deadlifts and finger tip blood flow

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Interesting thing happened today after doing some dead lifts. Instead of gripping the bar, I held onto the bar loosely with my fingers, letting gravity hold the bar in place. The end of my finger tips turned white. Is the usual artifacts of lifting like this? It took 15 minutes for blood to seep back into fingers. They are still a little white. It was a very weird feeling to have rest of hand pumped with blood, but none in fingertips. Kind of like frostbite feeling.

Any thoughts? I thought gripping hard would do this, but I did exact the opposite with no grip. I did a warmup run before lifting at home. Now onto my body weight without! Fun stuff!!

[ATTACH]16035[/ATTACH]

[happy1957 138]

Hello, do your hands get acutely cold at times? Do they get cold when they turn white? Check this out...

http://consults.blog...uds-worse/?_r=0

[aroundhky 1,174]

Hmmmm....I've never had that happen to me. I try not to grip too hard when doing deadlifts because I want my hands/arms to only feel like connectors and not pull. So I kind of grip lightly and often use chalk, but that's never happened to me. Have you ever tried a hook grip when doing deads?

[maharet111 544]

That happened to me last week when we added weights for the first time for my deadlifts (not to the extent that you had it but I noticed that my hands felt a bit weak after my set) so my trainer changed up my grip this week on deadlifts and it was the most awkward thing ever. I am used to gripping the bar with my thumbs on the outside of my fingers just lightly resting and this week he changed it so my thumb is wrapped around the bar first with my fingers on top of it. I didn't get that numb feeling either. But the interesting thing was I felt it much more in my core, even with the extra 10 pounds he added this week. So I don't know.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Hello' date=' do your hands get acutely cold at times? Do they get cold when they turn white? Check this out...

http://consults.blog...uds-worse/?_r=0

Thanks ! I have heard of raynaud's syndrome because my SIL has it. Didn't realize I might have it also. Yes, my hands get cold and white as a post op, but not so much anymore the further I am out. Today is the first time I have seen this happen when lifting. It took a good 30 minutes for them to return to normal. I type all the time also because I am a software developer. That may be a contributing factor. Being a software developer has caused other things like sciatica and arm tingling as well as general tightness and compression in upper body ( which I am slowly trying to unwind with fitness). Now i really do try and get up every 20 minutes or so and focus on good sitting posture. My pulse has generally been around 40-45 since surgery. You should have seen me in the hospital when I was getting VSG performed. My pulse would hang around 40-45 most of the time then drop to 30-35 other times and 25-30 at night (made me nervous it was so low). Before surgery, my pulse was between 50-60.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Hmmmm....I've never had that happen to me. I try not to grip too hard when doing deadlifts because I want my hands/arms to only feel like connectors and not pull. So I kind of grip lightly and often use chalk' date=' but that's never happened to me. Have you ever tried a hook grip when doing deads?[/quote']

I have not heard of a hook grip. I could go look it up, but why don't you explain it in your experiences.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

That happened to me last week when we added weights for the first time for my deadlifts (not to the extent that you had it but I noticed that my hands felt a bit weak after my set) so my trainer changed up my grip this week on deadlifts and it was the most awkward thing ever. I am used to gripping the bar with my thumbs on the outside of my fingers just lightly resting and this week he changed it so my thumb is wrapped around the bar first with my fingers on top of it. I didn't get that numb feeling either. But the interesting thing was I felt it much more in my core' date=' even with the extra 10 pounds he added this week. So I don't know.[/quote']

Thanks for the suggestion. I will try changing up my grip to see if that helps. I want to try and lift without using and hand or upper body. The strength needs to come from core region and thighs.

[Kimmy1813 77]

My late husband had Raynaud's....similar effects....you should get checked out.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

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[Butterthebean 8,146]

Fiddle...I don't know anything about Raynauds syndrome, but the hook grip is what Maharet111 described. You put your thumb UNDER your fingers. For many people it's a much stronger grip than a traditional grip. Also, do you use an alternating grip? One hand facing forward, one had facing backward? I do this as well because it also increases your grip strength, meaning your hands and forearms will not have to work as hard, allowing you to deadlift more weight.

[maharet111 544]

Fiddle...I don't know anything about Raynauds syndrome, but the hook grip is what Maharet111 described. You put your thumb UNDER your fingers. For many people it's a much stronger grip than a traditional grip. Also, do you use an alternating grip? One hand facing forward, one had facing backward? I do this as well because it also increases your grip strength, meaning your hands and forearms will not have to work as hard, allowing you to deadlift more weight.

That is a great tip. Deadlifts are one of my favorite moves and I am pumped to keep adding more weight!!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I've been doing my deadlifts with a trap bar lately, and I must admit I friggin love it. My traps and rear delts get worked like crazy, but it's also hell on my grip. Can't use the alternating grip method.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most.../the_trap_bar_deadlift

[aroundhky 1,174]

Yes, I actually use the alternating grip more than the hook grip. It helps with keeping the bar from trying to roll while holding it. Then when I go heavy I'll add some chalk. Maybr try different grips and see. Just keep doing those deadlifts no matter what grip....and you'll be glad you did them!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Fiddle...I don't know anything about Raynauds syndrome' date=' but the hook grip is what Maharet111 described. You put your thumb UNDER your fingers. For many people it's a much stronger grip than a traditional grip. Also, do you use an alternating grip? One hand facing forward, one had facing backward? I do this as well because it also increases your grip strength, meaning your hands and forearms will not have to work as hard, allowing you to deadlift more weight.[/quote']

I keep forgetting to use an alternating grip when dead lifting at home, but I do when with my trainer. I have a feeling that alternating group also helps you stay more balanced, especially when going heavy. Thanks for the encouragement. I really like deadlifts.

[mark! 449]

There are two things I can never do while deadlifting. 1) use hook grip, and 2) sumo deadlift. I grip tight, with chalk.

Muscle Irradiation, it's the thing Gods are made of. Instead of a loose grip, you want to grip as tight as you can. This activates your forearms, lats, chest, everything you can to provide a solid, stable foundation and engages several muscle groups to start the pull. If you're loose, you're using more of your lower back, thus you're gonna end up screwing something up in the end, plus it elongates your biceps tendon, seen a lot of guys pull things by not staying tight. I'll try to explain my setup.

1) Step up to the bar, bar sits across the bottom of my toes if looking down, feel shoulder width apart, I pull conventional even though most big guys pull sumo.

2) Reach down, get a loose grip and slowly tighten everything up, legs straight.

3) Huge breath in, tighten grip and upper body, bend knees, look up and pull. I don't jerk anything, it's all smooth, once the lift is at the top, lock it out by throwing my hips forward, upper body with a slight backwards lean on heavier sets.

I think Dave Tate has some awesome deadlift set up videos, Jim Wendler will have a few as well on youtube for sure.