Originally Posted by
Charlocity2
Yesterday I finally hit a plate milestone PR I hadn't been able to achieve for a while: DL 315x5. I hadn't been able to get past 310x5 for a while.
I don't think it was psychological. I usually gassed out after 3-4 reps. I misread an article here that recommended taking your breath before you bend over and grip the bar.
But I went back to taking my breath after I bent over and found I had more gas for the end of a set of 5. Bonus: I also found a difference in the effectiveness of a hook grip for singles, versus a multi rep set. If I take a hook grip for a single with the bar closer to my finger tips, it feels like the bar has significantly less distance to travel. But if I do it for a multi rep set, it slips out of my hand. I still hook grip for multi rep sets, but I get the bar closer up in the web of my thumb than for singles. I was pleasantly surprised to see a thread in Rip's Q & A about this very same thing.