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

[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!

[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...

[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

[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.

[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.