How To Use Lifting Straps

What Are Lifting Straps?

If you’re new to resistance training, you may not be familiar with lifting straps. These straps can help you maintain your grip on the barbell, and are also known as weight lifting straps, wrist straps, or deadlifting straps.

They’re made of sturdy material and are designed to loop around your wrist and the bar. By twisting the straps tightly around your hands, you can “tie” your hands to the bar, which provides additional grip during the lift.

It’s important to note that wrist straps are not the same as wrist wraps, which provide extra support. Wrist straps are mainly designed to improve grip.

When Should You Use Lifting Straps?

Lifting straps can be incredibly helpful when your grip strength gives out before the working muscles fail. This is especially true when performing deadlifts or pull-ups, where your set may end because you can’t maintain your grip on the bar.

Using lifting straps in these situations allows you to carry on with your workout and achieve the desired results without being limited by your grip strength.

Although most commonly employed during pulling exercises with barbells, lifting straps can also be used with dumbbells, pull-up bars, and various pulldown cable attachments.

Common Exercises To Use Lifting Straps:

• Deadlifts or Rack Pulls
• Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)
• Bent Over Barbell Rows
• Pull-Ups
• Lat pulldowns
• Shrugs

Are Lifting Straps Cheating?

Using lifting straps is not considered cheating. Instead, they are a way to modify an exercise to focus on a specific muscle group rather than using secondary muscles such as the forearms.

Some powerlifting purists may argue that relying on straps can cause weak forearms and a soft grip, advocating avoiding them altogether. I agree that it’s important to incorporate exercises without straps into your workout routine to improve your grip strength.

However, when your grip strength is the limiting factor, it makes sense to use lifting straps to achieve your goals. Don’t leave potential gains on the table because of a weak grip!

How To Use Lifting Straps

In the following sections, you will learn how to properly use lifting straps to ensure a safe and effective lift. To start, I will provide a step-by-step guide. Then, you can view a quick video demonstrating how to use lifting straps on a barbell.

Steps for How to Use Lifting Straps

Now that we’ve covered the “what, when, and why” of using lifting straps, let’s move on to the “how.” I’ll guide you through a simple 5-step process and provide detailed descriptions with pictures to make it easier for you to follow along.

Step 1: Slide The Loose End Through The Loop

First, thread the loose end of the lifting strap through the small loop on the opposite end. Make sure the straps are symmetrical, with one for your left hand and the other for your right.

How To Use Deadlift Straps: Video

If you’re finding the steps confusing, watching a video of the entire process may help you follow it more easily. In this video, I demonstrate how to use lifting straps on a barbell for exercises like deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, and Bent Over Barbell Rows.

Types Of Lifting Straps

In this article, I showed you how to use Harbinger lifting straps. I have no affiliation with this company, but I’ve had these straps for over 6 years, and they’re holding up well.

This particular brand also has neoprene padding to cushion the top of your wrist. And you can pick them up on Amazon for only $11.99.