# Hammer Strength Deadlifts



## scbz01602 (Jun 3, 2006)

I feel a bit embarrased posting this, but I'm curious if anyone else has seen the hammer strength deadlift.

For starters, I'd like to mention that I have a mid-back problem, namely in the lower lumbar region. Sharp occasional pain, sometimes nearly cripples me when I did deadlifts. So, I stopped deadlifting, as an effective treatment. However, I really love deadlifting.

I'm back at home, and the gym I currently attend has a hammer strength deadlift machine. The grips are parallel to the body, facing forward as opposed to a standard bar. I threw on a belt to do them, and I crouched to get goin. There are two levels of grips, one that has you reaching lower than you normally would with a bar loaded with 45lb diameter-size weights. The higher of the two grips is about a hand's span above the normal BB height off the ground.

Suprisingly, I really like the machine. Coupled with a belt, my lower back feels awesome and I have been consistantly going up in weight. It's basically like a parrallel gripped rack deadlift. I feel a bit like a pussy doing rack deadlifts/on a machine/with a belt, but I still really like the exercise.

Anybody ever seen it or used it? Coming from a guy who has had some ugly lower lumbar back problems, this exercise is awesome.


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## CowPimp (Jun 3, 2006)

Hey, if it lets you pull without experiencing back pain then go for it.  I'm not a big fan of machines, but this is one case where I think it serves a purpose.


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 4, 2006)

I'm not going to give you the link, but if you can find the forum where Doocrapp is, he explains these in detail


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## scbz01602 (Jun 4, 2006)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Hey, if it lets you pull without experiencing back pain then go for it.  I'm not a big fan of machines, but this is one case where I think it serves a purpose.



Thanks man, I don't like the machines either.. I felt so strange on back days without the deads, I had to do em. Now, oddly, the machine is approaching to be one of my favorite lifts now (at least on back day it is)


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## scbz01602 (Jun 4, 2006)

Tough Old Man said:
			
		

> I'm not going to give you the link, but if you can find the forum where Doocrapp is, he explains these in detail



Is this an attempt at sarcasm? Or is there really a member who praises such Hammer strength machines on a dif. forum?


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 4, 2006)

scbz01602 said:
			
		

> Is this an attempt at sarcasm? Or is there really a member who praises such Hammer strength machines on a dif. forum?


Dogg Crapp is in this months copy of iron magazine. He trains various Pro's like Dave henry..ECT. Does that sound like sarcasm or a place to get info. Do a search on Dogg Crapp.


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## scbz01602 (Jun 4, 2006)

Tough Old Man said:
			
		

> Dogg Crapp is in this months copy of iron magazine. He trains various Pro's like Dave henry..ECT. Does that sound like sarcasm or a place to get info. Do a search on Dogg Crapp.



Well, re-read your post and it most definetly could have been a sorry-form of sarcasm. "Search up doggcrap and you'll find something."

But I will search up this, as the Hammer Strength machines are the only machines I feel comfortable using (only three I really like though - deadlift, dip machine for tri's, and seated rows).


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## Tough Old Man (Jun 4, 2006)

scbz01602 said:
			
		

> Well, re-read your post and it most definetly could have been a sorry-form of sarcasm. "Search up doggcrap and you'll find something."
> 
> But I will search up this, as the Hammer Strength machines are the only machines I feel comfortable using (only three I really like though - deadlift, dip machine for tri's, and seated rows).


If there the only machines you can use without hurting yourself, use them. Go as heavy as you can for 8-12 reps. Try to add weight each time you use the machine the next time.


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## fUnc17 (Jun 4, 2006)

I have the same, re-occuring injury. It is most likely due to a pinched nerve (affects my entire posterior chain all the way down the back of my calves).

Anyway what i've been doing is icing, heating, and using these EMG pads my chiropractor gave me. They loosen up any inflammed muscle and send electricity in different wave lengths through the region you apply the pads to. It is helping alot.

