Squats are a little like marmite. Some people love them, some people groan once it comes to that time in their workout routine. In strength training circles however, they’re a necessity component of being able to lift. 

Squats are praised as lifting royalty because they give you a full-body workout, and help develop full-body strength, stimulate muscle growth and improve stability for your upper and lower body.

Many of us will have been taught to squat until our legs were parallel to the ground. But a recent fitness trend is encouraging us to squat deeper. Much deeper.

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Just the mention of strongman training often instantly conjures up images of bulging biceps, truck pull competitions and Arnold Schwarzenegger style lifts.

If you’ve heard of the sport of strongman, you’ve probably heard of Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (most commonly known as “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones), or Stoke resident Eddie Hall. Or perhaps, unlike its pronoun, you’ve heard of the World’s Strongest Women like Donna Moore or Andrea Thompson.

However, it’s this type of imagery that often dissuades beginners from pursuing the sport, fearing they lack experience or the full body capability to undertake what is a fantastic form of strength training.

Sure, whilst strongman training isn’t for complete gym newbies, it is for everyone – provided you’ve done some weight training before and can at least competently lift a barbell.

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When you first begin to learn how to deadlift, you’ll encounter a number of different types of grip as your legs and back begin to lift more weight off the floor than perhaps your hands can either hold onto or are used to!

Most people will start with a double overhand grip, which is a grip where your fingers wrap around the bar and your thumbs rest on the sides of the bar. But as you begin to get stronger and lift more, your deadlift could become too heavy and your original double overhand grip might start to fail.

If that’s the case, there is another grip that you could try: The Deadlift Hook grip.

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