5 Reasons Why You Should Use Lifting Straps

When used correctly, lifting straps improve your performance.

Lifting straps are one of the simplest lifting tools in the gym – a long piece of cloth that lets you connect your hand to the load, mitigating any issues with hand grip strength. While they seem harmless, they can draw big opinions with some lifters refusing to use them – or even thinking they make you weak.

If you’re still avoiding lifting straps because of this, I have bad news — you’re probably holding back some gains. When used correctly, straps can help build an overall stronger body with greater mass. Here’s how.

What Are Lifting Straps?

Summary: Lifting straps are long pieces of cloth used to attach a lifter's hand to a weight. This can help eliminate grip fatigue and allows heavier loads and greater work volume.

Once lifters hit a certain point in their lifting career, their grip can become the weakest link in their lifts - generally seen with pulling movements. This means they can be held back not because of the intended muscle being trained, but because their grip fatigues and gives out first.

Therefore, they may opt to use lifting straps.

Lifting straps are long pieces of heavy duty cloth with one end that wraps around the lifter's wrist. The other end wraps around the handle of the lifting apparatus, allowing the lifter to secure themselves to the load. This takes grip out of the equation, allowing for;

• Lift heavier loads
• Perform more reps with a given load
• Carry more weight

While usually associated with barbells, you can use them with any movement in which grip is a component. This includes;

• Barbells
• Dumbbells
• Bars (lat pulldown)
• Trap bar
• Chin-ups

Important! As we go, we ARE NOT suggesting that grip strength doesn’t matter…you should definitely be training grip strength!

Why Don’t People Use Straps?

So if straps are so simple and effective, why do people refuse to wear them? Well, we don’t have a specific issue but it usually comes down to:

1. Straps Are Seen As Being Weak - This is pretty common. Many lifters look at straps as a sign of weakness. They believe if you can’t hold the weight, you’re not strong enough to lift it.

While this can have some truth to an extent, vowing to never use them because they make you weak is a bit misguided.

2. Scared To Hurt Themselves From More Weight - Using straps naturally means you’re going to lift more weight. This can be intimidating for many people, understandably so. 

However, it’s important to understand that straps aren’t going to let you lift more weight than you can naturally. You must still apply progressive overload and strengthen your muscles slowly.

3. Don’t Understand Them - This is another understable issue. Straps are usually associated with “serious” lifters and many don’t completely understand what they do.

Understandable and this is why we’re writing this article!

How Using Straps Can Improve Your Progress

What You Need To Know: When used appropriately, straps can actually improve your strength and muscle mass.

So now let’s look at how using straps could actually improve your performance, and possibly your aesthetics. 

1. You Can Lift Heavier Loads

Why it matters: Lifting heavier loads is necessary to build optimal strength. Not using straps can limit strength gains in larger muscles.

Everyone will reach a point in their lifting career when they simply can’t lift as much due to the load. When this occurs will differ for different people but it will become the limiting factor.

Using straps takes this away, ultimately eliminating the weakest link. When doing deadlifts, you can now further the strength potential of your lower body and posterior chain.¹

This is true for training maximal strength gains. However, maximal strength gains can have further benefits such as;

• Improvements in your neuromuscular system
• Increased bone density
• Greater muscle mass

2. Creates Greater Muscle Activation 

Why it matters: When allowing grip to control the load, you can actually limit muscle activation in the intended muscle.

Lifting more is not just “ego”. Lifting a heavier load requires a greater amount of muscle activation and force production to lift the increased weight.

What this means is that when you limit the load used due to your grip, the stronger muscle may not be getting  as good a workout as it could.

Using straps has been shown to result in greater activation in larger muscles such as your lats and quads in lifts. When done overtime, this could likely result in overall gains in mass and strength.²

3. Creates Less Fatigue In Smaller Muscles

Why it matters: Limiting your deadlift because of your forearms is like limiting your squat because of your shoulder mobility. With squats, you can use a SSB bar. With deadlifts, you can use straps.

Above we just talked about how you can lift more weight and increase muscle activation. However, studies have also shown increased muscle activation when using the same load. 

A study from 2024 had lifters perform the snatch with 80% 1RM while using lifting straps and not using straps.² Activity of 8 different muscles were measured and compared.

Researchers found that muscle activation of the biceps and forearms were significantly decreased when using lifting straps. However, this resulted in increases in the;

• Vastus lateralis
• Latissimus dorsi
• Medial deltoid 

This means the straps reduce grip fatigue and let the bigger muscles, your lats and quads, do more work. Less wasted effort on your forearms means more gains where it actually counts.

