How To Deadlift With A Small … Hands!

Deadlift even if you are not "well endowed" in the hand department.

Get your mind out of the gutter! Did you think I was going to tell you how to deadlift with a small … nevermind

Got this comment on my post about using the hook grip to deadlift:

“Hey man what’s your take on guys with small hands. I’m 5?8? and can barely and I mean barely touch my thumb with my fingers. Normally I find myself alternating the revers grip, you know over under the opposite under over.”

First Off, I Got Small Hands …

Not like in a weird, hobbit, way (although Jabba The Bench might disagree) …

I’m only like 5′5″ or something like that, so I don’t have very big hands.

(and get your mind out of the gutter again! All it means is I wear small gloves!)

Even so, I still use the hook grip because I can get my hands all the way around the bar, at least enough to hook my thumb with my middle finger — which is the most important/strongest one.

So I say try it anyways, hopefully that point is clear, that you only need to hook your thumb with your middle finger primarily because it’s the strongest, so you don’t need huge hands to do it.

BUT — If You Have Small Hands …

Then you may have to use the Over/Under method to hold onto the bar. There may be no way around it.

But I’d recommend with all your warm up sets and for as heavy a weight as possible, you try deadlifting with a “normal” grip. Both hands overhand, no need to hook yet, or even have your fingers touching.

This way, you won’t overwork one side of your back/torso/grip too much. Also, and this is very important …

Switch Your Hands Every Set!

Although you’ll probably have a more dominant over/under grip … it’s important for equal development of your muscles … to switch every set for as long as possible.

Now when you start getting up there in the weights — like 80% + of your 1RM — you might not be able to keep the switching going. Then it’s probably ok to switch to your dominant grip side.

I would just do everything possible to try and work both hands/sides/parts of my body … because … over-use (of anything) is an often overlooked yet leading cause of most weight room injuries.

Hope that answers your questions about using the hook grip with small hands.