Hook grip DL - cool!



S

Steve Freides

Guest
I tried hook grip today - cool! Other than having the skin on inside of
my thumb slightly tenderized, it felt good. Pulled a few singles and
doubles at 80% this way.

Other than "ease into using it", anyone got any advice about this in
terms of how often you train with it? My grip has never been my weak
point yet and I'm wondering if I ought to use it only enough to get used
to it but otherwise keep training 'normal' overhand because that will
work my grip more. Maybe I just ought to get that thick bar I've been
thinking about

http://www.strongmanequipment.com/thick_bars.cfm

$65 shipped, can't beat that

where I can't hook grip, use that sometimes, and hook grip my regular
bar the rest of the time. Aah, decisions, decisions, decisions.

Anyway, hook grip seems pretty cool so far - hook grip war stories and
words of advice solicited.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com
 
"Steve Freides" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I tried hook grip today - cool! Other than having the skin on inside
>of my thumb slightly tenderized, it felt good. Pulled a few singles
>and doubles at 80% this way.
>
> Other than "ease into using it", anyone got any advice about this in
> terms of how often you train with it? My grip has never been my weak
> point yet and I'm wondering if I ought to use it only enough to get
> used to it but otherwise keep training 'normal' overhand because that
> will work my grip more. Maybe I just ought to get that thick bar I've
> been thinking about
>
> http://www.strongmanequipment.com/thick_bars.cfm
>
> $65 shipped, can't beat that
>
> where I can't hook grip, use that sometimes, and hook grip my regular
> bar the rest of the time. Aah, decisions, decisions, decisions.
>
> Anyway, hook grip seems pretty cool so far - hook grip war stories and
> words of advice solicited.
>
> -S-
> http://www.kbnj.com

Gee, I guess there are no hookers on mfw....

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com
 
In article <[email protected]>, "Steve Freides"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> "Steve Freides" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I tried hook grip today - cool! Other than having the skin on inside
> >of my thumb slightly tenderized, it felt good. Pulled a few singles
> >and doubles at 80% this way.
> >
> > Other than "ease into using it", anyone got any advice about this in
> > terms of how often you train with it? My grip has never been my weak
> > point yet and I'm wondering if I ought to use it only enough to get
> > used to it but otherwise keep training 'normal' overhand because that
> > will work my grip more. Maybe I just ought to get that thick bar I've
> > been thinking about
> >
> > http://www.strongmanequipment.com/thick_bars.cfm
> >
> > $65 shipped, can't beat that
> >
> > where I can't hook grip, use that sometimes, and hook grip my regular
> > bar the rest of the time. Aah, decisions, decisions, decisions.
> >
> > Anyway, hook grip seems pretty cool so far - hook grip war stories and
> > words of advice solicited.
> >
> > -S-
> > http://www.kbnj.com
>
> Gee, I guess there are no hookers on mfw....

We should be so lucky.

:^)

IIRC, I recall a thread in the strength list where a number of lifters
commented that it seemed like the pain factor really doesn't amount to
anything until you get to 400 lbs or so. Greg Payne had done a 800+
deadlift with a hook grip and he commented something along the lines of it
feeling like his thumbs are going to pull off.

I hook for olympic lifting, but still use a mixed grip for heavy
deadlifts. You can carry the bar a little lower that way. If your thumbs
get too raw taping them helps a lot.

Dunno what else to say. Kono recommends not hooking until you have to. But
at the same time he likes straps because it helps you focus on pulling
with straight arms. He notes that hooking during training can also cause a
jerky pull which he feels is not optimal. If you pull smoothly the bar
shouldn't pull out of your hands with a normal grip.

So it really depends on what you want. If there is no compelling reason to
hook I really don't know why you would,
 
"Hobbes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Steve Freides"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "Steve Freides" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> >I tried hook grip today - cool! Other than having the skin on
>> >inside
>> >of my thumb slightly tenderized, it felt good. Pulled a few singles
>> >and doubles at 80% this way.
>> >
>> > Other than "ease into using it", anyone got any advice about this
>> > in
>> > terms of how often you train with it? My grip has never been my
>> > weak
>> > point yet and I'm wondering if I ought to use it only enough to get
>> > used to it but otherwise keep training 'normal' overhand because
>> > that
>> > will work my grip more. Maybe I just ought to get that thick bar
>> > I've
>> > been thinking about
>> >
>> > http://www.strongmanequipment.com/thick_bars.cfm
>> >
>> > $65 shipped, can't beat that
>> >
>> > where I can't hook grip, use that sometimes, and hook grip my
>> > regular
>> > bar the rest of the time. Aah, decisions, decisions, decisions.
>> >
>> > Anyway, hook grip seems pretty cool so far - hook grip war stories
>> > and
>> > words of advice solicited.
>> >
>> > -S-
>> > http://www.kbnj.com
>>
>> Gee, I guess there are no hookers on mfw....
>
> We should be so lucky.
>
> :^)
>
> IIRC, I recall a thread in the strength list where a number of lifters
> commented that it seemed like the pain factor really doesn't amount to
> anything until you get to 400 lbs or so. Greg Payne had done a 800+
> deadlift with a hook grip and he commented something along the lines
> of it
> feeling like his thumbs are going to pull off.
>
> I hook for olympic lifting, but still use a mixed grip for heavy
> deadlifts. You can carry the bar a little lower that way. If your
> thumbs
> get too raw taping them helps a lot.

Carrying the bar lower is definitely a good reason _not_ to hook grip.
I've noticed that holding the bar tight or holding it in the hooks of my
fingers makes a noticeable difference in how low I have to get, and
since my weak area is off the floor, this is an important distinction
and along the sames lines, too.

> Dunno what else to say. Kono recommends not hooking until you have to.
> But
> at the same time he likes straps because it helps you focus on pulling
> with straight arms. He notes that hooking during training can also
> cause a
> jerky pull which he feels is not optimal. If you pull smoothly the bar
> shouldn't pull out of your hands with a normal grip.
>
> So it really depends on what you want. If there is no compelling
> reason to
> hook I really don't know why you would,

I've heard a few people say they can't hold onto their heaviest weights
any other way. And there's also the whole balance issue with the
alternate grip - makes me a little nervous for my back. I do most of my
training two hands over, and I think the plan is going to be to try hook
grip when I can no longer overhand grip and see how I like that.
Basically I'm just experimenting here - I've never used a hook grip
before and I figure I'll do it enough to see if it's for me or not.
Since I'm DL'ing pretty much every other day, I get plenty of chance to
practice.

Steve "hooker for a short time" Freides
http://www.kbnj.com
 
"Hobbes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So it really depends on what you want. If there is no compelling reason to
> hook I really don't know why you would,

Because it's cool! :)

I've messed with it before. I'll stick to the mix grip for deadlifts. Lots
of chalk helped on the hook grip but I didn't like the numb feeling that
lasted for a while after using it. Now, if I need to do something with an
overhand grip, like rows or shrugs, I just use straps. I'd rather worry
about the weight I'm using than what a grip I don't use for a competition
lift will limit me to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom Back