How to Use Lifting Straps the Right Way | Combat Fitness
How to Use Lifting Straps: Types, Technique & When to Use Them
Learning how to use lifting straps comes down to one idea: your grip should not decide when your back and legs stop working. On heavy deadlifts, rows, and shrugs, your forearms tire before your posterior chain does, and the set ends early. In our tactical fitness programs, we treat straps as a targeted tool for heavy pulling volume, not something you wear for every set.
Below are the four strap types, a step-by-step wrapping method, guidance for each lift, and an honest answer on whether straps weaken your grip. That last question matters because the Army deadlift test is pulled bare-handed.
Key Takeaways:
Lifting straps move the load from your fingers to your wrists, so the target muscle reaches fatigue before your grip does.
Deadlift research shows straps preserve grip strength, raise bar speed, and lower perceived effort across multiple sets.
Use straps on heavy or high-volume pulling sets. Skip them on warm-ups, lighter work, and anything meant to build grip.
Straps only weaken your grip if you stop training it. Keep dedicated strap-free grip work in every week.
What Are Lifting Straps For, and How Do They Work?
Lifting straps are strips of cotton, nylon, or leather that loop around your wrist and wrap the bar, letting you hold heavier loads for longer. They exist because on pulling exercises, your grip often fails before the muscles you are trying to train.
That is the core logic behind how to use weight lifting straps well. At 90% of max, your hamstrings and glutes may have reps left while your fingers are already opening. A 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that strapped deadlift sets produced 20 to 28% more force than strapless sets. The authors concluded that straps increase the work done by the target muscles. A separate study found that straps shift the deadlift’s entire load-velocity profile: faster bar speed at any load and a higher one-rep max.
For tactical athletes, pulling strength is job strength. Casualty drags, wall climbs, and litter carries all start with the hinge and the row. That is why functional strength for military performance is built on heavy pulling, and straps let you load those patterns hard enough to drive adaptation.
What Are the Different Types of Lifting Straps?
Lifting straps come in four designs: loop (lasso), closed-loop, figure-8, and Olympic (single-tail). Each one trades security against how quickly you can let go of the bar. Choose by lift and by how fast you may need to bail out.
Loop / lasso: The tail threads through a sewn loop, then wraps the bar. Security is high and release speed is moderate. Best for deadlifts, rows, shrugs, and general pulling.
Closed-loop: One continuous sewn loop goes around the wrist and the bar. Security is high and release speed is moderate. Best for fast setup on rows, pulldowns, and dumbbell work.
Figure-8: Two loops form a figure-8, and the bar passes through the lower loop. Security is the highest of any type, but release is slow. Best for max-effort deadlifts, shrugs, and rack pulls.
Olympic / single-tail: A short tail wraps the bar about once. Security is moderate and release is fast. Best for snatches, cleans, and high pulls.
The lasso strap is the default for most lifters. If you are wondering how to use loop lifting straps, the method in the next section applies directly. Closed-loop straps work the same way with less setup.
Figure-8 straps lock you to the bar more firmly than any other design. That is both the advantage and the risk, because you cannot drop the bar quickly. Keep them for strict pulls, never Olympic lifts.
How to Use Lifting Straps Correctly, Step by Step
To use lifting straps correctly, run the tail along your palm and wrap it around the bar in the direction your fingers close. Then grip over it and roll the bar toward you to cinch it. Here is the full sequence for a lasso strap:
Form the loop. Feed the tail through the sewn eyelet.
Set the tail on the correct side. Slide your hand through the loop so the tail runs down your palm and exits beside your thumb.
Seat the loop just above the wrist crease, snug but not cutting off circulation.
Wrap the bar. Pass the tail around the bar in the same direction your fingers curl, so the strap sits between your palm and the bar. One to one and a half wraps is enough. More wraps make the bar thicker and harder to hold.
Cinch it. Grip the bar over the strap and roll the bar toward you until the strap pulls tight. Repeat on the other hand.
Set up and pull, and keep squeezing the bar. Straps assist your grip; they do not replace it.
Three errors come up most often:
Wrapping in the wrong direction, so the strap loosens as you pull.
Wrapping too many times, which thickens the bar.
Leaving slack before the first rep, which lets the bar drop as the strap takes the load and breaks your setup.
