All the Gear and Some Idea (Your Guide to Common Training Gear)

What should you have in your gym bag when you go to hit your training session? While most people just think towel, water bottle and headphones, if you have been training for a little while now you have probably seen other lifters wearing special shoes, lifting belts, straps around their wrists and a plethora of other bits and pieces.

So, if you’ve been wondering what else you might want to consider bringing to the gym, here is a rundown of some of the most common pieces of lifting gear you’re likely to see at your gym.

Shoes

Let’s start with something everyone brings to the gym already, shoes. Go into any commercial gym and chances are you will see plenty of people wearing running shoes. While this may seem like a good idea, I would actually advise against it when weight training. The soft, uneven padding gives us a poor base for lower body movements such as the squat and deadlift, meaning it will be harder to maintain your centre of gravity and can put you in a compromised position. This essentially means you will not be able to lift as much weight and you will have an increased risk of injury, not ideal.

Think of shoes as the foundation that’s supposed to carry your body and the weights you’re lifting. So, unless you’re wearing a ‘solid foundation’, which is proper shoes, you’re at a high risk of subpar performance or sustaining an injury.

I recommend to all my clients to wear flat, hard sole shoes in the gym when strength training, this allows them to get a better feel of their foot position when training, helps generate more strength through their leg drive (a soft sole prevents this) and lowers any risk of injury.

In terms of specific “lifting shoes”, there are squat specific powerlifting shoes you can purchase that will usually have a hard sole, with a slightly raised heel that puts your body in a more mechanical efficient position while squatting. If you are looking for a specific example, I personally have used the Adidas Powerlift 4 squat shoes (they are relatively cheap and comfortable) for the past few years and highly recommend.

For deadlifting, you want a minimalistic shoe with a flat sole, this gives you a solid foundation with the ground while also reducing the range of motion you need to lift the bar through. For general training, any flat shoes should suffice, plenty of my clients simply use converse or cheap Kmart/Target flat shoes. You can also purchase deadlift slippers. These are basically shoes without much of a sole, somewhere between a proper shoe and a sock, which some people prefer as it mimics not wearing shoes at all. Your best bet is to try a few different variations out yourself and see what works best.

Lifting Belts

If you’ve been training for a while, you have probably seen or even used a weightlifting belt before. They are primarily used to help with bracing when performing big lifts such as the squat and deadlift. They do this by giving your core something to brace against, as this allows you to create more tension through your torso throughout the lift. This in turn makes your back more rigid, improving lifting form and keeping one’s back safe.

With that being said, something I would like to drive home is the need to build up your bodies “natural weightlifting belt” before adding a real one. Whether you plan to use one or not, it is important to learn proper breathing and bracing mechanics. Without proper bracing and breathing abilities, a belt will serve only as a band-aid rather than an effective training tool.  Here is a quick breakdown of how to brace effectively:

Flex your stomach, an easy way to imagine this is to imagine someone is about punch you in the gut. Breathe into your stomach, think about breathing into your abdomen, if it helps try to visualise the ribcage getting pulled into the body. Tense your obliques, while bracing and breathing, visualise pushing the air out into your obliques. Doing all these at once should create a rock-hard brace throughout your core. Practice makes perfect so keep at it if it doesn’t feel completely natural at first.

There is no universal point where you should add a belt to your training, and I would suggest training without one for a decent amount of time until you feel like one would become beneficial. A good guideline for adding a belt is once you are squatting over 1x your bodyweight and deadlifting 1.5x your bodyweight. However, as mentioned previously, there is no universal number so it would be best to consult with your coach (if you have one, which you should) about whether you need to add one to your training.

Lifting Straps

Lifting straps are a great tool to incorporate into your training when your grip starts to become the limiting factor in your lifts. Similar to the weightlifting belt discussed above, you should still spend time developing your grip strength when you first start training in the gym. This should come along quite naturally as we use our grip in the vast majority of exercises when we train.

