Weight Training Accessories for all!
Spending effort, money and time on workouts, you may be interested to know what accessories and tools for worthwhile and effective results. While some people are contented with only their bare hands and wearing a gym shirt going to the gym, your workouts will become more effective by using some of the accessories to find below for all weight training needs:
- Towel is an obvious accessory you need in weightlifting! You won’t want to use gym equipment with your sweat all over and to have your face with this distraction while lifting.
- Gym bag is where to put all your gym accessories to bring in the gym. Of course, you don’t want to look like a rookie without a good gym bag to store your essentials.
- A water bottle is a staple in weightlifting just like a gym bag. It provides you with rehydration you need when working out and stores water, whey protein shakes or caffeine/creatine based drinks to keep you going in tiring gym sessions.
- MP3 players are great for providing you a sort of entertainment, as you’re scorching muscles in a public gym. They come in handy in providing you with better focus and in preventing other trainees from bothering you when you’re listening to music.
- Hand grippers are used in strengthening your forearm muscles and come in a wide range of resistances and styles, some of the most important accessories in improving your workouts and increasing your gains. Especially recommended for trainees who use lifting straps, hand grippers help in establishing your forearm strength, so consider choosing from a wide range of weight resistance available depending on your muscle ability and strength. Alternatively, you can buy slightly used gym accessories such as grippers that cost only a fraction of the price of new ones.
- 9-inch long bands are gym accessories to use for warming up the glutes and the hips for an efficient full body workout in a very short time. If you’re traveling, you can take them with you so that you can exercise, too, even when away from the gym.
- Weightlifting shoes come with strong and solid platform ideal for squatting because they usually have elevated heels of about an inch. Possessing this feature, gym shoes allow the shin to inclining more so that your back can keep its upright position when squatting. Wearing them is recommended for weightlifters with tight calves because they lean forward excessively when squatting. With their tough design and construction, you can maintain the proper alignment of your anklebones and foot so that you can keep your knees in proper alignment when doing squats and that you can avoid tight ankles when lifting.
- Lifting straps come in a wide range of materials, but the nylon made ones are recommended for snatches so that you can release the barbell faster. However, you may limit using straps if you’re a competitive weightlifter because your hands might get used to them resulting to too weak or soft grips and hands during the competition and may limit the strength of your grip preventing you from overloading your muscles used in exercises. Another drawback is that you might suffer from torn palm skin aside from affecting your ability to lift maximal weight in training when using lifting straps excessively.
- Head harness is for those training their neck because it fits onto the head because it has a chain for placing weight on it. Using it, you can perform a wide range of neck movements, but it may make you feel unnatural and some of them may be hard to move around in. Alternatively, you can make use of a towel and weight when neck training to provide you a natural feel.
- Swiss ball is another useful gym accessory because it provides a room for propping your feet up when performing cardio exercises and pushups. On the other hand, experts suggest you use bench when doing pushups and curls instead of a Swiss ball if you don’t have it.
- Mats come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and they provide cushioning for your joints when working out. They are handy and can be brought when traveling so that you can exercise and do body weights even in your hotel room.
- Chalk is used by weightlifters to ensure a strong and steady grip, but do not use it excessively because it might move across your hands compromising your grip. There are gyms that allow the use of it but some do not. In this case, you might want to get a chalk ball to use instead. Alternatively, you can make use of liquid grip or weightlifting gloves, but using the latter may become a problem when it started affecting proprieception, an important safety factor when lifting Olympic bars and weights.
- One of the most effective accessories to improve workouts is knee wraps with the ability to store elastic energy and to allow increasing reps and lifting more weight, although they don’t add to your lifting power. They increase the speed from which lifting is performed, thus increasing your overall performance. However, they can limit the movement in your knee joint and compromise its integrity. Even though knee wraps are used in protecting the knee joints, they may cause friction increase between the underlying cartilage and the patella because they compress one’s kneecap that also increases risks to injuries of the knee and to arthritis.
- Lifting gloves lessen hand pain and increase handgrip ability because free weights including Olympic style barbells have small grips that can cause pain in your hands but not if you would be wearing gloves offering cushion for them. Wearing gloves increases weightlifting concentration, decreases calluses and pain and provides better handgrip, but they may lessen handgrip power due to the larger gripping surface.
- Weight training belt is one of the gym accessories to use on how to improve workouts, especially if you’re using squat suits and knee wraps. It can provide support and better proprioception to maintain your space position. Many of these weight-training belts are thick of about four inches wide and with the same width around. On the market, you can also find noncompetition belts, which work similarly like weight training belts, but they are wider in the back, a type popular among lifters experiencing back pain.
To improve your workouts, make sure that you get the most important accessories on the list you find useful or needed. Definitely, basics, such as towels, water bottle/protein shake dispenser and gym bag should be on top of your priorities when completing gym accessories to buy.
