How to Use Weight Lifting Straps Without Looking Like a Beginner

You’re staring at a heavy barbell. It’s deadlift day, your back feels like it could move a house, but your hands? They’re done. Sweaty, cramped, and slipping. This is the exact moment most people realize they need to learn how to use weight lifting straps. Honestly, there is nothing more frustrating than having the leg strength to pull a personal record but losing the lift because your grip gave out at the knees. It’s a literal bottleneck for your gains.

Straps aren't cheating. Some old-school purists might tell you that if you can't hold it, you shouldn't lift it, but that's kinda narrow-minded. If your goal is hypertrophy or specific posterior chain strength, your grip shouldn't be the thing holding your hamstrings back.

What Most People Get Wrong About Lifting Straps

First off, let's clear up the confusion. A strap is basically just a piece of nylon, leather, or cotton that tethers your wrist to the bar. But if you wrap it wrong, it’s useless—or worse, it becomes a tripping hazard for the bar.

Most beginners try to "lasso" the bar like they’re catching a calf. They loop it over once and hope for the best. Big mistake. If the tension isn't pulling against the direction of your fingers, the strap will just slide. You want the tail of the strap to go under the bar and then wrap back toward you. Think of it like a winch.

There are actually three main types of straps you’ll see at the gym:

• Lasso Straps: These are the most common. They have a loop at one end that you feed the tail through. They're great for security but can be a bit clunky to get off quickly.
• Figure-8 Straps: These look like two circles joined together. You put your wrist through one, go under the bar, and put your wrist through the other. These are the gold standard for max-effort deadlifts because you literally cannot drop the bar.
• Closed Loop (Olympic) Straps: These are short and simple. They allow for a quick release, which is essential if you’re doing snatches and need to ditch the bar so it doesn't break your wrists.

Setting the Foundation: The Lasso Method

Since about 90% of you are probably using lasso straps, let's talk about the mechanics.

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Slide your hand through the loop. The "tail" of the strap should be lying flat against your palm, running in the same direction as your thumb. If it's hanging off the back of your wrist, you’ve put it on backward. Fix it.

Now, approach the bar. Place your hand on the steel. Reach under the bar with your other hand to grab the tail and wrap it around the bar once or twice. Here’s the "pro" move: don’t overlap the strap on itself. If you wrap the strap over the previous layer, it creates a thick, unstable lump. Wrap it in a neat spiral. Once it's around, use your hand to "rev" the bar like a motorcycle handle. This tightens the slack and cinches your wrist right up against the knurling.

Why Your Grip Fails (And Why Straps Help)

It’s simple physiology. Your forearm muscles are tiny compared to your glutes and lats. According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, using straps can significantly increase the number of reps performed in a set of heavy pulls. This is because you’re removing the neural "stop" that happens when your brain senses your grip is failing.

When your hand starts to open, your brain sends a signal to the rest of your body to stop pushing so hard. It’s a safety mechanism. By using how to use weight lifting straps correctly, you bypass that signal. You’re telling your CNS, "The bar is secure, go ahead and blast the lats."

The "Crutch" Argument

Is it possible to over-use them? Yeah, totally.

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If you use straps for every single set—including your warm-ups with the empty bar—your grip strength will eventually resemble that of a wet noodle. You’ve gotta be smart. A good rule of thumb is to do all your warm-up sets "raw." Once you hit about 80% of your max, or once your form starts breaking down specifically because the bar is sliding, that’s when you reach into the gym bag.

Real-World Tips for Different Lifts

You don't just use straps for deadlifts. They are a game-changer for several movements where the goal is muscle isolation.

1. Dumbbell Rows: Ever noticed your forearm burns more than your back? Use straps. You’ll be able to focus entirely on pulling your elbow back rather than squeezing the life out of the handle.
2. Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): Since RDLs involve a long time under tension, your grip usually gives out way before your hamstrings do. Straps are almost mandatory here for high-volume work.
3. Lat Pulldowns: This is controversial. Some say you don't need them. But if you're trying to really feel that mind-muscle connection in your lats, removing the "grip" element can help you use your hands as hooks rather than active squeezers.

Leather vs. Nylon vs. Cotton

What should you buy?

Cotton is cheap and comfortable. It absorbs sweat, which is nice, but it stretches over time. It can also fray if you’re using it on aggressive knurling.

Nylon is nearly indestructible. It’s what most commercial gyms have. The downside? It can be slick. If your hands are really sweaty, nylon can sometimes slide against the bar unless you use chalk. It also tends to "bite" into the wrists more, which some people hate.

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Leather is the premium choice. Once broken in, leather straps mold to the shape of your wrist and the bar. They have a natural "tackiness" that grips the steel incredibly well. Expert lifters often swear by brand-name leather options like those from IronMind or Schiek.

Common Mistakes That Kill Your Progress

Don't be the person who spends three minutes wrapping their hands while their training partner waits. It should take five seconds.

One major error is wrapping too many times. You aren't mummifying the bar. Two wraps are usually plenty. Any more and you're just making the grip diameter so thick that it's actually harder to hold.

Another mistake? Not using chalk with straps. It sounds redundant, but a little bit of chalk on your palms before you wrap up prevents the strap from sliding against your skin. This prevents those nasty "strap burns" that look like you've been in a tug-of-war accident.

Step-by-Step Action Plan

Ready to put this into practice? Follow this workflow next time you hit the gym:

1. Check your orientation. Ensure the strap tail follows the line of your thumb.
2. Go under, not over. Always wrap the tail under the bar first.
3. The Motorcycle Rev. Once wrapped, twist the bar toward you to kill the slack.
4. Save them for the "Work Sets." Only pull the straps out when the weight is heavy enough to actually challenge your grip.
5. Wash them. Seriously. Nylon and cotton straps hold bacteria and start to smell like a locker room if you don't toss them in the laundry every few weeks. Just air dry them so they don't shrink.

Using straps is about efficiency. If you're training for a Powerlifting meet, you need to practice your competition grip (mixed or hook grip) without straps. But for literally everyone else—bodybuilders, casual lifters, and athletes—learning how to use weight lifting straps is the fastest way to add 20–50 pounds to your heavy pulling movements overnight.

Grab a pair of lasso straps. Start with your heavy sets of rows or RDLs this week. Focus on the muscle you're actually trying to hit. You'll find that when you stop worrying about the bar slipping, your intensity goes through the roof.