Weightlifting gloves: some people love them, some people think they’re a nuisance, and some people have never heard of them. What are they?
No matter what camp you’re in, there really are some great uses for this handy piece of gym equipment. While they’re not absolutely necessary, these gloves can definitely help you train more effectively. Not only that, they can also help protect your hands.
If you’ve ever seen someone wearing gloves to the gym and wondered why, here are a few good reasons:
Hand Protection
Anyone who’s lifted for a long time can tell you weights can tear up your hands. Dumbbells and barbells generally have a rough surface and can create calluses and blisters. If you want to preserve the appearance of your palms, weightlifting gloves are a great tool. They provide a barrier between your hand and the bar, preventing you from developing calluses.
Even if you don’t care about rough palms, gloves can also help you avoid injury to your hands. Over time, continual gripping of heavy weights can create blisters. If they’re painful or you accidentally tear one, you’ll have a tough time using your hands for your next gym session. That’s where gloves shine. They’ll prevent you from developing blisters in the first place. Use them, and you’ll never have to skip a lift because of a pesky blister.
Grip Strength
Have you ever had to cut a workout short because your hands just couldn’t take it anymore? Experienced lifters know the frustration of grip burnout all too well. Many lifters who wear gloves swear by them for increasing their grip strength. Not only that, but they help alleviate the problem of sweaty palms. Have you ever tried to deadlift or row and your hands just wouldn’t stop sweating? Trying to lift with sweaty palms is not only frustrating, it’s downright dangerous. Fortunately, weightlifting gloves can solve that problem for you. If you’ve got perpetually sweaty palms, consider using weightlifting gloves to keep your workouts safe.
Wrist Protection
Wrists are pretty delicate. Several small bones within the wrist connect your hand bones to your arm bones. The way the wrist is structured causes it to be highly mobile. Unfortunately, highly mobile joints can also be highly unstable. Due to their instability, wrists can be a limiting factor if you’re trying to focus on heavy, compound movements. Many heavy movements, including front squats, low-bar squats, bench presses, and overhead presses, all rely heavily on wrist strength and mobility. Sure, you may have strong wrists already, but protecting them from injury will help ensure you don’t develop pain or dysfunction.
That’s where weightlifting gloves come in. Many gloves are designed to cover the wrists as well as the hands. They have straps that extend around the wrist, helping to relieve some of the pressure of heavy loads. If you’ve ever experienced achy wrists at the end of a strenuous workout, you may want to consider investing in some gloves.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, weightlifting gloves do offer some undeniable benefits. If you’ve never tried using them, consider giving them a go. You might just find your workouts improve… in addition to the look of your hands! Score!
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