@VastChoirs Sure, but not with the short straps. The point of them is "easy escape". You can buy longer straps with pre-sewn loops. I have them too, but don't use them for Olympic lifting.
ah man these straps suck, such a pain to put on, don't give the tightest support, come undone easily ext. By far the worst straps I've used for olympic lifting.
@desembodic Sorry you feel that way. Short, open-ended straps are by far the most common straps used by elite Olympic lifters around the world in all countries. The fact that they come undone easily is a feature, since you need to be able to escape from a snatch gone wrong. Perhaps you're not tightening them properly? I find I'm completely locked on to the bar when I strap in and tighten them up well.
@madaozeki they are very strong which is nice, I was originally using the straps for pendlay barbell which already come with the loop and are very easy to put on compared to these. I have big hands and wrist and my bar is a little thicker so they are quite a pain to use compared to older strap. Sadly the pendlay one ripped since I left them out in rain once and they got a tear when using them again. They were out of stock so tried these out, will try them out a little more though.
@desembodic Big hands, thick wrists, and a thick bar definitely make it more awkward, that's for sure. You probably don't have much strap to work with to really get a snug fit. I have big hands, bit VERY thin wrists, and always lift on a competition-grade bar (28mm thick). You might be better off with the Strong-Enough straps, which I also have and used to use for deadlifting. They have a loop and are longer, but may serve your purposes better. Still, I hope you can figure out how to tighten...
@madaozeki ...the short ones, since they really are the safest for Olympic lifting. In the end, using whatever you're most comfortable with is best, since you don't want to be expending too much energy trying to get them tight, and then freaking out during the lift that the barbell might go flying :)
@madaozeki well tried them out a little more and I think I'm getting the hang of them. They still are a little annoying to put on but once I get them on they are tight. I just had to break them in a bit. Straps are definitely a must for any serious lifter. I might pick up another pair from ristosports which are leather version with loop already but short also.
@desembodic Glad to hear that. Leather straps soften up nicely (just don't leave them out in the rain!) and can be very comfortable, since they're wider and padded. It doesn't really matter what you're using as long as you're nice and secure, comfortable and confident.
@SHates They make an enormous difference. Olympic lifters use the hook grip in competition, and for training lifts when doing singles, but it's really hard on the thumbs, so when you do sets of 2 or 3, straps help relieve pressure on the thumbs, while at the same time letting your arms stay loose and relaxed so you can concentrate on being explosive. They wrap around the bar just enough to do all the work grip-wise, and they're easy to "escape" from if you're going to miss a lift.
@madaozeki awesommmmee. i just ordered mine. can't wait to do some snatch-grip deadlifts, high-pulls, and shrugs :) in fact, i'll be shrugging until my traps touch my ears!
Thanks a lot for posting this. Im trying to learn cleans but im pathetic at it so was going to focus on high pulls & power shrugs first both of which benefit greatly from straps. Rippetoe recommends these types of straps in starting strength but I was totally unable to figure out how to use them.
No problem. Be careful using high pulls and power shrugs to learn cleans. Cleans performed properly do not actually have any active shrugging to get the weight up higher. The point of shrugging is to help pull yourself under the weight.
In every video where someone is doing something real, there is someone staring at them in the background.
andyman820 6 months ago
Could you just make a loop at the ends of these with sewing or tape if you wanted to?
VastChoirs 10 months ago
@VastChoirs Sure, but not with the short straps. The point of them is "easy escape". You can buy longer straps with pre-sewn loops. I have them too, but don't use them for Olympic lifting.
madaozeki 10 months ago
ah man these straps suck, such a pain to put on, don't give the tightest support, come undone easily ext. By far the worst straps I've used for olympic lifting.
desembodic 1 year ago
@desembodic Sorry you feel that way. Short, open-ended straps are by far the most common straps used by elite Olympic lifters around the world in all countries. The fact that they come undone easily is a feature, since you need to be able to escape from a snatch gone wrong. Perhaps you're not tightening them properly? I find I'm completely locked on to the bar when I strap in and tighten them up well.
madaozeki 1 year ago
@madaozeki they are very strong which is nice, I was originally using the straps for pendlay barbell which already come with the loop and are very easy to put on compared to these. I have big hands and wrist and my bar is a little thicker so they are quite a pain to use compared to older strap. Sadly the pendlay one ripped since I left them out in rain once and they got a tear when using them again. They were out of stock so tried these out, will try them out a little more though.
desembodic 1 year ago
@desembodic Big hands, thick wrists, and a thick bar definitely make it more awkward, that's for sure. You probably don't have much strap to work with to really get a snug fit. I have big hands, bit VERY thin wrists, and always lift on a competition-grade bar (28mm thick). You might be better off with the Strong-Enough straps, which I also have and used to use for deadlifting. They have a loop and are longer, but may serve your purposes better. Still, I hope you can figure out how to tighten...
madaozeki 1 year ago
@madaozeki ...the short ones, since they really are the safest for Olympic lifting. In the end, using whatever you're most comfortable with is best, since you don't want to be expending too much energy trying to get them tight, and then freaking out during the lift that the barbell might go flying :)
madaozeki 1 year ago
@madaozeki well tried them out a little more and I think I'm getting the hang of them. They still are a little annoying to put on but once I get them on they are tight. I just had to break them in a bit. Straps are definitely a must for any serious lifter. I might pick up another pair from ristosports which are leather version with loop already but short also.
desembodic 1 year ago
@desembodic Glad to hear that. Leather straps soften up nicely (just don't leave them out in the rain!) and can be very comfortable, since they're wider and padded. It doesn't really matter what you're using as long as you're nice and secure, comfortable and confident.
madaozeki 1 year ago
where did you buy them without the loop? The ironmind have a loop that makes it hard to make them into oly lifting straps.
desembodic 1 year ago
@desembodic IronMind sells the "Short & Sweet Lifting Straps", on Page 2 of the straps page in their store. These are them.
madaozeki 1 year ago
How much of a difference to these make? They don't seem to wrap around the bar very much at all.
SHates 1 year ago
@SHates They make an enormous difference. Olympic lifters use the hook grip in competition, and for training lifts when doing singles, but it's really hard on the thumbs, so when you do sets of 2 or 3, straps help relieve pressure on the thumbs, while at the same time letting your arms stay loose and relaxed so you can concentrate on being explosive. They wrap around the bar just enough to do all the work grip-wise, and they're easy to "escape" from if you're going to miss a lift.
madaozeki 1 year ago
are these ironmind straps?
adoboandryce 1 year ago
@adoboandryce Yup, the short n' sweet straps :)
madaozeki 1 year ago
@madaozeki awesommmmee. i just ordered mine. can't wait to do some snatch-grip deadlifts, high-pulls, and shrugs :) in fact, i'll be shrugging until my traps touch my ears!
adoboandryce 1 year ago
My weight gloves have long straps for wrapping around the writs. can I use that as straps?
armil365riza 2 years ago
Thanks a lot for posting this. Im trying to learn cleans but im pathetic at it so was going to focus on high pulls & power shrugs first both of which benefit greatly from straps. Rippetoe recommends these types of straps in starting strength but I was totally unable to figure out how to use them.
thesku11s 2 years ago
No problem. Be careful using high pulls and power shrugs to learn cleans. Cleans performed properly do not actually have any active shrugging to get the weight up higher. The point of shrugging is to help pull yourself under the weight.
madaozeki 2 years ago
Cheers for this mate, it's made snatching so much better. I was using the typical style and they sucked for snatches.
AussieMuscleHunk 2 years ago