"For What & When To Use Them"
I see
this piece of equipment being used on a constant basis, and they are about to
destroy the whole fitness industry. Well it's not that drastic, there are way
more non-practical training and exercises that are being used out there that
are doing a good job of that. Straps have been around for a long time and can
now be bought at most sporting goods stores.
If you are the kind of person that wears wrist straps for every single
lift or each workout like they are a piece of jewelry, you may actually be
hurting yourself more than helping. There
is no need to wear them for everything and to be honest; we do not even use them
much at our facility, if at all. Instead
we use chalk because we are also trying to achieve better grip strength with
our athletes. Hopefully, this article will give you some
insight on wrist straps, the lifts you perform where they may be helpful, and
ways to strengthen your grip so you don’t have to use this “piece of equipment”
so much.
Lifting
straps assist with grip, which makes the lift easier. The idea behind them is that they disperse
the weight throughout your wrists and forearms, taking some of the weight
(literally) out of your hands. This is
great if you are looking to overload a large muscle group, but if you want to
achieve a strong grip you are missing out. You should only break these babies
out when you are lifting heavy weights on specific exercises and when you don't
want grip to be a limiting factor. Straps can be used if you are trying to
overload specific muscles during lifts that require large amounts of weights
and high percentage sub-max to max effort.
Please do not use them every time you do a pull-up, DB Row, BB Row,
Deadlift, Shrug, etc. (the list of exercises I have seen people use wrist
straps for could go on and on). You want
to take advantage of the increase in grip strength these exercises also offer.
It's a two for one deal.
When
performing lifts like the deadlift, not only does it require tremendous leg and
back strength, it also requires hip and upper back mobility along with a lot of
grip strength. The grip strength is what
we want to take advantage of during lifts such as these. The stronger your grip
strength is, the greater your work capacity. Think of it like this: the stronger your grip is, the less energy
required for the grip and therefore, more energy can be expended by the larger
muscles. You can add some grip strengthening exercises into your workouts;
however, there is nothing better for grip strengthening than ripping something
heavy off the floor, in my opinion.
I
prefer chalk over straps any day for the simple fact that I am getting help
with grip, but I am still holding the complete bar weight in my hands since
there is no strap distributing the weight elsewhere (wrists and forearms). Unfortunately, most of the big commercial
gyms do not allow chalk. You basically have 3 options at this point, 1) lift
light weights and cheat yourself; 2) use straps, but only use them on heavy
pulls; or 3) leave that gym and find yourself a warehouse gym. I realize the majority of you will go with
option 2, but seriously consider option 3 as well!
If you
are going to use straps, I recommend using them only when you are performing a
heavy pulling DB or BB exercise, or if you are trying to overload a larger
muscle group and you do not want grip to be a limiting factor. The following
are the exercises that wrist straps are meant to be used for:
·
Heavy Deadlift Variations (Conventional, RDL, DB
Deadlifts, etc.)
·
Heavy Trap Bar Deadlifts
·
Heavy BB/DB Row Variations
As you
can see, you should only use straps for when you are performing big weight and
big lifts. If you feel the need to use them on other exercises, such as
Weighted Pull-ups, BB/DB Shrugs, then only use them when you get to heavier
weights and you want to take grip out of it. Basically, try not to use them on
your earlier work sets.
One last quick note: Do not use wrist wraps when performing
an exercise where grip strength is one of the main focuses, such as a Farmer's
Carry. Grip is a major factor in this
exercise, and it plays a vital role in the mental aspect. This type of exercise
not only builds great strength but mental toughness as well. When you are
performing a farmer's walk and that weight becomes heavy in the hands, it takes
a lot to overcome and perform the exercise to its completion with correct
technique. Take advantage of all of the benefits that these exercises offer.
I am
not against wrist wraps, I'm just saying that there are times when they can be
utilized as a valuable tool, but you should not become dependent on them all of
the time. However, I understand if you are a bodybuilder completing high
repetitions of exercises, and you are more concerned about working the larger
muscles than grip becoming a limiting factor, making you fatigue faster. Wrist
straps should be one of those items that you throw in your gym bag and get them
out every once in awhile.