“These results support the hypothesis that LS decreases forearm activation, which could reduce grip strength limitations and consequently, reduce problems associated with fatigue. Increases in vastus lateralis activation with the use of LS suggest a greater training stimulus during the snatch, which can help develop leg strength.”

4. They Allow You To Target The Intended Muscle

Why it matters: Using straps can significantly improve your ability to concentrate on the movement pattern and targeting the primary muscle.

Even when you are lifting lighter weight, your grip is still involved. This means if your grip has become fatigued, you are definitely thinking about it during lifts – you have almost certainly felt that burn coming on. 

This can distract you from focusing on the intended muscle. Plus, as mentioned above, this can decrease the intensity of the volume placed on the intended muscle.

By using straps, 100% of your focus can be placed on the muscles intended and the biomechanics of the movement leading to greater work.³⁻⁴

Challenge: The next leg day, try two heavy RDL sets (80% 1RM) without straps and two with them. Tell me you don’t feel the difference. 

5. Straps Let You Truly Train To Failure

Why it matters: Training to (or near) failure drives muscle growth. However, if your grip gives out first, you’re not truly hitting failure in the target muscle.

Training to failure, or near failure, is a crucial component of training, especially hypertrophy.

However, if you’re performing a pulling exercise, how do you know you’re actually training to failure and not just the failure of your grip?

This can be true for all pulling exercises, even things like the lat pull-down. These movements are performed half-way through a session so your grip is likely already fatigued. Refusing to wear straps could mean you’re allowing grip to dictate the volume placed on your lats or any other muscle you’re trying to hit.

How To Use Lifting Straps Correctly

Summary: When used correctly, using straps can make you stronger and build more mass.

We’re going to go through some proper ways to use lifting straps to make the most out of your lifts.

1. Don’t Train Every Set With Lifting Straps

We’ll admit, sometimes when we feel like going extra strong, we’ll use straps for every set in a session – but this is rare.

Generally, you should only use straps when you need them. Here are some good guidelines;

• On strength movements, only use straps once you approach your top sets (This doesn’t necessarily apply when going for a PR or testing)
• On hypertrophy sets with moderate loads, only use straps for the last set (unless your grip is shot)
• Train some sessions with no straps. You can even work this in with different variations. For example, one week perform deficit deadlifts with no straps. This is a harder movement that requires smaller loads. 

2. Only Use Straps Once You Hit An Intermediate Level

There is some truth that people use straps because they have a weak grip. This can be seen in new lifters.

We all start somewhere and it’s essential that you build your grip strength when you first begin training. Of course there are plenty of variables, but you should be training for at least a year without needing straps.

3. Train Grip Separately 

A common criticism of straps is that you need a strong grip – this is 100% true and we actually think most people need more grip training!

However, saying straps give you a weak grip neglects the fact that you can train grip separately.

If you choose to wear lifting straps, be sure you still include strength specific work. Some of our favorite grip specific exercises are:

• Farmer carry
• Towel pull-ups
• Dead hangs

Should You Use Lifting Straps?

As you can see, the view many have on using straps are misguided. At the same time, you don’t need to use them and if you’re happy with your progress – that’s awesome and you can build plenty of muscle without them.

However, if you’ve been training for a while and trying to reach your true potential, why let your forearms decide your limit instead of your glutes and lats?  Don’t opt out of this simple tool because you think they make you weak as you’re most likely weaker without them.

References

1. Trahey, Kevin M.1; Lapp, Evan M.1; Talipan, Trent N.1; Guydan, Thomas J.1; Krupka, Alexander J.2; Ellis, Carrie E.1. The Effect of Lifting Straps on Deadlift Performance in Females. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 37(10):p 1924-1928, October 2023. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004494 https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/abstract/2023/10000/the_effect_of_lifting_straps_on_deadlift.2.aspx
2. Lemus SA, Volz M, Chen C‑B, Mann BJ, Travascio F. The use of lifting straps during snatch alters muscle activation patterns. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2024;20(1). doi:10.1177/17479541241296023 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/17479541241296023
3. Coswig, Victor S.1,2; Machado Freitas, Diogo Felipe1; Gentil, Paulo3; Fukuda, David H.4; Del Vecchio, Fabrício Boscolo1,5. Kinematics and Kinetics of Multiple Sets Using Lifting Straps During Deadlift Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29(12):p 3399-3404, December 2015. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000986 https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2015/12000/Kinematics_and_Kinetics_of_Multiple_Sets_Using.18.aspx
4. Vasović, D., Marković, M., Đorđević, D., & Jorgić, B. (2023). The influence of lifting straps on isometric back extensor muscle strength mechanical characteristics: A study of powerlifters. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport, 21(1), 89–98. https://doi.org/10.22190/FUPES221117008V