Build a Vice Grip With the Axle Deadlift

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deadlift

The deadlift is an effective way to build strength and muscle. The benefits of deadlifting are numerous, and the ways to train your deadlift are just as varied.

The axle deadlift uses an axle bar, which is much larger and thicker than a standard barbell, instead of a standard barbell. A barbell's size can affect more than you might think, especially when it comes to your grip on the bar.

Deadlift Anatomy 101

It's important to understand that, in terms of the muscles involved, the axle and barbell deadlift are very similar, before getting into the differences between the two exercises. The two movements are very similar and use the same muscles.

Deadlifts are a compound exercise which means they use multiple joints and muscles working together. In fact, deadlifts are pretty much a full-body exercise. It’s actually quite hard to think of many muscles NOT involved in deadlift! That said, these are the muscles doing most of the work during axle and barbell deadlifts.

The hamstrings are a group of muscles located on the back of your thighs. They are responsible for knee flexion and hip extension. There are three muscles in the hamstring, the biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus.

The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It is commonly referred to as the glutes. It’s responsible for the extension of the hips. The glutes are basically your butt.

The quadriceps are located on the front of your thighs and are responsible for extending your knees. The four quadriceps muscles are the muscles located on the front of the thigh. These muscles are the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius.

The erector spinae muscles are the muscles of your lower back. The erector spinae muscles help to keep your lower back from rounding when you are doing deadlifts.

This refers to the muscles in your midsection. The primary muscles located in the core of the body are the rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominus, pelvic floor, and diaphragm. The muscles in your abdomen contract inwards, which causes compression of the abdominal contents and an increase in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP for short). IAP stabilizes and supports your lumbar spine from within.

The latissimus dorsi muscles are located on either side of the upper back. These muscles are commonly referred to as the “lats.” Your lats help keep the bar close to your legs and prevent it from swinging out and away during deadlifts. Strong lats are critical for successful deadlifting.

The trapezius muscle is located in the upper back and is responsible for stabilized the shoulder girdle during deadlifts. There are three sections of fibers that make up the trapezius muscle: the lower, middle, and upper trapezius. The majority of the activity in deadlifts is done by the upper and middle trap fibers.

Deltoids – these are your shoulder muscles. The deltoids have three sections: the front, middle, and rear. All three parts of the deltoid muscle are used when doing deadlifts, but the posterior deltoid is used the most.

The biceps are still involved in the exercise even though the arms stay straight. The biceps contract to prevent your elbows from overextending. Be careful not to try and bend your arms when you are deadlifting, as doing so could result in a severe biceps injury.

You need strong forearm muscles to be able to grip the barbell tightly when doing heavy deadlifts, especially if you don't use lifting straps. The axle bar is the thickest type of bar, followed by the stiff bar, and then the deadlift bar. A thinner bar is easier to grip. A bar with a larger diameter will be harder to grip, so you will have to work harder to keep hold of it.

How to Do the Axle Deadlift

– Place an axle on the ground in front of you. – Position your feet so that they are shoulder-width apart, and place your hands on the axle outside of your legs. – Keeping your back straight, lift the axle off the ground by extending your hips and knees. – Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to perform an axle deadlift: – Place an axle on the ground in front of you. – Position your feet so that they are shoulder-width apart, and place your hands on the axle outside of your legs. – Keeping your back straight, lift the axle off the ground by extending your hips and knees. – Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. If you don't have access to an axle deadlift bar, you can buy some specialized grip attachments that make a regular barbell feel thicker.

Step 1 — Get Set Up

Start with your feet hip-width apart, and then grab the axle bar with a double overhand grip. Be sure to keep your back flat.

To do this exercise correctly, pull your shoulder blades down and concentrate on creating tension in your lats as you start the pull.

Step 2 — Push Into the Floor

Once you are locked in, push your legs through the floor while keeping your torso over the barbell. Keep your back flat and your hips and shoulders level as you rise.

When squatting, be sure to keep your hips down, chest up, and focus on driving through your legs. This will help you stay balanced and avoid injury.

Step 3 — Lock and Hold

Perform the movement as you would a regular deadlift. To get the most out of the barbell, hold it at the top — with your glutes contracted and your shoulders depressed — with a tight grip.

If you want to increase your grip strength, try holding the barbell at the top for a longer period of time.

Benefits of the Axle Deadlift

The axle deadlift is a great exercise for two reasons – first, by using a slightly larger implement, you get all the benefits of the “King of All Exercises.” Second, this exercise puts extra emphasis on building a strong grip.

Perfect Your Start

If you're worried about your deadlift setup being too slack, you can easily fix it by using an axle barbell. Although you might be able to begin pulls carelessly with a smaller barbell, a bigger barbell will require you to generate tension throughout the entire lift from the start. The bar might roll out your hands the moment it leaves the ground if you don't hold it properly.

Better Grip Strength

Since your forearms and hands have to adapt to using a bigger bar, you might have to limit the amount of load you use early on in your training with the axle. As you improve, you will probably find that you have stronger contractions in your forearms and better neural drive in general, which enhances your ability to pull comprehensively.


