For as long as I can recall there has always been some sort of debate on whether you should use wrist wraps for training or whether you should use them.
One of the negatives about using wrist wraps, that some people think can be a potential problem, is that using them can or will weaken your wrist as a result of not using them properly.
Some think that if you take away your bodies need to strengthen the joint, then you ultimately sacrifice strengthen the joint, and I can see where they’re coming from.
But, I guess my view is that you have to strike a balance in terms of not getting a full workout, or potentially workout that in the end might make you a far better athlete, verses going as far as your joints allow you to.
So here are the benefits in using wrist wraps.
1) Allows you to lift heavier – more pull ups, more squats.
When you put on wrist wraps, you’ll feel an immediate difference to your perceived strength. Your wrists feel more sure and more solid, much the same way knee wraps feel when you’re using them for squats. In a way they are more solid. You see, using wrist wraps is like (for short time at least) growing a whole bunch extra tendons around your wrist joint
2) Wrist joints pain – alleviating stress on joints.
I don’t know about you, but for me, I get pain in my wrist joints when I’m doing bench press and lifting heavy. I can also sometimes feel as if the bar could slip from my grip especially when I go heavy. After using wrist wraps a lot of that psychological fear disappears. Instead I feel a lot more in control and the bar is more steady, allowing me to do more reps and sets.
3) Gives you more confidence to lift heavier thereby strengthen both your physical and psychological self.
Knowing that I cam in control of the weight give me the confidence to lift weight that I would normal steer clear of, in case I can’t handle it. Knowing that bar is not going anywhere kind of makes a big different when slogging it out.
4) Less chance of injury
Because wrist wraps acts like a you’ve temporarily just grown a whole bunch of new tendons, thereby strengthening your wrist joint, it also means that you’re less likely to drop the bar or to slip and sprain your wrist joints. I know of a lot of people who train like demons in the gym only to have to stay away from the gym due to injury. Any type of injury that involves joints or muscles can set you back weeks if not months.
Conclusion
If you have often felt like you have painful joints following a workout or feel as if you could lift heavier if you weren’t put off from the bar slipping from your grip, then wrist wraps could be a good $20 insurance policy that will could improve your performance inside the gym.
