DIY Wrist Straps

Anyone who has done martial arts for a period of time probably has a pile of these laying around:

Belts. I treasured the first few that I earned, but after a while they just start to pile up. While I was bundling a bunch of them up today I had a brain storm. I’ve been meaning to purchase a pair of wrist straps for weightlifting, mainly to assist in heavy snatch grip deadlifts. I live in a part of the country where you have to order pretty much everything over the internet because, well, if you can’t buy it at Wal-Mart, you ain’t getting it. I didn’t feel like plunking down $25 plus shipping & handling on the credit card so I’ve been putting it off.

Then I realized that a belt might work for a wrap.

Step 1: I folded the belt over to make a loop.

Step 2: I threaded the other end of the belt through to make sure it fit.

Step 3: Mark the spot where the stitches will be with a marker.

Step 4: Start sewing with a needle and thread.

You’ll need a pair of pliers to pull and push the needle through. A heavy needle would be ideal. As you can see, I’ve already bent my needle. If you have access to a heavy duty sewing machine or leather sewing machine that would be even better.

Step 5: After five or six stitches, tie it off and trim the thread. Repeat on the bottom side of the loop.

Step 6: Cut to the desired length with a pair of scissors.

And voilà! Wrist straps.

If you are not a martial arts student, you can purchase a belt at a martial arts supplier or online for a few dollars. The belts are sized by number, the higher the number the longer the belt. I used  a size 3 and got four finished straps, so depending on how long you make your straps you could conceivably get 4-10 straps out of a longer belt for $5 or less.

Disclaimer: I tested these and they are plently strong for my purposes. Of course, I am not going to be doing 700# deadlifts any time soon, so if you make a pair of these use common sense and don’t hang from a tall building from them or anything like that.