would enable you to really load/build the prime movers and speed up the pull at any given weight…Case in point: the bulgarian national weightlifting team used straps for most of the training year (because they pull 2-3 times a day) and simply discountinue them for 2-4 weeks before major events. Seemed to work for them.
[/quote]

Just pull faster - can’t argue with advice like that.

Also, I love my grip trainers. They aren’t captains of crush, but they were cheap and came in a set of 4 increasing strengths. You can get them cheap from Ebay.

Lots of great advice already. I’ll add a few thoughts.

For a max deadlift, I think the TOT for grip training should vary between 6 and 20 secs – 6 sec. because that’s about the time one can strain maximally on a single repetition (this is actually endurance work for folks that pull quickly!); 20 secs.

because that’s about the point at which one moves from brute strength (about six reps for most people) to strength endurance.

Failure over multiple reps in the deadlift extends the necessary TOT for grip training. I would say up to a minute.

Grip in the deadlift depends on suporting strength. Train for that. The strength one gains from crush grippers may transfer somewhat, but is less specific and thus offers less bang for your buck.

Some of my preferred methods of increasing supporting strength (and ones not mentioned above, or at least versions not mentioned above) include:

  • Supramaximal lockouts followed by an isometric contraction. Focus on full body tension, and be sure to squeeze your ass too. Try different grips and even use one arm (try suitcase style). This method has the added benefit of improving your lockout.

  • Heavy (~70%) speed pulls with an overhand grip. It’s not just about how much you can hold. It’s also about how much you can hold while in motion. Velocity adds weight to the bar. Feel free to add bands.

  • One-arm hangs. Arm wrestlers have used these for years.

  • Focus. This was mentioned above but bears repeating. You’d be surprised how strong your grip can be if you will it so. At some point, beginning rockclimbers discover the will to hang.

Despite a history of weight training, and therefore the ability to tap into a larger pool of motor units than the average person, climbing showed me that I could hang from two fingers using only the first knuckle.

I only managed to do that by willing myself up a tough bouldering route. It’s worth noting, however, that the ability to force such grip feats often leads to injury – broken fingers, snapped ligaments and tendons, etc. This is less of a problem for lifters, but at the end of the day, extreme effort sometimes leads to injury.

Hope this helps!

Q