Hands fatigue during deadlifts

[aveggiegirl]

Cathe,

I love to train my hamstrings by doing deadlifts with heavy weight. However, my hands get quite fatigued when lifting heavy, so I have to stop before I get that "good" burning feeling. Could you please suggest a way for me to strengthen my hands so I can do the deadlifts with heavy weight?

Thanks,
aveggiegirl

You are awesome and I can't wait for your new workouts!

 

[kathryn]

You can buy wraps (made of sturdy cotton canvas) that have a loop that goes around your wrist, then you wrap it around the bar, and grab onto it. This will allow your arm muscles to help with holding the bar, and allow you to lift longer and heavier. (It won't strengthen the grip, however, but it will help you to lift more in the meantime.)

(One way to strengthen grip is to get in a squat safety rack, with a heavy bar (heavier than you would use for deadlifts) set up at a bit lower than hip height. Grab the bar, and just hold onto it as long as you can. The squat rack is necessary, because most time, people do this to actual muscle failure, and the bar drops onto the rack. Of course, you have to have access to a gym (or to a home squat rack) to do this).
HTH!

 

[aveggiegirl]

Thanks for the suggestions Kathryn!

 

[LauraMax]

This is a very common problem for women, especially when it comes to lifting weights for larger muscles like your lats & traps. The canvas strips Kathryn refers to are called lifting straps. I use them for almost my entire back routine other than pullups, & also for shrugs.

I use a modified version that are actually metal claws with a velcro closure around the wrists--the claws are much easier & more convenient than the straps & also provide more stability. However if your bar is coated in neoprene--or any other coating for that matter--the claws probably won't fit & you'd have to go w/the lifting straps.

You can find both at www.bigfitness.com/clasneoppad.html. Good luck!

 

[howrobin]

Not Cathe here:
Have been doing Cathe DVDs for a while and like them a lot. Whenever I do a Cathe work with bicep work, curls, etc., after she finishes each set of curls, I pause the DVD and do one set of wrist curls and one set of reverse wrist curls. I try to do at least two sets of each and often do three. Have found that handling weights has become easier.
Also helpful is squeezing a tennis ball while you are watching T.V. or talking on the phone.
Good luck.

 

[howrobin]

Re. wrist curls, go to Bodybuilding.com. Click on supersite (not the store). In the search, type in "exercise guides" then search. That's the section that shows you how to do various exercises. Wrist curls are in the section on forearms. They refer to reverse wrist curls as palms down wrist curls. They do them on benches and standing, but you can sit down and rest your forearms on your thigns with your wrists hanging over the front of your knees.
Or just browse through weightlifting books at your local mass bookstore - you'll find instructions for them.

 

[LauraMax]

A word of caution--be careful with wrist curls or any other hand-strengthening exercises. I do absolutely no hand or wrist strenghtening exercises at all. My hands are already beat up & calloused enough, the last thing I want to do is add muscle to them.

Do you remember the Seinfeld epi when Jerry broke up w/a girl b/c she had man hands? 'Nuff said.............;-)