Any good sites for them? I have everlast now and another off brand.
Listen to Rahknee. Give up the straps. They're cheating. You'll really notice the difference.
I only use straps on the first day I try to obtain PR's in lifts, just so grip isnt a factor in finishing the lift. The next time I do the same weight I don't use straps. This technique has actually improved my grip more than when I didnt use straps.
For the ones that offered websites thank you. The problem with the straps I had were that they were too short and not rigid enough.
Leigh hit the nail on the head perfectly. Many times your body suffers or lacks strength in areas simply because you can't hold the weight due to a weak grip strength. By not relying on a crutch like straps your body is forced to adapt, & your grip strength goes up and everything else goes up along with it. Improved grip strength will have an almost immediate improvement in the rest of your strength training. It seriously works.
Give it a shot for a few months Dogmeat and I'll bet you'll never use straps again.
Schiek makes a great pair or padded weight lifting straps. Try to only use them for partial lifts (restricted range of motion) as you would use a great amount of weight than with a regular lift...for example, 1/4 or 1/2 squat...1/4 or 1/2 deadlift or heavy barbell shrugs.
Straps are OK if you're doing really heavy partial deadlifts or heavy shrugs. Other than that...lose them. Using them for 99% of lifting is like wearing weightlifting gloves. You might as well throw on some spandex and legwarmers.
Did anyone read my second post? I use them about once a month, just to establish muscles memory and then not again. Its a technique I have tried and has proven to work and actually improve my grip.
I ended up buying a pair today. Thanks for the help to those who offered links.
Dogmeat's post makes perfect sense to me. You guys are jumping all over Joshel like relgious fanatics without even answering his question.
There is nothing wrong with using straps when grip becomes a limiting factor in your workout. A lot of you say "oh, but your grip will improve if you don't use straps!" but it's not that simple. Yes if you use straps all the time it will limit your progress. But with proper application, they will facilitate progress.
For example, on my higher volume days i will initially deadlift without straps until later sets when my grip fatigues and I can't complete later sets without grip assistance.
Not using straps will further limit my deadlift volume WITHOUT increasing my grip strength (no, repeatedly lifting the bar and dropping it so the plates come crashing down from mid range in the middle of a set is not an acceptable nor safe workout method), and limit my overall progress.
It's the same thing as wearing a belt for PR's but not for normal training- there's nothing wrong with using supportive equipment at the right time.
BLASPEMER! BLASPHEMER!
I do not use straps... I use gloves though 'cause I don't like blisters in my hands - I like my hands nice and soft...
Am I gay now?
That would explain my fondness of bjj i guess...
"if your goal with an exercise like the deadlift is to improve back and lowerbody strength then how are straps cheating? Not everyone has suitable hands for gripping bars (long fingers are a big advantage) and a weak grip is a major limiting factor with stuff like deadlifts"
if you cant lift it with your hands then you probably shouldnt be lifting it. chalk is a whole different ballgame and sweaty hands is a big difference from a lack of grip strength
"If you can't lift it 100% RAW then you shouldn't be lifting it"
Re-reading my posts I find it hard to believe that anyone could take anything I said as "jumping all over Joshel". I'm pretty certain I was giving my opinion on the subject matter at hand as coridally as possible. As such I also feel I did answer his question, although it might not be the answer he was looking for it does offer another perspective on the matter at hand. I don't have an opinion as to what sites would be good for researching them as I don't use them myself, so it wouldn't be possible for me to recommend one.
I can only speak from personal experience. In giving up the use of straps I went from a 1.9x bw max deadlift to a 2.45x bw max deadlift in a span of 3 months. This works for me, and has done so very very well. I don't use straps for PR's either. If I can't lift it then I can't lift it and know I have some work to do.
With the improvments in my grip strength from not using straps, I also have no problem with my grip being limited in regards to volume training either. Simply because my grip strength has increased, it also doesn't fatigue as easily as it used to, and for the record I also have never been in a position where I'd be letting my weight just drop to the floor (from any height).
cheers.
1armed sissor, the male population is not made up of genetic clones, nor do we all follow identical lifestyles and training protocols with identical goals.
I'm not offended by the comments from people who don't use straps. Everyone has their different training routines. I for one don't use chalk at all or gloves, but of course understand why people do. Some people benefit from staps, others do not.
" 1armed sissor, the male population is not made up of genetic clones, nor do we all follow identical lifestyles and training protocols with identical goals." - HERTSWENIP
I'm not certain where I said any of the above. I'm simply stating that if you're reaching a point in your training where your
"grip becomes a limiting factor in your workout"-HERTSWENIP
then that should be giving you a sign that your grip is a weak area that needs improvement. One of the quickest/cheapest/easiest ways to do this in my experience has been to loose the straps. I personally wasn't satisfied to let my lack of grip strength continue to be a limiting factor in my workouts. Again, this worked very well for me. Perhaps it won't work well for someone else, perhaps it will.
I hope this clears up any confusion.
cheers.
1armedscissor: What I meant is that not everyone performs your workout, has your body, with your goals in mind. (your posts imply they do)
There are very few "one size fits all" principles in exercise, the use of straps is defintately not one.