However, once it gets to the point that you are missing lifts or failing to complete sets because your grip is giving out, it may be time to give straps a go. Before you think that using straps may be “cheating” or you aren’t sure if you need to be using them, consider that every exercise in your training has a specific purpose and target muscle(s).

Take the Deadlift for example, the main target areas are the glutes, hamstrings, and core. If all of these muscles are missing out on stimulation because your forearms can’t handle the load, then something needs to be done to take them out of the equation. Same goes for rowing/pulldown exercises, where typically your back will be stronger than your forearms, we’ve all had a set of lat pulldown finish with our fingers barely holding onto the bar.

Personally, I use lifting straps for my heavier rowing movements at the beginning of my back focussed days before ditching them after a few exercises as to not completely neglect my grip strength. For regular deadlifts I usually tend to lean towards chalk as opposed to straps, but that’s my personal preference. I will use straps for my deadlift accessories though (Romanian Deadlift variations and Rack Pulls) as by this point my grip is usually compromised.

Chalk

Chalk provides many of the same benefits as lifting straps as it can assist with grip strength during training. Chalk is used for a variety of movements because it can help prevent us from losing our grip on barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells because of its ability to absorb moisture, which is a necessary once we start to sweat. 

For people aiming towards more of a strength focus, chalk can be a better option than straps as it allows us to lift the most weight possible without supplementary assistance. It also keeps our grip strength being challenged, which will lead to a stronger grip over time. My advice would be to use both chalk and straps for different movements depending on the circumstances.

As mentioned earlier, I tend to use straps for the majority of my training which requires my grip to not be my limiting factor, also training/working in a commercial gym I don’t want to get chalk all over all the machines, dumbbells, cables etc. However, I do use chalk for my main deadlifts as the focus of those is on building strength, so I want to keep my grip getting stronger. Like most things, it depends on your goals and personal preferences which one you will go with most often.

Pre-workout: While it is a supplement and not exactly training gear in the way everything else in this article is, I figured it was worth a mention as pre-workout can serve the same purpose as most other things listed here: Improve your training and allow you to move more weight effectively. Plus, it is one of the things I’m asked about most commonly by newer lifters.

The main feature of most pre-workouts is the high caffeine content. When used correctly, pre-workout can give you that extra kick during your sessions so that you get the most out of your training. It’s a great tool to have for situations where you maybe don’t feel like you have the energy to tackle your workout or need an extra boost. However, it shouldn’t be used as a band-aid for poor sleep and/or fatigue management. Some people don’t use it at all, and others use it before every session. Like most things in this article, it really depends on your circumstances as to when/how much you use.

Just avoid taking it too late in the evening, as you don’t want a few hundred milligrams of caffeine floating around in your system when trying to get to sleep…

Less common bits and pieces:

The following equipment is less common than the above ones, but they are still worth a mention. Most are for more advanced lifters so you should discuss with your coach/do your own research before adding these to your gym bag.

Knee sleeves: Knee sleeves are worth the wear if you need them for joint warmth and support in heavy lifts, plus they can also be useful for providing a light compression and confidence in lifts. Similar to weightlifting belts, you don’t necessarily need knee sleeves to lift heavy weights. Almost all powerlifters use them, but general gym goers probably don’t need to worry about them in the early stages of their training.

Wrists wraps: Not to be confused with lifting straps, wrist wraps deliver structure and support to the bones and ligaments of your wrists. The added structure helps not to allow the wrist to flex backwards (common on the bench press) while training which can lead to long term wrist injuries. While preventing injury they also help keep your wrist in a biomechanically strong position, which can lead to greater force production (lift more weight).

Wrapping up

Pretty much all the gear discussed here is worth it if used correctly, but that is predicated on the notion you understand their purpose and are not just trying to band-aid fix physical weaknesses. Most newer lifters (<6 months-1 year of training) shouldn’t worry too much about adding supportive gear to their bodies and focus more on building up their natural strength.