Get a grip!

A good grip at the gym is so important.  No matter what you're goal, which gym equipment you are using or which activity you are doing, there will be accessories available to help you hold on tight.

With that said, there are so many accessory options out there.  I'm sure like us, you are inundated with accessories and promises on social media.  The downside of this is that every trending product out there is being pushed with one agenda, to sell, and with that can come a lot of false promises and big claims.

Here at Gym Bag Essentials, we take a slightly different approach to selling.  We want to give you genuine, honest advise on the products we all personally rate as valuable.

So here is our breakdown of the accessories we sell and the best ways to use them, along with their benefits and limitations.

 

Gym Grips

Let us start with the most popular choice of the year, the silicone gym grip.

These actually surprised us at Gym Bag Essentials when we first tested a pair.  They are easy to put on and provide a comfortable grip on dumbbells, cable attachments, machines, kettlebells, and barbells.

The silicone, grips well and prevents rotation of the bar/handles in use.

Our personal preference is using these for dumbbells and cable/plate loaded machines for pulling movements; lat pulldowns, seated rows, dumbbell rows, barbell rows etc. 

These also ok for pull-ups/chin-ups and anything hanging, as they make the grip more comfortable, however the limiting factor will always still be grip strength and Gym Grips won’t help for that. 

Where we don't think these are any good, would be heavier lifts.  Anything where keeping a clenched fist becomes hard will have you starting to lose grip of the bar, and the grips.  Deadlifts, heavy RDLs and Rack-pulls are a no-no.  We found them a hinderance if anything.  We also wouldn't recommend them for Olympic lifting or Cross-fit style workouts.

These are certainly a good addition to your gym bag and the modern replacement to lifting gloves (which have a lot of limitations).

Lifting Straps

The trusty lifting strap is designed to assist you with your grip strength.  The straps wrap around the bar in the opposite direction to your fingers, and when wound tight and held, provide a very strong grip preventing the equipment from rolling down your fingers as your grip loosens.

As soon as you relax your grip, the lifting straps will simply unwind from the equipment with ease.

The downside of these is the time and effort wrapping.  It can take a while to learn to do this one handed too, as once hand is attached, you will need to do this one handed.  This makes things a bit awkward when trying to wrap around a cable attachment, especially when overhead.

We do however think these are great for heavy dumbbell work, like; RDLs, Shrugs, Dumbbell Rows, Barbell Rows and Rack-pulls.

(Cotton)

Cotton is the cheapest option.  These are woven and strong, but can be a bit rough on the skin and can cause a bit of 'rope burn' around the wrists.

(Silicone)

These are essentially cotton straps with silicone moulds on the underside to provide a little extra grip.  Obviously extra grip is good, but these can for that reason be a little trickier unwinding at times.

(Leather)

Leather is the premium choice.  They typically last longer, and being a natural leather will soften over time and mould to the shape of your wrists.  Generally these won't cause 'rope burn' once softened.

Liquid Chalk

Liquid chalk is the go-to for anything heavy where ideally you want to develop a better grip strength.  Deadlifting with Straps can actually weaken your grip strength, hindering your progress.  

Liquid chalk would always be our go-to for Deadlifts and Olympic style lifting.  Add in a mixed grip and you are locked in for a big lift.

 

As you can probably see, these are all great additions to your gym bag, and all have their own benefits.  Personally we use gym grips, lifting straps and liquid chalk in most of our workouts.