Versa Gripps Pro Review: Are They Better Than Straps?

Versa Gripps Pro vs Straps
Versa Gripps Pro and basic straps… on my bedroom floor.

I’ve probably used traditional weight lifting straps for around 10 years or so. You know the type.

You loop one end around your wrist and wrap the other end around the barbell, dumbbells, handles, etc., thus basically attaching the weight to your wrists/hands.

Doing so improves your grip on the weight you’re holding and helps prevent it from sliding out of your hands during your set. If you’ve never used them before, they work extremely well.

Versa Gripps ARE straps… just a slightly different version of them compared to the traditional type most of us already know and use.

They exist for the same purpose (to improve your grip on the bar) and they’re used the same way (one end goes around your wrist, the other end is wrapped around the bar). It’s basically another form of the same training tool.

The question is, are Versa Gripps any better or worse than regular weight lifting straps? Let’s find out…

Wait… Straps?!? I Thought They Were A Bad Thing?

Alright, let’s get this part out of the way first.

There are some people who feel that straps are a bad thing. They claim they’re nothing more than a crutch you’re relying on to make up for a weak grip and that using them prevents your grip strength from ever improving. Therefore, straps should be avoided by everyone 100% of the time.

I on the other hand think these people are morons and highly recommend using straps whenever needed (assuming it’s in line with your goals).

Why? Because virtually no one is doing exercises like rows, pull-ups, deadlifts, shrugs, dumbbell lunges/split squats, etc. for the purpose of training their grip.

We do them to train the muscle groups they’re actually designed to train (back, legs, etc.). The thing is, as we get stronger we eventually reach a point where those muscle groups become capable of lifting an amount of weight for an amount of reps that our grip isn’t as capable of supporting.

So should the training for the rest of our body suffer because our grip gives out before the body part we’re actually trying to train? If you lack common sense, apparently the answer is yes. Otherwise, you simply turn to straps… the easy and instant solution to this problem.

I cover all of this in way more detail right here: When & How To Use Weight Lifting Straps

A lesser known purpose for using straps is that if you’re currently dealing with any elbow issues or have a history of elbow issues – golfer’s elbow especially – you’ll often benefit from taking as much stress off of your grip as you can. Guess what? Straps allow you to do that, too. More here: 17 Ways To Prevent Elbow Injuries

Now back to the review…

Versa Gripps Pro vs Traditional Straps

Like I was saying before, I’ve probably used regular straps for nearly a decade. They’ve done exactly what they’re supposed to do and have worked just fine for me.

But at some point a few years ago, I somehow came across Versa Gripps and wondered if they’d work any better than my good old reliable straps always have.

How To Use Versa Gripps
No, those are not my hands. But yes, they do come in pink. I got black.

It took me a while, but I recently got around to buying them and I’ve spent the last month or so testing them out. What kind of testing, you ask? Well…

The Test

For the first 1-2 weeks, I came into the gym with both my usual straps AND my Versa Gripps. Why? So I could alternate between them from one set/exercise to the next. Why? So I could notice whatever differences (big or small, positive or negative) that may exist between them. Why? Because that’s just how I roll.

For the 2 weeks after that, my old straps stayed in my bag and Versa Gripps became the only one I used.

I tested them on my heaviest sets of the usual exercises I’ve always used straps on (like deadlifts, certain rows, and shrugs) and a couple of additional exercises I almost never use them on (like lat pull-downs). I wanted to be as thorough as possible.

So thorough in fact that I’m going to break this review down into unnecessarily thorough categories of unnecessary thoroughness. Or something like that. They are:

  • Performance
  • Usability
  • Comfort
  • Price
  • Durability

Performance: Which Helped My Grip The Most?

Let’s start with the most important aspect of a product like this: which one works better?

Which one improved my grip the most and allowed me to lift more weight/do more reps without the bar sliding out of my hands?

Without a doubt, Versa Gripps were better than straps. How much better exactly? Not insanely better. I mean, it’s not like I was instantly able to lift twice as much weight or anything even close to that. But enough so that there was definitely a noticeable improvement in performance.

