Lifting Straps: How to Use, Benefits, Types, and Common Mistakes

How Do You Use Shoulder Lifting Straps?

Lifting straps are a valuable accessory used to enhance grip on heavy pulling movements, allowing lifters to handle greater loads and focus on the target muscles without grip strength becoming a limiting factor.

What Are Lifting Straps and Why Use Them?

Lifting straps are pieces of durable fabric, typically cotton, nylon, or leather, designed to wrap around your wrist and then around a barbell, dumbbell, or machine handle. Their primary purpose is to create a stronger, more secure connection between your hand and the weight, effectively extending your grip.

• Primary Purpose: The core function of lifting straps is to offload grip strength, preventing forearm fatigue from limiting the performance of exercises that target larger muscle groups like the back, hamstrings, and glutes.
• Benefits of Using Straps:
  • Increased Load Capacity: By eliminating grip as a weak link, you can often lift heavier weights for more repetitions, stimulating greater muscle growth and strength development in the intended muscle groups.
  • Improved Form and Focus: With a secure grip, you can concentrate more on the proper biomechanics of the lift, ensuring the target muscles are effectively engaged and reducing the risk of compensatory movements.
  • Reduced Grip Fatigue: Allows for more productive sets, especially in high-volume training sessions where grip endurance might otherwise fail prematurely.
  • Targeted Muscle Engagement: Enables better isolation of large muscle groups (e.g., lats in a row, glutes/hamstrings in a deadlift) by ensuring they are the primary drivers of the movement, not the forearms.
• Potential Drawbacks and Considerations:
  • Over-Reliance: Excessive use can hinder the natural development of grip strength, which is crucial for overall functional strength and injury prevention.
  • Reduced Proprioception: Some users might feel less "connected" to the bar, potentially impacting technique if not used mindfully.
  • Risk of Neglecting Grip Training: It's vital to incorporate dedicated grip work into your routine even when using straps for heavy lifts.

Types of Lifting Straps

While various designs exist, the most common and effective types for general strength training are:

• Loop or Closed-Loop Straps: These are the most common. They have a pre-stitched loop at one end through which the other end is threaded, forming a cuff around the wrist. The excess material then wraps around the bar.
• Single-Loop or Lasso Straps: These are simpler, with a single loop that goes around the wrist, and the long end is then wrapped around the bar. They offer a quicker release but can be slightly less secure than loop straps if not wrapped tightly.
• Figure-8 Straps: Less common for general use, these form two loops, one for each hand, with a central section that goes under the bar. They offer an extremely secure, almost locked-in grip, often favored by strongman competitors, but do not allow for quick release.

This guide will focus on the more versatile and commonly used loop/closed-loop straps.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Properly Use Lifting Straps

Mastering the use of lifting straps is a simple yet crucial skill that enhances safety and effectiveness.

• Preparation:
  • Choose the Right Strap: Ensure your straps are durable and comfortable.
  • Understand the Bar: Note the knurling (grip texture) and diameter of the bar you'll be using.
  • Wrist Orientation: The strap should be threaded so the loose end points away from your body when wrapped around your wrist.
• Step 1: Threading the Strap
  • Take one strap and insert one end through the loop on the other end, creating a closed loop.
  • Slide your hand through this loop, positioning it around your wrist. The padded section, if any, should be on the back of your hand/wrist for comfort.
  • Ensure the loose end of the strap hangs down on the side of your thumb.
• Step 2: Securing the Strap Around the Bar
  • With your hand on the bar in your desired grip (e.g., pronated for deadlifts), take the loose end of the strap.
  • Feed the strap underneath the bar, from the inside (between your hand and your body) to the outside (away from your body).
  • Wrap the strap around the bar, continuing to feed it under and around until most of the excess strap is tightly wound around the bar. Aim for 1.5 to 3 wraps depending on strap length and bar diameter. The goal is to create a tight, secure connection.
• Step 3: Tightening the Grip
  • Once the strap is wrapped, grasp the bar tightly with your hand, simultaneously rotating your hand inward (towards your body) to pull the strap even tighter around the bar and your wrist. This creates a "locked-in" feeling.
  • Repeat the process for the other hand, ensuring both straps are equally tight and secure.
• Step 4: Performing the Lift
  • With the straps securely fastened, focus on setting your body position and executing the lift with proper form. The straps should feel like an extension of your grip, allowing you to focus on the primary muscles.
• Step 5: Releasing the Straps (Important for Safety)
  • For most exercises, you simply release your grip on the bar at the end of the set, and the straps will unwrap.
  • For exercises like deadlifts where you might need to bail, ensure the straps are not so tightly wound that you cannot release them quickly if needed. This is why the wraps should go under the bar and be tightened by rotating the hand inward – this allows for easier release.

When to Use Lifting Straps

Strategic use of lifting straps is key to maximizing their benefits without hindering overall grip development.

• Heavy Pulling Movements: This is their primary application. Exercises like deadlifts, rack pulls, heavy rows (barbell, T-bar, dumbbell), shrugs, and pull-ups (if grip is failing before lats) benefit most.
• High Repetition Sets: When performing high-volume sets where grip fatigue would otherwise limit the number of repetitions for the target muscle group.
• Grip Disparity: If your grip strength significantly lags behind your back, leg, or trap strength, straps allow you to continue training these larger muscles effectively while you work on improving your grip independently.
• Injury Prevention/Management: In cases where a minor hand or forearm injury makes direct gripping painful, straps can offload stress to allow continued training of other body parts (under professional guidance).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with simple tools like straps, improper use can lead to suboptimal results or even injury.

• Over-Reliance: Using straps for every single set, even warm-ups or lighter sets, can prevent your natural grip strength from developing. Aim to perform your warm-up and lighter working sets without straps, introducing them only for your heaviest sets.
• Improper Wrapping Direction: Always wrap the strap under the bar and tighten by rotating your hand inward. Wrapping over the bar or in the wrong direction can make them less secure or harder to release.
• Using Them for All Lifts: Straps are generally not needed for pushing movements (bench press, overhead press) or exercises where grip isn't a limiting factor (e.g., leg press, bicep curls unless extremely heavy).
• Ignoring Hand Position: Even with straps, maintain an active, strong grip on the bar. The straps assist, but they don't replace your connection entirely. You should still feel the bar in your palm.
• Too Loose a Wrap: A loose wrap defeats the purpose and can cause the bar to shift, compromising stability and potentially leading to injury.

Integrating Straps into Your Training Philosophy

As an Expert Fitness Educator, my advice is to view lifting straps as a tool in your arsenal, not a crutch.

• Balance with Grip Training: Always incorporate dedicated grip strength exercises into your routine, such as farmer's walks, plate pinches, or simply performing some of your pulling movements without straps.
• Use Strategically, Not Habitually: Reserve straps for when they are truly necessary – for challenging weights that your back, legs, or traps can handle, but your grip cannot.
• Focus on the Mind-Muscle Connection: With the grip secure, channel your focus entirely into contracting the target muscles through the full range of motion.
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to how your grip strength is progressing. If you find yourself needing straps for increasingly lighter weights, it's a sign to re-evaluate your grip training.

Conclusion

Lifting straps, when used correctly and strategically, are an invaluable accessory for serious lifters. They enable you to push past grip limitations, stimulate greater muscle growth, and enhance strength in major compound movements. By understanding their purpose, mastering the proper wrapping technique, and integrating them thoughtfully into your training, you can leverage lifting straps to safely and effectively elevate your strength and physique development. Remember, they are a tool to complement, not replace, the development of robust, functional grip strength.