I had always been a believer that if you needed straps your grip was too weak.
but lately my back gains have gone way beyond my grip - it is as simple as that.
grip would ALWAYS fail first on back day. :mad:

So, lifting heavy on back day combined with bicep work and the direct fore arm training I was doing on other days, I have blasted my fore arms to the point where something had to give.
I have had almost constant forearm pain for a few weeks now, and my chiropractor told me to stop bicep and fore arm training for a while and either quit all back day "pull" training altogether, or use straps.

Today was BACK day and my first time using straps; it is amazing how helpful they are. :tucool:
I got more reps on everything and was able to up the weight on most things. clearly my grip was limiting my potential on "back" day.
I used the straps for everything from pull-ups to one arm DB rows and ofcourse deadlifts - basically - ALL pull movements.

Even with all the heavy lifting today, I felt no strain in my forearms at all (I was very consious of wraping the straps tight and being sure to concentrate on using a loose grip and letting the straps do their work.)
it takes a bit of practice to wrap a strap with one hand, but I had been practcing on a bar at home all day yesterday :p
the trick is to wrap loosely, and then use a "motorcycle rev" motion to tighten them up.
(I had considered hooks before I got the straps, but when I treid them at the store, they felt awkward, I tried several brands and it never felt good.)

Tried and tested straps are old school, but they work.) :tu:

once my grip/fore arm overtraining issue is healed, I will "limit" use of straps to heavy sets on back day, but the botom line is
- you can train your forearms/grip directly with isolation work very easily, so why limit heavy back compound lifting by trying to work forearms that way was well?

i think its time i try my straps again... just gotta go find them in my closet o doom!

I'm glad to see they worked for you. I've always used straps for back work. Why let your weaker forearm muscles limit the progress on your back?

i agree straps can surely help. I think they work best on dead lifts and shoulder shrugs. Especially the shoulder shrugs.

I don't want to rain on your parade... but I have to take the other side on this issue. :)

I would recommend anyone doing any type of pulling exercise NOT to use straps. For something like cleans or snatches I think they are useful to keep from killing yourself, but for shrugs, deads, pullups, etc. I think you are cheating yourself using straps.

your grip is a critical part of "the chain" in these exercises, and one of the great benefits of deadlifts or pull-ups is a good grip workout. Using an alternate grip (one hand over, one under) should give anyone enough grip to lift more than they think.

Schteevie, in your case I understand that you were having forearm pain (IMHO most likely from your curls rather than deads) but anyone starting out that thinks they need straps to do deads or pull-ups, just say no! If you don't ever start, you won't have a problem.

this opinion probably won't be very popular on a "straps=awesome" thread, but I'm just trying to give both sides... :tu:

If you only add the straps when your grip is limiting you, I think it's fine. For instance, I can do natural deads ok, because they come first. By the time I get to shrugs however I find myself giving up because of finger pain, not forearms.

I'm sure at this point using straps would be fine. Since I have already hammered my grip during deadlifts.

In short, no problem with them, but don't rely on a crutch like this all the time..

I got some straps and they helped alot, but I will keep in mind the grip thing. I may only use them on my last set when my fingers wanna let go.

IMO, straps are beneficial, but should not be used for every set, only when needed. IMO, the same goes for belts. I never use one because I think it does not let the stabilizer muscles do their job. Consequently, I don't use gloves either. I love the feeling of caluses on my hands and I think I can "feel" the poundages better than with gloves.

I only use straps when I crank it up on back days. I broke my wrist/hand and lost a knuckle. Straps add support and help my grip.

To each his own I guess. Good luck to all...