Weird Grip Problems on Deadlift

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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Hello Barbell Medicine crew,

I apologize if I posted the same topic twice. I tried to post once and it seemed like the browser just ate it or something, because I couldn’t find the post on the forum, and my account had zero posts.

Background information:
I am a 20 year old 235 lb male with long legs and broad shoulders. I have been doing the novice linear progression since March 18, and I have made more progress than I ever thought was possible. I have eaten and slept to the best of my ability. My starting weight was 225 lb, and the following have been my initial / current working sets:

Squat: 205 lb / 335 lb
Bench: 155 lb / 215 lb
Press: 135 lb / 160 lb
Clean: 135 lb / 145 lb
Deadlift: 285 lb / 425 lb

CAVEAT: I probably could have started at 30 more pounds on the squat, BP, and DL, but I didn’t have a coach, I was brand new to lifting, and I figured the weight would increase quickly anyway.

My problem come from gripping the deadlift. I’ll give a timeline of what my grip has looked like and what the reasoning was

-At 285 lb, I already had trouble holding the weight with double overhand, so I started with the hook grip.
-At 335 lb or so, I began having trouble with my hands getting really sweaty and my fingers would just slip, even if they weren’t too weak to hold it. I am THE sweatiest person I have ever met; I usually look like I fell into a lake after just doing my warmup sets. At this point I tried wrapping my fingers and thumb with sticky gauze tape for grip, but the tape would just get soaked and fall off while I pulled.
-At 355 lb, I failed the set entirely and decided to try alternating grip. As a note, I did not find it uncomfortable to switch which hand was supine each workout, so that’s what I did.
-At 395 lb, I injured my elbow doing the deadlift. I noticed that my elbow moves medially when I supinate my hand, so my elbow was hyperextended by my leg when I pulled. Basically, when I squeezed my knees out and pulled, I gave myself an armbar.
-Because of this, I did 395 lb and 405 lb with straps. This made the reps REALLY easy.
-Because the deadlift is my only grip work, I decided to ditch the straps for as long as possible to account for this. I moved my supine hand about a finger width further to the outside and didn’t squeeze my knees out as hard. Is this an ok solution? My humerus bone makes an identical angle with at my shoulder joint, but I realize that this loads the hands asymmetrically.
-At 415 lb and 425 lb, the last rep of the set was really messy, and I almost dropped the weight on the prone side, regardless of which hand that happened to be.

Why is the prone side weaker in both cases, and what would be a good solution to this problem? Is my grip weaker because I used the straps for 2 sets? Is there a better way to avoid the injury I mentioned? At what point should I just use straps? It feels like the weight can keep going up quickly and my legs, hips, and back are easily strong enough to do so. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Caleb.

P.S. Thanks so much for all the work you put into this. I have learned so much and training has been more successful and fun than I ever thought it would be. Keep it up!

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… chalk?

What kind of bar are you pulling on?

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The gym I use doesn’t allow chalk as far as I am aware, but I will certainly check for sure next time I go. As far as the type of bar, unfortunately it’s whatever bar is available. The gym doesn’t have too many to choose from. Sometimes it’s a deadlift bar, sometimes it’s just a power bar.

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That sounds like the biggest problem, to be honest.

5

You give could Liquid Grip a try. Might be better than nothing.

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I bring chalk into gyms where it’s “not allowed” all the time. Here’s my procedure:

Pack it in high-quality tupperware with a good seal. Make sure the tupperware is much bigger than the chalk inside so you can chalk up over top of it and still catch most of the debris in the container. Use the minimum amount of chalk required; it really doesn’t take much to dramatically improve grip. Do your set(s), reapplying the minimum amount as needed. Afterward, clean up all traces of chalk from the floor, bar, and other equipment with a damp paper towel. The kind of gyms that don’t allow chalk are usually the kind that have plenty of spray bottles around.

As long as you demonstrate you know how to use chalk respectfully and discreetly (don’t use way too much, clap your hands together to make clouds, or leave a mess everywhere), I predict you’ll have no problem. If you are still confronted by management even after being a model chalk citizen, apologize politely and find a new place to train.

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