Straps and who wears them?

[helium3]

for deadlifts how many of you wear straps and what weight do you consider to be enough to wear them?

i reached 440lbs yesterday without belt or straps(my form is sound)but i think it maybe time to strap up its gettin heavy.ive never used them because i want my grip strength to increase so what ya think?

[GunTotingHipGangster]

i use them because my grip is pathetic

if you dont need them, dont start using them

if i didnt need them i wouldnt use them thats for sure

[Zanelike]

I agree. I don't like using straps if I can avoid it. I prefer to use chalk to stop my hands from slipping. Plus I get enough of a forearm workout this way that I don't have to add in any extra exercises for them.

[Warrior]

I use them a lot for heavy lifts... its hard to limit massive back development to the ability of the smaller muscles in the forearms. With that said, last time my straps tore I had to finish my back workout without them... and I tried my ass off to keep working with the same loads - and my forearms were sore for several days after that workout! Deffinitly gave me a wake up call on how much benfit your forearms do get from leaving the straps out of the equation. Straps can be very necessary at times... but not all the time.

[novastepp]

depends on wether my grip can handle it or not. if i can grip it i wont use em.

[crash187ct]

straps < lifting hooks

[BlueAndromeda73]

straps < lifting hooks

I dont like the hooks they slide around on me sometimes....as for straps I use them on and off if I feel like I need them but I do as much as I can without them to build up the grip

[helium3]

cool i think i might try chalk before switching to straps havent used chalk for a while,too lazy to go buy some i guess.

[Jimmya73]

only if it compromised my back workout to not use them. for instance at the end of back day my traps can handle 80 pound shrugs but they fall out of my hands after two reps without straps

[GunTotingHipGangster]

nark uses sponges...i think he got them from a furniture place
it seems like a really good idea, i have yet to try it...im pretty sure they work good for him

[*Narkissos*]

nark uses sponges...i think he got them from a furniture place
it seems like a really good idea, i have yet to try it...im pretty sure they work good for him

Yea.. works better imo than gloves or chalk.

I use straps on my heaviest (i.e. last) set.

[suckysucky]

Try to stick to gym chalk if you can. I got to use to using straps and was using them for my second sets and on. One of them broke which now i consider a good thing. Now I only allow myself to use them on my last sets. For like lat pulls down and other back exercises

[Jimmya73]

sponges could serve a double purpose too, any time the width or the bar is larger it works the forearms and grip strength harder, therefore meaning better grip strength gains. may have to do that

as far as gloves, i wear them until the sets where i am doing 6 or less reps, they actually seem to lessen my grip. i do it on the higher rep sets to minimize hand damage, i hate it when a callous rips off

[IronReload04]

for deadlifts how many of you wear straps and what weight do you consider to be enough to wear them?

i reached 440lbs yesterday without belt or straps(my form is sound)but i think it maybe time to strap up its gettin heavy.ive never used them because i want my grip strength to increase so what ya think?

IF i wasnt using straps, then my grip would go before my back. since my back is what i am going after, i use straps on my working sets. which is only 2 working sets. I am repping around the mid 4's and i use straps

[diamonds]

Straps don't just give you the benefit of a good solid grip. They also allow you to lift a lot heavier. Think about how much energy you are wasting by squeezing the sh*t out of the bar when you are lifting, especially on back exercises. Your wasting a lot of energy just holding on to the weight. Straps allow you to concentrate more on the lift without worrying about loosing the weight.

[MartyMcFly]

I use them for pull ups and bent over rows b/c I use overhand grip. I use over/under for deads so I don't need them.

[suckysucky]

As Marty said in regards to over/under grip. This will improve your grip tremndously. I personally dont like deadlifting with straps. Gym chald and the over/under grip works good for me.

[*Narkissos*]

Straps don't just give you the benefit of a good solid grip. They also allow you to lift a lot heavier. Think about how much energy you are wasting by squeezing the sh*t out of the bar when you are lifting, especially on back exercises. Your wasting a lot of energy just holding on to the weight. Straps allow you to concentrate more on the lift without worrying about loosing the weight.

yup.

Granted, functional strength is desireable.

Still i'm a competitive bodybuilder first.. muscle development overall is more important to me.

Would i trade a 1/2" on my forearms for heavier poundages?

Hell yea.. Cus those heavier poundages will add 2" to my back/ham musculature.

[ascendant]

i only use straps on excercises i know very well my grip will give out on before the muscle i'm working. one i always use it on is shrugs cause my grip will always die out long before my traps do. other than that, i try to avoid straps to help increase grip strength and only use it when going extremely heavy on certain excercises where i know my grip will fail.

[chest6]

I never use straps for deads. Highest I have gone is 495 and I still didnt need em..who knows I might down the road. I just try to chalk up to the max. Don't really need another lagging bodypart..

[Timm1704]

i use straps for most back exercises. my grip isnt that great, pretty average, and my left hand is deformed, so i use straps for the left hand on most things. i realise that my forearms would improve without the straps, but my back workouts would suffer huge

[~fuelforfire~]

yeah i use straps for everything i think on back day, and i use em for shrugs too.