Finding out how much help wrist wraps can be in getting you lifting a little heavier can be difficult to pin point. I will say this though, if you’re doing around the 6-8 rep range then it might help you add another 10lb or so to your bench or help you add an extra rep or two on your current bench weight. If you’re focusing on more of 1 rep maxes then possibly 15-20lb but that really comes down to how weak your wrists are. I realize the numbers are all over the place for this answer but like I said, It’s really hard to determine, especially since I have no clue anything about you.
How Do Wrist Wraps Help Lifting Weights
The main reason you will see people using wrist wraps are for when they’re doing bench press, usually heavy bench ( this can be dumbbell bench as well). They help by adding in support to a weaker part of the body the wrists, which are usually ready to throw in the towel much quicker than some stronger parts such as your chest muscle for example. I’m not sure if this is the best analogy but here it goes. I like to think of wrist wraps like when an athletic trainer tapes a football players ankle before a game. Sure it’s not gonna prevent it from twisting, but it gives it a little additional support. How was it? Good? I tried!
Should You Use Wrist Wraps
I don’t see a downside in a least trying them out. However, don’t expect this to be some magic tool that allows you to jump from 175lb to 225lb on your bench just like that. The main reason I started using them wasn’t even to increase my bench but because once I did start lifting heavier, I noticed the strain being put on my wrists. Now my case might be slightly different because I broke both of my wrists in high school playing sports (not at the same time). With that said though, I did notice the benefits it had on allowing me to add a little extra weight.
Where To Buy Wrist Wraps For Weight Lifting
I’m a fan of the nordic lifting wrist wraps which you can grab here over at Amazon. I wish their purple was a little darker but they have multiple colors to choose from so you don’t have to go with purple at all. There’s tons of online places to buy them and the good things is they are pretty cheap. I find mine on Amazon which is a good place to start looking but you could also check somewhere like BodyBuilding.com I’m sure some local stores like Academy or Dicks carry them but the selection will be slim compared to your online choices.
Final Thoughts
My word of caution is be smart about using them, don’t try to add an extra 50lbs on the bar before you even see how much they help. Also try not to become reliant on them, try to do some without them to allow your wrists to gain strength. That is unless you just have some bad wrist problems that hinder your workouts without them. One final thing, there is a difference between wrist wraps and wrist straps so make sure you are buying the correct thing before you finalize your order. They work for completely opposite things.
