Thick bar barbell cleans vs thick bar deadlifts

[Guest Jeff Roark]

I have a routine coming up that I am considering adding my 2 inch thick bar to. I will be cleaning and pressing on Mondays, Fridays I will be doing deadlifts. I was just wondering if there is a difference in the benefit one will receive due to one being a much more dynamic lift. I am not for sure it will even transfer to the hands, as far as the dynamics go. I am serious about pushing my deadlift up to the 550 range this year, as I am sitting around the 500 mark as we speak. So I don't want the thick bar limiting progress there alot. Although for a short time it probably wouldn't hurt.

I also want to apologize for some of the cruel comments I made. I have no buisness making them if I don't contribute enough to make the place go. I do miss the time when it was hard core training and you could post about anything and you would get as many replies as veiws. I am sorry. No hard feelings. Lets just get it back on training and sharing regardless if you get something out of it or not.

[OldGuy]

Jeff the board is even now getting back on track. Try rigging your own 2 3/8'' handle dumbbell or maybe purchasing a Rolling Thunder handle. You can still do your regular deadlifts.

[Guest Jeff Roark]

OG,

I have a Rolling Thunder handle. I was just going to try to incorporate the thick bar work in my actual exercises.

[OldGuy]

I would say that if you use a thick bar to do cleans or bent rows it would help. In other words pulling movements rather than pushes.

[Guest 115-1005574997]

Jeff

Power cleans with a 2" bar would be a menatl workout for wrist, grip and lower arm!!!

For what its worth, 2" curls and reverse curls hit the wrist flexores, extensors and brachio radialis harder than anything ive ever done before, so you get a complete arm workout from wrist to shoulder.

If your after a 550 deadlift, just 2" deads will not help.  A few powerlifting friends of mine tried it way back (full range 2" and partial 2" deads) to increase their max poundages and unfortunatly it didnt work.  Their grip improved but their deadlifts didnt.

As Josiah Wedgewood correctly pointed out, thick bar pulling exersises do help and you can get 2 for the price of 1 by slipping a 2" metal sleve over chins, rows, shrugs etc.

Depending on how big your hands are 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 may be even better than 2"

have a play

[Guest Jeff Roark]

Scott,

I would say that 2" is probably ideal for me as I can just comfortably touch the tip of my middle finger and thumb together. I will be doing some curls too with the bar. I was wondering about the heavier stuff like cleans or deadlifts. I will probably use it for the cleans. Josiah, you said not for pushing exercises? Why not? If they are combined it won't hurt anything I don't think. I wonder though how many has got tendonitis from getting to heavy on thick bar presses and curls? I don't see where the pulls could hurt so much, but I can see where the others could possible cause problems although I can't logically tell you why.

[OldGuy]

I do not see where say benchpressing with a thickbar would help the grip.

[Guest 115-1005574997]

Jeff

As a general rule of thumb, the weights are "pushing" into your hand when pressing and "pulling" away under gravity when pulling.  so a pulling movement will "use" your grip while a pulling movement will just need to suport the thick bar.

It wont hurt but you wont be taxing your grip as much.

99% of all tendonitis throgh thick bar moves is due to too much weight being added too quickly in too big an an incrament.  your body isnt used to 2" stuff so SLOWLY break into the weights and add just 2 to 5lbs per week.  if you do get pain about the elbows, stretch the wrist, and add smaller amounts of weight to the bar.

take your time and you'll get there  

[OldGuy]

One exercise I do with a thicker bar, is reverse curls using a thumbless grip.

[Guest Jeff Roark]

I know that pressing with thick bars will not do as much for your grip as pulling. I still think there is some benefit. Brooks Kubik thought there was, is he totally wrong? I mean you do have to stabilize alot more it seems with thicker bars in the press. Why does thickness effect ones press?

[OldGuy]

Clean and press would be made more challenging with a thicker bar. Pressing from shoulder height or bench pressing would not be much more difficult.