How to Use Figure 8 Lifting Straps
Put one hand through the top loop of the figure-8, pass the lower loop under the bar and back up, then put the same hand through the lower loop. Grip the bar between the two loops. You cannot open your hand to release the bar, so lower it to the floor or rack to get out.
How to Use Olympic Lifting Straps
Olympic straps go on like a lasso strap but wrap the bar about once. Your grip holds the tail in place, so opening your hand frees the bar. That fast release is what you need on a failed snatch or clean.
When Should You Use Lifting Straps (and When Not To)?
Use lifting straps when your grip would end a set before the target muscle reaches the intended effort. That usually means heavy pulls above about 80% of max, high-volume back work, and the last sets of a session. Skip them on warm-ups, lighter sets, and any work meant to build grip.
Knowing how to use straps when lifting is mostly judgment. Good uses:
Top sets and back-off sets of deadlifts, rack pulls, and RDLs
Heavy barbell and dumbbell rows where your lats outlast your hands
Shrugs, where loads quickly exceed what most people can hold
Times to leave them in your bag:
Warm-up sets, which give your grip free training volume
Dedicated grip, carry, and hang work
Practice for any test you must pull bare-handed
Army testing guidance does not allow lifting aids that give an unfair advantage, so the 3-Repetition Maximum Deadlift is pulled with your own grip. If you strap every heavy hinge, your back may be ready on test day while your hands are not.
Straps are a programming decision, not a gear decision. Check whether any plan you follow says when to strap and when to train grip directly. The guide on choosing a strength & endurance program covers what a well-built plan should include.
How to Use Lifting Straps for Deadlifts, Rows, and Pull-Ups
If you are fitting straps into a strength workout for athletes, use them where grip is the limiter and nowhere else.
Deadlift
To use lifting straps for the deadlift, strap both hands in a double overhand grip, take out all the slack, then set your hips and brace as usual. Straps let you skip the mixed grip, which keeps your shoulders and bar path even. Studies in both men and women show strapped sets preserve grip strength, and the 2023 study in women found more reps with no loss of bar speed. The same rules apply on the hex bar: strap your heavy training sets, but pull your test-prep sets bare-handed.
Rows and Shrugs
Barbell rows, chest-supported rows, and shrugs are where straps do the most for upper-back size and strength. Wrap tight and drive the elbows so the strap holds the load, not your forearms.
Lat Pulldown
Straps on the lat pulldown are optional. A 2021 study in trained men found no difference in one-rep max, reps at 70% of max, or lat activation with straps, likely because pulldown loads rarely tax grip. Strap up only when high-rep sets wear out your forearms before your lats.
Pull-Ups
For pull-ups, straps help on weighted and high-volume sets once your grip fades. Do your test-standard and max-rep pull-ups strapless, because the standard measures your own grip.
Lifting Straps vs. Wrist Straps: What Is the Difference?
Lifting straps attach your hands to the bar to support your grip. Wrist wraps wind around the wrist joint only, limiting how far it bends under heavy pressing loads. They solve different problems and are not interchangeable.
Many lifters search for how to use wrist straps for lifting when they mean standard lifting straps, because the loop sits on the wrist.
Lifting straps:
Purpose: Assist grip on pulling lifts.
Attaches to the bar: Yes.
Typical lifts: Deadlifts, rows, shrugs, pull-ups.
Material: Cotton, nylon, or leather.
Main benefit: More pulling volume before your grip fails.
Wrist wraps:
Purpose: Stabilize the wrist joint.
Attaches to the bar: No.
Typical lifts: Bench press, overhead press, front squats.
Material: Elastic cotton blend.
Main benefit: Less wrist extension under load.
If you are learning how to use lifting wrist straps for pulls, follow the steps above. If your wrists bend back under a heavy press, you need wraps or a more stacked wrist position.
Do Lifting Straps Weaken Your Grip?
Lifting straps do not weaken your grip on their own. They weaken it only when they replace grip training instead of adding to it. A 2026 review in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance found no scientific evidence yet on the long-term effects of strap use. So the answer depends on how you program them.
The short-term data favor straps. The 2021 deadlift study found less grip fatigue and faster grip recovery after strapped sets.
So are lifting straps a crutch? Only if you lean on them everywhere. Large population studies link a stronger grip to better long-term health, and in the field your hands hold the litter, the rope, and the rifle. Our rules for keeping lifting straps and grip strength in balance:
Pull every warm-up set strapless.
