Last Updated on September 6, 2020 by Nick
I have a confession to make. I’ve always been able to lift heavy weights, but I’m weak in my wrists. I suffered and experienced many stepbacks and injuries due to that fact, that I lost count.
Now if you are a workout fitness fanatic as I am, you know that the physical pain is nothing compared to the mental one- skipping a gym day.
That hurts twice as much.
Anyway, I tried changing my diet and including more calcium and magnesium, didn’t work.
I tried to spend more time warming out and doing stretching and wrist ankles exercises that didn’t help as well.
I was working on improving my grip strength and form, again I failed.
I was left with the only one option available, testing wrist wraps and wrist straps – some worked like a charm, others were a huge miss.
I found wrist wraps and straps to be beneficial in two cases: to reduce and to prevent the chances of future injuries, and second, to feel more secure, comfortable and up to task doing my heavy sets.
I tried a bunch of different brands and models, some were marketed as multi-purpose of one size fits them all, but the truth is majority didn’t make much of a difference.
Either the thumb loop was stitched and sewed weakly and made out of wrong material, or the velcro easily ripped apart….in no time.
Others, during long workout sessions, when it gets sweaty and intense, would have got loosened and provide no benefit at all. Just a distraction that caused losing my concentration, suffering from bad form, and one even caused a ligament injury.
While it was there to prevent one from happening at first place.
However some did and they still do a great job, offering amazing mobility, stability, and comfort.
I decided to include only those wrist wraps in my review and in the same time to choose the ones that will fit every budget, and are the solution to any fitness, bodybuilding and wrist heavy exercise category.
Without further ado, regardless if you’re a heavy lifter, a woman or a man, or a huge CrossFit fan, here are the best wrist wraps you can buy on the market today:
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Contents
- 1 What Are The Benefits Of Using Wrist Wraps & Lifting Straps?
- 2 How To Wear And Put On A Pair Of Weightlifting Wrist Wraps And Straps?
- 3 Product Reviews
- 4 1. Weightlifting, Cross Training, Workout, Gym, Powerlifting, Bodybuilding: Nordic Lifting Wrist Wraps + Lifting Straps Bundle
- 5 2. Prevent Your Wrist From Bending: Harbinger HumanX Line Wrist Wraps
- 6 3. Crossfit and Strongman Training: Rogue Fitness Wrist Wraps
- 7 Over to you
What Are The Benefits Of Using Wrist Wraps & Lifting Straps?
This is a no-brainer, but I wanted to pinpoint several benefits, even for those with strong wrists genetics. On the top of the list is improving your grip strength.
People often forget that weightlifting is a science.
How often have you heard the saying in bodybuilding you are not using the proper form?
One of the main reason people say that is, to emphasize the importance of preventing injuries. And mostly you are going to hear that from the ones that have felt and experience them big time.
They know what they did wrong in the past while doing weightlifting and they are aware of the consequences.
I know I am.
It took me quite some time to understand the science of movement, breathing, and form over weight. And yes, one of the major causes of injuries is exactly weak grip strength.
Are you doing a lot of heavy lifts or overhead exercises, or perhaps you enjoy clean and jerk?
If that’s the case and even if you do have the benefit of strong wrists, one bad movement or a slip and you can be done for the day, or worse – strain or sprain injury.
There’s so much pressure on the wrists when doing particular exercises that we often forget we are made out of tissues and bones. And ligaments are what supports our joints.
That said, wrist wraps could be exactly the one thing that can prevent that from happening.
Second, you probably want more muscle size gains, who doesn’t right?
I’ve seen this many times, especially with people just starting out going to the gym- they lift with their wrists, not with their muscles.
You can see from a mile that there’s no tension and they aren’t training their muscles, all they do is relying on their ankles and putting pressure on the wrong group of muscles.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing to be ashamed off, I started the same.
The benefit here of using a wrist wrap is that it will force you to stretch and stress the target muscles, and you won’t even know it. If you keep them pretty tight all you are left to work with is exactly your biceps or triceps for example.
Your wrists will be fixed and secured.
Sure you might still swing and do the wrong movements but rest assured it’s not going to be a wrist workout.
It also increases your mental task performance by helping you concentrate on doing the sets right, rather than thinking of is this bar or dumbbell going to slip in the next rep?
The last benefit I wanted to mention is – Let’s face it, it makes you feel badass!
A Badass supergirl or a superman. It helps you feel more secure, and comfortable, and since you’re already packed up with all the fitness gear why not take full advantage of it? You already have the wrist wraps, so no excuse for you for skipping an upper body workout, not today nor tomorrow.
We are done with excuses. It’s time do some serious exercises for maximum muscle growth.
How To Wear And Put On A Pair Of Weightlifting Wrist Wraps And Straps?
Each manufacturer usually has a great easy to follow “How To Wear Guide or Manual” that sometimes comes in video format as well. If they don’t have, then it’s not a serious brand and speaks a lot of how they treat their customers. At least that’s my opinion.
Anyway, I’ll explain below and include a video for you as well.
Let’s start with the most common one that you’ll find quite often mentioned – The Thumb Loop.
What is a Thumb loop?
While you probably guessed it by its name, a thumb loop is a part where you put your thumb into, in order to control and adjust the tightest level of the wrist wrap.
Once you feel the wrist wrap is secured and tight enough, you can either remove the thumb loop while working out or leave it wrapped around your thumb.
