Does anybody use any bodybuilding equipment that they find particularly useful, like a weight vest, gloves, etc.? How beneficial is such equipment?
I use nothing.
I lose grip sensation with gloves, and I’m not a fan of straps or belts.
A dip belt for adding weight to chins and dips, gloves only because I don’t like grabbing a bar that someone else has used that probably goes to the bathroom and doesn’t wash their hands.
The dip belt makes life much easier, except when doing supersets (pull up bar and dip bars aren’t next to each other) and you have to walk around with the damn thing.
Gloves are good. Blisters and calluses suck… and my girl doesn’t like them… and neither do I.
I use straps with my higher rep deadlift sets.
I would love to get my hands on a weight belt.
Every time I do pullups with a dumbbell between my ankles I think how much more weight I could put on if I had a belt.
A dip belt is a good investment.
I was pretty anti-strap until I started using them. Your back is more important then your forearms.
Never liked gloves though. Brought a pair, used them twice and gave them away.
how exactly do deadlift straps benefit the person using them? Your hands are still gripped around the barbell, so I don’t see the benefit of the straps…
gym equip:
2 board
3 extra loose 1 boards for 1-5 board presses.
soon to have titan centurion
belt
straps
athletic tape
duct tape
shorts
soon to have bands
PWO shake
The straps help keep your grip on the barbell. This can help if you’re doing a bunch of reps or if you’re going for a 1rm with a weight you can’t hang on too raw.
Wrist wraps.
They stop wrist pain from continual heavy weight.
[quote]Bwick wrote:
how exactly do deadlift straps benefit the person using them? Your hands are still gripped around the barbell, so I don’t see the benefit of the straps…[/quote]
Well you can’t tell just by looking at someone using them. It looks like the person is just holding the barbell as usual. But give them a try. They transfer a lot of the load to your arms and bypass your hands. You still have to hold on but its a lot easier. They are good for heavy deadlifts and I like them when I am doing long sets of shrugs. I like to pause for 3 or 4 seconds at the top and the bottom of the movement so towards the end of the set my grip is fried. Especially after a few sets. Its nice to have the straps so i can focus on my traps and not maintaining my grip.
-Chains
-Bands
-Power hooks
-Power wheel
-Chalk
-Do-rag
-Fanny pack
This is something that is apparently only available in Canada, though a shop I go to here in Taiwan has them, and I’m thinking about picking them up.
I’ve never used grip support, but I’m thinking about it, as I can work my grip separately, and focus on deadlifting when I deadlift.
Knee/elbow sleeves, keep the joints warm and mean you can concentrate on the weight rather than worrying about your elbows/knees.