Your Gear is Making You Weak

I see the following scenario all too often. The average gym goer gets to the gym, finds an available rack and does a quick warmup. They load up a bar, throw on their knee wraps, tighten up their belt, and hit the first working set of the day.

Can you spot the mistake they already made before they even hit their first working set of todays session?

The mistake was getting all wrapped up in assistive devices way too early.

There's nothing wrong with using gear like belts, knee wraps, straps, elbow wraps, wrist wraps and slingshots. The issue is in how and when they're used.

That gear (with maybe an exception of the slingshot if you're rehabbing a shoulder injury) is not intended to prevent injury. It's to make up for structural weakness in your body thereby making a given lift easier than it would be without that gear. A crutch if you will. The belt is used as a crutch for poor bracing ability or a weakness in the trunk/midsection, straps are used to support a weak grip, etc. When used at the beginning of a session, you're actively preventing your body from adapting and getting stronger in those areas.

Take the straps in a deadlift session for example. Rather than using them from set #1, save them until your grip truly fails and becomes the limiting factor in your session. Do all your warmup sets double overhand with no straps. Do your working sets double overhand no straps until your grip starts to fail. At that point, go ahead and throw on the straps so you can keep pulling heavy without your grip cutting the session short. This way you’re building grip strength while still getting the training volume you need for your deadlift or whatever movement you're doing.

The same principle applies to the belt. Instead of strapping it on for warmups and every working set, wait until the bar is loaded heavy enough that your bracing is truly tested. Use those lighter sets to force your trunk and midsection to get stronger. When the weight gets near your maxes, then bring the belt in to support and protect you.

Konstantin Konstantinovs is known for hoisting massive loads without a belt, most famously pulling a 426 kg (939 lb) raw deadlift without a belt, a record that stood for a significant time. He would often playfully demonstrate his strength by tearing off his shirt, flexing his core, and exclaiming, "This is my f\*\*king belt!" after a beltless pull, highlighting his core strength and disdain for needing a belt


By saving the gear for when you actually need it, you’re getting the best of both worlds. You build the weak points and still push the main lifts hard. If you rely on the gear from the start, those weak points never improve and eventually they will become the reason you stall out or get hurt.

Think of your training as an opportunity to expose weaknesses, not hide them. Every rep without a crutch is another rep making you stronger where it really counts. So next time you hit the gym, resist the urge to wrap up right away. Put in the raw work first, then use the gear as a tool to finish the job or hit a new PR.

That’s how you actually get stronger.

5 min read
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