are straps bad for lat pulls, cable rows ,etc...?

[T_Own]

i never use them, only like twice in my life with shrugs.
i can see the point on pull ups, i'll do like 30 straight and my arms will be shaking but hardly anything in my back

[ray0414]

Thats because you have a weak grip. You guys are way too dependent on these straps. Again i could see you using them for maybe your last heavy set but more than that and your just hurting yourself IMO.



I have small hands and a strong grip.

at one time i didnt use straps for anything, and when i started using straps my back got alot stronger and alot bigger, ive never had a strong grip anyways, i always sucked at things like dodgeball where a strong grip is needed. and some people have arthritis prone hands so their grip may never be strong. in the winter time i cant grip anything with my left hand cause my fingers ache. bottom line is if u want to get your BACK bigger, id say most of the time straps will help.

[DSM4Life]

at one time i didnt use straps for anything, and when i started using straps my back got alot stronger and alot bigger, ive never had a strong grip anyways, i always sucked at things like dodgeball where a strong grip is needed. and some people have arthritis prone hands so their grip may never be strong. in the winter time i cant grip anything with my left hand cause my fingers ache. bottom line is if u want to get your BACK bigger, id say most of the time straps will help.

I disagree.

[Ronnie Rowland]

Thats because you have a weak grip. You guys are way too dependent on these straps. Again i could see you using them for maybe your last heavy set but more than that and your just hurting yourself IMO.



I have small hands and a strong grip.

I too have small hands and a strong grip but you take someone with large hands, thick-muscle fingers and fairly large forearms and they are at a great advantage. Prime example, my uncle does not lift weights nor can he lift a lot in the gym compared to me. We have trained together twice. But, he has very large hands, thick fingers and decent forearm size (not nearly as big as mine). Still yet, he can put a hurting on me with his grip alone if he gets a hold of my hand or wrist ehen we wrestle. His grip is like a vise! That's what I was trying to point out.

I use straps on wide grip chins only because I have become so strong on them I need to use a weight harness. Don't really need the straps but can crank out another rep and feel safer. I never use them on rows because they hinder me. Straps are great for heavy Dead-lifts!

[DMCat]

Big forearms or Big back.....hmmm I know which one I am choosing. I wrap on nearly every back movement I do. Another thing not mentioned is you should be using a false grip (thumbs on same side of bar as fingers) to help keep your biceps out of all back movements. Straps really assist when using this grip.

I never use wraps...never have. And I have both, big back and big forearms. But the biggest reason is because I think grip strength is critical to many other things that I do--from re-arranging the furniture to tightening the tire bolts.

You never know...you might end up hanging off the edge of a cliff or trying to rescue someone from one one day....

[Jfew44]

I too have small hands and a strong grip but you take someone with large hands, thick-muscle fingers and fairly large foearms and they are at a great advantage. Prime example, my uncle does not lift weights nor can he lift a lot in the gym. I know because wqe have trained together twice. But, he has very large hands, thick fingers and decent forearm size (not nearly as big as mine). Still yet, he can put a hurting on me with his grip alone if he gets a hold of my hand or wrist. His grip is like a vise! That's what I was trying to point out.

I use straps on wide grip chins only because I have become so strong on them I need to use a weight harness. Don't realluy need the straps but can crank out another rep and feel safer. I never use them on rows because they hinder me. Straps are great for Dead-lifts!

Alot of forearm strength comes from a daily job. People that work construction or anything that involves daily intense forearm use will have much stronger forearm strength than someone who sits at a computer 10 hours a day then works his forearms out.

I will use straps on 3-5 rep deads and occasionally on shrugs when my forearms are too tired to take the weight to make me feel it in my traps.

[dece870717]

If you're going to use something to help with grip why not replace the straps with chalk?

[DMCat]

Alot of forearm strength comes from a daily job. People that work construction or anything that involves daily intense forearm use will have much stronger forearm strength than someone who sits at a computer 10 hours a day then works his forearms out.

I will use straps on 3-5 rep deads and occasionally on shrugs when my forearms are too tired to take the weight to make me feel it in my traps.

I sit at a computer to work, but I understand your statement. My purpose for strong grip strength is to support martial arts. But more than that, it does more than feel good when I can perform heavy deads without worrying about my grip.
Most (non-lateral) back movements are compound exercises. I can never understand why anyone would not want to take those same opportunities to improve forearm strength. It just seems like a natural extension.

Since I have never had a weak grip, I may not be relating well. But if I did, I would make it my priority to strengthen it...instead of using methods to hide the weakness...

[DMCat]

i never use them, only like twice in my life with shrugs.
i can see the point on pull ups, i'll do like 30 straight and my arms will be shaking but hardly anything in my back

When I really want to trash my back, I will do a pre-exhaust to force the pump. Then, go hardcore strict and deliberate with the compound movements.