If you want to take it to the next level and make sure it’s the tightest as it gets, once you have your thumb into the thumb loop you can use the rest of your four fingers to hold down the wrap.
The next step is just to use your other hand to wrap the wrist wraps by rolling them over your wrist ankle.
Depending on the model and the length of the wrist wraps you’ll have to do wraps several or multiple times and you’re set.
Here’s a nice video tutorial explaining How to Use Wrist Wraps:
When it comes to using wrist straps it might get a bit complicated or tricky so I decided to include a video that will walk you through the entire process, it covers different types of straps, and how and when you use them.
Shoutout to Greg Everett from Catalyst Athletics for creating this great video:
Again once you put them on for the first time, it all comes naturally.
Let’s check the top performing wrist wraps and what are their pros and cons.
Product Reviews
1. Weightlifting, Cross Training, Workout, Gym, Powerlifting, Bodybuilding: Nordic Lifting Wrist Wraps + Lifting Straps Bundle
Made by Nordic Lifting these wrist wraps come in a bundle with one pair of lifting straps. One thing that makes them stand out from their competitors is the outstanding quality.
The material is made out of strong cotton that offers a great elastic support so they don’t feel uncomfortable and unnatural. For anyone tried leather straps, well you know that sweating and leather doesn’t always work great together.
Nordic wrist wraps are really easy on hands, and the grip is quite good, I haven’t experienced any problems whatsoever. Personally, I don’t use the straps much but if you want more security and support they could be a lifesaver.
Particularly when you working out with bars and if you are a strength athlete they come really handy.
On the other hand, the Velcro is super strong and offers the support as described.
The design as always is personal preference, but you just can’t beat the camouflage pattern, it’s a really nice touch to the quality it provides, one can tell those were made with love and care.
Bottom line, very tactical move, it will make you feel invisible.
Another thing worth mentioned that people often forget is the warranty. This wrist wraps come with a 1-year warranty and the support is just amazing.
One downside for anyone used to wrist wraps is that this might feel thin a bit. The only thing that I didn’t like the first time I tried these were the straps. They might make your hands feel stiff a bit until you get used to.
Other than that I can’t pinpoint anything else that might come as a disappointment.
Bottom line, they are heavy duty and affordable compared to other brands, the quality and design meet my criteria, and I highly recommend giving this one a go.
Check Prices and Product Reviews
2. Prevent Your Wrist From Bending: Harbinger HumanX Line Wrist Wraps
Harbinger is a well know brand, you can’t go wrong with them. The HumanX Line Wrist Wraps come in one pair compared to the Nordic Liftings. They come in two colors red and pink so if you’re a woman crossfitter, the pink pair might be a great choice.
The design is made with a thumb loop that offers better mobility and stability and might feel more comfortable for those seeking for easy to put wrist wraps.
The strap is thinner so I won’t recommend relying on them when doing extremely heavy liftings, you would probably be better off with thicker models.
They are elastic and not a strength wraps, but you can wrap them really tight to prevent injuries.
However, for all other types of workouts where you relying much on your wrists, regardless of the weight and pressure, they will keep you safe and support your joints.
Word of warning, the velcro is not designed to be just pulled off, so when you’re in the zone try not to forget that and don’t just rip it apart over and over again, that might cause them to start to come off. I used HumanX for over a year but I was always careful when taking them off.
Good thing is that they are longer and adjustable and this gives you the opportunity to be wrapped up several times for more stability and maximum support.
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3. Crossfit and Strongman Training: Rogue Fitness Wrist Wraps
Rogue is my all time favorites. They come in 3 different sizes and they fit just perfectly regardless of your wrist size and how tight or loosen you want them to be, very adjustable and comfortable.
Even if you sweat way more than the regular guy, the material they’ve made off will keep them on your forearms no matter the pressure or the type of the exercise you are performing.
Also, they feel really comfy and do not irritate your skin at all.
However, if this is your first time using a wrist wrap, give them some time to get used wearing them. Also if you happen to have a sensitive skin, read the description carefully when looking for the best wrist wraps.
Rogue’s are made out of a combo of cotton and polyester. Any model you go with will probably feel a bit unnatural for the first time users.
Great choice for strong sessions of weightlifting or crossfitters. Way more durable compared to the Harbinger HumanX.
They will keep your wrist stable without sacrificing mobility.
Excellent choice for any exercise starting from doing regular push-ups, fitness, bench presses, working out with dumbbells and weights, up to powerlifting and deadlifting.
If you’re like me suffering from bad ankles and often experience pain and sport injuries this might be a great solution for you.
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Over to you
I hope you enjoyed this review and to wrap things up I encourage you to give this nice fitness gear a chance. No matter the purpose and the improvements you’re working on, adding a nice wrist wraps to your gym collection might be beneficial both on physical and mental performance.
As I mentioned above I tested a variety of brands over the years, and a lot of them were a huge miss, so I included only the best wrist wraps that I had shared hours of workouts with, and so far they really helped me to prevent potential injuries and to increase my grip strenght.
I couldn’t be more satisfied, of course until the next big player comes into the market to put it on a bench press test. Anyway, feel free to jump into the comment section and tell us which is your go-to brand or perhaps less favorite wrist wrap model.
Great post! This review certainly helped me save time trying to figure things out. Thanks for sharing!