The Problem With Mixed Grip
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Deadlifts have become a staple part of the fabric of most gyms. It’s without doubt, a superb exercise with crossover benefits to sports and life in general. I myself am fortunate to be able to work with competitive and recreational lifters alike which gives me an opportunity to make a few observations.
There are however, a few things that bake my head about heavy lifting. One of those things is the use of the mixed grip while deadlifting. My treatment table is seeing the regular occurrence of people seeking help for various ailments happening to one side or the other of their body (rarely both sides at the same time). The pattern that emerges is it is set off during or after deadlifts. Upon demonstrating their awesome, back straight, deadlifting tekkers to me I follow up with the question “Do you always use that grip?” The answer is inevitably yes and the grip is, you guessed it, mixed grip.
The mixed grip has it’s advantages when performing a deadlift. It prevents the bar rolling in one direction while in the hands, reducing the need to use forearm and grip strength. This allows an individual to lift heavier without the grip failing. Now when I ask my patients if they ever vary their grip, I seem to get a look of complete confusion as they reply “no”. They use (and I’m shaking my head while writing this) the same grip “ALL” of the time.
Why does this cause problems?
Well, when the 7’ long bar you are lifting is perfectly symmetrical but the way you are holding it is not, forces are going to be transferred through your body differently from one side to the other. The muscles, connective tissue and nervous system will adapt over time to meet these stresses. With the best will in the world, the mixed grip will cause a certain amount of rotation and your body will react accordingly. Now when you have tremendous forces going through your body it will only work well in a weakened position for so long until it starts to fail. This results in knee, hip, back and shoulder problems. The mixed grip position also puts massive pressure on the bicep of the supinated hand. I recently saw a video of a bicep rupture during a very heavy deadlift and it wasn’t pretty.
What is the answer?
In my opinion, if you are not a competitive powerlifter and are just training for improved strength and fitness purposes, it’s probably a good idea to avoid mixed grip altogether. You may have to check your ego and lower your weights but in the long run it could mean the difference between you lifting for the next 10 years or the next 30. You can still get a great benefits from the exercise but lifting below your max and your shelf life in the gym can be a lot longer.
If you are a competitive powerlifter there are a few interventions you can employ to reduce the risk of imbalance and injury.
Reduce the ratio of mixed grip lifting to overhand lifting. Look at your programming and ask yourself if you could use an overhand grip on your lighter days.
Don’t use the same mixed grip all the time. Alternate it. The aim is to stop the bar rolling out of your fingers so does it matter which side it’s on?
Rack pulls! Heavy rack pulls can give your body an adaptation to heavy overload without having to bring it all the way up from the floor. Reducing stress on the grip.
Increase grip strength. Doing specific exercises to improve grip strength means you can get more benefit from your double overhand lifting before you have to switch to mixed grip. A few accessory exercises for grip in your workout could mean you having to use mixed grip less frequently.
Hook Grip. This isn’t the most comfortable grip for a lot of people. The advantages are that it reduces the need for grip strength and stops the bar rolling out of your hands so it might be worth practicing to see if you can get used to it.
Happy lifting!
RB