🎯 Acute Effects on Athletic Performance
Grip Strength
The supportive role of grip straps-particularly in reducing the workload on the forearm muscles-is considered the primary reason for their use in resistance training and is theoretically capable of producing acute performance-enhancing effects. Existing research evidence consistently indicates that grip straps can serve as a performance-enhancing aid in deadlift training by enhancing grip support, delaying forearm muscle fatigue, and reducing the decline in grip strength during and after resistance training.
One study recruited 16 young men with experience in resistance training and conducted deadlift tests using three experimental protocols: 1) without a lifting strap, performing 4 sets of 4 repetitions at 80% of the one-rep maximum (1RM) achieved without the strap; 2) with a lifting strap, using the same load as in Protocol 1; 3) Using a grip strap at 80% of the 1RM with the grip strap, performing the same number of repetitions and sets. The results showed that both grip-strap protocols-particularly the lower-load Protocol 2-were more effective at maintaining grip strength (as measured by a hand dynamometer), exhibiting a moderate effect size at various stages of the workout and 3 and 10 minutes after the final set. Another study on deadlifts found that women with experience in resistance training experienced a smaller decline in grip strength after performing a set to failure at 80% of their 1-rep maximum load using a resistance band, demonstrating a large effect size.
A possible reason for this performance-enhancing effect is that the resistance band transfers the workload from the forearm muscles to a fixed point at the wrist, reducing the involvement of the forearm muscles. However, current research evidence regarding the impact of wrist straps on grip strength during other pulling exercises remains limited, and further studies with rigorous methodological designs are urgently needed.
Maximal Strength
Studies indicate that the use of wrist straps can enhance maximal strength in deadlifts, weightlifting movements, and isometric training; this may be because wrist straps prevent grip strength from becoming a limiting factor in these exercises.
Studies on deadlifts consistently show that men with resistance training experience can increase the total load lifted-that is, the 1-rep maximum (1RM)-when using wrist straps. One study found that 1RM test performance improved significantly by 10.2% when using wrist straps, indicating a moderate effect size; another study reported a significant improvement of 19.2% in this metric, indicating a large effect size. Therefore, although the scientific evidence is limited, the performance-enhancing effects of lift belts on 1RM in deadlifts have begun to emerge; however, further research is needed to expand the study population to include non-male resistance training participants and to investigate their effectiveness in other exercises.
Recent studies have confirmed the role of support belts in enhancing maximum isometric strength: in isometric mid-thigh raises, 19 out of 20 young male resistance-trained men showed improved strength performance when using support belts, with an overall increase of 23.7%; another study involving young soccer players of both genders also confirmed that support belts significantly enhance maximum isometric strength in mid-thigh raises, demonstrating a large effect size. Furthermore, research has found that support belts can enhance isometric back extensor strength; when used by powerlifters and untrained male and female participants, peak strength increased by 15.9% compared to when not used.
Regarding weightlifting exercises, 13 adolescent male basketball players who used support belts during a 1RM test for the power clean saw a significant 10.2% increase in maximum strength; In contrast, when weightlifters with resistance training experience performed a 1RM test for the power snatch while using a power belt, no increase in maximum strength was observed.
In other pulling exercises, the use of a power belt did not increase 1RM. One study found that when adult men with resistance training experience performed high-pulley rows while using a power belt, there was no significant difference in 1RM compared to when they did not use one; in the prone bench press, the 1RM predicted by the load-velocity relationship indicated that the grip strap had no effect. The researchers in both studies speculated that the reason grip straps are ineffective in these exercises may be that the absolute load lifted is lower than in exercises such as the deadlift, and the impact of grip strength limitations is therefore less significant.
A reasonable inference is that grip straps only provide performance gains in terms of maximum strength during exercises involving extremely heavy loads or requiring high force output. This effect is particularly evident in movements with high grip strength demands-such as deadlifts, power cleans, and isometric training-suggesting that grip strength is a key limiting factor for maximum force output in these exercises. Conversely, in upper-body pulling exercises such as high-pulley rows and bench presses, the maximum load that can be lifted is lower, and the performance-enhancing effect of grip straps disappears. This suggests that grip straps may serve as an effective tool in exercises that simultaneously recruit multiple large muscle groups; however, this hypothesis requires further research to confirm.
