Note : I wrote this awhile ago, but after hitting some damn fast sumo deadlifts and pulling 385 double overhand in both sumo and conventional stances yesterday (I’ve pulled 405 doh on a handful of occasions generally conventional, but never 365+ that easily) decided to post.
Think of the deadlift you missed because it was too slow. Now most will name a slew of reasons, but they’ve missed one:
They missed it because their grip wasn’t strong enough to hold it at a faster speed at which the rest of their body is capable of.
(While the body, likely the lower back, wasn’t strong enough to finish the lift with that time under tension ie by grinding.)
I find as my HANDS get stronger deadlift SPEED improves.
As my hands get stronger so do my olys.
Strong hands allow a smooth moderate speed to fast deadlift and a nice crisp oly variant.
Hands are what keep me from hitting a 155-185 one arm barbell clean or snatch.
I can one arm deadlift these weights easily, I regularly high pull them, yet often enough the bar will slide right out of my hand near waist height.
It’s a matter of my hands not having the requisite strength at the higher velocity.
While I don’t know the exact physics and math involved, it’s quite obvious higher velocity/speed of movement adds a big multiplier to the force required by the hand to hold onto the weight through the completion of the lift.
To put it simply the higher velocity requires more sheer force/more hand strength to hold on and complete the lift.
This is a pro in favor of the use of bands while deadlifting. The increase in required velocity to lock it out tests the hands considerably building them in a way superior to the equivalent in straight weight.
I’ve found 315 straight weight + 200 in band tension at the top harder on my grip than my 515 deadlift PR.
The bands feel like they’re trying to pry your fingers open.
Likely this is an unspoken reason kettlebells are touted as a great grip strengthener. By design it is an implement of velocity, and therefore causes this grip effect.
Try holding 2 kettlebells in one hand vs 1 in each hand. You’ll see a drastic difference in speed of movement illustrating my points.
A weakness in the hand limits velocity, and higher velocity tests the hands even more.
I’ve held two 55lb kettlebells in my right hand and proceeded to swing them practically in slow motion. (Yes, thickness of grip comes into play too.) The contrast to one in each hand is staggering.
If you’re struggling with speed during pull movements you may be in need of stronger hands.
The relationship between hand strength and bar speed :
STRENGTHEN YOUR HANDS!
This has been MY two cents.
-J