Here’s a real world example. I’m currently doing 3 sets of barbell shrugs once a week at the end of an upper body day (3 reasons why I like shrugs), which is when my grip is completely dead. For this reason, I use straps.

I’m shooting for 8-10 reps, and for a while now I’ve gotten something like 8-8-7. During the last rep of each of those sets, the bar is barely in my finger tips. The sets end not because I can’t shrug more, but because I just can’t hold the bar any longer. Again… this is with straps.

So after weeks of this happening as a result of a super fatigued grip, I tried out Versa Gripps for the first time. Guess what happened? I got 10-9-9.

Obviously that’s not a huge difference, but it is definitely a positive difference. And I’ll gladly take it.

I found there to be a similar performance improvement on the other stuff I tested as well. At whatever rep my grip had previously been dead by with straps, my grip was now noticeably less dead and additional reps beyond that point were possible.

So on the surface, Versa Gripps appear to be a couple of reps better than straps. But, since this allows me to hit my rep goals better/sooner, it allows me to progress in weight better/sooner. So it’s hard to really put a number on exactly how much better they’ll end up being in the long run.

But the point is, they ARE better. My grip just holds better and feels more tight and secure overall.

So I’d say Versa Gripps are quite good and better than straps under most circumstances. What do I mean by “most?” Let me explain…

The One Big Problem: Sweaty Hands

After being super impressed with how well Versa Gripps had performed in my first couple of tests, I happened to try them out on a Hammer Strength row (the handles of which are fairly smooth and lack the knurling of a barbell) at a point in my workout where I was a little extra sweaty.

And that’s when I discovered an unfortunate flaw: if your hands get sweaty enough, Versa Gripps kinda suck.

Seriously. Once sweaty hands enter the equation, old school straps suddenly have the advantage.

What causes this, you ask? The material they’re made of. On one hand, that material (which has this cool grippy/sticky feel to it) is part of what makes Versa Gripps awesome. On the other hand, when that material is combined with sweat, that awesomeness is instantly killed.

As bad as this sounds (and when it happens, it is bad), I’m still not totally sure how big of an issue this really is just yet.

For starters, it’s only been a few weeks. Plus, I’m not sure if this is something that can be completely avoided by simply remembering to wipe my hands on my shorts or something before starting my set.

This is something I’ll pay more attention to as I continue to use them.

Winner: Versa Gripps (unless your hands are really sweaty)

Usability: Which Is Easier/Faster To Use?

They’re both basically used the exact same way. One end goes around your wrist, and the other end gets wrapped around the bar. Here’s the best video I could find of how Versa Gripps work…

(Ignore the part about using them for “pushing” exercises, as that’s basically using them in place of gloves rather than straps. No thanks.)

Now despite them both having the same general setup and the fact that neither of them are truly “hard” to use or take more than a couple of seconds to wrap around the bar, I still found Versa Gripps to have a noticeable advantage over traditional straps.

There’s 3 main reasons why…

  1. First, unlike straps which have to be wrapped around the bar multiple times, Versa Gripps barely go around once. This makes for a faster setup and less time spent playing with straps when you’re ready to start your set.
  2. Second, they’re easier to use single-handed. If you use straps long enough you eventually get good at putting them on without using the opposite hand to assist. With Versa Gripps, you’re automatically good at it from day 1 because it’s just easier, period. This is partly because it’s only being wrapped around the bar one time, and partly because of the anti-gravity aspect of them. Speaking of which…
  3. Third, uhhh… hmmm… there’s really no way to explain this without significant penis undertones, so we might as well go all in. Versa Gripps never go limp. They’re never flaccid. They’re always up, stiff and ready to perform. Penis. Penis. Penis. You know how straps hang down from your wrists? Versa Gripps don’t. The material they’re made of is sort of bendy and stands on its own in front of your hands. At first this seems a little weird if you’re coming from regular straps, but you soon find that it makes setting up a whole lot faster and easier. This is especially true when doing stuff like pull-ups/chin-ups or lat pull-downs where you’re trying to wrap them around a bar that’s above you.

