To strap, or not to strap

[Leancuisine]

Hello everyone!
Who uses straps to grip the bar for them?
I've gone through the motions with this.
When I first started I used straps for everything, until my senior year of high school. I was 183lbs and could deadlift 405 without straps a handful of times.
Now I'm about 207, and my mindset is - if my grip fails before the muscle being worked fails, I should use straps - but I feel like a bitch not being able to hold 405

Who uses straps??
For those that don't, how did you Rev up your grip strength?

 

[insaiyan93]

I used to use straps on everything, now in limit strap use to basically just heavy shrugs cause you rely gotta hold onto those for a good little minute. I didn't really do anything in particular, I just kind of stopped using them. On deads and stuff stop and take a couple seconds to reset your grip at the bottom, it hurts like a bitch but there will come a point where you'll justbstop.feeling it.

 

[Leancuisine]

Yeah I reached that point where I really stopped feeling it. I really gotta bang it out to get anywhere.
Oh wait... are we still talking about grip strength??

 

[Perrin Aybara]

I never used them starting out and grip has never been an issue for me. Never failed a deadlift because of it.

If I was you I would do some of the following:

Use double overhand grip as much as possible before switching to mixed grip for heavy sets.

You could hold the last rep for a certain count.

Set up a loaded barbell in the power rack where you can just pick it up with a very short ROM and do sets for time. This would be less taxing than full deads and could be done on other days.

I don't have any experience with any of these except the double overhand one, but it's what I would do if my grip ever became an issue. I believe progress on this stuff usually comes along pretty fast.

 

[TANGO.ECHO.KILO]

never...

unless maybe you are a monster and focusing on really heavy /high rep isolation work for back like seated row or something. I understand why guys use them, but as far as deads no never

 

[achilles87]

I have been using hooks, my elbow has been giving me some problems. I can't grip for shit with my left hand it would hurt so bad, it's better now so I don't really use them anymore.

 

[NovaFlex]

I've broken both hands multiple times, so I use them on heavy lifts. I'm not going to sacrifice my workout just to not look 'weak'. I can barely grip 250+ raw for DL's, but can hit 405 no prob with wraps.

 

[RodgerThat]

I'm 185lb and grip will never be an issue for me I only use straps on heavy shrugs and heavy rack pulls otherwise everything else is strapless. If you are worried about grip strength Ed Coan the greatest powerlifter ever has some good YouTube videos on how to increase grip strength. But not using straps is the start. double overhand grip until you can't then chalk it up and double overhand grip until you can't again then last set of deadlifts do a static hold at the top and like Mahommed Ali says don't start counting until you want to give up because those are the seconds that matter.

 

[Leancuisine]

I never used them starting out and grip has never been an issue for me. Never failed a deadlift because of it.

If I was you I would do some of the following:

Use double overhand grip as much as possible before switching to mixed grip for heavy sets.

You could hold the last rep for a certain count.

Set up a loaded barbell in the power rack where you can just pick it up with a very short ROM and do sets for time. This would be less taxing than full deads and could be done on other days.

I don't have any experience with any of these except the double overhand one, but it's what I would do if my grip ever became an issue. I believe progress on this stuff usually comes along pretty fast.

Yeah this is what I usually do. Grip is never an issue on back exercises. And I can get 25 pullups for a few sets easy with no straps, it's just the deads that fail me. On the 8th rep or so of 315 it starts to give out.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

Yeah this is what I usually do. Grip is never an issue on back exercises. And I can get 25 pullups for a few sets easy with no straps, it's just the deads that fail me. On the 8th rep or so of 315 it starts to give out.

Do you use mixed grip and chalk when you go heavy?

 

[Leancuisine]

Do you use mixed grip and chalk when you go heavy?

Double overhand on 315. Mixed grip on anything over that. Going to have to get some chalk this week.

 

[Perrin Aybara]

Chalk will make a huge difference. If you have an outdoors type store nearby the rock climbing chalk is the same thing and much cheaper than the kind marketed as gym chalk.

 

[Leancuisine]

Yeah I used to use chalk all the time at my old gyms on cleans but nothing else really.
In my new hometown I can't even find a gym with bumper plates to do cleans

 

[Perrin Aybara]

My gym only has a few. Two 55's, two 45's, two 25's and two 10's. I don't like the 55's because they throw off my plate math, but I always use the 45's with deads.

 

[RodgerThat]

My gym only has a few. Two 55's, two 45's, two 25's and two 10's. I don't like the 55's because they throw off my plate math, but I always use the 45's with deads.

Omg I hate 55s what a devil that is, don't ask me how to write an essay cause I can't but I can count by 45s real well lol

 

[Perrin Aybara]

Omg I hate 55s what a devil that is, don't ask me how to write an essay cause I can't but I can count by 45s real well lol

Right, I know 45 plate math real well, too. Nothing makes sense with those. It could weigh the same, but like the bro science guy would say, the one with 45's is heavier.

 

[lightspan]

Hand injuries - Severed my FDS in my left pinky years ago, broke right hand in several places. Straps are essential, I cant hold on to shit after 315.

 

[NovaFlex]

Hand injuries - Severed my FDS in my left pinky years ago, broke right hand in several places. Straps are essential, I cant hold on to shit after 315.

I'm in the same damn position. Straps have literally saved my workouts.

 

[Nat2Syn]

I always wondered why my back was slow to gain, when I started using straps my back blew up because I was able to go heavier and more controlled reps.

If your goal is to build muscle don't allow grip to be a factor. Use straps.

 

[Ozzy619]

If you have permanent injuries, tennis elbow or tendinitis I don't see the problem. I personally do everything raw.