With weight lifting straps Wrist straps come in a wide variety. Most are the basic canvas type that you loop around your wrist and the bar. Some involve a Velcro closure that wraps around your wrist and a hook that goes around a bar or a barbell.

Regardless of the style, they all serve the same purpose: to increase your grip strength and endurance.

Without weight lifting straps Even if you do not employ weight lifting wrist straps, you can increase gripping ability with the use of lifting gloves or chalk.

The bottom line: When doing pulling exercises, such as most back exercises, it may be beneficial to you use wrist straps during all sets to enhance gains in both muscle strength and size. Some experts warn that this may limit your grip strength and forearm development.

However, your focus should not be on building grip strength and forearm size during a back workout. It should be on developing back size and strength, and it appears that using weight lifting wrist straps will enhance this endeavor.

To develop forearm size and grip strength, include a workout that focuses on forearm and grip exercises. [via]