Hey Jim I am starting my first 5/3/1 cycle and I was wondering if your advice on not using straps would still be the same for someone with incredibly small hands.
I have been lifting for awhile mostly on split routines but the limiting factor has always been my hands. I have never used straps during my training routines and the limiting factor has always been my hands. All the family on my fathers side have tiny irish hands and I wear small gloves that are always loose on me.
I tried straps last week at the gym just to see what I could lift and I instantly added about 60kg to my deadlift and around 30kg on my row.
I have done DB holds and farmers walks in the past which help somewhat but I never seem to get past this problem and it is really depressing putting everything into diet and training but never seeing the results people less dedicated than me get because of my limiting factor.
I was wondering if you would advise someone with this problem to just keep lifting without straps or use them for my deadlift so I can get the most progress in the muscles it is supposed to work and then use heavy shrugs and rack pulls without straps to keep targeting my grip without sacrificing progress on my pulling day.
Thanks for all the work you do, buying the 5/3/1 simplest strength edition really got me off the splits and onto a productive track.
Dude, hand size doesn’t mean shit. If you follow the program you will get stronger overall. If you are worried about grip strength, do some Kroc Rows and use a double overhand grip on RDL/SLDL.
I have hobbit hands as well, and if you are smart with picking your maxes, you will improve in strength and grip strength will increase accordingly.
[quote]Kareem Said wrote:
Hey Jim I am starting my first 5/3/1 cycle and I was wondering if your advice on not using straps would still be the same for someone with incredibly small hands.
I have been lifting for awhile mostly on split routines but the limiting factor has always been my hands. I have never used straps during my training routines and the limiting factor has always been my hands. All the family on my fathers side have tiny irish hands and I wear small gloves that are always loose on me.
I tried straps last week at the gym just to see what I could lift and I instantly added about 60kg to my deadlift and around 30kg on my row.
I have done DB holds and farmers walks in the past which help somewhat but I never seem to get past this problem and it is really depressing putting everything into diet and training but never seeing the results people less dedicated than me get because of my limiting factor.
I was wondering if you would advise someone with this problem to just keep lifting without straps or use them for my deadlift so I can get the most progress in the muscles it is supposed to work and then use heavy shrugs and rack pulls without straps to keep targeting my grip without sacrificing progress on my pulling day.
Thanks for all the work you do, buying the 5/3/1 simplest strength edition really got me off the splits and onto a productive track.[/quote]
I personally think you are looking for a excuse. You can always find an excuse if you look hard enough. But it’s even harder to find a winner. Which one are you?
I would re-evaluate your nutrition. If you’re following the program consistently per the book then IMO nutrition would be your limiting factor. We all have bad days in the gym but to consistently have them tells me that something isn’t right in your lift outside the gym. Are you sleeping enough? Are you eating enough?
With 5/3/1 I don’t know how much you really need to focus on grip. Double-overhand grip on the DL is a lot in itself. Especially if you’re doing BBB, because you’re either doing a lot of work with the DL in either one session or DL’ing twice a week. If you’re doing DB Rows, especially something like Kroc Rows, you’re getting your work there. Pull-ups / Chin-ups, enough said.
I do double overhand grip on every set except the 2nd work set of the day and PR set. For those I use a mixed grip. I do it on the next to last work set to feel the slight change in technique and of course on the PR set to get the most out of the PR set. Doing all of my warm ups and the first work set with the double overhand really makes my main set feel like I have a very good grip on the barbell. And of course I go back to double overhand on all downsets.
[quote]finteal wrote:
I’ve got the same tiny hands issue as well.
I do double overhand grip on every set except the 2nd work set of the day and PR set. For those I use a mixed grip. I do it on the next to last work set to feel the slight change in technique and of course on the PR set to get the most out of the PR set. Doing all of my warm ups and the first work set with the double overhand really makes my main set feel like I have a very good grip on the barbell. And of course I go back to double overhand on all downsets.[/quote]
Same!