How To Get More Muscle & More Grip Strength With This Deadlift “Twist”

by Caleb Lee on September 28, 2009

Weak Hands? Weak Deadlift? Try this ...

The deadlift is king.

Of course, you probably already know that if you read this blog regularly.

One of the great things about the deadlift is the variety of ways it can be used in your training but regardless, a limiting factor for newbies and vets alike is grip strength.

Why Is Your Grip Strength So Important?

Grip is important in the deadlift, in less obvious ways than you think.

While it may seem obvious that your grip “grips”, it also is a factor in determining how much weight you can actually lift.

You’re probably thinking, “Right, gotta hold onto the bar, but my total body strength determines what I can deadlift.“

What your hand can’t grip, your body won’t deadlift.

This is one of the reason why some people wear straps and are able to deadlift more than normal, because there is no stimulus going from your hands to your brain, saying “can’t grip the weight“, inhibiting your nervous system.

If your nervous system tells your body “no go!” — the weights not going to move!

Enter High-Rep Deadlifts …

So what do high rep deadlifts help with?

Well, the high repetition and condensed rest periods straight up build MUSCLE. Your lower back, rhomboids, and traps will all be very fatigued. But your grip will also become much stronger.

Most people who train the deadlift only do it heavy, for low reps. And for good reason! But in terms of grip strength, this is only one way to train the grip, when it needs to be attacked from every way possible. Check any training routine of a gripmaster: there are so many different aspects of grip training, it almost gets to be tedious.

I didn’t want to have to go through all the trouble of specialized grip training!

A Simple Routine To Increase Your Grip Strength …

I soon discovered that high rep deadlifts are an easy way to hit your grip effectively in a new manner. Here is what I would do:

Warmup
3 sets of heavy, low rep deadlifts
5 sets of 10 deadlifts @ 50% of your 1RM

I keep my rest period down to 90 seconds between sets, but you can increase this if necessary.

I tell you what: 50% of your 1RM may be light. But when you need to get 50 reps with it, it becomes hell on earth, mentally and physically. Because physically, you CAN do this, and fairly “easily”. But you just don’t want to.

10 reps is already a lot for a movement like a deadlift; 5 sets of it tests your mental and physical endurance.

After a few weeks of these higher rep deadlift sessions, I was able to double overhand a weight for several reps, a weight I could barely get for one rep a month previously. I suspect you’ll have the same gains.

Article by Caleb Lee

Caleb is the owner of DoubleYourGains.com where he shares his short-cut tips to double your gains in all areas of your life, namely, Health, Wealth, and Love.

Caleb has written 325 awesome articles for us.