I have noticed a lot of the big lifters on here seem to use straps for their deadlift work. I have only recently invested is a pair and started the for RDL’s so allow me to get a few more reps and not worry about my grip. I do not use them for my conventional deadlift work, figuring I can train my grip at the same time.
So Straps - do you use them or not ? what type do you prefer ? what is the benefit or reason for you to use them.
Lets talk about strapping up.
I only deadlifted with an opposing grip. I used that grip in power meets. I once tried the hook grip. That was too painful on my initial attempt and I gave up on that idea.
When I lifted straps were not allowed in competition. But if I did rack pulls or shrugs I used straps and two overhand grip.
I have always felt that grip strength was a component of the deadlift. Fat handed lifters always has a disadvantage with the traditional diameter Olympic bar diameters.
But if a federation allows straps, I have no complaint.
Nothing like failing what would have been a Deadlift PR, because your slipping grip messed with your confidence.
Definitely strap on.
I mean… stay strapped or get lapped?
If you use straps to lift it then is it really a PR ??
This is how I feel. I think if you are doing high rep work for building muscle then straps are useful but for low rep strength work it should be grip and rip.
I could easily do 20 rep deadlifts with 405lbs without straps, and 10 reps with 505lbs.
I do like doing lat work with straps. I feel it keeps my forearms out of the pulls and concentrate contraction of my upper back muscles better. With lat pull downs I release gripping my index finger. That helps a better lat contraction yet.
That was my style. If I spent any time bent over that bar, I felt the strength leaving my body.
Well that means you couldnt hold the weight, and you need to work on that. The grip part in deadlift is one of the technical elements that needs to be perfected and worked on.
No, its not. Its just like slingshoting a bench PR, lol.
Unless its like very rules specific like strongman deadlift and they can use straps and also stop the bar on their knees and then kinda roll it up over partially bent legs, etc.
If you train for pure strenght, straps the same as slingshots or reverse bands.
If you train for functionality, still dont use straps because nothing trains the grip better than holding the bar that starts to slip. If you cant hold it while doing hypertrophy work with lower weight and higher reps, just do MORE sets. Your grip will thank you. OR you will still need to do extra work for that shitty grip of yours and that will take extra exercises and time anyways so you couldve just done the grip work with some extra sets.
If you never put stress on your grip, it will not get better and soon you wont be able to hold even your second to last warmup set, haha. It will just get worse and worse, if not pushed to adapt.
“Cant hold the bar, just use straps” to me sounds like "cant bench worth a shit? ask a spotter to help you and then just say “it was all you”.
I agree with this too. But I think there may be a place to use straps to over load the back beyond what your grip can handle.
This made me laugh and is true.
I have been wondering about this recently. Thinking that straps may be useful for heavy rows.
Unless you do it for pure bodybuilding purposes, in which case there are much better exercises to train any part of the back with much less CNS fatigue and less recovery time, no there is not. Strength wise i think that it doesnt matter what your posterior can lift if you cant hold the bar. If the grip is the limiting factor then you will never be able to lift with full potential of your posterior anyway.
For bodybuilding there are better exercises. For strength, no point to have stronger back than your grip will ever be able to use anyways.
Its like training a punch knowing your fist will shatter the second it connects. There is no point of having a punching power bigger than your wrist and bones can handle cuz you will never use that power anyway then.
Many bodybuilders also use straps for Lat Pulldown, Dumbbell Rows, and Hammer Machine Rows. I don’t see what the obstacle is when it’s for bodybuilding purposes. We’re talking about building muscle here and the associated stress on the Back that the grip can’t handle. It really won’t make sense if the goal is powerlifting.
I strap on a fair few exercises. My goals are purely hypertrophy so im not going to stop a few reps short due to grip giving out, or even taking my focus away from the target muscles. Ive even used straps for hammer curls 
I’m going to go off topic a bit, but since it’s about aids, a while back I was laughing at a guy who was doing Hack Squats on a Machine and using a belt. However, yesterday I was also doing Hack Squats and my Lower Back hurt. I don’t know why that happened. My pelvis and Back were supported well and I tried not to separate them from the backrest, but I still felt discomfort after the exercise. I had this feeling the last time I did Hack Squats again on a Machine. And I hadn’t put on much weight. The weight was for about 12 reps in 3 sets and was lighter than the weights I put on the bar, albeit for less reps. Now I’m thinking that maybe I didn’t tighten up enough like I did when doing the barbell squat, but I probably should have.
The economy is worse than I thought.
Anyway, I’m on the “I like straps” team. I’m not competing in anything, so who cares. Straps allow me to focus more on lats, if that’s what I’m working, or use double overhand if I’m deadlifting. With lats, specifically, I like pulling thumbless and “toward” my pinky, so taking my grip out of the equation is helpful. For deads, I haven’t noticed some big discrepancy when I want to show off and pull for real as long as I have chalk. I’m also not doing 505 x 10, so take that for what it’s worth. It’s like a belt for me: I’ll put them on when the weight gets heavy, but they’re not on every set.
This makes sense, and if the ultimate goal is hypertrophy then it seems straps can help focus on areas that having to grip does not.
I was so stubborn not using straps for the longest time. I lifted 200kg (440lbs) without straps and thought it made me better than all those people that needed straps. “It’s for people who haven’t got grip strength like me” I told myself. “It doesn’t count until you do it without straps”. Not long after I failed a fast moving 210kg (460lbs) because my grip gave out, then again the week after. I worked up to long holds with lighter weights, which was great until I tore a callous. The lift itself didn’t move in the right direction for ages. Then I, like you, added RDLs to my program which very quickly humbled me. I invested in straps and added 5 or 6 reps to all my sets. Soon enough I was using them on all deadlift variations and repping out weights I previously had to quit on after just 2 or 3. All my PRs were smashed through.
Not using straps were massively hindering my progress. I still go strapless on all my warm up sets except for maybe the last one, my grip can still progress. But now I don’t need to worry about it. Unless you plan to compete in a sport that doesn’t allow straps then you have little reason to train without them.
Did Eddie Halls deadlift not count because he used straps?
If you asked me a year ago my thoughts would be complete different. My thoughts on belts were very similar. Ask yourself why you’re training. If you still care about grip, you don’t have to train it on the deadlift. Deadhangs, plate pinches, farmers walks etc.
My stubbornness was a mistake.
Yes. As long as you’re not competing in a sport that allows people to lock out below kneecaps, but NOT to do so with straps. Powerlifting rules are silly, but so are Strongman rules…
I prescribe to this.
^ i don’t train for powerlifting, i do hypertrophy with a strength base because every lift i do relies on having a strong foundation. I could leave out all my powerlifts, but I’d argue that I’d be a lot smaller and weaker if i did.
If the goal is hypertrophy, strap in. I prefer Versa grips, set up is much quicker and I find them more comfortable.
To this point, I like the straps that are all one loop for the same reason - just easier and quicker to deal with
