Lifting weights places a lot of stress on your muscles and bones, but that's not all. Many people fail to take into consideration the risks involved if and when your hands slip from their grip on the weights. On certain lifts, this can be dangerous and even life-threatening -- the bench-press lift is performed by lifting the bar and weights directly above your shoulders, neck and head, which puts the weight in a dangerous position. If you are concerned about keeping a strong grip on the bar when lifting, use wrist straps to improve your hold. These cloth straps feature a loop at one end and are wrapped around the wrists and the bar.
Benefits
Wrist straps offer an improvement in your ability to grip the bar. The coarse surface of wrist straps makes it less likely that they will slip in your hands when you get sweaty. Metal bars, by contrast, get more slippery as your workout session goes on. Wrist straps also place more stress on the wrist and forearm of your arms, and some lifters use these straps to better develop these locations and build muscle mass.
Risks
Wrist straps do occasionally snap during a lift, and this can have severe consequences for individuals who aren't prepared for this situation. Breakage is most common on lifts where the strap is used to pull the bar and weights up against gravity -- this is also because these types of lifts, including dead-weight lifts, often feature the most weight.
Use
Wrist straps are used by placing a loop of the strap around your wrist and then bringing it around the lifting bar. The second, remaining loop should then be wrapped tightly around the underside of the bar and brought around so that it fits easily under your fingers. Grab the bar and the strap and tighten your grip -- you will also feel the strap around your wrist tighten.
Suggested Lifts
If you plan on using wrist straps to benefit your lifting, most deadlifts and lifts that involve pulling the bar can benefit from wrist straps. This includes the squat, shoulder press and rack clean. Lifts where the bar is pushed or pressed typically do not require wrist straps, and some lifters mock those who use the straps for these lifts, according to Bodybuilding.com.
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