Wrist Wraps for Bench Pressing?

[The Scott]

That's all I ever used also but I began in the early times.

I wore a belt all the time, even for doing curls.  Everybody did

Now, I only use a belt occasionally for squats or deadlifts.

Agreed, brother.  I recall sometimes wearing a belt during heavy cheat curls (well, heavy for me!) and some shoulder work.  A single ACE around each knee was what my older powerlifting buddies told me would be allowed in a meet and while I never competed in powerlifting I took their advices cuz they had the knowledge of decades of training and told me if I needed more it was because I wasn't strong enough to do it alone. I never had a real powerful grip but I also NEVER used straps in training. 

Every once in a while I would train squats without the belt or ACE bandages.  I was just as strong and that was what mattered to me.  It had to be me doing the lift otherwise it was pointless. 

[wes]

That's all I ever used also.

I wore a belt all the time, even for doing curls.  Everybody did

Now, I only use a belt occasionally for squats or deadlifts and usually not.

You don't need it if you become accustomed to not using it and you learn to still create the abdominal pressure to stabilize the spine.

In the 70`s we all wore a belt throughout our whole workout 5-6 days a week........the only exception was on ab day.

In fact I would often sleep in my belt since it helped my inecuriity!!   

[IroNat]

In the 70`s we all wore a belt throughout our whole workout 5-6 days a week........the only exception was on ab day.

In fact I would often sleep in my belt since it helped my inecuriity!!   

And during sex too.

No exceptions.

[wes]

And during sex too.

No exceptions.

That`s a given and the reason I didn`t mention it.

[King Shizzo]

In the 70`s we all wore a belt throughout our whole workout 5-6 days a week........the only exception was on ab day.

In fact I would often sleep in my belt since it helped my inecuriity!!   

1570's

[joswift]

we pick things up.......we put them down

[JustPlaneJane]

Wrist wraps are an excellent addition to your bench pressing arsenal. They add...

-stability
-safety from wear and tear
-actual support, especially for those of us with average wrist thickness
-are fully adjustable so can either be "snug and barely helping" or "cranked down tight" for that one big brief effort
-certain brands will give you a cool factor in the powerlifting world. Mark Bells "gangsta wraps" are a perfect example.

I am a lifetime 551 pound raw competition bench presser and have always worn wraps, even on lighter training sessions. I also wear them on heavy squat days. My current wrap is the Mark Bell 36" Gangsta wrap. It's a lot of wrist wrap but I like it.

551 lbs !!!!!

Holy crap, that is incredible. This information is awesome, thank you Sir.

I can fully understand the orthopedic damage in the wrist area using those types of poundages over the long-term.

I’m assuming “raw” means no bench shirt ? Good Lord that is an astounding weight to lift.

[JustPlaneJane]

Agreed, brother.  I recall sometimes wearing a belt during heavy cheat curls (well, heavy for me!) and some shoulder work.  A single ACE around each knee was what my older powerlifting buddies told me would be allowed in a meet and while I never competed in powerlifting I took their advices cuz they had the knowledge of decades of training and told me if I needed more it was because I wasn't strong enough to do it alone. I never had a real powerful grip but I also NEVER used straps in training. 

Every once in a while I would train squats without the belt or ACE bandages.  I was just as strong and that was what mattered to me.  It had to be me doing the lift otherwise it was pointless.

I wear my belt for squats and back work (not chins of course) but that is all.

I wear it tight enough that I have to take it off immediately after my each set. Sounds like I’m doing that wrong ?

[homebodybuilding]

OP

[DanM]

Wouldn’t knee wraps store elastic potential energy and then release it once you let it go ? I thought kinetic energy was the energy of movement.

Your experience sounds like the wrist wrap is more for stability than for keeping the bones in the wrist from compressing or wearing against each other ? Or maybe stability is the principal effect and long-term protection is secondary ?

Knee wraps do store energy, wrist wraps do not.

They are mainly so your wrists don't buckle under heavier weights, no real reason to use them doing sub maximal work

[IroNat]

I wear my belt for squats and back work (not chins of course) but that is all.

I wear it tight enough that I have to take it off immediately after my each set. Sounds like I’m doing that wrong ?

Might be a little too tight that.

