Hand grips and wrist straps are both integral parts of weight training because of the utility and benefits they both have. Depending on the goals of your current training program, you might prefer to use one over the other. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, developing hand and wrist strength can help prevent injuries from dropping weights or heavy objects and prevent debilitating conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, by increasing blood flow to the affected area.
Hand Grip
Typical hand grip equipment requires you to squeeze a V-shaped object that gives you slight resistance. Squeezing these hand grips can improve every muscle in the hand as well as the flexors in the wrist and forearm. Unlike wrist straps, your grip strength will improve considerably as you increase the tension of the hand grip. Hand grips are safe to use and anyone from children to the elderly can benefit from the squeezing action of hand grips.
When to Use Hand Grips
Hand grips improve the total strength of gripping, which can be beneficial if you hold heavy objects when you exercise or use them for duties particular to your occupation. Hand grips can be used by baseball players to improve their bat grip and ball handling, for example. A golfer may use hand grips to improve their grip on their golf club. Mechanics and engineers, who work with tools often, can also benefit from hand grips to improve their grip strength and prevent dropping tools.
Wrist Straps
Wrist straps are straps that are wrapped around your wrists and then around an object, such as a barbell, in order to prevent a drop or slip. According to the American Council on Exercise, wrist straps take much of the burden off your hands and forearms and let you complete the exercise while you focus on the larger muscles involved. Wrists straps should be used with extreme caution since improper use can result in injury to the wrist, forearms, arms and shoulders. Wrist straps should be used with supervision and tied in a way that they can easily be removed in case of an accident.
When to Use Wrist Straps
An example would be using wrist straps to perform a heavy barbell shrug. Performing a heavy barbell shrug may cause your grip and forearms to give out well before your shoulders do. Using hand grips can help improve grip strength enough, but eventually the weight gets so heavy that your hands simply cannot bear the weight. Wrists straps can be tied onto the barbell allowing you to focus on shrugging without taxing your wrists, hands and forearms. Many power lifters and bodybuilders use wrists straps for this reason. Wrists straps can also be used if you have arthritis or find it hard to clench your fist with enough force to grip a piece of equipment.
References
- "American Council on Exercise Personal Trainers Manual"; Cedric X. Bryant; 2003
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2010
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