Winner: Versa Gripps

Comfort: Which Kills My Wrists The Least?

I don’t know about you guys, but whenever I’m doing something heavy (deadlifts and shrugs especially) with straps for multiple sets, my wrists end up looking like they got into a fight with some other wrists and those wrists beat the shit out of mine.

Or maybe like I have some kind of weird sunburn that’s only around my wrists. Or like I’ve been handcuffed for a while and had been trying to escape. I think you get the picture.

Padded straps (which have a soft layer of neoprene between the straps and your skin) certainly help, but the issue is still there.

Versa Gripps on the other hand are designed in a way that significantly reduces this problem. Unlike straps where all of the pressure is on your wrists (they have to squeeze the hell out of your wrists in order to work), Versa Gripps don’t really work like that.

It’s hard to explain why or how that’s even possible, but it is. Combine this with a bunch of padding of its own and the amount of stress being placed on my wrists is less with Versa Gripps than it is with straps.

Winner: Versa Gripps

Price: Which Is Cheaper?

Spoiler alert… straps win the price battle. By far.

Your most basic pair of traditional weight lifting straps will run you like $5. Go for the fancier padded version and it might go up as high as $10. Overall, straps are relatively cheap.

Versa Gripps are not cheap. They’re actually pretty damn expensive. The Pro version (which is what I’m using for this review) is $54.95 on Amazon at the time I’m writing this.

So that’s $5 – $10 for straps vs $54.95 for Versa Gripps Pro. Yeah… straps win this one.

Now you might wonder, is this much higher price for Versa Gripps warranted? Good question. The materials are definitely different. There’s definitely a lot more going into the making of these. The overall quality is very high. The construction is solid. It clearly looks and feels like it’s a significantly more expensive item than plain old straps. No doubt about that.

How much more expensive? That I don’t know, because I have no clue how much these things legitimately cost to produce (nor do I know how long they’ll last… yet). But I’d be a lot happier if they were sold for something more in the $25-$35 range rather than the $55 they actually are. That’s my honest opinion, at least.

Is this higher price STILL worth paying anyway? Well, that’s really going to be up to each person to decide themselves.

But since this is my review, I should probably tell you what I think. So…

If you’re broke and can barely afford to pay for important things (e.g. food), I’d recommend saving your money and sticking with straps. If however you have the money to spend, I do think the improved performance Versa Gripps provide is worth the higher-than-it-probably-should-be price.

Winner: Straps

Durability: Which Holds Up Better Over Time?

I’ve gone through plenty of pairs of straps over the years. I never really paid much attention to how long they last (at $5 a pair… who really cares), but if you use them regularly and lift heavy enough, traditional straps will eventually start coming apart and need to be replaced.

What about Versa Gripps? At $55 a pair, I suddenly care a bit more. Unfortunately, I have no clue how well they’re going to hold up because I just haven’t had them long enough to find out.

As of the time I’m writing this, I’ve only had my first pair for a little over a month. And they’re holding up just fine so far. No real signs of any wear and tear at all yet. I can’t say for sure how long this will last, but everything looks promising thus far.

I’ll definitely update this review in the future at the first sign of any condition issues, and I’ll update again the first time I actually need to replace them.

UPDATE: I’ve now been using the same pair of Versa Gripps for about 3 and a half years, and they are still holding up just fine. They look a little beat up and some of the stitching has come out in a couple of spots, but it’s all minor stuff that is barely noticeable. I highly recommend them.

Winner: Don’t know yet.

The Final Verdict: I Prefer Versa Gripps

4 out of 5 stars

 

I give Versa Gripps Pro a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Overall I like them better than straps and would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a new (slightly expensive) toy to play with that will do the job of straps better than traditional straps, be a bit faster/easier to use, and place less stress on your wrists while better supporting your grip.