[Humble Narcissist]

I used to always use a thumbless grip while benching.......had a few mishaps where the bar ALMOST fell out of my hands when grinding out one last hard rep, but it never did, then over time, I saw a few people and even more on tape
of todays gym idiots on video drop weight on their face/chest/ribs/hips even.......... so I simply re-taught myself if you will, to go back to my roots and stopped using a thumbless grip.........felt fine once I got used to it again.

As far as wrist wraps go, if you have bad or weak wrists use athletic tape.......the best stuff to use in my opinion.

If your wrists are OK, skip the wraps or tape.

When going extra heavy if it makes you feel better mentally tape those bad boys up, but don`t become reliant on them.................... they will make the wrists weaker and/or become a mental crutch.

Yeah, best to stay away from thumbless grips unless you don't have thumbs.

[DanM]

With belts, it's a good idea to wear them loose enough to where you can expand your waist out into them. Builds a lot of tension and keeps you strong/safe

[US MUSL]

I've used a thumbless grip for 35 years without issue. It does seem a little dangerous now that I think about it. Going to try a regular grip on my benches today to see how it feels.

[Flexacon]

With regards to thumbless grip, some folks can get away with it because they have really huge pads on their palms (think GH hands)so the bar slipping is far less likely.

Also a world class trainer told me these are great for benching..

[Fortress]

Have used wrist wraps maybe five sessions in decades of pressing. Not against them, just prefer to allow my body to adapt to accommodate.

As far as thumbless/false grip, I employed this the first several years of lifting. Then I abandoned this and wrapped my hand. Just felt like I could “power grip” a bar much better.

Tucking elbows is a must if you wish to preserve shoulder health.

[JustPlaneJane]

With regards to thumbless grip, some folks can get away with it because they have really huge pads on their palms (think GH hands)so the bar slipping is far less likely.

Also a world class trainer told me these are great for benching..

So not actually wraps, more like straps for working back ?

That’s definitely worth trying.

[pamith]

I never use wrist wraps, I see them as a form of cheating

[pamith]

551 lbs !!!!!

Holy crap, that is incredible. This information is awesome, thank you Sir.

I can fully understand the orthopedic damage in the wrist area using those types of poundages over the long-term.

I’m assuming “raw” means no bench shirt ? Good Lord that is an astounding weight to lift.

The most i ever benched was 460 lbs at a bw of about 185 lbs, no wrist bands, just a belt

[JustPlaneJane]

The most i ever benched was 460 lbs at a bw of about 185 lbs, no wrist bands, just a belt

460 !

Oh my Lord.

Matt Canning will be suicidal.

That is an hell of an impressive lift.

[pamith]

460 !

Oh my Lord.

Matt Canning will be suicidal.

That is an hell of an impressive lift.

Ty bro, i guess it's impressive considering my size at the time. I was taking ephedrine and 1ad back then (prohormone) so i wasn't exactly ''natty'' back then

[The Scott]

The most i ever benched was 460 lbs at a bw of about 185 lbs, no wrist bands, just a belt

Wow.  That is exellent!  I have always been a terrible bench presser.  I am guessing Miss Jane can do more than I.

[pamith]

Wow.  That is exellent!  I have always been a terrible bench presser.  I am guessing Miss Jane can do more than I.

Ty good sir, tbh I have short arms and long torso which helps, i struggle with my deadlift though. Squatting is easy for me too (5'7'', short legs)

[Coach is Back!]

Coach, why do you prefer the wrist wraps over elbow wraps ?

I’m assuming if you use wraps to bench press, then you must use straps for all your pulling exercises ?

And the thumbless grip puts less strain on the wrist when you bench ?

I've addressed this before to another poster. I haven't benched In while because of the excruciating pain that's in my wrist tracking up my extensors. The STRAPS along with my wrists being taped with white athletic tape and sometimes Rocktape shoring up the extensors and facia works as compression relieving some pain while I do the movement. Even though the pain is still above an 8, I switched to mostly DB work. On flat, some days I can only get to 80-85lbs on good days if I take an OTC pain reliever 120-130's for 8-10 aren't unusual. On chest days it's always day by day. 

[JustPlaneJane]

Ty bro, i guess it's impressive considering my size at the time. I was taking ephedrine and 1ad back then (prohormone) so i wasn't exactly ''natty'' back then

Natty or not, that is an extraordinary amount of weight.

P.S. Not a “bro” (I’m a skinny female) but I know you didn’t mean it as an insult.  😊