Lifting Straps - How to Use

Heavy weight lifting exercises such as dead lifts, shrugs, cable rows etc. require a very powerful grip. These weight lifting exercises involve lifting a barbell with weighted objects at both the ends. Normally, a person lifts the bar by gripping his hands around the bar. It is common for the weight lifters to dust talc or some resinous materials on their hand before attempting to lift weight. The purpose of applying such materials, is to enhance the grip on the bar. Thus, a proper grip plays a very important role in weight training. If the grip is not proper, your ability to lift desired amount of weight reduces drastically. This is where weight lifting wrist straps come into picture.

Lifting Straps - Why to Use

As mentioned before, lift straps enhance your grip and give you maximum strength to lift the weights. Using lifting straps, you can easily lift a desired amount of weight. Lifting straps help in better utilization of muscle strength. Some people think that weight lifting straps affect the grip strength and forearm muscles. But this is not true. This effect is negligible when you take into account their role in strengthening total muscle mass and working lats and back. Moreover, simple forearm exercises in your daily life can help you enhance your grip and work your forearms. This will eliminate the potential negative effect of weight lifting straps. Additionally, they also prevent any possibility of injuries due to incorrect grip. Once you get hold of how to use lifting straps, they make your exercising very comfortable and effective. You can also use padded lifting straps that are designed mainly for additional comfort.

Lifting Straps - How to Use

Weight lifting straps are basically a strip of very strong fabric such as cotton, nylon, leather or suede. These lift straps have a loop at one end, through which you put your hand. Here is a step by step instruction set on how to use lifting straps.

• First, put your hand through the loop at the end of the long lifting strap.
• Now, pull the tail of the strap and tighten it around your wrist.
• Wrap this tail around the bar or handle of the weight you desire to lift. However, make sure you don't overlap it or tie it in a knot.
• Now hold this wrapped tail, along with the bar or the handle of the weight you desire to lift. Clasp your hands in a tight grip around this bar.
• Perform the weight lifting workout or back exercises, as you would normally do.
• While putting the weight down, release your grip from around the bar, the tail will unwrap on its own.

This was all about lifting straps, how to use them. If you are a beginner, you better use lifting straps under the guidance of your gym instructor. He will instruct you exactly on how to use lifting straps for their maximum efficiency. You can then practice on your own and enjoy the myriad benefits of lifting straps. You can buy lifting straps from any sports equipment shop or you can even order them online. They cost about 15-20 bucks and are truly their worth.