Wrist Straps or Lifting Hooks? What You Should Use to Help With Your Weak Grip 

Glad to help!

You're braver than I for going hands free with the lifting hooks haha... one drawback we find with people using them at our gym is that if you use them for things like pullups or chest-supported rows they don't leave you with much of an escape strategy when you hit failure, so I've had to rescue people dangling from a pullup bar before 🤣

@@AllStrengthTraining hehehe. With chest supported rows I can luckily stand up and they get enough slack to get them off. I havent used them for pullups

Thank you!

I'm not a huge fan but that's just a personal preference. Some people love them and they're sort of a middle ground between standard straps and the Haulin Hooks

they're pretty similar - the bigger difference is really just that it's a bit easier to wrap it around the bar than the traditional long strap version

For pressing exercises where the wrist needs more support, I use the Outlaw wrist wraps from www.ironrebel.com. For rowing/pullups/deadlifts where the grip needs more support, I use their basic lifting straps as seen in the video. Full transparency - I am an ambassador for them but I've been using their stuff since 2016. I do have a 10% off discount code "TROWBRIDGE10" if you do decide to check their stuff out.

what kind of hook straps did you get? We use Haulin' Hooks which has a rubber tube that goes over the metal hook part to keep the bar from shifting. If it's more of a one-piece hook instead of the 2-piece you see in the video, you should be able to even put a little bit of furniture felt into the hook part to keep the bar from shifting around on you

@@AllStrengthTraining my ones are made by Sheik and they’re full metal plate ones

@@Team_Banchamek I would get some small circular furniture felt pads and put two of them on each hook right in the middle to give the bar something to grab. I had to do that with a client's set - I don't remember if they were shiek or a different brand

@@AllStrengthTraining thank you

​@@Team_Banchamekplates suck compared to hooks....

They do - we haven't had any issues with using them that way so far. Some of it will depend on your grip width- if you get super wide you may want to use a more conventional pulldown bar with a 45 degree angle at the end

@AllStrengthTraining not a super wide grip. Thanks!

Yes they do, that's why I bought them. For my pulldowns and rows. That's exclusively what I use them for

Straps should help - if they're wrapped correctly they should take a good amount of demand away from the muscles in the hands and forearms and should ease some of the joint stress it sounds like you're having

If I remember right I think I originally saw the haulin hooks on elitefts with one of their lifters doing rack pulls - maybe Dave Tate? I don't recall. I still prefer conventional lifting straps but the hooks are OK for ease of use for an average gym goer who isn't needing to PR