How to Use Lifting Straps: Lasso, Figure 8 and Closed-Loop

To use lasso lifting straps, put each hand through its loop so the tail crosses your palm and exits by your thumb, lay the tail under the bar, wrap it around the bar in the direction your fingers curl (one and a half to two turns), then grip over the top and roll the bar towards you to tighten. Figure 8 straps work differently: one loop sits on your wrist and the other wraps under the bar and back over your hand, locking you on. Use either only for heavy pulling sets where your grip gives out before the muscle you're training. Below is each method in order, with the mistakes that make straps feel fiddly or slip.

How to use lasso lifting straps (single-loop)

Lasso straps are the common type: a length of cotton, nylon or leather with a sewn loop at one end. Most pairs on Amazon are this design, and they're the ones to learn first.

1. Make the loop. Feed the tail of the strap back through the sewn loop so it forms a larger loop you can slide your hand through. Do this for both straps.
2. Put them on the right hands. Slide your hand through so the loop sits around your wrist, just above the wrist bone. The tail should run down across your palm and come out on the thumb side. If it comes out by your little finger, swap the straps between hands. This is the single most common setup error, and it makes the wrap go the wrong way round the bar.
3. Snug the loop. Pull the tail so the loop closes firmly around your wrist. It should be tight enough not to slide down your hand, but you shouldn't lose feeling in your fingers.
4. Place your hand on the bar. Set your hand where you'd normally grip, with the tail hanging between your palm and the bar.
5. Feed the tail under the bar. Pass the tail under the bar from your side, so it comes up on the far side.
6. Wrap it the way your fingers curl. Bring the tail up and over the top of the bar towards you, following the same path your fingers will take when you grip. One and a half to two turns is plenty.
7. Grip and tighten. Close your hand over the wrapped strap, then roll the bar towards your body (like revving a motorbike backwards) until the strap pulls tight against your wrist. Do one hand, then the other, keeping the first hand's wrap in place with light pressure.
8. Take the slack out and lift. Set your back, pull the slack out of the bar and go.

To release, open your hand and let the bar roll away from you; the strap unwinds on its own. That ease of release is the main reason lasso straps suit most lifters.

If you'd like a no-padding pair that's been a strongman staple for years, the IronMind Strong-Enough straps are a 19 inch nylon lasso design that wraps thin and tight. Padded options and budget cotton pairs are covered in our best lifting straps UK roundup.

How to use figure 8 lifting straps

Figure 8 straps are a single piece of heavy webbing sewn into two loops, one above the other. Once you're in, grip barely matters, which is why strongmen use them for max deadlifts and why they're the wrong tool for anything you might need to drop.

1. Put the top loop over your hand. Slide your hand through one loop so it sits around your wrist. The other loop hangs below your palm.
2. Get close to the bar. This is far easier with the bar on blocks, pins or in a rack at mid-shin or knee height, so you aren't bent double while threading.
3. Pass the lower loop under the bar. Feed the hanging loop under the bar from your side, so it comes up on the far side.
4. Bring the loop back over your hand. Pull that lower loop up and over the top of the bar, then slide your hand (fingers first) back through it. The bar now sits inside the second loop, sandwiched between the two halves of the 8.
5. Grip over the top and tighten. Wrap your hand around the bar and the strap. Lean back slightly to pull the strap taut before you take the weight.

Sizing matters with figure 8s because nothing adjusts. Brands like CERBERUS sell them in four sizes, and the CERBERUS Elite figure 8 straps are a common pick for heavy deadlifts and shrugs. Measure your wrist against the brand's size chart rather than guessing, since a loop that's too big lets the bar sit low in your fingers.

To get out, set the bar down fully, then slide your hand back out of the lower loop. You can't just open your hand. That's the whole point, and the whole risk.

How to use closed-loop straps

Closed-loop (or Olympic) straps are a short fixed loop of webbing, often with no padding at all. Put your hand through the loop so it rests on your wrist, then wrap the hanging part of the loop around the bar once and grip over it. They're quick to get on and quick to escape, which is why weightlifters use them for snatch pulls and high pulls. They don't give the security of a lasso wrapped twice, so for very heavy deadlifts most people prefer a lasso or a figure 8.

When to use lifting straps

Straps earn their place when your hands give out before the muscle you're actually trying to work. That usually means:

• Heavy deadlifts and rack pulls, especially sets of 5 or more near your max.
• Romanian deadlifts, where long time under tension fries your forearms before your hamstrings.
• Heavy rows such as Pendlay rows and dumbbell rows, plus lat pulldowns once the stack gets heavy.
• Shrugs, which are almost always grip-limited for anyone with decent traps.

The research backs the basic idea. In a 2023 study of ten trained women doing 3 sets to failure at 80% of their 1RM deadlift, straps let them perform significantly more reps with no drop in bar speed, and grip strength fell less across the sets (Trahey et al., 2023). The limits matter, though. A 2026 review of the strap research found they can help maximal strength and how secure the grip feels, but no consistent effect showed up for general pulling and back exercises, and there's no evidence yet on long-term muscle or strength gains from training with them (Martins et al., 2026). So straps buy you extra reps on heavy, grip-limited sets. They don't magically recruit more back muscle.

When not to use them

Warm-ups. Your warm-up sets are light enough to hold, so hold them. That's free grip training you'd otherwise skip.

Cleans and snatches, unless you know how to bail. If a clean goes wrong you need to let go of the bar fast. A loose lasso or closed-loop strap can be released by an experienced lifter; a figure 8 can't be released at all. If you're still learning the power clean, learn it strapless.

Competition training. Tested powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting don't allow straps, so if you compete, keep your heaviest deadlift singles and a good share of your volume strapless. Some strongman deadlift events do allow straps, so check the rules for your federation.

Pressing and squatting. Straps do nothing for a bench press or squat. If your wrists hurt on those, you want wrist wraps, which are a different product.

Balancing straps with grip training

The real risk with straps isn't injury, it's that your grip quietly stops keeping up. A sensible split is to go strapless until grip is the thing failing, then strap the last one or two heavy sets. Add some direct grip work once or twice a week: farmer's carries, dead hangs from a bar and the moves in our forearm exercises guide all count. Our guide on how to improve grip strength sets out a fuller plan.

A light coat of chalk is also worth trying before you reach for straps. It won't save you on a 250kg rack pull, but it often fixes the bar sliding out on moderate sets.

Common mistakes

Tail on the wrong side. Covered above, and it's still the number one problem. Thumb side, every time.

Too many wraps. Three or four turns feels secure but makes the bar sit away from your palm. Two turns is the ceiling.

Wrapping too far down the hand. The wrist loop should sit on the wrist, not on the base of your palm. Too low and the strap pulls on your hand rather than your wrist, which defeats the point.

Strapping one hand and fumbling the other. Wrap the first hand, hold the bar lightly with it so the wrap doesn't unwind, then do the second. On a deadlift from the floor, wrap with the bar settled and your hips high, then drop into position.

Using figure 8s for everything. They're brilliant for a top set of deadlifts and annoying for anything with multiple setups, like rows or pulldowns. Many lifters own a pair of each.

Recommended reads

• Best lifting straps UK
• Forearm exercises
• Romanian deadlift
• Best weightlifting belt UK
• Best grip strengthener UK