[quote]Big Aristotle wrote:
Unless your training to be a competitive powerlifter or strongman, I can’t understand why anyone would shortchange their development at expense of grip strength! [/quote]
even powerlifters & strongmen use straps. brad gillingham was using them for sets of 6-10 deads, rdls & maybe bent rows too on his dvd. he just trains grip separatly. strongmen are even allowed to use straps (usually) for deadlift events, they show their grip strength in farmer’s walks, hercules holds, etc.
Perhaps… but I think alot of people use straps who shouldn’t. If somebody is struggling to hold on to the 40s to shrug them… somehow I just don’t think they should be using straps to reach those HUGE 60s…
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There are people who have trouble holding onto the 40’s? Please tell me you at least meant 40Kg’s…
I’ve written about it before, but here we go again:
If your grip strength limits your back/trap training… Your forearms tire out before your back/traps do. OK. Now if you use straps, you can lift more weight (so that back/traps and forearms fail at roughly the same time).
Due to you using more weight, the additional grip-strength provided by straps is offset/utilized. There is no actual disadvantage here when it comes to developing grip strength unless you puss out and use straps as a comfort thing (not lifting more weight than you could without straps).
Your forearms should still fail after roughly the same number of reps whether you use straps or not… Just with more weight on the bar.
[quote]There are people who have trouble holding onto the 40’s? Please tell me you at least meant 40Kg’s…
I’ve written about it before, but here we go again:
If your grip strength limits your back/trap training… Your forearms tire out before your back/traps do. OK. Now if you use straps, you can lift more weight (so that back/traps and forearms fail at roughly the same time).
Due to you using more weight, the additional grip-strength provided by straps is offset/utilized. There is no actual disadvantage here when it comes to developing grip strength unless you puss out and use straps as a comfort thing (not lifting more weight than you could without straps).
Your forearms should still fail after roughly the same number of reps whether you use straps or not… Just with more weight on the bar. [/quote]
Interesting. Thanks for that info, man. I guess I was under the impression that they were mainly used as a comfort thing.
And yeah… I meant 40lbs. I see it all the time where I lift… people wearing straps to hold on to 40s… or the hyuuuuuge 60s…
I used to struggle with the 35s to be honest. But I was just starting to get into training.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
slazeagle wrote:
wrist straps would help but that they should only be used as a short term fix. Your grip strength should really be able to hold up and if it is not doing so, you need to keep pushing until the two parallel each other.
I don’t care how strong you are, you’re grip will always give out before your traps. IMO one has to use straps to even consider working the traps.[/quote]
I agree with Wayland. I can’t hold more than 275 on barbell shrugs, but I routinely go up to 405 on them. So I have to use straps. Another problem with shrugs is that the bar doesn’t just slip, it rolls. It takes even more strnegth of the grip than on chin ups.
I have heard people say to not use them because they will limit your grip, but some exercises just call for it.
[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
There are people who have trouble holding onto the 40’s? Please tell me you at least meant 40Kg’s…
I’ve written about it before, but here we go again:
If your grip strength limits your back/trap training… Your forearms tire out before your back/traps do. OK. Now if you use straps, you can lift more weight (so that back/traps and forearms fail at roughly the same time).
Due to you using more weight, the additional grip-strength provided by straps is offset/utilized. There is no actual disadvantage here when it comes to developing grip strength unless you puss out and use straps as a comfort thing (not lifting more weight than you could without straps).
Your forearms should still fail after roughly the same number of reps whether you use straps or not… Just with more weight on the bar.
Interesting. Thanks for that info, man. I guess I was under the impression that they were mainly used as a comfort thing.
And yeah… I meant 40lbs. I see it all the time where I lift… people wearing straps to hold on to 40s… or the hyuuuuuge 60s…
I used to struggle with the 35s to be honest. But I was just starting to get into training.[/quote]
Hmm, at your height I bet you also have very small hands/short fingers? That would give you quite a disadvantage when it comes to grip… If so, then you’d be holding yourself back more when not using straps than a person with normal-sized hands… So go for the straps and pile on the weight man, your grip will improve along the way.
Besides, you can do your last warm-up set (or all of your warm-ups) without straps or so if you want… Then just strap up for your work set.
Hmm, at your height I bet you also have very small hands/short fingers? That would give you quite a disadvantage when it comes to grip… If so, then you’d be holding yourself back more when not using straps than a person with normal-sized hands… So go for the straps and pile on the weight man, your grip will improve along the way.
Besides, you can do your last warm-up set (or all of your warm-ups) without straps or so if you want… Then just strap up for your work set.
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Well I’m not sure what average is… but my index finger is 7cm long and my hand is 8cm wide. I guess I’ll have to pick up some straps for myself and try them out then… and probably find a new gym. My grip has certainly come a long way from where it started though!
Hmm, at your height I bet you also have very small hands/short fingers? That would give you quite a disadvantage when it comes to grip… If so, then you’d be holding yourself back more when not using straps than a person with normal-sized hands… So go for the straps and pile on the weight man, your grip will improve along the way.
Besides, you can do your last warm-up set (or all of your warm-ups) without straps or so if you want… Then just strap up for your work set.
Well I’m not sure what average is… but my index finger is 7cm long and my hand is 8cm wide. I guess I’ll have to pick up some straps for myself and try them out then… and probably find a new gym. My grip has certainly come a long way from where it started though![/quote]
My index finger is 8cm (just measured ;D) and just about everyone else in my gym seems to have longer fingers… Def. Noticeable when doing one-arm rows, shrugs and such without straps.
[quote]slazeagle wrote:
wrist straps would help but that they should only be used as a short term fix. [/quote]
Truthfully, why?
If the goal is to alter physique who cares if straps are used or not. If the objective is to compete in powerlifting where straps cannot be used then yes, the straps shouldn’t be used in training.
It comes down to what you train for and guaranteed if a guy is symmetrical like Flex and Shawn Ray were no one is thinking “hmm i wonder if they used wrist straps…”
A couple guys, like Sasquatch and Ramo (I think Ramo) who I consider to be better sources of information than myself advocate using straps where grip would limit progress on some exercises while actively working the grip on others like somebody else said already.
It would be a shame to reduce poundages on stuff like deads and shrugs where more weight is clearly beneficial because your grip is lacking.
[/quote]
Best quote in this thread. Basically why limit your progress because some one else said you weren’t man enough to do the weight without straps…
It basically comes down to you lifting for you and your goals. When you start to alter your routine because someone else challenged you on the internet you become an ego lifter and that doesn’t truely help you reach your goals…
Bottom line is that you need to decide what your goal is for the lift.
In the case of shrugs, I’m lifting primarily to build my traps, not to increase my grip strength. I haven’t been working my traps as much as I would like on shrugs, because grip strength is the weak link.
Straps make sense for shrugs. Thanks all for your input.