Are Lifting Straps Cheating? (A Coach Answers)
Are lifting straps a useful tool or are they cheating? This is a popular debate in the fitness industry and a common question my athletes approach me with.
Lifting straps are not cheating in the sports of Strongman and Crossfit however are not permitted for use in competition for Powerlifting or Olympic Weightlifting. Despite not being permitted in competition many powerlifters and Weightlifters still see the use of lifting straps as a valuable training tool.
Not only are lifting straps not cheating they are a MUST HAVE for any lifters gym bag. Let's explore all the uses of lifting straps and people's beliefs around them.
Lifting Straps: Addressing The Controversy
In the age of social media attention lifting straps have become more controversial than ever due to a lift becoming increasingly popular… The deadlift, specifically the sumo deadlift.
Many believe due to lifting straps ability to increase the users deadlift one rep max exponentially immediately upon use in some extreme cases up to 150lbs that they are cheating.
Due to this reason among others lifting straps have become a topic of debate among fitness enthusiasts and athletes.
While some individuals swear by their effectiveness in enhancing performance, others argue that using lifting straps is nothing short of cheating.
This controversy should not discourage lifters from benefiting from the many benefits to using lifting straps. However many are left confused if they should due to some believing they are cheating.
Why Some People Think Lifting Straps Are Cheating
People believe the use of lifting straps is cheating for many reasons, some with more merit than others.
The most common reason being that when combined with a sumo deadlift, a person with the right leverages, and sometimes a deadlift bar, straps can be used in a certain way to decrease range of motion and allow the lifter to get into positions they could not without the use of straps.
Lifters will use straps to hang the bar to as close to the ends of their finger tips as they can get them.
This decreases the range of motion while also allowing sumo deadlifters to get a more upright position that allows for better leverage on the bar.
In extreme cases this allows lifters to significantly increase their deadlift max from what they can achieve without the use of lifting straps.
This argument for straps being cheating has the most merit due to some of the risks involved with lifting heavy weights that your body would not be able to handle in other situations. However there are no rules against what is allowed or not allowed for someones gym PRs.
If lifting this way brings an individual a sense of joy and accomplishment and they slowly increase the weights over time lifting in this style to reduce risk of injury it is not cheating however those lifts while counting in the gym would not count by powerlifting competition standard.
Others believe straps are cheating because you should be training your grip on all movements.
However this doesn’t hold much merit because this can be a very individual choice depending on how high of a priority training grip is in your training.
Finally some believe that using straps is cheating because they are not permitted in some competitive settings.
The merit of this belief really depends on the sport they are referencing. In Strongman straps are allowed while in crossfit they are only sometimes allowed, and powerlifting and Olympic lifting they are not allowed.
Despite not being allowed in competition many high level crossfitter, powerlifters, and Olympic lifters use straps to enhance their training for competition.
3 Reasons Why Wearing Lifting Straps Are Cheating
Reason # 1 they ARE cheating: They inhibit your ability to build grip strength
If your primary goal is to develop pure grip strength, then relying heavily on lifting straps might hinder your progress.
Using lifting straps will eliminate grip from the equation from exercises leading to training your grip significantly less than performing exercises without straps.
If your primary goal is building grip strength or grip strength is your limiting factor keeping you from achieving your goals you are cheating yourself by using lifting straps.
Whether your grip related goals are building bigger forearms, having better grip strength or to compete in grip sports avoiding if not using straps minimally is likely the call.
Enjoy this dispaly of grip strength
Reason # 2 they ARE cheating: You are over reliant on them
Over reliance on the use of lifting straps may make it difficult to perform exercises without them ever.
If you forget them or your lifting straps break your training could be in the dumps for awhile if you are not able to train without them due to over reliance.
Reason # 3 they ARE cheating: They Change Your Deadlift position and range of motion
Use of straps can drastically change the range of motion and positioning of your deadlift. This can hinder muscle gain and lead to false senses of strength gain. By hanging the bar low in your hands by using straps you are moving your body further away from the bar. This reduces how far you have to lift the bar on deadlift.
Additionally using straps like this can allow you to get more upright and sumo pullers especially can get more leverage due to this allowing them to increase the weight they can lift even more.
This technique is not allowed in powerlifting meets, reduces hypertrophy and increases injury risk and should be avoided by most lifters.
4 Reasons Why Wearing Lifting Straps Are NOT Cheating
Reason # 1 they ARE NOT cheating: They allow you to target muscle groups better
Straps are a bodybuilder's best tool. Straps allow you to target intended muscle groups better without being limited by your grip. This is common practice for targeting your rhomboids better on rows, lats better on lat pull downs and hamstrings better on Romanian deadlifts.
