Lifting Straps (Zughilfen): When to Use Them and How to Wrap Them

Your back and legs can pull more than your hands can hold. That is the simple reason lifting straps exist. In German-speaking Switzerland they are called Zughilfen, and used well they let you train heavy pulls without your grip ending the set too early.

Used badly, though, they become a crutch that keeps your grip weak. This guide explains when straps make sense, when to leave them in the bag and how to wrap them properly.

What lifting straps do

A lifting strap is a strong band of fabric that loops around your wrist and wraps around the bar. Once the strap is tight, part of the load is held by the strap instead of only your fingers. Your grip still works, but it is no longer the weakest link in the lift.

• Train the target muscles. In heavy deadlifts, rack pulls or rows, your back and legs can keep working when your hands would normally let go.
• More volume. High-rep pulling sessions are often limited by grip fatigue. Straps let you finish the planned work.
• Protect your hands. Fewer torn calluses from heavy, repeated pulls.

When to use lifting straps

• Heavy deadlift variations such as Romanian deadlifts, rack pulls and heavy sets of conventional deadlifts.
• Snatch and clean pulls in weightlifting, where you want to train the pull with loads above your full lift.
• Rows and shrugs with heavy dumbbells or a barbell.
• High-volume sessions where grip fatigue would end the session before your back and legs are trained.

When to leave them in the bag

Straps are a tool, not a default. If you use them for every set, your grip will never catch up with the rest of your body.

• Warm-up and moderate sets. Hold the bar yourself as long as your grip is not the limiting factor.
• Competition preparation. Straps are not allowed in powerlifting meets, and many other competitions restrict them too, so practise without them regularly.
• Grip-specific training. Farmers carries, hangs and holds are supposed to train your grip.
• Fast barbell cycling in WODs. Straps slow down quick releases and can be a safety risk when you need to drop the bar fast.

Rule of thumb: do your lighter sets without straps and add them only for the heaviest sets or the last part of a high-volume session.

How to wrap lifting straps (step by step)

1. Put your hand through the loop so the strap hangs down along the inside of your wrist, on the thumb side.
2. Place your hand on the bar where you normally grip it.
3. Wrap the loose end of the strap under and around the bar, away from you, in the same direction your fingers will close.
4. Rotate your wrist slightly to roll the strap tight around the bar, then close your hand over it.
5. Repeat on the other side, and check that both straps are equally tight before you pull.

One wrap around the bar is usually enough. More wraps feel secure but make it harder to let go.

Straps, grips or chalk?

Which lifting straps to choose

Look for a strong, tightly woven fabric that does not stretch under load, a comfortable wrist loop and a length that wraps around the bar at least once. Both the Picsil Lifting Straps 0.2 (CHF 19, in black, grey and emerald) and the Victory Grips Weightlifting Strap (CHF 19) are built for heavy barbell work.

Frequently asked questions