Why Hook Grip?

First of all, what is the Hook Grip?

The hook grip requires an athlete press their palm into the bar so it is sitting between the thumb and the first finger, then wrap the thumb around the bar, and the fingers over the thumb. For most athletes, the thumb will be wrapped by the first two fingers, and the second two will wrap directly around the bar.

So Why Hook Grip?

I know, it feels kind of awkward and it hurts your thumbs. I hated it for my first month of CrossFit. I complained that my hands weren’t big enough, it messed up my technique and I kept tearing the inside of my thumbs.

Three years later and I hook grip the steering wheel.

I implore you to push through the first few weeks of discomfort for the long-term benefit of your Olympic lifts. It doesn’t hurt forever, and even when it does, the clean and snatch are fast lifts and the discomfort is only momentary. The more you use the grip, the faster the thumbs will stretch out and skin will thicken, and the sooner it will feel natural. Plus, a little tape around the thumbs works wonders.

If you’re having real thumb mobility issues, Greg Everett from Catalyst Athletics recommends the ‘girl punch’ stretch. Make a fist with your thumb tucked tightly inside and tilt your hand away from the thumb side. You should feel it in the base of your thumb and likely up your wrist too.

The hook grip is a far stronger grip than the regular grip and is vital when cleaning and snatching to ensure control of the bar during explosive hip extension. As the weight gets heavier, it will become impossible to hold on to that bar during the fastest part of the lift without the hook grip. It allows you to stop death gripping the bar and reduce tension in the forearm, as the bar is hooked in, rather than being crushed by your hand. This can be especially helpful for lifters who tend to pull too much and too early, and who struggle to pull themselves underneath the bar.

If you haven’t been using hook grip, give it a try and you might find your PR goes up once you grow accustomed to it, because the stronger grip will allow a better pull at high velocity. This might mean dialling back the weight for a few weeks while your thumbs get used to being momentarily crushed.

Some argue that hook grip should only be taught to more advanced lifters, as beginners aren’t concerned with lifting heavy weight until they get their technique down. I believe that the hook grip is an essential part of Olympic lifting technique, and it is far easier to get comfortable with it early on, at lighter weights. Once you start throwing around serious weight, the hook grip will be natural and you won’t have to go back and learn it.

I find that the hook grip can also be a useful tool on high repetition or heavy deadlift workouts when my regular grip fails as it requires less forearm strength.

An Important Caveat

When you receive the clean in the front rack position or the snatch overhead, release the hook grip to avoid limiting your mobility. Chad Vaughn talks about this in the video below.

In the clean, allow the bar to roll back into your fingers. Most people will have trouble achieving fast, high elbows while holding the hook grip.

The hook grip often limits hand and wrist mobility too much to allow for correct overhead position in the snatch. The position may be impossible, or holding on to the hook grip may cause pain over time. The solution is to release the grip (slide the thumb out) between the time the athlete transitions from pulling to pushing the bar overhead. Finding this timing can be difficult, but just takes a little practice. Starting with lighter weights or with the slower muscle snatch can be helpful.

Some people can keep the hook grip in the receiving positions, and if you have been doing this long term with no discomfort, keep doing what works for you.

Learn the hook grip and your snatches, cleans and sometimes even deadlifts will be all the better for your patience and persistence (and sore thumbs).