I’ve been using them exclusively and plan to keep it this way.

The one and only thing preventing me from giving them a full 5 stars is the sweaty hands issue. Again, it’s possible that this becomes a bigger pain in the ass over time, and if it does I will come right back here to update this review. It’s also possible that just remembering to wipe my hands off first will reduce or totally eliminate the issue altogether. We’ll see.

Either way, I really like them so far.

If they sound interesting, you can get them right here from Amazon.

That’s where I got mine. And yes, just like every other product recommendation you’ll ever see on the internet (though typically the person goes out of their way to hide what I’m telling you), that’s an affiliate link. So if you click it and buy them, Amazon will give me somewhere between 12 cents and a billion dollars. Usually much closer to 12 cents.

What Size Should You Get?

One final thing I want to mention if you decide to get them is how to figure out what size to get.

The ONLY difference between the different sizes is the length of the part going around your wrists. That’s it. So the actual size or length of your hands doesn’t matter at all here. Wrist circumference is all that matters or changes from one size to the next.

With that in mind, this is the size chart they provide. It applies for both men and women:

  • X-Small: 5 – 6″
  • Small: 6 – 7″
  • Regular/Medium/Large: 7 – 8″
  • X-Large: 8″+

To measure correctly, they say: “please wrap the tape measure all the way around your wrist (directly over your wrist bone).”

Thanks to my wonderful ectomorph bone structure, my skinny girl wrists measure in at slightly over 6.5 inches. So, I got the small. They fit me just fine.

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Jay is the science-based writer and researcher behind everything you've seen here. He has 15+ years of experience helping thousands of men and women lose fat, gain muscle, and build their "goal body." His work has been featured by the likes of Time, The Huffington Post, CNET, Business Week and more, referenced in studies, used in textbooks, quoted in publications, and adapted by coaches, trainers, and diet professionals at every level.

57 thoughts on “Versa Gripps Pro Review: Are They Better Than Straps?”

57 Comments

  1. Would you say your grip gets worked even with straps? i.e. Say you could dead lift 175 pounds, and you might be able to do the first set of 10 without straps but need them for the next two sets. Then say in 6 months you were doing 200 pounds and using straps. Do you think you could go back to 3 sets of 10 at 175 with no straps? That your grip is still getting work even with the straps?

    • Yup. Straps are not some magical tool that takes your grip out of the equation and holds the weight for you. It just helps you hold the weight.

      And even if the answer was 100% no in your scenario (which it isn’t), who even cares? You’re now lifting 25lbs more than you would be if you didn’t use straps. I’d gladly take all of the new muscle and strength that comes with progress like that over anything happening with my grip.

  2. OK, so my hands sweat when I lift. The only lifts for which I require straps are RDLs and the last set of dumbbell shrugs. I’m at the point with RDLs where, even with straps, I can feel my grip starting to slip toward the end of the last couple of sets. As you said, this impacts one’s rep performance. This is true for me because of the impact it has on my focus. With the weight I am using, there is little/no room for my form to falter without ending up injured. Since straps are my only option, it looks like I have to actively work on grip strength. Do you have any recommendations?

    • I’d honestly consider giving Versa Gripps a try (just remember to wipe your hands off first). Even if you work on grip strength (which is something that would need a full article to cover), it’s still very likely that your deadlift strength will always be ahead of your grip strength no matter how much you can improve it and it will always hold you back to some extent.

  3. So what you’re saying is that my 6 inch wrists aren’t going to be any bigger 10 years from now? Being ectomorph sucks 🙁

  4. Thanks for the review! I’ve been dealing with a tennis elbow issue and have been wondering if the Versa Gripps would help alleviate my elbow/grip issue better than my standard straps.

    • Yup, both will take a ton of stress off of your grip and be helpful for related elbow issues, and from what I’ve seen so far Versa Gripps will do this better than straps.

