Considering their importance, it is surprising to me how often people forget to include weight lifting gloves as an integral part of their workout equipment.
Can you lift without using gloves? Sure. But there are a lot of very good reasons TO use lifting, gym, or fitness gloves:
REDUCE LIFTING INJURY
Your hands are really where the “rubber meets the road” when it comes to weight training and bodybuilding. Skin tears, while not routine, can certainly happen, and they tend not to heal quickly. Bruises, abrasions, nerve damage … all of these can severely impact your ability to work out, and can be mitigated by using lifting gloves that fit your sense of style and function.
REDUCE INJURY, PART 2
Yeah, a little bit too much sweat, the wrong balance, a moment of inattention, and … woops, I’ve got a bunch of weight laying on my … or maybe my lifting buddy’s … chest or foot. Just skip all that. Wear the gloves!
LIFT WEIGHTS MORE COMFORTABLY
I know after a hard lifting session my hands have felt like meat tenderizer has been poured all over them. Yeah, some guys are tough and can handle it, but why, when you don’t really have to? I’d rather have my focus on training hard with no distractions. Which leads me to …
GO FOR IT!
There is nothing like the feeling of just putting the hammer down and going full out sometimes. When you don’t have to worry about your grip or slips, this is much easier to enjoy. Yeah, this shouldn’t be the be all and end all, but face it — if your hands feel like swamp alligator hide, no one is gonna want to hold them. So THEN where does all that hard work get you? ‘Nough said … weight lifting gloves? Get ‘em!