And to address why this all happened. I find that if I dont hurt myself on any lift (mainly squatting or deadlifting) my form gets sloppier over time. I figure well i didnt get hurt doing this so i might as well keep doing it until something happens. Bad mentality. Anyway I think you should look into a chiropractor and try some light barbell deadlifts with really strict form... I dont see how a machine isn't going to aggreviate something a freeweight will (especially a complex movement like a deadlift)... BUT if it doesnt hurt by all means go for it.. be careful and good luck

EDIT: The device I use is a unit called MICRO 400. It is a Miccrocurrent Electrical Nerve Stimulator, it is made by Analgesic healthcare (http://www.analgesichealthcare.com)


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## CowPimp (Jun 4, 2006)

fUnc17 said:
			
		

> I have the same, re-occuring injury. It is most likely due to a pinched nerve (affects my entire posterior chain all the way down the back of my calves).
> 
> Anyway what i've been doing is icing, heating, and using these EMG pads my chiropractor gave me. They loosen up any inflammed muscle and send electricity in different wave lengths through the region you apply the pads to. It is helping alot.
> 
> ...



Sounds like sciatica to me.  Have you ever herniated a disk in your spine?  That is often a precursor to sciatica.


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## fUnc17 (Jun 4, 2006)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Sounds like sciatica to me.  Have you ever herniated a disk in your spine?  That is often a precursor to sciatica.



It's not a sciatic nerve, something similiar. I forget what it's called, my dad also has it. No herniated discs that I know of (pretty sure i'd know if I had one). My dad has had 2 abdominal herniations fixed.


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## AKIRA (Jun 4, 2006)

Ive never heard of a HS Deadlift machine.  Anyone have a pic?


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## Squaggleboggin (Jun 4, 2006)

You could try using a hex bar (if one is available) since it's essentially the same thing, but with the benefit of free weights and a full ROM. Just an idea.

Also, I wouldn't rule out using DBs for deadlifts, either.


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## scbz01602 (Jun 4, 2006)

Squaggleboggin said:
			
		

> You could try using a hex bar (if one is available) since it's essentially the same thing, but with the benefit of free weights and a full ROM. Just an idea.
> 
> Also, I wouldn't rule out using DBs for deadlifts, either.



Right, I thought of that... however the similarity of the motion being similiar to a rack deadlift, with just a higher starting point, is just as valuable to me as the parallel grips. The lower portion of a BB lift was where I always had trouble, and then with that part of the lift eliminated, along with a belt for added protection, it feels great.

Over time, I do plan on attempting to go back to free weight deadlifts, and will go with that bar first. Last time I did them, I felt the majority of the weight in my legs however, like a squat. Didn't even really feel like a deadlift to me..


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## CowPimp (Jun 4, 2006)

When you feel comfortable, you may consider some unilateral deadlifts too.  This reduces the load on the spine while loading the agonist musculature sufficiently for adaptation to take place.


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## Yanick (Jun 4, 2006)

the deadlift is a leg exercise, and "feeling it" in your legs is sort of the point. Deadlift=hip extension, knee extension with the spine being stablized by both the flexors and extensors isometrically. Reason people feel them in other parts of the body is because 1.they do them wrong (not sitting deep enough into a squat) and 2. the other muscles involved in the DL are very weak compared to your hip extensors.


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## scbz01602 (Jun 4, 2006)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> When you feel comfortable, you may consider some unilateral deadlifts too.  This reduces the load on the spine while loading the agonist musculature sufficiently for adaptation to take place.




Hmm, that will most definetly be an interesting exercise to try - especially since there is not as much load on the spine... I'll give that a go sometime


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## fletcher6490 (Jun 5, 2006)

scbz01602 said:
			
		

> I feel a bit embarrased posting this, but I'm curious if anyone else has seen the hammer strength deadlift.
> 
> For starters, I'd like to mention that I have a mid-back problem, namely in the lower lumbar region. Sharp occasional pain, sometimes nearly cripples me when I did deadlifts. So, I stopped deadlifting, as an effective treatment. However, I really love deadlifting.
> 
> ...





Ya man, I use the same thing when doing dead's.  I don't really consider it a machine though.  All it's really doing is giving you a set rom and 2 different ways of gripping something.  I hear ya though, I feel like a dumbass using it too but oh well.  I really like it.  I also do shrugs on this same "machine".


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## CowPimp (Jun 5, 2006)

fletcher6490 said:
			
		

> Ya man, I use the same thing when doing dead's.  I don't really consider it a machine though.  All it's really doing is giving you a set rom and 2 different ways of gripping something.  I hear ya though, I feel like a dumbass using it too but oh well.  I really like it.  I also do shrugs on this same "machine".



It's definitely a machine.  Fixed plane of motion, removal of variou stabilizers...  yeah, it's a machine.


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