If you are moving a great deal of weight with a front squat, you can use lifting straps to help with your strength and muscle gains. Front squats often are difficult because holding the bar in front of you at shoulder level can cause arm pain and because holding the weight in the front can compress your chest, making it more difficult to breathe and impacting your ability to perform a high number of repetitions. Lifting straps can help you alleviate such problems.
The Need
Advanced bodybuilders often use front squats because they work your quads harder than back squats do. When you perform a front squat, you hold the bar in front of you as opposed to behind your head on your shoulders. You can use the same grip as with a power clean, which is with your elbows held high and your palms down, though many lifters use the opposite grip with palms facing the ceiling. With either grip, at a certain point, your grip on the bar will fail before the leg muscles that you are working fail. That's where using lifting straps comes in, notes Robert Wolff, author of "Bodybuilding 101."
Strap Use
Hook or wrap your straps around the bar at shoulder-width, put your shoulders under the bar and grab your straps with your palms facing each other. Leaving less space between your hands and your bar as you grip is better, according to a 2006 edition of "Bigger Faster Stronger" magazine. The straps will allow you to keep the bar's weight on your shoulders and your elbows high. You can find straps in many materials, including cotton and nylon. Wide straps are often preferred by lifters because they don't dig into your skin as much. Some straps also come with hooks so that you don't need to wrap the strap around the bar each time you use it.
Alternatives
As an alternative to straps, you can use a front squat harness that fits over your shoulders and helps to hold the weight of the bar. You also can invest in a special set of shoulder pads that allow you to cross your arms in front of you to hold the bar.
Considerations
If you are not exceeding your ability to grip the bar during a front squat, you might want to hold off on using straps. That's because you are building your forearm strength. In fact, one of the best ways to build forearm strength is to work with progressively heavier weights, says Wolff. If you are using the straps, you need a spotter to help you place the bar onto a squat rack once you are done with your set, according to "Bigger Faster Stronger" magazine.
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