If you plan on lifting heavy weights, eventually you will have to use weightlifting straps. You will get to the point where your grip strength holds you back. Luckily, Olympic weightlifting straps are easy to use. Simply slide your hand through the teardrop-shaped hole and let the strap end act as a second thumb.
Below, I will walk you through an exact step-by-step guide, complete with plenty of pictures, of how to use teardrop lifting straps with dumbbells, barbells or kettlebells. In this example, I show you how to specifically use Rogue Oly Lifting Straps. There’s also a great video tutorial from Catalyst Athletics at the end of the post.
You should also be utilizing chalk in your lifts. Research shows that chalk improves grip strength – helping you to hold heavy weights easier, and improving your lifting safety. Check out my article on how and why to use chalk by clicking here.
Step 1: Set your straps up
The first step is to figure out how to get the straps onto your hands.
I always set my lifting straps up like the picture above.
The “ROGUE” words are upside down and the tails of the straps are facing away from me. Being consistent with the initial set up makes things easier down the road.
Step 2: Put your straps on
This is the step where people can get confused. There are two ways to get the straps on – either by putting your hand through the hole from above or from below. People tend to insert their hand from above when first using lifting straps.
However, to put straps on correctly you have to put your hand through the opening from below.
When you look down on your hand, the brand’s logo should face toward you. And the tail of the strap should be on the palm side of your hand.
A key here is that the tail of the strap should be close to your thumb. This allows for the strap to wrap cleaner around the bar and provide full support throughout your lifts.
Luckily for me, these Rogue Oly Lifting Straps (check them out on the Rogue website) make it easy to know if the straps are on right. “ROGUE” always faces away from me, so that if I let my hand hang naturally at my side someone beside me can read what kind of straps I’m using.
(Props to Rogue for branding. You can read the straps from across the room.)
Additionally, you want your straps to be closer to the top of your hand, rather than your wrist. If the strap is too far up your wrist, it will have a tendency to pull on your wrist and force it into extension. This is the opposite of what you want to happen when doing Olympic lifting.
Step 3: Use your lifting strap as a second thumb
The key to remember when using straps is that it should act as a second thumb. Doing this will optimize the impact of the straps and give you the best grip possible.
Wrapping the lifting strap around the bar is when most people run into trouble. They wrap it, unwrap it, try it again, then look around for help. However, if you think of your strap as a second thumb, you will be set.
As you can see in the above pictures, the tail of the lifting strap hangs on the side of the dumbbell where my thumb would go. This is how it “acts as a second thumb.”
If you can get this step right, the strap will do its job. And this will let you lift considerably more weight.
Lifting enough weight, at a high enough intensity, is a key to gaining strength. Check out what intensity you should lift at, plus 8 other tips to gain strength here.
Step 4: Rev it up like a motorcycle
Now that the strap is hanging in the right position, it’s time to get it tight. The easiest way to do it is to pretend you are revving up a motorcycle.
In the previous step, the strap is hanging below the bar/dumbbell. Now reach under and grab the strap’s tail with your fingers. Then give your wrist a good rotation, as if you are revving the accelerator on a motorcycle.
(I’m not a motorcycle guy, so that might not be very factual. But you get the idea).
As you can see above, I’ve reached down and grabbed the tail. I then “revved” the strap up until it was tight. At this point, I can grab onto the dumbbell like normal. Except, now my forearms aren’t stressed at all.
Step 5: Lift things up and put them down
Now, this is when you have fun. Go lift some things up and put them down.
Happy Lifting:)
Video explaining how to use weightlifting straps
For those of you that would like a video to follow along with, here’s a great one from Catalyst Athletics.