I’m in week 5 of 12-week strength, with a growing amount of fatigue/soreness in my hands. Specifically knuckles. It takes some effort to make a fist as the joints feel quite stiff. This soreness has been building slowly for 2-3 months, with me using straps for everything other than comp deadlifts for the past couple of weeks. I switched to alternate grip for comp deadlifts at the same time as using straps for accessory lifts.
I suspect my hands are not adapting to the volume of deadlifts/RDL/rows/etc, and I need to back off the stress in them. I’m able to double-overhand (no hook grip) singles up to 355 lbs (a @9 lift for me at this moment), so I don’t think it’s a strength problem.
If I correctly understand the BBM methodology; I should reduce the workload on my hands by using lifting straps for everything for a few weeks, then slowly phase them out while monitoring my response. Is this the right path?
Thanks! (About me: 43 years old, 185 lbs, lifting for 2.5 years after being mostly sedentary beforehand, good health with no notable problems, no recent trauma)
No previous occurrence of this, no joint swelling. I believe I just ramped up the stress too quickly for my hands to adapt. The closest experience I have is sore elbows during SSNLP, where I was carrying too much weight on my hands in the squat. Once I learned how to carry most of the weight on my shoulders/back, the strain dissipated over the following weeks.
After using straps for the last 2 days of training, my hands are already feeling less overwhelmed. Now, how do I gracefully transition back to no straps over time?
My plan right now: (I would love suggestions/improvements!)
Use straps for next 2 weeks for everything (even warm-ups) except ‘competition deadlift’ slots, those will be mixed grip
Taper out the straps by doing warm-ups without straps for the third week *
Eliminate straps for 1 accessory lift in the 4th week *