Weightlifting gloves are designed to protect your palm, your hands and your fingers. It serves as a protection against friction and abrasion. Wearing weightlifting gloves is a personal choice. With weightlifting and carrying heavy dumbbells at the gym, your hand might be subject to abrasion and calluses. Sometimes they can get too painful. Some people swear by them and would not go to the gym without their weightlifting gloves. Others claim they interfere with their workout. Some people simply get irritated by the idea of gloves altogether. They feel that they are not able to move their hands the way they want to. Some people feel that they actually need to feel the weight. Nevertheless, there are a lot of fitness gurus and gym experts who swear by gloves and think that they must be included in every gym gear. You should consider the pros and cons of weightlifting gloves before making your decision.
Why Use Weightlifting Gloves?
- Calluses and Blisters
When lifting weights over long periods of time results calluses and blisters. Some find these unattractive and using gloves to preserve the appearance of their hands. Even those people who do not mind tough hands can benefit from using weightlifting gloves. Weightlifting gloves prevent blisters. If you see callouses not just as rough patches of skin, but as badges of honor, you probably will not even consider wearing lifting gloves in the weight room. But for those who do not enjoy the feeling of a coarse metal bar digging into their palms, gloves seem like a sensible option that can protect the skin. Because gloves are designed to protect your hands from excessive friction, they will definitely help you avoid hand calluses. Hand calluses and blisters can be very painful and are not exactly very pretty to look at. A painful blister can stop you from carrying your weights no matter how tough you are. Nevertheless, some people just love having them because they make them feel more of a bad ass. However, if you are concerned about the beauty of your hands, then it will be gloves all the way.
- Grip
Most fitness gurus believe that gloves give you a better grip on weight bars. As you work out at the gym, your hands might start to get sweaty. This can be annoying if you are doing pull ups and keep falling off the bar. It is also dangerous if you are holding heavy weights over your body. Weightlifting gloves make workouts safer. Just make sure that you pick a breathable material that will keep your hands cool. Since you are utilizing something that adds space between your palms and the bar (or whatever you are gripping), you are essentially making the surface of that bar thicker and harder to get a complete grip. Furthermore, once you take off those gloves, your long-term grip is weakened because you have not been building your grip strength when using the gloves for assistance.
- Pressure
You might start to feel too much pressure especially around your wrist with heavy weights. Gloves can give some support and help you carry heavier weights successfully. It is like having an extra band of ligaments that will support your wrist while carrying heavier loads. If you are asking yourself what the best weightlifting gloves are, then you need to pick something that is durable, breathable, and supportive. It relieves pressure placed on your hands when lifting heavy weights. This allows you to move beyond the limitations of your hands. The chest and back muscles on most people can handle much more weight than their naked hands can support. It also increases the pressure capacity on your hands.
- Wrist Support
Gloves will give you support where needed and help you go beyond your limit. To avoid feeling restricted, you can always go for a fingerless model. Some models will support the palm only, while others will have a wrist wrap. There are a lot of models and options to choose from. All you need is to give them a try and see how it goes. Most weightlifting gloves also wrap around your wrists. This provides valuable support for the wrists while they support heavy weights. The material of the glove acts like extra ligaments and tendons while the wrist is bent backward. Weightlifting gloves help prevent wrist injuries in the gym.
- Increased Lift
Weight gloves with wrist straps can make you stronger. They do this by distributing the weight being lifted across the forearms instead of making your fingers hold it all. This is especially effective in pulling exercises like dead lifts or upright rows. Weight gloves with wrist straps allow you to lift much more weight than you could with just your hands.