Hook grip vs mixed grip.

[PaulBeech]

Lets have a debate. I'm getting right pissed off with a guy I know who will try and pick apart all technique with questionable judgement. This got me going. Hook grip is basically using straps and makes any pull less legit. Mixed grip is far more impressive. Personally I feel they are both filling the same role but I would like to hear other lifters opinions.
Thoughts?

[Briks42]

Both are 100% legit. Neither is "more impressive". Do whatever allows you to lift the most weight.

[Corrie]

This got me going. Hook grip is basically using straps and makes any pull less legit

Did he give a reason for thinking this?

[Les Hahn]

I think you have three things going on here.

1. Hook grip... This the the double overhand grip with the thumb hooked it. It can give you a solid grip, but it hurts like a bitch for heavy deads if you are not used to it. I personally don't use this grip, but if you were doing olympic lifting, you would pretty much have to get it down.

2- Straps with double overhand... This would be the one that some people would consider "not legit" because you can't use it in competition. There are many applications for straps though. I use them for rackpulls all the time, where I don't want to work my grip strength. You see many olympic lifters using straps, just to save their grip. Sometimes too much grip work is a bad thing. Since they are not pulling weights that are close to their limit DL, using straps isn't going to hurt them at all.

3- Mixed grip... I use this myself. It works well for deadlifting, but not much else.

[PaulBeech]

He is saying hook grip is basically using straps. Straps dont hurt like shit and you can still lose a hook grip. Its got me all riled up.

[PaulBeech]

Did he give a reason for thinking this?

I guess he sees it as anchoring yourself to the bar unfairly.

[Les Hahn]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense. The best thing you can do is have him try a near limit deadlift using hook grip. After that he won't think that using straps = hook grip. :-)

[Corrie]

I guess he sees it as anchoring yourself to the bar unfairly.

Unfair to who, people without thumbs? Lol.

[Brodie Butland]

I can't use a hook grip on a max effort deadlift--so I use a mixed grip. I doubt I'm alone on that. I'd say by definition that if a good bit of the population can pull less with a hook than a mixed, a hook is legit if you assume a mixed is.

Of course, this whole debate is sort of semantics anyway because "legitimate" doesn't mean anything in a vacuum. If you're not training for a competition and your grip is a significant limiting factor on your deadlift (i.e, you would lift substantially more weight but for your grip), there's no reason to forgo wrist straps. Obviously you should work on grip strength in the interim, but what's the point in limiting your strength gains because of a grip issue if you don't have to?

[StrongLiftMyBalls]

Its a stupid question surely.

If you train deadlifts for strength AND grip strength then you are cheating YOURSELF, no one else.
However there are better ways of training grip.

Also hook grip is leagal in almost all competitions so from a 'legal' POV its legit.

Also its damn hard to do with anything resembling a heavy weight.

So in summary: Hook grip - legit. Question - Stupid.