Most lifters will find after their first 6-9 months of proper training that their forearms tend to be the limiting factor on many exercises and lead to failure before the targeted muscle group has hit failure. Using straps is the best solution to work around this and grow muscle in these exercises.
Reason #2 they ARE NOT cheating: They are a great tool for hook grip deadlifters
The hook grip is a technique permitted in powerlifting meets that allows lifters to wrap their fingers over top of their thumbs to turn their hand into a sudo-strap for deadlifts.
Hook grip is a great alternative to work around weak grip strength for deadlifts however a major downside of it is the inefficiency to use for sets with more repetitions than one or two.
If you are doing sets of deadlifts of 2+ reps the bar will bounce on the ground each rep which will likely bounce the bar out of your hook you’ve created causing you to have to reset.
The more repetitions you have to perform the more likely this is to happen and more inefficient it becomes to reset every rep. This is why most hook grip pullers use straps for their rep work on deadlifts.
Straps are a great tool to be able to get the benefits of doing higher repetition deadlifts without having to worry about lack of grip strength or the inconvenience of performing rep work with a hook grip.
Reason #3 they ARE NOT cheating: They help you work around injuries or disabilities
Straps are a great tool for anyone with hand injuries or hand related disabilities. The hand is used in most movements performed at the gym.
If the inability to use your hand is holding back your ability to reach your fitness goals, straps are definitely the best work around.
Reason #4 they ARE NOT Cheating: They allow you to handle more training volume
Often our progress in the gym whether it be strength or hypertrophy related has to do with the amount of work or training volume we can perform in a given session, week or month.
Straps allow us to handle more training volume for the major muscle groups while reducing the work done by the forearm muscles which can lead to much greater progress in the gym in many cases.
How Much More Can You Expect To Lift With Lifting Straps?
Lifting straps can significantly increase your lifting capacity by removing the grip as a limiting factor. While the exact increase in lifting capacity may vary from person to person, it is not uncommon to witness a significant improvement in some cases as much as up to 150-200lbs.
If using straps properly with the bar pulled into the part of your hand you normally hold the bar in you can expect an 20-50lb increase in deadlift strength.
However there are some strap users that hand the bar lower into their hand that can lift up to 150-200lbs more with straps than they can without straps.
You can also expect a 10-15% increase in accessory exercises like rows, and RDLs when using straps to eliminate grip as the limiting factor.
Are Lifting Straps Allowed In Competition?
Powerlifting: The use of straps is not allowed in basically all powerlifting competition. In the IPF the worlds biggest powerlifting federation and all the country federations that fall under it straps are banned in competition. The same for the USAPL however there are some smaller federations and the USPA that make exceptions for lifters with hand related disabilities.
Olympic Weight Lifting: Olympic weightlifting does not allow the use of lifting straps in competition even know the use of straps in training for Olympic weightlifters is very common.
Strongman: Strongman does permit the use of straps in all competitions. Some events straps may get in the way more than they help so competitors may choose not to use them but they are permitted for the deadlift and most events. The only events that exclude the use of straps are events designed to test the competitors grip strength like the crucifix hold.
CrossFit: All CrossFit competitions are different and therefore so are the rules of the events being performed. Most events exclude the use of straps however they are allowed in some events from time to time in competition. Despite this use of straps in training is very common in CrossFit.
Should You Use Lifting Straps In Training?
The decision to use lifting straps ultimately depends on your training goals and the specific exercises you engage in.
If your priority is to build strength and compete in the sport of powerlifting, it is beneficial to develop a strong grip without relying heavily on lifting straps and only use them properly as a tool when needed in training.
If you are targeting specific muscle groups for hypertrophy and want to maximize their stimulation, using lifting straps can help you isolate those muscles without grip strength being a limiting factor.
It is important to strike a balance between developing grip strength and utilizing lifting straps as a tool to enhance your training.
My Lifting Strap Recommendation
My favourite lifting strap and pair I currently use are Cobra Grip Lifting Straps on Amazon.
Purchase Link (No affiliation)
I like these because they are easy to set up and you don't have to wrap them around the bar multiple times like with conventional lifting straps.
Thank you for reading. This is a re-write and edit of a piece I wrote for (But was not properly credited for) on GymReapers. Certain parts have been re-wrote to reflect changes in opinion and knowledge from the time of writing the original.
