Should You Use Lifting Straps?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

I know you’ve been there. Deep into a back workout or cranking out some deadlifts and you feel your grip slipping. Your palms are sweaty, your hands are tired, and your forearms just can’t keep up anymore. You want to have a good workout, but you’re afraid you’ll look like a sissy for using straps. Real men lift raw, right? But you can’t help but keep thinking to yourself…should you use lifting straps?

Back when I first got into lifting, I used to have the same problem and found myself wondering the same thing. Using straps was seen as weak and people used to say:

“If you can’t lift it with your bare hands then you shouldn’t be lifting it at all.“

But were they right? Is it okay to use lifting straps? The answer is simpler than you think. I don’t even have to go into any of the science for this one. It’s common sense!

Why It’s Ok to Use Lifting Straps

When you’re doing a set of pulldowns, what is your goal?
When you’re doing a set of Romanian deadlifts, what is your goal?
When you’re doing a set of curls, what is your goal?

Don’t think about this too hard. You know the answers.

To hit your back.
To hit your glutes and hams.
To hit your biceps.

You’re in the gym specifically to work your muscles and stimulate them to GROW. So if a muscle group that is unrelated to the ones you want to work is STOPPING you from maximally stimulating the ones you’re targeting, then you have every right to use a tool specifically made to combat that problem.

If your grip is too weak to do an exercise at your full potential, then it’s perfectly fine and even ENCOURAGED that you use lifting straps. You shouldn’t let your grip stop you from having the best workout you can for your goals of muscle growth. You use your grip nearly every single day in the gym without rest, so there’s nothing wrong with using lifting straps to give yourself an extra edge.

Will Using Straps Give Me Small Forearms?

This is a concern a lot of lifters have. They might be okay with using straps to lift, but they worry that if they do that, their forearms will disappear. This is nonsense.

Using lifting straps doesn’t mean that you completely stop using your hands or forearms. You can and should still be gripping the bar hard even when you’re wearing straps, and your forearms are still getting stimulated from other exercises that don’t have anything to do with your grip.

If your forearms are ever a weak point in your physique, you can always add in some dedicated forearm training. That makes a lot more sense than holding back your other muscles at their expense.

Now let’s talk about when and how to use lifting straps the right way.

When to Use Lifting Straps

Just because you keep some lifting straps tucked away in your gym bag doesn’t mean you have to use them for your whole workout. There are a ton of options here.

If your gym allows chalk and your grip is strong enough to do your workout but you suffer from sweaty palms, then you can use chalk until your grip muscles get too fatigued to keep going. At that point, you can whip out your straps and keep going. This is my preferred option, but not every gym is cool with this.

You can also use lifting straps for your heavy sets and then take them off when you’re doing your light sets if your grip can handle it.

Last but not least, you can use straps for your whole workout but only let them take over at the end of your sets when you feel your hands slipping from sweat or fatigued grip muscles. For example, if you’re doing a set of 10, you can knock out 8 reps by yourself and then lean on the straps to help you get those last 2 that you wouldn’t be able to get otherwise due to grip problems.

How to Use Lifting Straps

How to use lifting straps is pretty straightforward:

First, get a quality, good-fitting pair of lifting straps. You want to make sure that they fit around your wrist properly without being too loose. A personal favorite of mine are Versa Grips or Cobra Grips. They’re super fast and easy to use. And I don’t brag about products often.
Next, grip the bar hard like you would otherwise and start your set. I don’t recommend completely limp-wristing your exercises just because you have straps.
Lastly, as needed or if you feel your grip weakening, relax your hands and forearms slightly to let the straps take over a bit. This takes a little practice and experimentation to get right, but once you do it, it’ll make sense what I mean.

And there’s not much else to it than that. Lifting straps are a simple, cost-effective way to get more out of your training.

Should You Use Lifting Straps?

If your goal is to stimulate maximum muscle growth and your grip strength is holding you back, then you should absolutely use lifting straps. You can use them for only your heavy sets, for your light sets at the end of a workout when your grip tires out, or for your whole workout for when your grip fatigues at the end of a set.

They don’t mean you’re any less of a man. Instead, they show the world that you’re smart and loyal to your goals rather than what others think of you.

Now go make some gains!

If you liked this article, drop a comment and share it with your friends.
If you want to see more content like this, be sure to subscribe below to get the latest articles sent to your inbox along with my exclusive ebook.
For evidence based online coaching with me, apply here.