Tag Archives: Deadlift

Rules of Grip Strength

Posted by Tim on

Anyone who has ever spent a lot of time in the gym and under the bar knows that after a certain point strength is almost useless in day to day life. Sure, being strong makes opening pickle jars easier, an will help you win and arm wrestling match or two, but by and large, being strong isn’t that necessary in today’s world. Oh, you can run a marathon? That’s great. I can drive a car and get where I’m going faster and without breaking a sweat. You see my point?

(That hasn’t stopped people from continuing to pursue their athletic dreams though. I’m not a competitive lifter, and I don’t even discuss my personal records with anyone, but I still keep track of my heaviest lifts and I train so that every couple months I can put up a bigger number. It may not be useful, but I do it for myself.)

One part of lifting that is often overlooked is grip strength. It also happens to be something that is actually useful in everyday life. Every once in a while someone at work will need something ripped apart and they call on me. It seems so easy to me, but no one else could do it. I’m not bragging – I’m just pointing out that my grip is stronger than most people’s. The thing is – I never focused on training my hands, on strengthening my grip. How did it get strong then?

Rule #1 – I am adamantly against wearing gloves, and using lifting straps or lifting hooks when working out. The reason is simple. These tools are aids. They aid you by allowing you to lift the weight more without the bar slipping out of your hands. The natural way to do this is to increase your grip strength, which will come naturally if you don’t use these aids. Want to increase grip strength? Throw away your gloves!

Anyone who says that lack of gloves or lifting straps is inhibiting their rows or deadlifts needs to be patient. Grip strength increases rapidly, and soon enough your grip strength will be able to handle the level of any weight you want to lift. Its foolish to let a weak grip hold you back. Just suck it up, grab the bar like a man, and lift it. Like Mark Rippetoe says – “If you insist on wearing gloves, make sure they match your purse.”

Rule #2 – Free weights are almost always better than machines. Machines limit your range of motion and steady the lift – aiding it. Not only does this mean that your grip doesn’t need to be as strong, but it means that many of the stabilizing muscles are not being used. A bench press (assuming proper form) of 150 lbs will deliver better muscular stimulation than a press machine of the same weight.

Rule #3 – Diversify. Its sad to see so many guys standing in front of mirrors at the gym constantly doing bicep curls. (One of the reasons I left commercial gyms.) As much as I argue that bicep curls are by and large a waste of time for any sport other than bodybuilding, if you insist on doing them try to switch things up. The standard curl is all fine and dandy, but try some reverse curls. Not only will this target the long head of the biceps, giving your arms a better overall shape, but it will really engage your forearms.

Not everything we do in the gym will transfer to real life, and after a certain point, very little of it will. Grip strength is one thing that is always useful, whether its tying a really good knot, opening a jar of pickles, or winning at tug of war. Avoid using aids that inhibit growth and strength gains, go for free weights instead of machines, and add in some reverse curls. Do this and you can throw out your lifting straps and never look back.

The 1% (No, not THAT 1%)

Posted by Tim on

One of the best tips I took away from the Jim Wendler /  Mark Rippetoe interview (which you can view HERE) was something along the lines of  ”don’t listen to anybody. Just train for 10 years and make up your own mind.” This is a great saying, and something that I feel should be taken more literally.

If anyone were to actually train for 10 years without taking the advice of idiot ramblers on internet bodybuilding forums we’d probably all end up at the same spot. In the end, we all get to the same point. Some of us faster than others, no doubt, but the same. Those points would be this – lift heavy, eat plenty, build your program around 3 movements – squat, bench, deadlift. That’s 99% of what anyone will learn after 10 years of training (or maybe 5 years of training with honest self evaluation).

It’s the 1% that everyone argues about, and it’s the most ridiculous thing. One person says that you should look up when you squat, another guy says you should look straight ahead. Still another says you should look slightly downward. So what?! Just squat. You’ll figure out what works best for you. You may squat one way at first and later switch to something else. Training programs change with time, but they change in small ways. The basics (the 99%) stay the same, the minor details (1%) changes.

When using a program that wasn’t written for you it’s not always necessary to adhere to it 100%. It’s important to follow some basic guidelines, but every detail doesn’t matter. It’s those details that can change, and should change for each individual. A beginner isn’t going to use the exact same set/rep/rest period intervals that an elite powerlifter does, BUT he’ll still be doing the same exercises – squat, bench, deadlift.

And those exercises – squat, bench, deadlift – are not options. They are part of the 99%, and should not change. No matter your goal, whether it be endurance, strength, or muscle hypertrophy, you should be basing your workouts around these main exercises. Learn your 99%, and leave the arguing over the 1% to the goofballs on the message boards.

On a completely unrelated topic – check out this band – The Mechanical Kids. I had the opportunity to sit in the studio with one of the guys from this band a year ago or so. Only recently have I actually taken time to listen to some of their music. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a cool change-up for me. Hope you like it!

Deadlift is King

Posted by Tim on

“While the squat has only been practiced for a few decades, the deadlift was practiced under different names since the days we stopped walking on all fours.” – Pavel Tsatsouline

“The deadlift builds back strength better than any other exercise, bar none.” – Mark Rippetoe

“The considerable stresses involved make the deadlift the most productive exercise of all.” – Mike Mentzer



“Are You Ignorant When It Comes to the Deadlift?” by Mark Rippetoe

It’s not always apparent, and is often poorly understood. Stated succinctly, stupid is not your fault – you were born that way. You’re just dumb. You can’t learn.

Ignorance means you just don’t know. Ignorance probably is your fault, because you’ve failed to inform yourself. This is especially true since the advent of the internet has enabled the most universal and thorough dissemination of information in the history of human communication.

The obvious problem is that 95% of that information is wrong, which follows my popular maxim: 95% of all the shit that occurs everywhere is completely fucked up. The internet is no different.

But you can, with a little diligence, tease out the facts if you want to. If you’re interested in a subject, it eventually falls upon you to distill the truth from the bullshit.

This you’ll do gladly, if you’re interested enough to devote significant amounts of time and effort to it, because an intelligent person realizes that bullshit is a waste of time. A stupid person might not appreciate this, and therefore continue to be ignorant of the truth of a matter.

Take the deadlift, for example. It’s the most basic, obvious movement in barbell training, the one with the most carryover to everyday tasks and the easiest to learn of all the basic exercises.

Read the rest of Rip’s article on T-Nation HERE