Soldato
^ Not sure if serious.
*** The 2013 Gym Rats Thread ***
- Thread starter Morba
- Start date
Man of Honour
Soldato
please show me one bit of evidence that proves that its a fact and not just some jumped up gym ethics....
Chalk, Straps, Gloves there all built to maintain grip. Chalks still the best I agree, but im not going to go about claiming gloves are the devil in gyms.
Chalk, Straps, Gloves there all built to maintain grip. Chalks still the best I agree, but im not going to go about claiming gloves are the devil in gyms.
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Soldato
The glove moves your skin does not about how about that as evidence lol?
Caporegime
From what I recall, Gloves hamper grip due to the way they sit in between your hand and the bar, your hands cannot grip as effectively when there is a material in the way which is actually worse for grip training, as such your hands don't properly get in to 'grip mode' and instead stay in 'limp hand' mode. /science
Man of Honour
Gloves move about as has been said and it's almost impossible to get a full contraction against the bar when theres a cm or so of soft spongy padding in the way.
Look at it this way, you wouldn't squat or dead in a pair of spongy soled running trainers because you don't have a solid platform to lift from so why would you want to pad your hands.
I wish UE was still here as he would answer that very well. He uses straps for BORs and from what I remember it helps activate the lats more and less to do with your grip at all. Though I can't remember why...
Caporegime
Just takes the grip out of the equation really, that and pulling from the elbows brah
Soldato
Ignoring Doovis' made-up-on-the-spot belief, this is how it works. Essentially, if you consider all of your muscles to be a chain, from the object you're lifting down to the last muscle you're using. In the case of deadlifts, and to be very brief about it, this would be forearms > biceps > Shoulders > Traps > Lats > inbetweeny-stuff > Glutes > Hamstrings / Quads. There is a theory (couldn't tell you if backed up by studies or not) that your body will retard the maximal effort of each muscle down to the capabilities of the weakest link. In this case, your forearms are the weakest link, so you'll actually have less lifting power going through your legs and your body, as you physically can't hold on to the weight and your body doesn't want to jerk off (fnarr) and injure itself.
So if you remove the weak link (ie, use straps), the rest of your body will feel as if the load has been lightened. And certainly from personal anecdote, I would say it works. The ease of lifting 160kg off the ground with different grip methods goes:
Double Overhand > Mixed Grip > Chalked > Strapped.
So if you remove the weak link (ie, use straps), the rest of your body will feel as if the load has been lightened. And certainly from personal anecdote, I would say it works. The ease of lifting 160kg off the ground with different grip methods goes:
Double Overhand > Mixed Grip > Chalked > Strapped.
Caporegime
Meh, using straps on BORs makes the lift target your lats more if you pull correctly. So basically what I said, using straps takes grip out of the equation.
Caporegime
Careful, can't be spouting that sort of thing around here man
Soldato
Using straps doesn't magically target your lats more though, that's the point
It's the fact your lats aren't engaging as much to compensate for the lack of grip; they're retarding their power because they don't think your body can move the weight. So yes, it takes grip out of the equation (to a degree), but that isn't what he was asking as I'm pretty sure he understood that part of it He was asking what the connection was between using straps and getting better back activation.And I'd completely agree with what Chris said there as well; improved chalk on bench results in a steadier bar which also gives more confidence. It's not a straight forward case of "chalk increases lifts", there's sensible reasoning behind it.
Using straps doesn't magically target your lats more though, that's the point
And I'd completely agree with what Chris said there as well; improved chalk on bench results in a steadier bar which also gives more confidence. It's not a straight forward case of "chalk increases lifts", there's sensible reasoning behind it.
The effect you mention definitely exists, I'm sure I've read something scienc'ey about it before. It's like the opposite of irradiation, and might even use the same switches triggered by lactic acid.
Caporegime
Read that as Steedier then
So yeah, straps help engage the back more on BORs sometimes *thumbs up*
I use them for RDL's, come at me.
I read an article/watched a video by Christian Thibadeau many moons ago, obviously each to our own, but he was strapped up for snatches to save stressing his CNS unnecessarily.
That's not to say he negates grip training, not at all but is conscious that like training any other muscle it does effect the CNS, squeezing the living **** out of a bar for what totals a couple of minutes at a time.
Can confirm, deadlifting with straps does change the way the lift feels entirely. If you've ever got to the point on a RAW deadlift when grip starts to go and your entire body freezes and goes full derp 'nope, not moving any further'.
I did loose my grip a few weeks back on a 160KG when I wasn't expecting it, needless to say my arms flung up past my head and knocked me off balance
I'll avoid straps for as long as possible and I do feel like a pratt using them. DOH 180KG now so grip is improving, just such a slow process.
Soldato
I read an article/watched a video by Christian Thibadeau many moons ago, obviously each to our own, but he was strapped up for snatches to save stressing his CNS unnecessarily.
That's not to say he negates grip training, not at all but is conscious that like training any other muscle it does effect the CNS, squeezing the living **** out of a bar for what totals a couple of minutes at a time.
Can confirm, deadlifting with straps does change the way the lift feels entirely. If you've ever got to the point on a RAW deadlift when grip starts to go and your entire body freezes and goes full derp 'nope, not moving any further'.
I did loose my grip a few weeks back on a 160KG when I wasn't expecting it, needless to say my arms flung up past my head and knocked me off balance
I'll avoid straps for as long as possible and I do feel like a pratt using them. DOH 180KG now so grip is improving, just such a slow process.
I know that feel.. lost it at 160kg too, I only started using straps a week ago and only on deadlifts and tbh I quite like the way tehy feel
Caporegime
Did you not try mixed grip first? Or hook?