Hook Grip for Deadlift

[GioFerrante]

You need to get a better bar. This fat bar shit cannot be compensated for.

How thick is a proper bar actually supposed to be? And if my grip gets stronger on a slightly larger bar, doesn't it get stronger on the thinner one too?

My main complaint with the bars is they don't keep the them lubricated enough to rotate properly during my cleans and snatches. I am starting to wonder if the shitty rotating sleeves were contributing to my forearm pain in my presses and the Olympic lifts. Though a pair of wrist wraps has done wonders for this.

Isn't an extra set of 3 with 10-20sec holds an additional stress for everything else other than your grip as well? Are you picking up 275lbs from the ground or are you doing it like a rack pull?
Is this gonna allow you to progress?

I set the bar on the pins to just below my lockout height, so I don't have to pull it much at all. Back does have to stay neutral but just at the top so it's not too fatiguing.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The biggest bar in my gym is 29mm, the rest ranging from 27 to 28.7mm. If it gets too big for your hands to close around, the grip mechanics become so bad that you cannot hold heavy weights. If the gym doesn't keep the sleeves lubed on the bar shafts, bring your own oil.

[GioFerrante]

The biggest bar in my gym is 29mm, the rest ranging from 27 to 28.7mm. If it gets too big for your hands to close around, the grip mechanics become so bad that you cannot hold heavy weights. If the gym doesn't keep the sleeves lubed on the bar shafts, bring your own oil.

I'll measure the barbell and check the circumference.

I saw that you had this video up:

A Quick Spin on Oiling Your Barbell - YouTube

I just ordered some oil. If management gives me any grief for this procedure, I am going to have a cow.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Be sneaky, just in case.

[GioFerrante]

Be sneaky, just in case.

Is there a way to tell without opening up the sleeves if the bar has bearings or bushings? Or can I just assume that the gym will have the cheapest equipment available, which would be the bushings?

[Mark Rippetoe]

You don't "open the sleeves" to oil the bushings. Just put a couple of drops of oil in the gap at the proximal and distal ends of the sleeves.

[GioFerrante]

I guess I was trying to understand how I'd know if the bar has bearings or bushings without taking the thing apart.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You can tell by the way the sleeve spins. Bearings don't need lube to spin freely, bushings do. Bearings make bearing noise, bushings do not.

[GioFerrante]

You can tell by the way the sleeve spins. Bearings don't need lube to spin freely, bushings do. Bearings make bearing noise, bushings do not.

Thanks Rip. I had also read somewhere that an oil based lubricant can cause dust to collect over time. Has that been your experience?

[Mark Rippetoe]

As I've mentioned several times, I don't do a lot of bar maintenance, because it's just not necessary. I don't worship my bars the way you guys do -- I just use them.