  5. I bought my first pair over a year ago, and this year bought another (yessss because they came out in pink lol) but also because if anything ever happened to the first pair I’d be screwed! I depend on these for back workouts now, as I can lift heavier and for more reps. Funny you mentioned the tennis elbow, because that was the reason I bought them in the first place and I find these a MIRACLE, seriously (I was getting physio for 8mths for my tennis elbow). I would drive all the way back home if I forgot them.

    As for wear, after a year the edges are getting just a little frayed, nothing much. My palms never get sweaty so I don’t have that problem, but never wash them with water. It takes the sticky off of them and the grip (stickiness) on the bar lessons a bit. To get them to Canada it cost me $75, and worth every single penny. Like I said, I have a back up pair! As usual, love your posts, and I follow your lifting programs with progress 🙂

  6. Jay,

    Great article about straps. I’m thinking of incorporating them if/when my romanian dead lifts get heavy enough, which they are getting pretty close to being.

    Side question for you…

    I was reading above and noticed you mention doing shrugs once a week at the end of your upper body routine. I’ve been following your ultimate workout routine suggestion (https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-muscle-building-workout-routine/) for the last 4 months and have found good overall progress with it. However, I noticed your workout routines don’t suggest any shrugs or isolated trap work. It mentions either military press or lat raises. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. I hesitated a lot in following this routine and not including shrugs because I felt I simply wouldn’t get enough trap volume work in. I’ve been following your routine for 4 months now and haven’t noticed a difference in trap size one way or the other. I figure that’s a good thing because my muscle seems to have maintained itself with less volume, which means less time in the gym, and less wear-and-tear on my old joints. I’m curious why you do shrugs and how this is incorporated with any shoulder work you do. Also, generally speaking, would you have any objection to someone adding shrugs to the end of their routine in addition to following the exercises in the ‘ultimate workout routine?’

    Thanks for all the great advice!
    Matt

    • Shrugs are actually one of the very few additions I’m okay with making to that program. Feel free to add 3 sets of 8-10 reps to the end of just one of the upper body workouts.

  7. Whoa, easy there. Don’t show us something like your actual bedroom floor. That’s way too personal.

  8. Thanks Jay,for this info I have used straps for a long time and they are getting old like me and was thinking of getting new, so now I will be looking at this option also. As for using straps and gloves I use them all the time any one who doesn’t agree I say to them come back when you are over fifty as I am and see if you are not using them, if they are still lifting weights by then. Great article as usual and thanks for your workout routine’s.
    Regards.

  9. I measured my wrists also at 6.5…and I grew up fat! How about that for a combo.
    Anyway, great review. Will buy one day!

  10. Thanks Jay! You always seem to write an article on something I have a question about. What you said here, “it’s still very likely that your deadlift strength will always be ahead of your grip strength no matter how much you can improve it and it will always hold you back to some extent.” is true for me.

    Please do an article on proper form for the workouts highlighted in the muscle building workout routine.

    You tube channel!!! We want to see the man behind the curtain.

  11. What a coincidence. I just received my versa gripps yesterday and tried them out. It beats the hell out of straps. Only thing I find annoying is when I’m trying to write in my log, the flaps get in the way and I need to reverse the wrist strap so I can write.

  12. Hi ,

    Do they work well while lifting weight ? You wouldn’t recommend them for push ups right , what would you recommend for push ups instead , please ?

    Thank you

  13. Just a quick question! I didnt see any article about stretching? I always stretch 10 mins after a workout,following Bob Anderson’s advice from his book “Stretching”. I am curious is stretching really that important, since I didn’t see your thoughts about it. Thanks in advance

  14. Question!: When one has to keep out of the gym for lets say 2-4 weeks, how much should he eat to minimize muscle loss?

      • Thanks i’d like to know your opinion on a little problem i have at the moment too.
        Basically i’m sick of all the shitty gyms in my city with no power racks, not enough barbells and so on… So i thought about making my own gym at home. I know nothing about this and i need some guidance regarding good quality materials (nothing too fancy though).
        Perhaps you could recommend me some online shop? Or anything you think i should aware of before buying gym equipment, like what exactly do i need in the first place?