Improve Deadlift Technique

There is no denying that improving your technique when pulling can have a positive effect on your overall performance and potentially help prevent injuries. The size of the bar diameter will affect how much weight you can lift. A larger diameter will make it more difficult to lift heavy weights at first. If you want to improve your form, use moderate weights and focus on keeping the tension in your back.

Refine Bar Path During the Pull

If you make a mistake while lifting a barbell, you might be able to correct it and finish the lift successfully. It is extremely important that the axle bar stays against the body.

If you don't keep the bar path airtight when using the axle bar, you will likely fail the rep. This means that if you work on your technique and make sure that you are not moving horizontally when you are supposed to be pulling, you will improve your technique.

Muscles Worked by the Axle Deadlift

The axle deadlift targets the following muscle groups. The axle deadlift is a compound movement that works nearly every muscle in the body. The below muscle groups are just the prime movers.

Hamstrings & Glutes

The axle deadlift targets the same muscle groups as the conventional deadlift: the hamstrings and glutes. If you want to focus on your glutes and hamstrings, you might want to use a standard barbell or do more isolated exercises for those muscles, like hamstring curls or GHDs.

Lats & Upper Back

The back muscles play an important role in maintaining posture during the deadlift and keeping the barbell close to the body during the pull. A thicker barbell during the deadlift exercise is a good way to increase the tension on your back muscles (latissimus dorsi) and help build a wider back, since the barbell will likely want to fall away from your body as you pull it up.

Trapezius

The traps contract isometrically during every type of deadlift. Athletes need to be extra careful when working with the axle to stabilize the shoulder girdle since reduced grip integrity can compromise other areas of the kinetic chain.

Forearms & Grip

The axle deadlift focuses on targeting the muscles in the forearms and grip, as the bar is thicker and larger in diameter than a normal barbell. The axle deadlift is a great movement for anyone who struggles to keep a firm grip, has a weak back, or needs to improve the stability of their back in the regular deadlift.

Who Should Do the Axle Deadlift

The axle deadlift is a great exercise to improve your grip strength or reinforce better back positioning in the deadlift. The axle deadlift can be beneficial for different athletes because it strengthens the muscles around the spine and ankles. It also helps develop power in the legs and hips, which can be helpful for athletes who play sports that require these muscles.

Strength and Power Athletes

The axle deadlift is an exercise that can help improve your pulling strength and deadlift performance. This exercise is great for increasing grip strength, back tension, and is essential for strongman athletes who often work with an axle in competition.

The axle pull could be useful for powerlifters as an accessory exercise if they are not close to their own competition. Since Olympic lifters spend most of their time in the gym using a hook grip, they will probably not get much use out of the axle pull.

Regular Gymgoers

If your gym has an axle bar, you can still get some benefits from it, even if you're not a powerlifter or strongman. Processing… Replacing your standard deadlift with an axle pull for a period of time is an easy way to switch up your workouts and get some direct grip work in to boot.

Axle Deadlift Sets and Reps

If you want to use the axle deadlift to improve your back, grip, and deadlift strength, you can add it to your program at any time following the recommendations below. The weight is usually lighter in a Romanian deadlift, so it is easier to hold onto.

To Improve Strength and Muscle

This variation of the deadlift is useful for increasing muscle growth and strength, and can be programmed as either a main lift or an accessory.

Perform 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 repetitions, resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets to allow for a full recovery for strength-focused sets. For more hypertrophy work, perform slightly higher reps (8 to 12).

To Build Grip Strength

It's likely that you're using an axle bar to train your grip strength. You have the right tool and now you just need to learn how to use it. The amount of time that you spend holding on to something is the most important factor in improving your grip strength.

Performing 2-4 sets of 3-5 axle deadlifts with extended holds at the top of each repetition is a great way to build your grip strength. Pause at the top for up to 10 seconds.

To Increase Muscle Endurance

You need to train for longer durations and in higher rep ranges to increase muscular endurance. If you want to increase your endurance for sports, then you should also reduce the amount of time you spend resting.

To start, do 2-3 sets of 10 or more repetitions, or do timed sets that last up to 60 seconds.

Axle Deadlift Variations

The axle deadlift is an excellent exercise to improve deadlift performance, grip strength, and back tension simultaneously. There are two ways to enhance the benefits even further.

Banded Axle Deadlift

The banded axle deadlift is a variation of the axle deadlift in which band tension (or chains) is added to the barbell to create additional resistance. This variation is often used by powerlifters and strength athletes to help build size, strength, and explosive power. You can increase the loading and power development needed throughout the movement by adding bands or chains.

If you're having trouble with lockout strength or grip strength during the back half of the deadlift, this can help address the issue.

Paused Axle Deadlift

If you find yourself struggling with deadlifts, the paused axle deadlift is a great way to correct form and build strength. This variation targets areas of weakness or postural breakdown, making it an ideal exercise for those looking to improve their deadlift. The pause deadlift with an axle bar forces you to control your body's positioning while also holding onto a thick bar for a longer period of time. If you want to get more out of each rep, you need to increase the tension and grip demand.

 

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