Powerlifters and Straps

[Dr Squat]

This was buried in SFS's log and I thought it warranted a thread of its own. The issue of training with straps when you are a powelifter.

My view is that you should use straps when you doing lats or even movements like shrugs or upright rows. I don't think this is soft but smart. Your grip will always fail before your lats and you are training your lats after all. The mentality that you will sacrifice grip strength is lame.

I don't use straps when I deadlift and my grip is more than adequate.

Interested in other views. To strap up or not?

[BarBrother]

I strap for rack pulls and sometimes at the end of a back and/or posterior chain workout.

Only do it when neccessary though.

[Old Bull]

Hey Doc,

agree with what you are saying, not soft but smart :clap:

Straps on Romanian's and depending on how my hands are Hook Grip, not to mashed up, I will finish sets off with Straps. Also if the bar is pretty smooth will definitely use straps.

[drizzt]

Or if people chuck talc in the chalk bowl, eh OB? :pfft:

I used them for deads when the calluses kept tearing, I didn't see the point in continuing to demolish my hands for the sake of being "hard", so have no issues with straps. And I'm very confident in my grip :nod:

I'll probably start bringing them in for heavier Barbell rows and things, hands get enough of a beating from deadlift and I think that is all the training they need.

[Wyldfyre]

Agree with OP, I believe there are two types of exercises in the gym; moving a given mass through space e.g. squats, deadlifts, bench, standing press and the olympic lifts, and there are exercises done for the purpose of working and building muscle. An example of the latter is the lat pulldown (pun). The movement is about working the lats, not moving weight. For this reason grip strength also becomes irrelevant.

[Old Bull]

Or if people chuck talc in the chalk bowl, eh OB? :pfft:

That's exactly right too Bro, clowns :evil:

Got the No Baby Powder sign up now :clap:

[Big john]

Hey Doc,

agree with what you are saying, not soft but smart :clap:

+1 to this...i like the train smarter, not harder approach. which is way ive added straps into the arsenal for lat/row movements.

Accouple of reasons as to why i dont use them for any particular deadlift movement.

* my grip gets accustomed to the heavier loads with out them

* i hate any form of Double over hand as it changes my whole lift/bar path

* single loop straps tend to alter the grip around the bar, making it thicker/uneven

* if i use the single loops for OH/UH its feels wonkey as hell

not sure howd the double looped ones i got would go for deads