Will Lifting Straps Improve My Lift?

Introducing The Humble Lifting Strap

For the uninitiated, a lifting strap is a strap that allows you to loop one end around your wrists, whilst the other end is looped around whatever you're lifting (be it dumbbells or barbells) thereby tethering the weight to your wrists giving you a firm grip on the weight and preventing the weight from sliding out of your hands due to deficiencies in your grip strength, sweating, small hands, or just our good mate... fatigue.

The Arguments For and Against Lifting Straps

Hang around any gym long enough and you'll hear opposing views on lifting straps. The major discussions from both sides of the lifting strap coin mainly centre around:

The "For Argument" - Perhaps the biggest argument from the "for camp" is that lifting straps allow you to fatigue the target muscle without fear that your grip will give out first.

The "Against Argument" - Some folk argue that a lifting strap doesn't fix a problem (generally deficiencies in grip strength), but merely covers it up. The "against argument" further maintain that the problem is self-perpetuating as your not actually ever improving your deficiencies.

So Who's Right?

If you're problem revolves around hanging on to the weight due to a lack of grip strength, sweating, smaller hands or plain old fatigue as you train your target muscle group then the use of lifting straps doesn't cause a deficiency in your grip, its a quick, simple solution to your problem. They will help you without doubt in all manner of pulling exercises (such as rows, deadlifts, pull-ups, shrugs etc') but also any exercise that involves you holding a weight for a sustained period (such as dumbbell lunges, dumbbell squats etc').

We'd also add that its important that if grip strength deficiency is a factor in why you need lifting straps that you address that (see our grip strength blog here).

How to Use Lifting Straps by James McBride

Here James McBride, founder of World Standard Fitness shows us how to use lifting straps on a bar. Lifting straps are incredibly simple to use when used correctly, and also explains the merits of using a rubberised lifting strap, which revolutionised the lifting market when he introduced them to the market over 15 years ago.

Which Lifting Strap to Choose...

There are a number of lifting straps on the market, all of various qualities and types.

Active Nation proudly represent World Standard Fitness (WSF) and there lifting straps here in New Zealand for a few reasons:

WSF make a quality product that performs:
James McBride a lifter himself has weeded out inferior methods of creating lifting straps such as gluing and weaving. Whilst these methods result in a cheaper product overall, their lack of performance far offsets the cost benefits. So James spent countless hours painting thousands of lifting straps for the first couple of years he was in business rather than resorting to weaving or gluing. James explains:

"The fibres in a webbing are similar to the links in a chain, and so naturally, replacing strong nylon fibers with far weaker rubber fibers affects the webbing's integrity. The thin rubber woven fibers were prone to tearing, and weaving resulted in less nonslip material being applied to the surface of the strap, and thus less grip for the user. Although it took me longer to produce than it would have had I used the inferior methods, I wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy the same high performance nonslip strap that I created for myself. Through further refinement I eventually found the ideal means of "rubberizing" that we use to this day. "

Even The Competition Love WSF's Straps

You know you're onto a winner when even the competition give you credit:

An e-mail excerpt from Andrew Riding of Grizzly to James McBride:

"Remember, the choice is ultimately yours as this is your baby. I personally like your product and think that we can grow it for you."

An e-mail excerpt from Michele Gaedke of Harbinger:

"It's quite a novel concept and one that obviously has great merit. I can see why you have had interest in this product."

Need More Info on Lifting Straps?

Please just drop us a line with your enquiry, we'd love to hear from you! Or alternatively click on the below to find out more about WSF Lifting Straps.

Yours in fitness,

The Active Nation Team.