AbstractsMedical & Health Science

In the powerlifting deadlift, you use a grip where one hand is pronated and the other supinated. Earlier studies have noted differences in muscle activation between grips in upperbody excersices, but how the grip effects the muscle activation in the deadlift has not been investigated and it is not known if using the same grip over time can cause muscular imbalance or injuries. The purpose of the study was too is to investigate if there is a difference in force distribution and development between the left and right leg with a double pronated, dominant and non-dominant under-/overhand grip in the deadlift exercise. Subjects were 10 competitive powerlifters consisting of 7 men and 3 women. Testing was performed on two force plates measuring ground reaction force with one leg on each plate. The lifters did 2 lifts with each grip with 80% of their 1RM in the conventional deadlift. Peak force, time to peak force, force impulse and values at the same time as the total peak force was analyzed for each side. Peak force for the total force curve was also analyzed. The result showed one significant value between grips: The mean difference between the two sides at the same point as the total peak force showed a significans of P=0,02. Significant values were also found in force impulse (P=0,03) and values at total peak force (P=0,04) when analyzing lift one and two for the dominant grip between each other. This study shows that using the same over-/underhand grip does not affect force production or bilateral differences and is only a matter of comfort. However, it is hard to draw a conclusion and future testing should involve complementary methods to be able to state if there are differences and how these present themselves.