How To Use Lifting Straps
Lifting straps can be essential with heavy lifts such as Deadlifts and Rows. It’s hard to get the small muscles of the forearm to equal the lifting power of the legs, glutes and back and lifting straps are widely used to allow you to use an amount of weight appropriate for the muscles being worked without worrying about being able to hold onto the bar. Straps allow you to make the lift while concentrating on your form. Use these any time you have issues holding onto the bar or dumbbells. If you subscribe to Arnold’s Pump Club there’s a great article in the October 24, 2023 edition about lifting straps.
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Lasso-Type Lifting Straps
These are about as old-school as it gets with the exception of going down to a junkyard and cutting the seatbelts out of an old car and making your own. We have several pairs of these in the gym and they’re the ones we first used. They’re tight on the wrist, have longer tails and you can really crank down on them.
How To:
Pull the tail through the loop and tighten it against your wrist on each hand. Make sure the tails come out on the thumb-side of your wrist.
You'll use your dominant hand to apply the strap to the bar on the non-dominant and then the dominant hand does its own.
Put your non-dominant hand into position on the bar and use your dominant to wrap the tail underneath bar from the bottom around the top.
Cinch down the strap by cranking your non-dominant hand like the throttle on a motorcycle.
Place your dominant hand into position on the bar and use your fingers to wrap the strap underneath the bar.
As you did with the other hand, cinch the strap tight by cranking your hand.
Adjust your body position to ensure you're set up to make the lift safely and with the proper form.
Olympic-Type Lifting Straps
We have clients who use either these or the traditional lasso straps but these are the straps we personally use. We like them because you can shove the tail through the middle, it’s a little easier to crank them down and they also lays flatter which is great for heavy dumbbells, etc. Eva uses these for almost every pulling exercise.
How To:
Put the straps on your wrists on each hand.
Just as with the lasso-type straps above, your dominant hand will help the non-dominant and then take care of itself.
To wrap outside of your thumb:
Put your non-dominant hand on the bar and use your other hand to wrap the strap underneath the bar and over the top on the thumb-side of your hand.
To wrap underneath your palm:
Put your non-dominant hand on the bar and use your other hand to simply shove the tail through the middle of the loop going from underneath the bar and wrapping over the top. With dumbbells, go from the inside, underneatht the bar and then back around.
Cinch it down by cranking your hand like it's a motorcycle grip and taking up the slack each time until it gets to your desired level of tightness.
Put your dominant hand into position and use your fingers to adjust the strap matching the technique you used with the non-dominant hand, either outside the thumb or underneath the palm.
Cinch the strap tight by cranking your hand like you did on the other side.
Adjust your body position to ensure you're set up to make the lift safely and with the proper form.
JerkFit Death Grips Lifting Straps
These are a combination of gloves and straps and Eva swears by them for Deads. They’re definitely quick and easy because you simply slap it onto the bar, grip and twist and you’re ready to go. Not just for men who have sweaty hands and can't use chalk, they're also great for ladies who don’t want “man hands” but still want to lift heavy you get the benefit of straps with the callus protection of a glove. They’re popular with Eva’s in-person and online clients.
How To:
These are side-specific and the righthand side will be marked.
Strap these on with the rubber grip on the palm-side of your hand.
When you strap them onto your wrist and secure the velcro the JerkFit logo will be facing up from your wrist on the backside of your hand.
You can grab the bar with both hands simultaneously or one hand at a time, whichever you prefer.
As you reach for the bar, shove the rubber grip underneath the bar and grab it as you put your fingers around the bar.
There will be a little bit of play that you can twist out, if you feel like it but the rubber grip should give you plenty of purchase on the bar. Twist it until you're comfortable with your grip on the bar or dumbbell.
Adjust your body position to ensure you're set up to make the lift safely and with the proper form.
more food for thought…
Buy the Straps You See Demonstrated Here
Lifting straps are widely used to allow you to use an amount of weight appropriate for the muscles being worked without worrying about being able to hold onto the bar.
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