When you go to a gym often or not you will see people wearing gloves, belts, knee wraps, elbow supports pulling straps and even chalk you may also notice strange looking equipment on the gym floors.
Such as foam rollers that no one uses or trigger point balls you may question do we need all these training aids?
the short answer is yes they all are useful they all will help enhance and improve your training experience however you should not rely solely on using them.
for example I wanted to talk about 3 pieces that I use for my training and that you can also too
Foam roller- (shown in the photo above) is a self-myofascial release (SMR) technique that is used to inhibit overactive muscles in other words if you are feeling stiff or tight it is great aid for loosening up before and after exercising.
However it may not be for you if you are not suffering from these issues also you may be in an environment where you have no foam roller and are left stuck alternatively a comprehensive warm/dynamic stretching/ and some short static is good enough.
Pulling straps- probably my favourite and most useful piece of training equipment. why is it so useful not only does it help you lift more weight and even improve your grip takes a lot of pressure off your hands and helps your skin stop ripping. Which can happen when you do a lot of dumbbell or barbell lifting however once again do not use straps all the time, perhaps when it gets very heavy or when you are doing lots of reps and sets.
Chalk- another grip aid Chalk’s function is to improve safety and performance by decreasing the friction between your hand and the bar it also keeps your hands from sweating again can help you lift more weight nevertheless over reliance and over use of chalk can be a hinderance it’s best to use it when you are lifting very heavy weights or are lifting competitively.
In conclusion generally speaking nothing can beat using your own bare hands for the most effective gains however depending on your goals and your level of training keep in mind these tools than can help you take your training to the next level.
Enjoy Training
Eytan
