Improve Your Grip Strength with Overhand Deadlifts: A Complete Guide

Grip strength is a fundamental component of overall strength and athletic performance. Whether you're a powerlifter, bodybuilder, or someone who wants to improve daily functional strength, enhancing your grip strength can significantly impact your ability to lift heavier weights and maintain control during exercises. One of the most effective ways to develop grip strength is by using a barbell with an overhand grip. In this article, we'll explore how to improve your grip strength with an overhand grip, why traditional mixed and hook grips may not be as beneficial for this purpose, and recommend some high-quality barbells to consider.

Why Focus on the Overhand Grip for Grip Strength?

The overhand grip, also known as the double overhand grip, involves grasping the barbell with both palms facing down. This grip places the most demand on the forearm muscles and requires maximum grip strength to hold the barbell, especially as the weight increases. The overhand grip challenges the muscles in the hands, fingers, and forearms to maintain control, making it an excellent method for developing raw grip strength.

Using a barbell, like the ISF Deadlift Bar or ISF Power Bar, with an overhand grip, can be particularly effective because:

1. Maximal Muscle Engagement: The overhand grip forces your forearm flexors and extensors to work harder to maintain control of the barbell, leading to better muscle activation and growth.
2. Isometric Grip Training: Holding a heavy barbell with an overhand grip is an isometric exercise, meaning the muscles are contracted without movement. This type of training is highly effective for building grip endurance, which is essential for holding onto heavy weights.
3. Progressive Overload: As you gradually increase the weight you lift with an overhand grip, you apply progressive overload to your grip muscles. This constant challenge forces adaptation and strength gains over time.

Research has shown that grip strength (GS) is a reliable indicator of overall muscle strength and sports performance, particularly in weightlifting. A study on competitive Master weightlifters found that better GS was associated with improved snatch performance, highlighting the importance of grip strength in executing technical lifts that require control and precision (Huebner, Riemann, & Hatchett, 2023) . This supports the idea that focusing on an overhand grip, which directly engages the forearm muscles, can enhance both grip strength and overall lifting ability.

Why Mixed Grip and Hook Grip Are Less Effective for Grip Strength

While the mixed grip and hook grip are common techniques for lifting heavier weights during deadlifts, they are not as effective for developing grip strength. Here’s why:

1. Mixed Grip: The mixed grip involves one hand in an overhand position and the other in an underhand position. While this grip prevents the bar from rolling out of your hands and allows you to lift more weight, it doesn’t work both hands equally. The supinated (underhand) hand has less strain, which reduces the overall engagement of the forearm muscles. Therefore, the mixed grip can lead to muscle imbalances and does not promote balanced grip strength development.  It's a favorite like when pulling for a one rep max like at this powerlifting event below.

   

   Above we see a mixed grip pull on this ISF Red Ceramic Deadlift Bar at a Real Gymm powerliftng competition in Keyport, NJ.

2. Hook Grip: The hook grip involves wrapping the thumb around the barbell and then securing it with the fingers. This technique locks the barbell in place, providing a very secure grip for heavy lifts. However, because the thumb is locked under the fingers, the forearm muscles do not need to work as hard to maintain the grip. The hook grip is more about reducing grip strain than building grip strength.

How to Use a Deadlift or Power Barbell with Overhand Grip to Improve Grip Strength

To effectively improve grip strength using a deadlift barbell with an overhand grip, follow these steps:

1. Start with the Right Barbell: Choose a high-quality deadlift barbell like the ISF Deadlift Bar. The ISF Deadlift Bar is specifically designed with a 27mm diameter, which is slightly smaller than standard bars, making it ideal for grip training. The knurling pattern provides a secure grip without tearing the skin, which is essential for repeated use.

2. Warm-Up Properly: Before jumping into heavy lifts, warm up your hands, wrists, and forearms with exercises like wrist circles, hand squeezes, and light bar holds. This prepares the muscles and tendons for the workout ahead.

3. Perform Deadlifts with Overhand Grip: Load the barbell with an appropriate weight that challenges your grip without compromising your form. Use a double overhand grip and perform deadlifts for sets of 3-5 reps. Focus on squeezing the bar tightly and maintaining control throughout the lift.  Do not use straps.

4. Incorporate Grip Holds and Static Holds: After your deadlift sets, add static holds where you hold the barbell in the standing position for as long as possible. This isometric hold further engages the grip muscles and builds endurance.

5. Gradually Increase the Weight: To build grip strength, you must challenge your muscles with progressively heavier loads. Gradually increase the weight on the barbell while maintaining the overhand grip to keep improving.

6. Utilize Grip Strengtheners: For additional grip training, use grip strengtheners like hand grippers or perform farmer's carries with farmer walk bars, dumbbells or kettlebells. This additional work complements the deadlift training and accelerates grip strength development.  

   

   Above we see dual overhand grip pull on this ISF Deadlift Bar.

Recommended Barbells for Grip Strength Training

• ISF Deadlift Bar: A specialized barbell with a 27mm diameter and aggressive knurling, perfect for maximizing grip strength training.
• ISF Power Bar: A robust option with a 29mm diameter and deep knurling, ideal for deadlifts and other heavy lifts that require a secure grip.

Conclusion

Improving your grip strength using an overhand grip on a deadlift barbell is one of the most effective methods for developing raw forearm and hand strength. While mixed and hook grips have their place in heavy lifting for maximum performance, they do not provide the same level of engagement for grip strength development. Investing in high-quality barbells like the ISF Deadlift Bar ensures you get the best training experience while targeting the grip muscles effectively. Start incorporating these techniques into your training routine today to build a stronger, more powerful grip.

Citation:

1. Huebner, M., Riemann, B., & Hatchett, A. (2023). Grip Strength and Sports Performance in Competitive Master Weightlifters. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2033. doi:10.3390/ijerph20032033.