  15. Hi Jay! I have a question. I follow muscle building workout routine from your ebook. I’ve been doing it for few month and I am very satisfied.However my rear shoulder is kinda weak. I would also like to get bigger forearms. So my question is when or where should I put few more exercises for these 2 parts? And how often,is once a month ok? Thank you

    • A couple of higher reps sets (e.g. 2×10-15) of some kind of rear delt exercise can be thrown in at the end of one or both upper days if preferred.

      I’m really not much of a fan of direct forearm training though unless there was some really specific need for it. It’s just overkill for an easily overused/injured part of the body in my opinion.

  16. Thinking about getting these for pullups. My hands get crushed on pullups and I spend way too long strapping myself to the bar since I got 45lbs or more hanging between my legs. I don’t plan to use them for deadlifts because I refuse to risk dropping 500lbs+ on my foot because one hand decided to get sweaty. But I can see how these could be awesome for pullups, lat pulldowns, and possibly bench since Dexter Jackson uses them for bench.

  17. In no ways I’m I challenging you, your article or sale. So far I’ve read almost everything on this site and nodded in agreement, except this one comment with regards to grip strength;

    I read a quote from a body builder (can’t remember the name but it resonated enough to remember the words). “what’s the point of trying to lift heavy with your arms/back/chest etc. if you can barely grip the weight with your hand?”.

    To me, as a fitness enthusiast interested in functional muscle (muscle that actually works, not just ornament beach wear) that speaks pretty loudly. I understand your point here when it comes to isolation exercises and specifically trying to target a muscle group…and leaving “grip-day” for it’s own special day. I also understand that you might have possibly been paid to sell this product and that might be just a sales pitch at making the product look better by knocking a few potential legitimate claims.

    But considering that you “grip” weight every time you use your hands I would think it’s imperative that the point of first contact is sound before attempting to use them to assist another muscle group. It’s like trying to not use your back muscles for squats because it’s not back day.
    Unless your forearms are oversized and you’re trying to rebalance, I don’t see the point in robbing yourself of grip strength training because it’s not “their day”. If you use your grip everyday…train them everyday. I’m not deep in the industry but I’ve not heard of anyone complain that their grip is too strong or their forearms are too big. If no one is complaining?
    Why should training grip strength be avoided? Just to sell these products? I personally haven’t needed to use any because I’m grip strength conscious and adequate.

    Unlike waist belts that help prevent injury, wrist straps appear to cheat you of your forearm strength and less with injury prevention.

    Wouldn’t it be the upper body equivalent to skipping calf day?

    • Heck, I’ve never bought actual wrist straps during my forty-plus years of bodybuilding — I’ve just used cut-off straps and fabric belts from whatever I’ve found around as functional wrist straps. So, me, I’d discourage anyone from spending a cent on either of the straps AW compares and do as I have done…does that qualify me to speak about the value of wrist straps without being suspected of commercial conflict of agenda?

      The point of wrist straps isn’t to spare grip development — it’s to be able to substantially add poundages beyond the current limits of one’s grip to movements such as rows, pulldowns, deadlifts, SDLs.

      No, I would not advise anyone who’s been weight training for less than two years (even assuming consistently and progressively for two consecutive years) to utilize straps. Usually, a person’s grip strength will increase proportionately to his strength for rows, daedlifts, etcetera for the first couple years.

      However, depending on a person’s genetics, and upon the varying genetic limits each person has within muscle groups, it often happens that forearm/grip strength falls behind back strength. At that point, the grip becomes a hindrance to progressing in back development. Wrist straps become valuable tools for enabling back development thereafter.

      That doesn’t take away from seeking to increase grip strength — for example, adding a couple of sets of static barbell holds as well as purposely doing one’s medium-weight sets of rows and SDLs without straps are basic to seeking to further one’s grip strength. I’ve done that for decadess — done grip work and also done all but my maximum-effort sets without straps. That enabled my upper and lower back to handle loads beyond my grip capacity but also continued to improve my grip.

