Pull-ups are a known form of workout that mainly targets the muscles in your biceps, lower, and upper back. You basically lift your entire body weight up on a bar and test your body’s strength and endurance with a pull-up.
Repeating the motion over and over can help you build strong and lean muscles in your back. Now, if you are a beginner or just struggling to make a strong grip on the bar, you can definitely use pull-up straps for additional aid. These straps are great for overcoming challenges like grip fatigue and limited hand endurance.
However, later in this article, we will discuss whether you really need to use these straps for pull-ups or not.
Who Should Use Straps for Pull-Ups
Using pull-up straps can come down to the personal preferences of individuals. However, we do recommend that you check out if you should or should not use pull-up straps.
Beginners
If you have just started doing pull-ups you might find it difficult to make a firm grip on the bar. In this case, you do need a pair of straps to reduce grip difficulty and focus on your pull-up capacity. We also recommend that you keep on looking for handgrip-strengthening techniques to alongside to excel in this sport.
Powerlifters
A lot of powerlifters can not perform more reps of pull-ups due to the limited grip strength rather than the pull-up capacity. And we all know that engagement of strong back muscles is essential for a powerlifter.
Thus, straps can help a powerlifter reduce forearm fatigue and keep performing more reps to gain a healthy and strong muscular back. Using figure 8 lifting straps can further enhance this effect by providing a more secure grip, which allows the lifter to focus on the target muscles without worrying about grip strength.
Individuals Seeking Hypertrophy in the Back
Talking about muscular backs, people who want hypertrophy in their backs see pull-up straps as a necessity. They can easily do more sets of pull-ups with straps and target the latissimus dorsi and back muscles for a better and bulkier shape.
You Get Tired During High-Rep Pull-up Sets
Pull-ups are demanding, especially when you do high-repetition sets. The direct strain on your forearms can limit the times you can perform repetitions on the bar. Thus, to overcome this limitation, it is best that you use pull-up straps and not compromise your routine.
Recovering From Injuries
If you are someone who just had an injury in their wrists, forearms, or even hands, consider using straps. Even though your doctor has allowed you to resume your training, it is best that you do not put extra stress on the affected area.
Who Should Not Use Pull-up Straps
Someone Who Wants to Develop Big Forearms
If you prefer big forearms, we do not recommend that you use straps for pull-ups. Straps will lessen the forearm engagement in the pull-up, which will result in underdevelopment in this specific area.
Athletes
It is best that athletes do not use any grip aid to limit their grip strength. A strong grip practice is essential for athletes to perform best and avoid injuries.
CrossFit Professionals
CrossFit professionals have to perform certain exercises that demand maximum grip strength. Using pull-up straps is helpful, but at some point do not let your grip endurance grow. Thus, it is better to avoid straps when you CrossFit often.
Do Pull Up Straps Help Prevent Calluses?
Lifting straps aid grip but don’t prevent calluses. They reduce direct hand contact during pull-ups, lessening callus formation. Hand grip tape offers better protection, cushioning and reducing friction, making it more effective in preventing calluses during pull-ups.
Considerations When Choosing Lifting Straps for Pull-Ups
Trainers from Torokhtiy say that whenever you shop for pull-up straps, make sure that you do not have to suffer from bad quality products. Thus, you should always look for the following features when buying yourself a new pair of pull-up straps:
- You buy your equipment from a known brand.
- They are easy to clean.
- The material is durable and can help you carry weights.
- The material is soft and comfortable and also provides a firm grip.
Conclusion
Now you know if you need to use straps for pull-ups or not….
By concluding the whole article, we can say that if you are a beginner or are recovering from a wrist injury, you can use straps. Moreover, if you want to build a bulky back and can not perform pull-ups due to grip strength, you should use straps.
On the other hand, if you are an athlete or a CrossFit professional, we recommend that you keep on trying the traditional way and let your grip muscles develop endurance.
Do let us know if you have any more questions on this topic!