Hand and Finger Issues

[Patsy2800]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, I did search for posts on this issue, but didn't find any - so if a thread/post already exists, please point me in the right direction.

About me. As a middle aged, overweight woman, with a badly arthritic knee and lower back issues - I went back to the gym earlier this year. So far, my knee is troubling me way less, and my back is happy now (unless I've just worked on it! :-) I've been doing a number of different lifts and making good progress so far (at least I'm happy with it), reading articles/watching videos etc to learn as much as possible.

My problem.
I recently added Romanian Deadlifts to my workout (as it places less stress on my knee) and am enjoying them. However, I'm finding my hands are limiting me here. The bar starts to slip after 3 reps, and my hand/finger hurts the next two days - like a ligament sprain pain.
I have relatively small/petite hands and a seriously buggered middle finger (I've repeatedly dislocated it at both finger joints in the past). I wear mid finger lifting gloves, as initially I was finding the bar would slip and pull on my skin/flesh - gloves fixed it.

My Question.
Should I grip train (which I'll probably try as a start), wrist train, invest in full finger gloves, wrist wraps, lifting straps or see a hand specialist to get that finger looked at?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[aquamarine84]

Personally, I would ditch the gloves and invest in some liquid chalk and straps. Gloves actually weaken your grip because it essentially increases the diameter of the bar. I use liquid chalk on all my DLs/BORs and straps on my heaviest sets. Lighter sets are my grip training sets. I also have been known to use Fat Gripz on warm up sets to train grip even further.

If it continues to bother you, by all means see a specialist. Otherwise, it's probably an unnecessary expense.

[VO2Maxima]

Just use straps, they're only like $5-10. RDLs are a posterior chain exercise. Don't let your grip hold back your posterior chain.

[leeniepie]

get rid of the gloves, try a mixed grip

[Lunevillain]

get rid of the gloves, try a mixed grip

agree! Had the same problem, and this fixed it all! It was a bit weird getting used to it at first, having been doing it always the normal way, but it REALLY made a difference. Also I like changing it in each rep tbh

[heywakeupami]

Chalk and straps were a game changer for me. Definitely recommend them. Over time your grip will get stronger, but don't let it hold you back in the meantime.

[melDorado]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, I did search for posts on this issue, but didn't find any - so if a thread/post already exists, please point me in the right direction.

About me. As a middle aged, overweight woman, with a badly arthritic knee and lower back issues - I went back to the gym earlier this year. So far, my knee is troubling me way less, and my back is happy now (unless I've just worked on it! :-) I've been doing a number of different lifts and making good progress so far (at least I'm happy with it), reading articles/watching videos etc to learn as much as possible.

My problem.
I recently added Romanian Deadlifts to my workout (as it places less stress on my knee) and am enjoying them. However, I'm finding my hands are limiting me here. The bar starts to slip after 3 reps, and my hand/finger hurts the next two days - like a ligament sprain pain.
I have relatively small/petite hands and a seriously buggered middle finger (I've repeatedly dislocated it at both finger joints in the past). I wear mid finger lifting gloves, as initially I was finding the bar would slip and pull on my skin/flesh - gloves fixed it.

My Question.
Should I grip train (which I'll probably try as a start), wrist train, invest in full finger gloves, wrist wraps, lifting straps or see a hand specialist to get that finger looked at?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Use straps it will solve the problem
You won't need the gloves with straps

[oregonchick76]

Use a mixed grip and build up weight slowly. The strength in your hands has to build up just like the rest of your body.
Skip the gloves.