Set Strap
Set Strap What tempurature should the hot water (strap on thermostat ) be set at for a home hot water boiler system? 3 story old house in Northern Ohio with very high fuel costs. also will insula...
Set Strap
How To Make Your Muscles Grow Faster With Lifting Straps
As an enthusiastic weight trainer you would like to be able to instantly increase the weight you can lift, right? Firstly, let me tell you that, if you haven' yet used this rather basic piece of equipment, you have already missed out on some great muscle growth. Here's a quick piece of advice that will teach you how to make your muscles grow faster with just about every back exercise you perform...
What is the magic item of muscle-building equipment that will give you faster muscle growth? -- a pair of lifting straps! These help grow muscle quite effectively, but many lifters forget about them.
Lifting strips are thick and durable straps designed to wrap around a barbell, dumbbell or cable attachment. Connect them securely to your wrist and the weight and you won't need to worry about losing your grip. When you use them correctly, you're able to do hold onto the bar without expending any energy from your forearms.
Why is this important?
Say you're doing deadlifts and you need to complete 8 reps of these powerful muscle-building exercises. You psych yourself up, grip hard, and lift the bar from the ground. You think the set is going well until you reach rep number 5 and realize that the strain on your grip is so great that you can no longer hold on to the bar.
Your set is over because your forearms have reached muscular failure. You killed it with that forearm workout!
So, you see, you missed out on the muscle stimulation you could have gotten on your legs, back, shoulders and just about every other muscle in your body that the deadlift targets in the process.
A lifting strap helps make your muscles grow faster by making sure that you reach muscular failure in the major muscle groups that you are intending to target, rather than on your forearms and grip. When you need a strong grip you should use a lifting strap; this could be for back or other exercises.
That said, since lifting straps work like a "crutch," people will argue they work against your grip strength and forearm size. Remember, though, that it's strength and muscle mass on your upper back, lats and almost every other major muscle group in your body that you want to develop, not the ability to open a bottle of ketchup!
Ultimately, the positive effect that lifting straps have on your overall muscle mass and strength is more important than some negative effect on your forearms and grip. Anyway, you can make up for it with specific forearm movements to develop your grip strength and forearm size, should you choose to do so.
Let's face it, you want to get the best results out of your workouts in the shortest possible time. Get your straps from any fitness store or order them online -- they are not expensive and are well worth the price.
About the Author
Barry Richardson is webmaster at http://build-muscle-big.blogspot.com, where you will find expert training and nutritional advice for structuring an effective muscle-building program.