Simple Response

Don’t. Don’t improve grip strength for deadlifting, use straps. The deadlift is done to improve strength, not to improve grip strength. Use other exercises to improve grip strength, but do not worry about your grip strength for deadlifting. Using lifting straps can allow you to bypass grip being the limiting factor in your deadlift. I suggest you buy some lifting straps for deadlifting and use some of the exercises bellow to simultaneously improve your grip strength.

Recommended Lifting Straps

Iron Mind lifting straps are the highest standard lifting straps available. Here is a video for how to use straps if you have never used them before.

How To Improve Grip Strength for The Deadlift

Farmers Carry Variations

Farmers carries are excellent at developing both core and grip strength. Performing farmers carries with dumbbells, kettlebells and even the hex bar can be an excellent way to introduce grip strength training into your training programme. This will involve walking with a weight in your hand for a prescribed number of metres. With farmers carries we can work on both strength and endurance of the grip. Through using lighter weights and moving further distances we can improve our endurance, using heavier weights and moving shorter distances will help develop strength. Remember, if you do not have enough space to walk with weights, static holds can be very effective.

Hanging Variations

Hanging variations are one of the best ways for individual to improve grip strength and endurance. For more advanced individuals, hanging variations will put more emphasis on endurance as they will be able to hang for extended periods of time. For beginners in the gym, this can be a great way to drastically improve grip strength without letting it be the limiting factor while performing other exercises like deadlifts and pull ups.

Weighted Hangs

Weighted hangs are only for more advanced individuals who are looking to improve their grip strength. If you are not able to hang from a pull up bar for more than 90 seconds then you shouldn’t need to be adding in weighted hang variations. For advanced individuals, these can be an excellent way to increase the strength of your grip and not your endurance. The climbing community uses this exercise and typically performs hold for between 10-20 seconds with a weight that is challenging but not maximal for this amount of time.

Warm Up Sets

While you are warming up for your tough deadlift sets, you will be training your grip. Imagine if your grip starts struggling at around 70% of your max deadlift, you may want to not use straps until you get to this weight, then start using straps when you feel like it is becoming the limiting factor.

General Lifting

Do not underestimate how much general lifting will improve your grip strength over time. This could be performing pull ups, doing rowing exercises etc, in the gym we are constantly using our grip strength and this will have a big impact on your grip strength and endurance. If you are relatively new to training, take your time, be extremely consistent with making it to the gym and your grip strength will progress, along with all the other adaptations you are making.