Bodybuilders their size deadlift up to like 700 pounds, grip is one of their strengths usually. This is purely technique and very specific muscles for it.
That's true of strongemen and powerlifters but not as true of bodybuilders, from what I've seen. Bodybuilders often use grip assistance like wrist straps because their goal is to grow a specific muscle and they don't want their grip to give out before that muscle is exhausted. That's also part of why some bodybuilders will opt not to use deadlifts as part of their routine. They're great for overall strength, but not as great if you're trying to specifically target your back or your hamstrings. Other exercises can better target those muscles without the systemic fatigue or the grip limitation that deadlifts can pose.
A lot of strength disciplines will use straps, not just bodybuilders. Strongmen and oly lifters will often use straps for heavy pulls when needed to target a specific muscle without exhausting their grip.
Yes, I'm not trying to say that bodybuilders are the only ones who use straps. Just that grip is a bigger component of strongmen and powerlifting because their competition movements actually depend on it. Bodybuilding is focused on size and since grip is often the limiting factor for big lifts, they will use grip assistance to make sure they're maximizing the use of the bigger muscles to get the most size improvements.
Mate I'm a strongman competitor transitioning to bodybuilding so I'm well aware of how it works. I'm just stating strongman will use straps for their training and are even used in competition for the pulling events.
Honestly, just watch any of the biggest name bodybuilders when they post deadlifts or other pulling motions on their social media. Derek Lunsford, Chris Bumstead, Samson Dauda, etc. all have training clips on their instagrams where you see they use wrist straps for deadlifts, rows, RDLs, or other movements where grip would typically fail before the target muscle. You can also watch any of the big bodybuilding focused YouTubers like Jeff Nippard, Dr. Mike, Dr. Pak, Milo Wolf, Eric Janicki, or Eugene Teo to name a few, and see that all of them recommend using straps.
Bro you're just making stuff up. I watch most of their back/pull sessions and they rarely use it. They might be using it when the volume is too high and it will be a limiting factor, but they never use it solely because they would not be able to hold their 1RM.
Absolutely. I'm an amateur bodybuilder and I can bench 315 for 3, yet my friend who is a construction worker and doesn't lift (similar height and weight) beats me on the grip strength tester.
Motivated me to start grip training though. I hope to beat him on grip strength before the end of the year, lmao.
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u/Bender-BRodriguez Feb 25 '25
Its 100% grip strength and technique.