If you’ve trained in a commercial gym any time over the last 10 years then you’ll have seen the muscle-laden regulars using lifting straps to perform heavy exercises like deadlifts and rows. But what exactly is the purpose of lifting wraps and why do people wear them?

Well, we’re here to bust all the myths about lifting straps, including the proper way to use them, when they’re suitable and when they’re not.

Sound good? Then like those lifters you’re wondering about, let’s strap in.

What are lifting straps?

Lifting straps are a simple but effective fitness accessory that reduce your dependency on grip strength when performing a lift, which in turn increases activation in the target muscle.

Most typically come in the form of tough fabric wraps that loop around your wrist and secure it to the weight you’re lifting, but other variations include claw straps and figure-of-eight wraps.

A classic pair of lifting straps

How do they work?

Lifting straps reduce the impact of grip fatigue by eliminating the forearms as the weakest link in a lift. We’ve all been in that situation after a set of rows or deadlifts where our forearms are on fire and it feels like we couldn’t hold onto the bar for even a second longer.

Wrist wraps exist for that reason. By removing grip strength as a limiting factor, the target muscle is forced to work harder since you can train until you’ve exhausted the muscle — not just when you’ve exhausted your grip.

What are the benefits of lifting straps?

Deeper target muscle activation

You might be able to row 80kg comfortably, but holding a heavy barbell for an extended period of time is going to burn your forearms out — fast. Lifting straps delay the point at which your grip hits exhaustion, which enables you to pump those last few reps out and fully activate the target muscle with each set.

Quicker grip recovery between sets

On pull days in particular, your forearms are likely to burn out since so many back-focused exercises activate them. This can inhibit how hard you train if you’re still carrying some grip fatigue from a previous exercise. Using lifting straps throughout your session reduces how long it takes your forearms to recover and lets you blitz the muscles you actually came to train.

Are there any disadvantages to lifting straps?

Yes — there’s two sides to every coin, and the same is true for lifting straps.

Harder to bail out

Lifting straps quite literally secure you to the barbell, which makes it much harder to bail out of a lift. In pushing exercises, we strongly recommend against using lifting straps so as not to endanger yourself by being trapped beneath the bar.

Overreliance on straps

We’ve talked about the benefits of removing grip strength in a lift, but developing grip strength has its own merits. You don’t want to build one muscle group up so intensely that you neglect another, which is exactly what can happen by being over-reliant on lifting straps.

The old mantra of “all things in moderation” comes to mind. Use lifting straps, sure — but don’t reach a point where you can’t train without them.