Problems with mixed-grip deads (after pulling with straps for so long)

[Judas]

Okay, i'll TRY and keep this short.

I powerlifted (raw, IPF style) for 6 years, and the deadlift was always my strong lift. In the last 2 years ov those 6 i pretty much quit deadlifting entirely... working on some glaring weaknesses (bench, squat form) as i started squatting (and training) more weightlifter style, squatting every day and especially cleaning up my form. I found that even without the deadlifts in my weekly split, they were always up every time i tested them.

After that 6 years i quit powerlifting and started olympic lifting, and have been doing that for the last 2 years (with the occasional powerlifting relapse in between injuries). It was then ironically that i started doing a bit more deadlift work... mainly snatch and clean deads. To do those properly i was obviously going to use straps. I got used to it. Then i started actually working on my deadlift strength even more... and throwing in the occasional conventional deadlift workout, again with straps. Fast forward to this summer and a lil comp comes up and here i am... with NO GRIP. Predictable, sure... but i thought i could just revert to mixed grip. Nope. Grip strength is no issue... i could probably break close to half a ton off the pins...

THE ISSUE... I just cant lift this way anymore. I'll rip more weight than ever with perfect form... PR's all day long, no belt, arched back... with straps. But mix the grip and the bar gets away from me, things start to twist, and even my lower back somehow wants to round. I figured i'd just build up my hook-grip... which... i am doing right now. But it will take longer than i thought.

I've got a lil comp coming up in a few weeks, and i'd like to be able to actually deadlift what i can deadlift (so far i can pull a good 100lbs more than i can hold on to). The hook is not going to come around in that amount ov time, so its looking like i've got to revert back to mixed this one last time.

Any suggestions? This happen to anyone else here?


i should also add that i am absolutely NOT interested in going back to a mixed grip. It took me years to sort out the imbalances (both in physique, and pulling mechanics for olympic lifting) i got from mixed grip deadlifting. I dont want to go back down that road. My deadlift now, (read: my comp-style) is pretty much a clean-deadlift, with narrower grip.

[Falcon63]

Practice, that's really all you can do...

[Judas]

Practice, that's really all you can do...

Yeah... thats probably what i would say as well. Unfortunately its not a form i want to actually practice... so i guess i'm pretty much hooped.

One reply? really? What happened to this place?

[GazzyG]

Sometimes it happens, bud, when people are out for the weekend or whatever.

And re your mixed grip issues, I've got exactly the same thing. Injured my wrist so been avoiding mixed grip for a little while. Now when I try it, it feels off and I feel like I'm twisting my torso as I pull.

Hoping it'll just correct itself as I get back into it.

[theBarzeen]

The twisting is usually just a flexibility issue either in your shoulder or biceps. Try flexing your triceps and squeezing your lats when you pull.

or

if you are dead set on using hook grip try spraying your thumbnail with stick-um

After that it's time to come to terms with the fact that nobody pulls as much without straps as they can with straps.

[Judas]

The twisting is usually just a flexibility issue either in your shoulder or biceps. Try flexing your triceps and squeezing your lats when you pull.

or

if you are dead set on using hook grip try spraying your thumbnail with stick-um

After that it's time to come to terms with the fact that nobody pulls as much without straps as they can with straps.

Its definitely not flexibility issues... not my my case anyways. Using my triceps/lats is actually part ov the issue. I'm used to sweeping the bar in once past the knees... olympic style. I even do this with max-effort PL style deads. Works great. Thats with both hands over the bar though. Grip one under and suddenly i think its not so easy. I think thats why it gets away from me.

Strongman style sticky doesn't do enough. All the tricks employed i'm still lacking. Thus the post.

And maybe i was an anomaly, but before i started olympic lifting i could pull anything mixed grip i could with straps... when your grip is locked... and not an issue its all the same. Hook to straps i can see... thats a common weightlifting thing, but so far i am miles off.

[ScottYard]

No real answer other thatn practice and keep trying. Its not that complicated.