[Ronnie Rowland]

Most (non-lateral) back movements are compound exercises. I can never understand why anyone would not want to take those same opportunities to improve forearm strength. It just seems like a natural extension.

I also want my grip to be as strong as possible but I'll tell you why some benefit big-time with the use of straps. I train a pro-football player 3 times a week at Golds Gym in SC. I train him like a power-lifter/strength athlete using a Slingshot approach, not a bodybuilder because he's wanting more strength as opposed to size. He's a linebacker and his primary concern is lower body/core strength not upper body strength. His dead-lift has become so strong now that he cannot hang onto the bar for the full duration of a set. Under these circumstances it's important to use straps, etc. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

And yes, hard labor work most definetly increases hand grip strength.

[ray0414]

yea my back was too strong for my hands so i needed the straps, with weighted pullups i find it very hard to believe anyone could exhaust there back before they exhaust your hands, im pretty sure a person back is stronger than ones hands. Any type of a lat pull down also, if your hands arent sore then maybe u arent working them hard enough! my hands havent gotten sore since i started using straps. if u do back and traps on the same day, theres no way u can do traps at the end if u worked your back good enough ur hands wont be able to handle the maximum weight u can use for say 10 reps, ur weight will go down or you'll rush thru your reps cause ur hands are tiring.

[binder]

What I don't understand are these dudes wearing weight belts to barbell bench press.

you don't do heavy bench do you? abdominal/thoracic pressure increases the amount of force you can press with your chest. Also the reason why they don't exhale until about midway through the press.

also, for safety reasons on the heavy lifts. Pushing that hard guys tend to arch and it reminds them not to as well as saves their backs if they arch anyways.

[FireGuy]

I sit at a computer to work, but I understand your statement. My purpose for strong grip strength is to support martial arts. But more than that, it does more than feel good when I can perform heavy deads without worrying about my grip.
Most (non-lateral) back movements are compound exercises. I can never understand why anyone would not want to take those same opportunities to improve forearm strength. It just seems like a natural extension.

Since I have never had a weak grip, I may not be relating well. But if I did, I would make it my priority to strengthen it...instead of using methods to hide the weakness...

Non-Lateral back movements? Can you give me an example of a lateral back movement?

One more thing, I assume everyone here opposed to straps is also opposed to wrapping your knees on heavy squats?

[AdamGH]

you don't do heavy bench do you? abdominal/thoracic pressure increases the amount of force you can press with your chest. Also the reason why they don't exhale until about midway through the press.

also, for safety reasons on the heavy lifts. Pushing that hard guys tend to arch and it reminds them not to as well as saves their backs if they arch anyways.

You misinterpreted. I see dudes walking around the gym with a weight belt on for every exercise. From doing forearm lifts, bicep curls to lightweight bench pressing or to take a piss. Weight belts have a purpose, but not what I see them used for.

good article:

While on the topic of core stabilization, I want to emphasize to any misinformed fitness enthusiasts that a weight belt should not be worn at any time during any of your weight training routines (unless you’re performing a max or near-max lift in one of the spine loading lifts such as squats or deadlifts). The theory behind a weight belt is that it pulls in on your abdominal wall to aid in supporting your spine during a very heavy lift. The problem is that if you use a weight belt all the time, you actually weaken your core musculature since you take away the work that they are intended to perform. Hence, you could set yourself up for a back injury in the future. You don’t know how many times I see misinformed guys walking around the gym for their entire workout wearing a lifting belt. Poor souls! Bottom line – don’t use a lifting belt unless you’re a competitive power lifter performing max or near-max squats or deadlifts. You’re actually doing more harm than good if you use it for anything other than that.

[DSM4Life]

Non-Lateral back movements? Can you give me an example of a lateral back movement?

One more thing, I assume everyone here opposed to straps is also opposed to wrapping your knees on heavy squats?

I am not opposed to them. All these additional aids have their place for different training styles but what gets me are when people say "Oh man, i HAVE to use straps." No you don't. 99% of people use them because they make the lift easier. I use to be in the same mind set, my grip gives out before my back so i am hurting my back progress by doing this. Back off the weight and slowly work yourway back up 100% without straps and your body/grip will adjust (like i said/did in my post on the first page). If anything the straps started to hindered my performance in other areas of my workout.

BTW i do use chalk and thats it.

[binder]

You misinterpreted. I see dudes walking around the gym with a weight belt on for every exercise. From doing forearm lifts, bicep curls to lightweight bench pressing or to take a piss. Weight belts have a purpose, but not what I see them used for.

ya i did...i thought you were saying you have no idea why guys use them for bench.

i don't wear a belt so i can properly develop my lower back since i previously fractured L4 and my pelvis causing ligament damage as well. If you start training light with no belt and work your way up there should be no risk for injury. Belts do serve a good purpose for heavy lifters though.

[sweeney todd]

If you're going to use something to help with grip why not replace the straps with chalk?

chalk is MUCH BETTER than straps. cant even compare the two.