A lifter system includes a harness, at least one lifting strap carried by a front, central buckle on the harness, and two arm loops connected to the central buckle or to the harness near the central buckle. The arm loops are used to supply supplemental or substitute lifting force during lifting or maneuvering a heavy or bulky object. Preferably, a set of two shoulder harnesses is used by two persons standing face-to-face with a single lifter strap between them threaded through both of the central buckles, wherein the two persons wear the arm loops on their forearms and raise their arms to lift the central buckles, and hence, to lift the lifting strap, to levels higher than may be possible with only force supplied by the harnesses.