Weightlifting Gloves
When I started incorporating weight lifting into my workouts, it wasn't the soreness in my muscles that surprised me I was prepared for that it was the nasty blisters on the palms of my hands. Believe me folks, my hands are not Palmolive soft and I'm not the kind of girl who gets her nails done, but nothing will deter you from weightlifting more than looking down a rack of dumbbells with chafed and painful hands.
If you lift weights, then believe you me, your hands will thank you if you purchase them a pair of good weightlifting gloves and I don't mean the cheapest ones you can find. I'm talking about a pair with decent breathability and maybe even a little comfort padding to help ease the rubbing on barbells and dumbbells and to deter the formation of blisters and calluses.
Weight gloves are also very helpful tools for improving your grip strength on weights. I'm able to do quite a few more repetitions when I wear my weightlifting gloves and with them on I lessen the chance of my weights slipping out of my hands while I'm lifting. However, when it comes down to it, wearing weight gloves is a personal decision. I find them very helpful (I still have nightmares of those blisters to this day), but you might find them cumbersome. So, why not try out a cheaper pair (about $10 online) to test them for comfort before committing to a more expensive pair (about $15 to $25 online)?
Anna's Tip: A decent pair of weightlifting gloves will have slightly-padded palms and the fingers should always be removed to give you a better grip. Look for a durable pair made with soft-grade leather palm and spandex. They should also have Velcro closures so they don't slip off during lifts. My Reebok weightlifting gloves are padded with something called Pro Gel for comfort and they were only $25 online.
Believe me once you wear them you'll never ungloved again.
