Mixed grip is like Squatting in running shoes but I have yet to see a Powerlifter use good hook grip technique so it is more painful than it should be and less effective.
This is Hook Grip specialized for Powerlifting. I have no clue about anything Olympic Lifting related.
Hook Grip Set Up
The one constant will be your and everybody else’s thumb. After that the differences in position of the bar and how many fingers you can fit where will depend on your hand dimensions.
To begin last section of your thumb should be parallel to the bar and the 1st section should be perpendicular to the bar. After that wrap your fingers around the bar and thumb.
For Hook Grip there are 2 types of pain.
-Bar slip which causes skin tearing
-Thumb Dislocation Sensation caused from jamming your thumb into your palm
Thumb dislocation is easy enough to fix, dont jam your thumb so far into your hand. 1 of your thumb sections should be perpendicular to the bar and the last should run parallel to the bar.
What happens when you jam your thumb deep into your palm is when the bar rolls that pressure is applied to the knuckle which makes your thumb feel like it is popping out of its socket. I sprained both thumbs on separate occasions learning this.
Bar slip will always happen with any grip. Most people put the bar deep into their palm which means it is going to slip that much further. With Hook Grip it always slips to a certain point and then it stops slipping. That is what causes the callous tears.
This place where it stops slipping to is where you should set your Hook Grip to begin with. This will minimize the Bar Slip and also lengthen your arms thus shortening the ROM.
WHY HOOK AT ALL???
First and foremost it is a mechanical advantage both in ROM and actual grip strength. Also helicoptering should be greatly reduced (if not eliminated).
The only benefit of Mixed grip is you dont have to teach it or learn it, you just do it.
The downsides of Mixed grip are infinite when we really get into it.
Most injuries and pains caused from deadlifting actually come from uneven pulling which comes from mixed grip. The wrists do not attach dead center to the hand so when you flip one hand your arm is now a different length.
Then there is the muscle imbalances which are bad enough on their own but they also affect the other lifts. Uneven trap development means an uneven base for a Squat bar or Bench Press. The mobility differences caused can cause Hip Shift in Squats or imbalanced bar path on Bench.
And Bicep Tears.
The only real reason not to use Hook Grip is laziness.
Recently some lifters had issues with hook grip at the Kern US open on the new Kabuki Next Gen bars.
I think the problem was improper Hook Technique with more aggressive knurling.
So when these “hook experts” jam their thumb into the middle of their palm (pollack) and yank on a bar with more than normal knurling there will be less slippage which will cause the thumb dislocation sensation and when it does slip it is more likely to cause skin tearing.