USE YOUR STRAPS and WORK FOREARMS. END of STORY!

[louden_swain]

I find it funny how many people play the macho man and say they never ever use straps. . . .good for you.

I am still deadlifting and pulling more than the majority of these people with or without straps.

Use them if your grip is the weak link. . I am not going to make my lats suffer because of a weak grip.

Its amazing how these macho SOBs. . . brag about not using straps. . . . but their back development blows more than the victim in the Kobe Bryant case.

 

[punch]

Amen Louden.

 

[PolishHammer1977]

rofl @ Loudin

 

[Debaser]

I laugh every time I hear people say not to use straps. WHY? If your doing forearms as you should be you are getting plenty of grip and forearm work.

My workout partner and I had this argument last year. He never used straps and did little forearm work, so I challenged him. We did bent over barbell rows. Me w/straps and him w/ out at 225 he only got 6 reps, I got 15, His back did not give out, his grip did.

Also my forearms are twice as big as his. The moral of the story is: Use your straps and concentrate on the movement at hand, not your grip. Do your forearms twice to three times a week( it should only take 15 min). Keep it real boys!!

1. Training forearms does not necessarily mean you are training your grip. Wrist curls, hammer curls etc do little for grip strength.

2. If you're friend's grip gave out, obviously his grip was weak. 225 lbs is NOT a lot of weight to have to be able to hold onto. He should not have been arguing with you if he didn't have a strong grip to back up his wager.

3. Forearm size is a very hard thing to compare to someone elses. Many factors such as arm length, wrist size, as well as height and weight go into this before training even enters the picture. I know guys with enormous forearms that have never even touched a weight. If you two are the same height and weight (are you?) than if your forearms are bigger to THAT degree (twice as big, whatever you mean by that) it's probably not merely a result of how you trained them.

4. I train for bodybuilding as well as strength. I believe that straps are a crutch. This may be somewhat hypocritical as I still use them sometimes, but that's only until my grip catches up with me (which I am assuredly training) because I have ignored it often in the past. To me part of the mystique of bodybuilding and strength training is almost pure machismo. I want to grip cold hard iron and lift it with my bare hands, wrather than wrapping some grip aid around it and having it assist me.

 

[PolishHammer1977]

The only time I have ever respected the use of straps is;

Strongman Pat McGettigan partial deadlifting 970.

 

[bignate73]

i love the phrase..."i dont want this to suffer because this is weak..."

1st....whats the rush?

2nd....isnt that why its called training?

3rd....dont powerlifters train weaknesses to improve the overall movement? they seem to be pretty thick to me.....call me crazy but maybe they are on to something.

4th....if you arent focusing on the movement your form will suck anyways. there is no "really concentrating on my back" either you are using your back or you arent. if you are using your arms more for the movement, the path of the bar/ROM will be different.

5th....as debaser said, grip strenght and doing some wrist curls are a different thing.

6th....compound movements like rows and pulldowns are bound to get strong quickly due to the numerous muscles involved, but by adding the crutch, you further the gap.

next we are going to see people doing exclusively heavy pec deck flyes because their triceps are too weak for a bench press.

maybe im a little too simple in my thinking. its just my opinion and the value i place on well rounded training. that is all.

 

[punch]

Everyone has a valid point. We have to differntiate however, those of us training as a PL and those as a BB. Grip strength for me, is a very nominal benefit I associate w/ lifting. You dont see grip strength, you see forearm developement. I wrist curl a LOT of wieght both reverse for uppers and on a bench rolling bar down to fingertips for the belly. I dont want to think about the ancillary benefits of a movement, I want to concentrate on the target muscle and thats it. Its all individual.

 

[sk*]

IMO, it depends on your goals. Personally, I have never used them and don't think I ever will.

-sk

 

[PolishHammer1977]

I would like to shake a lot of hands here to find out what the grip is like.

Strap wearers that is.

Carry on......................

 

[Citruscide]

I use them when I have to... if I don't need them, I don't wear them.

I've been using them on my heavier lifts for a while now... I have a nagging right wrist injury in the lateral ligaments of my wrist... it really hurts my grip on many exercises... my left is fine, but that doesn't do much if my right is dropping shit.

Basically, I worry about my own workouts and what I need to do to make them better... I don't compete in competitions, so I can use just about any instrument I want to without worrying if it is going to hinder my lifts later on. If more people worried more about thier OWN workouts rather than everyone elses... well, I guess nothing would change for me, because I'd still only care what was going on with MY workouts, and not others (My clients aside... of course).

C-ditty