First deadlifts today

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maoribadger
maoribadger Posts: 1,837 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Been working with personal trainer weekly for 3 weeks. 1st and 2nd week she taught me some simple circuits. Today was strength training. Learned how to do a deadlift. Also did some shoulder presses and some kettlebell swings. Got my deadlift up to 40kg. I am not sure whtehr to be pleased with this or not? :)

Questions...My hands are pretty small so I was struggling a bit to maintain a proper grip on the bar. Trainer did say there are some thinner bars I can try but I was wondering if theres a way to improve my grip strength? Do those gyroscopic balls or squeezy gripper things actually work? And would I benefit from gloves to help grip or stay bare handed?

Also have been doing jumping pull ups and she wants to progress me onto using a band. I'd like to get myself one for days when I am not training with her but dont know what would be best. Im 238lb so not little. I am also UK based so would be easier to shop from a UK store, although online is fine, just to save shipping and time. Any suggestions?

Sorry for all the questions

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    edited October 2014
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    exercises to improve grip. try deadlift with both overhead no thumb gripe. Then grab thumb around when the weight gets heavy. Then use the switch grip. Stores do sell the little hand squeeze grip thingys. I used to use them but have stopped. My school gym also uses thicker bars than other gyms. Just keep working on holding the bar. There is also chalk you can buy.

    ETA: You are untrained when it comes to lifting weights. We all started at a low weight. I remember guys in high school not being able to bench press the bar (45 lbs). They just kept working at it and got stronger than me by last year of high school.
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
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    Best way to improve grip is to keep doing deadlifts. Farmer walks are good as well. Pull ups are another exercise that are good for your grip. You can also alternate your grip with one hand under and one hand over. This will help a lot. If all else fails, you can always get some straps for your wrist. I would avoid those for as long as possible though. I personally don't use gloves, but if you are concerned about callouses you can certainly try them out. Your grip will get better with time, and unfortunately it is will eventually be the thing that keeps you from lifting as heavy as your legs and back will allow. That is why I say to stay away from the straps as long as possible. It is good to let your grip grow with your deadlifts.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    Plate pinches are a great way to improve grip strength. Just put 2 or 3 10lb plates against each other with the smooth sides facing out, pinch them between your thumb and fingers and hold it for as long as you can. As you get stronger you'll be able to do more and more plates and eventually you can swap to 25lb plates. Doing heavy rowing movements is also a good way to improve grip strength. I like to do heavy dumbbell rows and barbell rows for this. You can also use fat grips which are just thick rubber handles that you can slide over the bar to make a weight harder to hold onto.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    If you have a hand sledge you can grip the handle by the base with one hand and rotate the head of the hammer in a circle. It will burn like your hand and forearm are on fire. This will train your grip and forearms for a variety of different tasks since it applies resistance in multiple ranges of movement.
  • TJP_
    TJP_ Posts: 49 Member
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    Gloves will make your grip worse, especially if you have small hands. Grip strength will come from more deadlifting, plus other pulling exercises (rows etc.)

    Does your gym allow chalk?
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    Plate pinches and farmer walks helped me most. Dead lifting sets are typically done in 10-15 seconds (or less). As such, your grip training should be aimed to hold a lot for that time frame. I've gotta go against varied grips while deadlifting. Since you just started it would be bad to add such complexity/thought to the movement.
  • natecooper75
    natecooper75 Posts: 72 Member
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    I have had some success with holding the last rep of the set at the top. I learned this from watching some powerlifters on YouTube. I think they suggested a 10 count if you can but since you are just starting, you should probably build up your count as you go.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    maoribadger wrote: »
    Been working with personal trainer weekly for 3 weeks. 1st and 2nd week she taught me some simple circuits. Today was strength training. Learned how to do a deadlift. Also did some shoulder presses and some kettlebell swings. Got my deadlift up to 40kg. I am not sure whtehr to be pleased with this or not? :)
    Be pleased. That's excellent!
    Questions...My hands are pretty small so I was struggling a bit to maintain a proper grip on the bar. Trainer did say there are some thinner bars I can try but I was wondering if theres a way to improve my grip strength? Do those gyroscopic balls or squeezy gripper things actually work? And would I benefit from gloves to help grip or stay bare handed?
    Rock climbing was the big secret for me, as was using chalk. The grip will come, it really will. There is some conditioning your arms need. PErsonally, I hit a PR on my deadlift and decided to not try another PR, and I'm staying around 90% of that weight so I can condition my shoulders, wrists, fingers... essentially everything that will be holding the load and getting tugged on. I'd say, spend some time doing that too.

    Play around, have fun, doing deadlifts is a huge thing, so congrats.
  • philwrightfitness
    philwrightfitness Posts: 122
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    I've loads of these devices...Google " adjustable hand grip exerciser" looks like a nutcracker with a big spring on it... I think this is the best.....I would start with an old tennis ball with a slit in it and squeeze that just to get you conditioned
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    every exercise you do squeeze the bar as hard as you can, you'll get grip strength over time.
  • maoribadger
    maoribadger Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Thankyou all for answering the feedback is great. I will try holding the plates next time and each time I go but I think I.might get one of those squeezy contraptions too. I've decided against gloves and will just keep practising until I get it right. Am.sure.it will come in time. Am quite pleased to be learning the weights as I've wanted to for a while but been too chicken to ask anyone lol

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