Wrist Wraps Do Not Affect Barbell Bench Press Muscular Strength, Power, or Endurance in Resistance-Trained Men and Women

Abstract

Harris, DR, Harris, DR, Cardaci, TD, Cintineo, HP, Funderburk, LK, and Machek, SB. Wrist wraps do not impact barbell bench press muscular strength, power, or endurance in resistance-trained men and women. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2024—Although wrist wraps have become increasingly prevalent in both competitive and recreational demographics to improve upper-body strength, their posited ability to augment bench press performance by enhanced wrist stability still remains underinvestigated. Furthermore, no data exist determining the efficacy of varying wrap styles on bench-specific muscular strength and associated power, and quantitative and subjective differences between sexes. Eighteen resistance-trained male and female subjects (9M/9F; 24 ± 4 years; 176 ± 33 cm; 80 ± 15 kg) visited the laboratory on 3 separate occasions in randomized, crossover, and counterbalanced design to wear either a flexible wrist wrap (FW), stiff wrap (SW), or an unwrapped/no-wrap control (NW) condition. All subjects underwent a bench press one-repetition maximum (1RM) test and linear position transducer-derived power and velocity assessments. Furthermore, subjective stability (SS) and discomfort (SD) were determined promptly following 1RM attempts. Analyses failed to detect any main condition or interaction effects for bench press 1RM; however, a statistically significant main sex effect was observed (p < 0.001; = 0.597) favoring male subjects relative to female subjects. Neither power nor velocity measurements revealed any significant main condition or sex effects, nor any interactions. Nonparametric assessments further revealed significant wrist wrap condition effects for both SS and SD (p < 0.001 in both cases), whereby NW was statistically more comfortable (p < 0.001) than either wrap condition, without any difference between FW and SW (p > 0.05). Although wrist wraps did not significantly alter bench press-specific strength and power, subjects nonetheless perceived wrist wraps as subjectively more stable irrespective of increased discomfort.