      You mentioned calves — do you work your calves every day you’re in the gym each week and with maximum poundages? Or, do you give them rest/recovery days like other muscle groups? Forearms are no different than calves — they require intense workouts followed by relative rest days. Training grip every day in the way you suggest is equivalent to training calves every day and expecting them to grow despite the overwork. There’s no long-term benefit in working grip strength maximally every time you’re in the gym.

      So what, that even a world-class bodybuilder’s personal opinion of grip strength is that you should be able to grip anything you use for your other muscle groups? He may happen to own genetics that enable him far better results than most of us, but those genes don’t mean his opinion about straps is correct for everyone, for most — or even for himself. Other world-class bodybuilders DO use straps. Heck, for all he knows, he might have achieved even BETTER results if he’d used straps!

      And, nawwww…a belt IS like straps. I’ve heavy squatted (including 650+ lbs partial squats at my 160-lb bodyweight), front-squatted, deadlifted, overhead pressed, and bent-over rowed for DECADES without using a belt “to prevent injury”. A belt DOES help lift a little more in those lifts. I have zero against belts, so don’t misunderstand — I just happen to prefer to use them only when I’m working around an injury.

  18. Hehe was my query too overwhelming for an answer ;). I hope you’re just taking a while to write back otherwise the lack of reply or acknowledgement kind tells me either you’re not interested or you’re afraid of ‘bad press’ on this subject which could deter people away your article effectiveness. Again I’m only interested in the science. Not the sale nor public acceptance. 🙂

    Peace

    • Dude, seriously? It’s been less than 3 hours since your first comment and you’re already commenting again accusing me of ignoring it because of “bad press.” What in the holy fuck are you even talking about?

      Also keep in mind I get literally near 100 comments and emails per day, and it often takes me days before I get through it all.

  19. Hello,
    good article and just in time. been on your ‘beginners workout routine’ for three months now and reached the point where my grip is impeding my deadlift. Checked your site for just this sort of advice – I use the normal fingerless gloves for grip to avid the callouses but they can’t overcome gravity!
    When reaching the last few reps in my set of deadlifts yesterday, I could feel my fingers opening up – unable to maintain full grip and about to drop the bar, fatigued. The rest of my body can cope with the extra weight, but the finger muscles can only take so much and fatigue early.
    Anyway, checked out the Amazon and Ebay sites for the Versa grips – on the US site the grips are $55 but delivery to the Uk would be another $40! Steep.
    Found what looks to be the same design and labelled as ‘Versa grips’ on the UK Ebay site, selling for £9.99 plus £3.99 postage here in UK. Have you seen them? Would be a heck of a saving for people even if ordering from the US with postage. I’ve ordered a set – expect delivery Tuesday – in time for next Wednesday’s Deadlift. Can’t wait.
    For info. Jack

  20. I’ve had Versa Grips for over a year and i like them…a lot. Pullups and Chinups are awesome…i use a dumbbell to stand on..wrap both hands and only have to focus on the muscles doing the work, rather than can my grip hold out long enough.

    One problem i have and hoping you can help now that you’ve used them for a bit.

    I think Versa Grip manufacturer recommends keeping them loose on the wrist so they easily spin, instead of wrapping them tight. What i’ve developed is pain at the base of my thumb where it meets the wrist, whatever that tendon/ligament is, it hurts. I find that the Versa Grips are pushing on that spot, which is expected, as if not it would simply slide off.

    So, any ideas how to resolve this?….different grip, wrap straps tight, use something else…

    Thanks, and nice review

    Mark

  21. Great article – I’m only just getting to the stage where my smaller hands are getting in the way of lifting heavier. Hit a new PB today (50kg deadlift), and could easily have smashed out another 3-4 reps, but my grip was giving out, and I had to change to sumo grip – I prefer overhand.
    I’ll be getting myself a pair of these very soon!

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