To this day the right side of my lats are significantly larger than the left side of them.
The difference in development makes the right side appear as though it’s insertion point is lower to the tailbone than the left.
As a beginner I had bought into the internet’s powerlifting “never use straps” philosophy.
And my grip was terrible.
I was pulling more than not with mixed grip.
Eventually I added in straps for shrugging heavier than I could deadlift, but for years I pulled anything I couldn’t hold overhand with the mixed grip.
My right hand was the underhand, and that’s the side of the lats that are a good deal bigger.
I have a few thoughts stemming off that :
•Underhand gives more stimuli to the lats when deadlifting.
•The underhand is the more mobile side, this is an example of more mobility allowing for more muscle growth.
•Dorian Yates did his bent rows underhanded, and at a high angle the “Yates row”. He’d realized how these both grow the lats.
This says chin ups hit more lats than pullups which hit smaller back muscles.
Now if you’re outside of a powerlifting competition going without straps is unnecessary.
Don’t view some minimalistic deadlifting protocol as the be all end all of your grip work.
Enough grip stimuli make it so that you can use straps for deadlifts a lot more.
A buddy has from day 1 almost never pulled mixed grip. When he couldn’t pull a deadlift overhand almost always he’d add straps to the equation. His grip is good always doing volume back work, aside from the deadlift, mostly without straps.
(Of course both of us saw big increases in hand strength when we picked up labor jobs. Working labor jobs is a fast way, faster than the gym most of the time, to build hand strength.)
You know what?
His back development, both sides of the spine, is symmetrical.
I’ve come to the conclusion you needn’t even get to the point that you need to use straps on deadlifts.
You could from day one only pull double overhand, preferably on an axle, and embrace the hands as being the limiting factor.
It may take much longer to get to 400, 500, 600lbs this way, but it’d be a whole lot more sustainable a path.
(Note/Aside : Hands are the biggest limitation on the olys, in weightlifting. However I don’t believe in straps for weightlifting.)
Your hands act as a strength governer.
You don’t fire a rep off the floor that you can barely hold.
If it’s easy in your hands the rest of the body knows it can take off.
Straps bypass this.
That’s fine in strongman competition, and for unlocking extra full body growth while powerbuilding.
For the every man however the hand as a limitation is fine.
You may just end up having a side effect…
Your hands may be strong like men of yesteryear.
A decade of only double overhand is sure to build “man strength”, something those in the gym using straps are unlikely to have developed.
The deadlift is much more than a raw 1rm. Though give it enough time and you’ll have a big one of that too, even with the only double overhand without straps approach.