Deadlifts: Overhand, Mixed, Hook, and How to Choose Your Grip

Should Deadlifts Be Over or Under Grip?

The optimal grip for deadlifts is not a one-size-fits-all answer, depending heavily on individual goals, grip strength, load, and specific deadlift variations. While the double overhand and mixed grips are most common, understanding the biomechanics of each is crucial for safety and performance.

Understanding Grip Types in Deadlifting

The grip you choose for the deadlift significantly impacts bar control, muscle activation, and injury risk. There are primarily three common and safe grip variations used for deadlifts:

The Double Overhand Grip

This is the most fundamental grip, where both palms face your body (pronated) and wrap around the bar.

• Description: Both hands grip the bar with palms facing your torso, typically just outside shoulder width.
• Biomechanics & Benefits:
  • Symmetrical Loading: Promotes balanced engagement of the lats, traps, and back musculature, as both sides of the body are pulling equally. This helps maintain a neutral spine and prevents rotational forces.
  • Grip Strength Development: It is the most challenging grip for holding heavy weight, making it excellent for developing intrinsic grip strength (forearm and hand musculature).
  • Safer for Shoulders and Biceps: Maintains a natural shoulder position and places minimal stress on the biceps, reducing the risk of bicep tears associated with a supinated (underhand) grip under heavy load.
  • Technique Focus: Forces lifters to rely on proper back and leg mechanics rather than compensatory grip strategies.
• Limitations:
  • Grip Strength as Limiting Factor: For many lifters, grip strength will fail before the larger muscle groups (legs, back) fatigue, limiting the amount of weight that can be lifted.
  • Heavier Loads Challenging: Becomes extremely difficult to maintain with maximal or near-maximal loads.
• When to Use:
  • Warm-ups and lighter working sets.
  • When focusing on deadlift technique.
  • To specifically train and improve grip strength.
  • For accessory work or higher repetition sets where grip endurance is key.

The Mixed (Alternating) Grip

The mixed grip involves one hand with an overhand (pronated) grip and the other with an underhand (supinated) grip.

• Description: One palm faces your body (pronated), and the other palm faces away from your body (supinated).
• Biomechanics & Benefits:
  • Enhanced Grip Security: The opposing hand positions create a "locking" effect on the bar, preventing it from rolling out of the hands. This allows lifters to handle significantly heavier loads than with a double overhand grip.
  • Common for Maximal Lifts: It is the most common grip used by powerlifters for single-repetition maximal efforts due to its superior security.
• Risks & Considerations:
  • Rotational Imbalances: The opposing grip can introduce a slight rotational torque on the spine, potentially leading to muscular imbalances over time if always used with the same hand position. It's advisable to alternate which hand is supinated between sets or workouts.
  • Bicep Tear Risk: The supinated arm's bicep is placed under greater eccentric load and stretch, significantly increasing the risk of a bicep tear, especially during the eccentric (lowering) phase or if the arm is not kept straight.
  • Asymmetrical Loading: Can subtly alter the bar path and muscle recruitment patterns compared to a symmetrical grip.
• When to Use:
  • When lifting heavy loads that exceed your double overhand grip strength.
  • During competitive powerlifting (where it is permitted and common).
  • For sets where grip is the primary limiting factor and you need to ensure you can complete the reps with the target muscle groups.

The Hook Grip

A variation of the double overhand grip, where the thumb is tucked under the index and middle fingers.

• Description: Both hands are overhand (pronated), but the thumb is wrapped around the bar first, then the index and middle fingers wrap over the thumb.
• Biomechanics & Benefits:
  • Extremely Secure: The thumb acts as a "strap," creating a very strong and secure connection to the bar, often rivaling or exceeding the security of a mixed grip.
  • Symmetrical Loading: Like the double overhand grip, it maintains symmetrical loading on the body, avoiding the rotational forces of a mixed grip.
  • No Bicep Tear Risk: Eliminates the bicep tear risk associated with the supinated arm in a mixed grip.
  • Common in Olympic Weightlifting: The standard grip for snatch and clean & jerk due to its security and symmetrical nature.
• Limitations:
  • Initial Discomfort/Pain: Can be quite painful on the thumbs initially, requiring a period of adaptation.
  • Requires Practice: Takes time and practice to master the technique and tolerate the discomfort.
  • Thumb Mobility: Requires adequate thumb flexibility and strength.
• When to Use:
  • For heavy deadlifts where symmetrical loading is desired (e.g., for general strength and conditioning, or if avoiding the mixed grip for safety reasons).
  • For athletes involved in Olympic weightlifting who are accustomed to the grip.
  • If you want the security of a mixed grip without its associated risks.

The Double Underhand (Supinated) Grip: Why It's Not Recommended for Deadlifts

While the term "under grip" might imply using both hands with palms facing away from the body (supinated), this grip is generally not recommended for conventional deadlifts, especially with significant loads.

• Description: Both hands grip the bar with palms facing away from your body.
• Why It's Generally NOT Recommended for Deadlifts:
  • Extreme Bicep and Shoulder Stress: This grip places an immense and unnatural amount of stress on the biceps and anterior shoulders. The force vector of the pull, combined with the supinated forearm, makes bicep tears highly probable, even with moderate loads.
  • Biomechanically Disadvantageous: It puts the shoulders in a compromised, internally rotated position at the bottom of the lift, making it harder to maintain a strong back position and effectively engage the lats.
  • High Injury Risk: The risk of bicep tendon rupture is significantly elevated compared to other grips, making it an unsafe choice for a compound movement like the deadlift.
• Context for Other Lifts: While unsuitable for deadlifts, a double underhand grip is appropriate and effective for other exercises like barbell rows, bicep curls, or chin-ups, where the biomechanics and loading patterns are entirely different and do not pose the same acute injury risk to the biceps.

Grip Aids and Their Role

• Chalk: Improves friction between hands and the bar, significantly enhancing grip security for all grip types. It's highly recommended for any heavy lifting.
• Lifting Straps: These wrap around the bar and your wrists, bypassing grip strength as a limiting factor. They are useful for:
  • Allowing you to train the target muscles (back, legs) beyond your grip capacity.
  • High-repetition sets where grip fatigue would otherwise end the set prematurely.
  • Rehabilitative purposes or when recovering from a hand/forearm injury.
  • Caution: Over-reliance on straps can hinder natural grip strength development. Use them strategically.

Choosing the Right Grip for You

The decision between "over" (double overhand or hook) or "under" (as part of a mixed grip) comes down to your primary objective for the deadlift:

1. For Grip Strength Development & Symmetrical Training: Prioritize the double overhand grip for as long as possible. Use chalk.
2. For Maximal Strength & Competitive Powerlifting: The mixed grip is the most common and effective choice for lifting the absolute heaviest weight. Remember to alternate your supinated hand and be mindful of bicep health.
3. For High Performance & Symmetrical Heavy Lifting (without mixed grip risks): Master the hook grip. It offers superior security with symmetrical loading.
4. For Training Volume Beyond Grip Limits: Utilize lifting straps after your warm-up or first working sets, or for specific accessory work.
5. Avoid: The double underhand (supinated) grip for heavy deadlifts due to significant injury risk.

Conclusion

There is no single "best" grip for deadlifts; rather, there are optimal choices based on your goals and the specific demands of the lift. A well-rounded training approach often involves using different grips strategically: the double overhand for building foundational grip strength and technique, the mixed grip for maximal lifts, and potentially the hook grip for a strong, symmetrical alternative. Always prioritize proper form and safety to maximize the benefits of this powerful exercise while minimizing risk.