Mechanical Performance and Isometric Force Development Rates Under Submaximal to Maximum Loads
This section is divided into two subsections, which examine, respectively, studies based on the same absolute load set at 1RM without a power belt, and studies in which the power belt group used a greater absolute load at the same relative load due to the power belt's performance-enhancing effect on 1RM. This distinction is crucial because, regardless of relative load, lifting a greater absolute load naturally increases strength values but reduces movement speed.
Mechanical Performance and Rate of Force Development at the Same Absolute Load
Among young women with resistance training experience, there was no significant difference in average or peak speed when performing deadlifts at 80% of their 1RM without a lifting belt versus with a lifting belt; in contrast, another study found that young men with resistance training experience achieved higher lifting speeds during deadlifts when using a lifting belt under the same load conditions, demonstrating a moderate effect size. Other studies have shown that when performing multiple sets of deadlifts at 80% of 1RM without a lifting belt, the use of a lifting belt allows for better maintenance of lifting speed, demonstrating a small effect size. Therefore, when using the same absolute load in deadlift training, the use of a lifting belt not only increases the lifting speed for a single repetition but also improves the ability to maintain speed during multiple consecutive repetitions. However, further research is needed, particularly regarding female athletes and different load conditions.
Regarding pulling exercises, male athletes with resistance training experience showed no significant difference in average or peak speed when performing bench presses at 60%, 70%, and 80% of 1RM with or without a lifting belt; another study also indicated that the lifting belt had no significant effect on any load-velocity relationship metrics in the bench press. Therefore, assist belts are not effective at enhancing fast-twitch contractile capacity during the prone pull-up, and further research is needed to investigate their effects in other pulling exercises.
Regarding weightlifting movements, when weightlifters with resistance training experience performed a one-rep maximum test for the power grip, there were no significant differences in average speed across the three conditions: using an assist belt, a conventional narrow grip, and a hook grip; however, when five professional male rugby players performed a 140 kg bell flip using assist belts, their peak velocity, peak power, and peak force all increased significantly, exhibiting large effect sizes of 1.22, 1.31, and 1.52, respectively. Therefore, a lifting belt may have a positive effect on the mechanical performance of weightlifting movements at submaximal loads, but further research is needed to investigate its effects on other weightlifting movements.
Regarding isometric training, to the best of our knowledge, only one study has measured the rate of force development and time to peak force in the back extensors of well-trained powerlifters and an active control group. The results showed no significant difference in the rate of force development between the use and non-use of a weight belt; however, the untrained control group achieved peak force more quickly when using a weight belt.
These findings have important practical implications: the use of a lifting belt may help complete the concentric phase more quickly during high-load exercises such as the deadlift, thereby enhancing power output; however, the aforementioned hypothesis requires further research to be validated.
Mechanical Performance and Rate of Force Development Under Different Absolute Loads
One study found that young men with resistance training experience, when performing 3 sets of deadlifts to failure at 90% of their 1-Repetition Maximum (1RM), exhibited higher average and peak speeds without a lifting belt, with effect sizes of 0.8 and 0.9, respectively; Two other studies showed that during deadlifts at 80% of 1RM, the use of lifting straps resulted in lower average speeds, indicating a small effect size; furthermore, across the entire load range from 20% to 100% of 1RM, average speeds were significantly lower when lifting straps were used, and this difference intensified as the load increased: a small effect size was observed in the 20%–40% 1RM range, a moderate effect size in the 40%–50% range, and a large effect size in the 50% and above range.
Regarding weightlifting movements, a study involving young basketball players aged 13 to 17 who performed 2 sets of 2 repetitions of a power clean at 70% of their 1-rep maximum measured ground reaction forces and force development rates. The results showed that the use of a weight belt did not increase peak or average ground reaction forces, nor did it improve force development rates.
Therefore, in weightlifting and deadlift movements, the use of a weight belt does not increase movement speed when different absolute loads are applied; even when the same relative load is set based on maximum strength achieved with the weight belt, while the weight belt allows the trainee to lift a heavier load, it reduces the movement speed during the deadlift.
