Fitness Distilled

There’s probably nothing you can do in a gym that’s more painful than using a hook grip to deadlift—short of dropping a 45-pound plate on your toes.

Why then, would you want to adopt such a technique?

Well, I certainly didn’t for many years, and now I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to. Like most lifters (non Olympic lifters, that is), I used a typical overhand power grip—thumbs on the outside. When the weight got heavy, I’d switch to an alternating grip, which is one palm facing down and one facing up. This is a very strong grip and I hit all my deadlift PR’s with it, but it has some major disadvantages.

The alternating grip is an easy solution when the weight gets too heavy to hold, but it can be the more painful grip option in the long run.

1 For one thing, you can tear your biceps with it. The arm that has the palm turned up puts the biceps in a weak position, and it can rupture under heavy loads. This usually won’t happen unless you’re a pretty advanced powerlifter, using weights over 500, 600 pounds or more. But it’s something to be aware of.

2 The alternating grip can cause muscle imbalances in the traps and lats. Again, the hand with the palm up is in a weaker position than the one with the palm down, so the muscle activation isn’t the same.

3 The bar can spin, or “windmill”, using this grip. If your technique isn’t tight and your lats aren’t locking the bar in 100%, the bar can twist on you as you lift and that can put your lower back at risk. In my opinion, the lower back is placed in enough danger when deadlifting as it is.

I’ve never torn a bicep but I have experienced some windmilling and muscle imbalances. My left elbow aches when I use an alternating grip and my left palm faces out, so I’m forced to do all my heavy sets with my right palm up, which feeds the imbalance further.

So why don’t I just use straps? Well, I’m not against them, but they won’t help my grip get stronger, which is one of the benefits of deadlifting. And, call me old fashioned or just plain stubborn, but I like lifting a bar under my own steam—no assistance. I like knowing my PR’s are really mine.

So here’s what seduced me about the hook grip.

1 It’s the strongest grip you can take. The bar will never slip out of your hands again for any reason.

2 No windmilling. No muscle imbalances. No risk of biceps injury.

3 It’s ideal for Olympic lifting. If you have any ambitions of competing in the Oly lifts or in CrossFit, or you just like doing snatches and cleans, you’ll have to learn this grip eventually. It’s the only thing that prevents the weight from flying out of your hands when you explode it off the floor.

4 It puts your whole body in a better position to deadlift. Because the bar sits more in your fingers than in the palm of your hand, it allows you to extend your back and hips a little more in the starting position. This puts you at a safer and stronger angle to begin the pull.

Wrap your fingers over your thumb, pressing it into the bar.

This is how you do it: Press your palms into the bar so you make as much room for your fingers to wrap around it as possible. Then WRAP YOUR THUMB FIRST, followed by your index and middle finger. In other words, your thumb is on the inside.

Bad for punching. Great for lifting.

Squeeze the bar hard and lift.

Now you’ll notice right away, or with almost any weight above 135 pounds, that this HURTS LIKE F@#$ING HELL. I mean it’s REALLY bad. Like somebody is crushing your thumb in a vise.

You have to trust that you will eventually get used to it. I haven’t yet, but I’ve only committed to it a few weeks. From what I understand, it takes several months. Hang in there.

You can wrap your thumbs in athletic tape to give you a little cushioning and a bit more tack on the grip. Just wind a few layers below the knuckle and then above it, but not so tightly that it cuts off the circulation. Wind it separately, with two pieces of tape. Try to leave a little space between the two pieces so your thumb can bend. Don’t immobilize it.

Another important point: the hook grip works best when using a 28mm bar, like a Rogue power bar. A normal commercial gym barbell is a little too fat to get your fingers around the thumb in a good position and may be near impossible for people with smaller hands. Try to use the best equipment available.

How to Lift With a Hook Grip

The dirty ol’ hooker isn’t something you can use all the time, especially when you’re new to it. It just hurts too much and can tear the skin off your thumbs. So for these reasons, I’ve been doing simple static holds with it at the end of two workouts per week. Do it as a finisher with light weights to start. Work up to a weight that you can hold for 3 sets of 30 seconds.

According to Steve Goggins, a powerlifting legend who has deadlifted 900 pounds with a hook grip (ouch!), you can use the hook grip on your warmup sets until you get to about 70% of your deadlift max. From there, do singles with it as you continue to work up to your top set. Then, when you’re at the heaviest weight you want to use that day for reps, throw straps on and lift with a normal overhand grip.

Steve Goggins has used the hook grip to deadly effect. No pun intended.

This gives you the best of both worlds. You’ll be practicing your hook grip and making it stronger, but not limiting what you can lift to give your back and hips the best workout. The straps will actually allow you to go heavier than any grip can, so they can make your deadlift much stronger, and there will be carryover to when you hook grip without them.

The hook grip is a long haul. It takes a lot of getting used to and it never really feels comfortable, but it can help you lift heavier weights more safely.

And that’s worth a few thumb blisters to me.

CLICK HERE to watch me suffering with a hook grip hold! (Yay for suffering!)