Lifting straps

One problem many strength athletes have with pulling exercises is the loss of grip strength. Although the trained muscle group could pull further, the exercise is interrupted because the forearms can no longer lift the weight. Thus, it is not the target muscle that is the limiting factor in the muscle chain but the grip strength. When several muscles are used, this is called a muscle chain.

You can solve this problem with lifting straps. These are bands or wrist bandages attached to the wrist and the bar. In addition, there are also lifting straps, which you can attach to the bar with a hook.

Your forearms are no longer the weakest link in the muscle chain or the limiting factor. This allows you to move significantly more weight or perform more reps during pulling exercises such as the lat pulldown.

Furthermore, you can focus much better on your target muscles during the exercise than grip strength.

Put the loose end through the loop to properly use (common) lifting straps. The strap should not be twisted in the process. Then put your hand through the loop and tighten it. If your lifting straps have a pad, they will be on the back of your hand at the level of your wrist.

You must position the loose end between your thumb and index finger before tightening the lifting straps. Place the lifting straps around the bar in the opposite direction of the pull and wrap the end of the strap around the bar two or three times.

If the lifting straps have hooks, you do not wrap the band around the bar. Instead, you attach the hook. This reduces the strain on the wrist during specific exercises. However, you lose direct contact with the bar, which leads to a poorer mind-muscle connection.

Also, with the hook, you can't just drop the weight when you go to muscle failure. This increases the risk of injury. So think carefully about which option you choose.

You must practice applying the lifting straps several times before it works perfectly. Furthermore, you should get used to the equipment slowly and avoid trying to break a personal record (PR) right away.

Especially with multi-joint pulling exercises, such as the Deadlift, lifting straps are helpful. However, you should not use lifting straps for every pulling exercise, as this would reduce your grip strength in the long run. In addition, you should first pay attention to a perfect exercise execution before considering lifting straps.