Are straps really necessary?

Like with a lot of sports, weightlifting's paraphernalia can start to add up, both in financial terms and the space required in your training bag! How much of it is actually essential and what can you do without?

Weirdly I get asked about lifting straps more than any other piece of kit. Weightlifting shoes, belts, tape, knee sleeves, knee wraps, wrist wraps, chalk… I’ve probably forgotten something… Bars, plates, collars, platforms etc etc and now in the post COVID world a lot of us have had to provide those for ourselves.

Yet still I get asked, which straps are best. When to use them and if they really make any difference.

Not all straps are created equal

If you’re new to the sport you may not realise that when you do a search for ‘lifting straps’ on Amazon or the like, you’ll first come across general training apparel. The straps have a wrist loop often with a nice squishy piece of foam to protect your wrist from fiction burn(?). Do not buy these. Mainly because they won’t behave the same when you need to bail a lift but also because if you are looking for comfort in this regard when training, lets just say this sport may not be for you…

Quick release

The main thing you need to look for in a lifting strap is that it releases quickly when you let go of it and the bar. That is to say that it should not stay looped around the bar and wrench your arm out of its socket. A decent lifting strap is simply a long piece of tough material, sometimes leather, and usually two ends are stitched together side by side or one on top of the other. Not much to it really but they have to be well manufactured to stand up to hard training.

I use the ones shown above (click image for direct link to purchase them - no I don’t get any money) and I also bought some from Lu Xiaojun Barbell which seem pretty good but I’ve not used much yet. I’m looking forward to trying these ones from Weightlifting House

So are they really needed or is it just another thing to spend money on?

I definitely think you need straps. You won’t use them every lift, or even every session but when you need to train and your hands are already torn, or you’ve got 5 x 5 heavy snatch pulls after already training for 90mins, you’ll be glad you bought them.

Here are a few ground rules…

  • DON’T use them for singles unless you’re hands are torn

  • You CAN’T count a PB done using straps (ok this is harsh but you can’t use them in competition so it stands to reason)

  • DO use them for hang work and complexes where your grip would otherwise be the limiting factor

  • USE THEM for pulls in most cases but do try to feel what your target weights will feel like every now and again without the straps

  • THINK about using them on an exercise if you want to save some strength for something else in the session