Go strapless on working sets until grip becomes the limiter, then strap up.
Program direct grip work two to three times a week, such as dead hangs, thick-bar holds, and loaded carries.
Practice the hook grip on lighter pulls if you lift from the floor often.
Loaded carries are the most efficient fix. The farmer’s carry trains crushing grip, trunk stability, and work capacity in one movement, which is exactly what straps take away.
How to Choose the Best Lifting Straps
The best lifting straps are the ones that match your main lifts. Brand matters far less than material, width, and length.
Material: Cotton grips well and breaks in fast. Nylon is durable but can slip. Leather lasts longest.
Padding: Padded lifting straps spread wrist pressure on heavy shrugs and high-rep work, at the cost of bulk.
Length: About 20 to 24 inches allows one to one and a half wraps. Shorter tails suit Olympic lifting.
Width: About 1.5 inches is the common standard and fits most hands and bars.
On leather vs. cotton lifting straps, start with cotton. Leather pays off if you pull heavy several times a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are lifting straps for?
Lifting straps let you hold heavy pulling loads after your grip would otherwise give out. They wrap from your wrist around the bar and take load off your fingers. Your back and hips, not your hands, then decide when a deadlift, row, or shrug set ends.
How do you wrap and use lifting straps properly?
Slide your hand through the loop so the tail exits beside your thumb. Wrap it around the bar in the direction your fingers curl, one to one and a half times. Then grip over it and roll the bar toward you to remove slack.
When should you use lifting straps (and when should you not)?
Use them on heavy or high-volume pulling sets where grip fails before the target muscle. Skip them on warm-ups, lighter sets, grip work, and prep for bare-handed tests such as the Army deadlift.
What is the difference between lifting straps and wrist straps?
Lifting straps connect your hands to the bar to support grip on pulling lifts. Wrist wraps circle only the wrist joint to limit bending under heavy pressing and never touch the bar.
How do you use lifting straps for deadlifts?
Strap both hands in a double overhand grip and take out the slack. Then set your hips, engage your lats, and brace as normal. Save straps for top sets and back-off volume, and pull warm-ups and test-prep sets bare-handed.
Do lifting straps weaken your grip?
Not if you keep training your grip. Straps reduce grip fatigue within a session, and no evidence yet shows they weaken grip over time. The risk is letting them replace grip work, so keep strapless warm-ups, carries, and hangs in your week.
Knowing how to use lifting straps is one part technique and two parts judgment. Wrap them correctly, use them where grip is the real limiter, and keep enough strapless pulling and carrying in your week that your hands keep pace with your back. If you want straps, grip work, and heavy pulling programmed into one structured plan, start with a training program built for your test and your role.
References:
Jukic I, García-Ramos A, Baláš J, Malecek J, Omcirk D, Tufano JJ. Ergogenic effects of lifting straps on movement velocity, grip strength, perceived exertion and grip security during the deadlift exercise. Physiology & Behavior. 2021;229:113283.
Coswig VS, Machado Freitas DF, Gentil P, Fukuda DH, Del Vecchio FB. Kinematics and kinetics of multiple sets using lifting straps during deadlift training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2015;29(12):3399-3404.
Trahey KM, Lapp EM, Talipan TN, Guydan TJ, Krupka AJ, Ellis CE. The effect of lifting straps on deadlift performance in females. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2023;37(10):1924-1928.
Jukic I, García-Ramos A, Malecek J, Omcirk D, Tufano JJ. The use of lifting straps alters the entire load-velocity profile during the deadlift exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2020.
The effects of lifting straps in maximum strength, number of repetitions and muscle activation during lat pull-down. Sports Biomechanics. 2021.
Rajković et al. The influence of lifting straps on isometric back extensor muscle strength mechanical characteristics: a study of powerlifters. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport. 2024.
Are lifting straps a game changer for resistance training or an overrated tool? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2026;21:342-349.
Leong DP, Teo KK, Rangarajan S, et al. Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet. 2015;386(9990):266-273.
U.S. Army. Army Combat Fitness Test Field Testing Manual.
Army Public Health Center. Deadlift Injuries fact sheet (12-024-1119).
Headquarters, Department of the Army. FM 7-22: Holistic Health and Fitness. 2020.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting a new training program, especially if you have a wrist, hand, or back injury. Always confirm current fitness test rules with your unit and official service publications, because policies change.
