Most, if not all, of us have reached that point in our training where we’ve gone as far as possible, both in terms of getting stronger and increasing size and muscle, depending on what we’re after. though in reality it’s probably always a bit of both.
In this article, however, we’ll focus on lifting strength and power and how to use a simple training aid: weightlifting straps can give your workouts a real boost.
If you think about it, it has to happen to all of us at some point, otherwise we’d already be able to do a ton of squats. But it happens, we all get to the stage where we just can’t lift more weight or do more reps on every exercise we do and this is a natural part of the training process.
So what is the solution?
Well, you have 4 main options.
#1 You can keep working with the same weight and lower the reps and try to get past the plateau that way. However, this almost never works.
#2 You could turn to drugs and steroids or go deeper to supplement use.
#3 You could try to change your training and start from the beginning again increasing your weights and/or reps again until you get to the same point that you have with the previous exercises.
#4 You can try to remove some of the reasons you’re struggling with specific exercises. Let’s take the deadlift as an example. You rely heavily on grip strength and for a lot of guys this can be a huge hurdle, especially if you’re doing high rep sets. If your forearms give out before your hamstrings and lower back, you won’t get stronger. Using weightlifting straps can help you avoid this problem and breathe new life into your workout.
Let’s look at another example: wide grip pull-ups, again your forearms may be the weak link here and if that’s the case your back and biceps won’t fully fatigue meaning they won’t grow and neither will you. get stronger!
But you can improve this by using weightlifting straps which will definitely help you squeeze out a couple more reps. Using lifting straps also allows you to focus on the muscles being worked. This is especially good when training your back because this can be a difficult muscle group to fully work.
Plateaus come to us all that is unavoidable, but using weightlifting straps in your lifting or pulling exercises can really help you go a little farther than you would have without using them. For the amount they cost, it’s worth investing in a pair.