While some controversy surrounds the use of wrist straps in weight lifting, as with many pieces of equipment in and around the gym, there is a time and a place for them.

It's important to understand that when using wrist straps, the object is not to completely eliminate the gripping effort, but rather to stabilize and assist the hand grip in order to prolong one's natural ability to grip the bar just beyond the point when the target muscle group fails. There should still be a substantial effort exerted in gripping the bar during all exercise performance.

Contrary to popular belief, wrist straps are not designed to take the place of gripping: They are only to add just enough assistance to offset grip failure. Common applications for wrist straps include their use in conjunction with barbells and dumbbells, particularly when performing pulling and lifting movements such as deadlifts, all variations of cable rows, curling movements, overhead triceps extensions, and the like.

One argument against the use of wrist straps is that they provide less reason for the forearms to adapt in terms of size and strength development. A counter argument is that wrist straps allow the user to attain a higher level of development in any major muscle groups being targeted. 

Weak Muscles Fail First

While it may be logical to assume that when performing a movement involving multiple muscle groups, the weakest muscle involved will fail first resulting in the termination of the set, this does not hold true for all resistance exercises due to varied leverage.

Chances are, during the performance of those exercises for which a secure grip is required, that the major muscle group(s) involved in the particular exercise, the one(s) the exercise is designed to focus upon, is not trained to failure when grip fails. In this case, the forearms fatigue first and end the set, thereby robbing the prime movers of growth-stimulating repetitions.

The proverb that 'a chain is only as strong as its weakest link', is valid in most -- but not all -- of these cases  when is comes to using wrist straps: Some individuals have tremendous forearm and grip strength, thus allowing target muscles to be trained to complete exhaustion prior to grip failure.

Developing Grip Strength: Nurture vs. Nature

Why not just forgot about wrist straps and concentrate on developing the grip strength necessary to someday ensure the failure of the prime movers in relative movements? Not unlike the abdominal and calf muscles, the forearms in most people are genetically predisposed to be predominately comprised of red slow twitch muscle fibers. This means that they respond best to light high-rep training and have little potential for size and strength. Light high-rep training will tend to do little to enhance size, strength and ultimately a stronger grip.

While some improvement can be expected in training forearms and should be attempted before abandoning any such efforts, someone who has trained correctly from the start will have already allowed ample opportunity for the muscles to show their true nature in terms of fiber typing. Simply put, if one's forearms were of a genetic composition conducive to strong gripping, it should by now be visibly apparent.

With that in mind, the beginner should keep from using wrist straps on a regular basis. From time to time on maximal lifts it would be acceptable, they should not be used in daily resistance training until it becomes apparent whether the individual is genetically predisposed to possess grip strength or not. It is at this point that the decision should be made whether to incorporate wrist straps into daily training.

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