I have debated countless times with my training partners,
coaches, clients and fellow muscle enthusiasts about the use of equipment such
as wrist wraps, wrist straps and chalk for grip assistance in the gym.
It seems
as though most people either totally support the use of such tools or totally
oppose it. I'm of the school of thought that these devices can greatly improve
performance in the gym which can result in overall strength and size increases
as long as they are not overused.
Overuse of wrist wraps, wrist straps and gym
chalk can actually reduce performance and allow the athlete to develop a crutch
and depend on them for maximal performance.
Story Time: Wrist Straps and the Man with the Tiny Forearms
When I was just starting out as a young bodybuilder, I would
always see this one fella working out wearing wrist straps, seemingly to improve
his grip, thus increasing the amount of weight he could handle.
But I always
found it strange that he would wear his wrist straps when performing curls,
triceps press downs and shoulder presses. He would actually securely wrap the
straps around the barbell or dumbbell he was using and perform his exercise; on
every set, even warmups.
Typically I wouldn't pay attention to lifters that did weird
things in the gym. But this guy had a physique that was admirable. His back was
wide, his shoulders were broad, his thighs were thick and he was lean.
But one
day I got a look at his forearms and I nearly fell on the floor. They were
tiny. They looked like spindles attached to the slabs of meat that made up his upper arms.
I later learned that this guy was a personal trainer at the
gym where I primarily lifted. I had the opportunity to sit in on a rather
heated debate regarding his use of wrist straps and his puny forearms.
The
exchange had been between the gym's head trainer, a random lifter and Mr.
Forearms himself.
The man with the tiny forearms argued that his use of wrist
straps resulted in his ability to row big weight, pull heavy iron off the floor
and maintain his grip while performing heavy shrugs.
No doubt that contributed
to his impressive muscularity, but the primary discussion point was that the
man probably couldn't handle any kind of weight without using his wrist straps.
"What's the point?" Sir Noodle argued. "My objective is to grow,
that is all. I don't care about grip strength."
One look at his forearms proved that he gave no love to his
grip or anything that resembled an exercise to improve it.
That was the first of many conversations that I participated
in as a young bodybuilder regarding the use of wrist straps. Since then I have
remained judicious in my use of wrist straps.
When to Use Wrist Straps
No matter what the primary objective to a workout program
is, wrist straps can play a major role in enhancing gym performance that can
result in greater overall strength and muscle mass increases. Our friend from
the land of small forearms was partially correct in his argument about his use
of wrist straps.
They allowed him to move heavier weight than he would have
been able to otherwise. By using his wrist straps on his heaviest working sets
of deadlifts, rows and shrugs, he placed greater stress on his targeted muscle
groups and stimulated his central nervous system. This resulted in greater
overall increases in strength and muscle hypertrophy.
As a general recommendation, wrist straps should be used in
the following circumstances:
- Heaviest working sets of deadlifts, rows, shrugs and assistance work such as rack pulls.
- When performing sets only after the grip is exhausted but there is plenty of strength left in the tank.
- When performing exercises that lack of grip strength prohibits such as pullups.
Of course the standard recommendation is to improve overall
grip and hand strength so as to improve the ability to hold on to big weights
in the gym. My personal experience and limited use of wrist straps resulted in
my grip strength exceeding that of several of my training partners, despite not
being the overall strongest of the group.
My forearm size and density also
benefited and I was proud to carry around a pretty meaty set of muscles on my
lower arms.
However, I was not embarrassed to use wrist straps when I
felt I needed them to annihilate some heavy iron. The carryover effect resulted
in big strength and muscle gains. I was able to hold on to approximately 10
percent more weight on my heaviest sets when using wrist wraps.
That may not
seem like a lot, but for someone who's grip strength keeps him or her back,
that increase can turn a 200 lb. row without wrist straps in to a 220 lb. row
with wrist straps. That twenty lb. increase over the course of eight reps for
several sets can result in big improvements in muscle size and strength.
Because the muscles of the lower back and core are generally stronger than the
muscles of the hands and forearms, the exercise will most likely be able to be
performed with proper form and technique.
Using wrist straps judiciously can have a huge impact on a
person's performance in the gym which can carry over to noticeable increases in
overall strength and muscularity. But as our friend with with petite forearms
can attest, overuse of such assistance equipment can be detrimental to muscular
growth and development.
A sound training regimen should include the use of grip
building exercises to improve raw performance both in the gym and in
competition. However, assistance equipment such as wrist straps should complement
other tools to enhance performance in the gym for a greater carryover effect
for total strength and muscle development.
Get your wrist straps here.
Get your wrist straps here.
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