By Sarah Wagner on June 10, 2016
There are benefits to both wearing and not wearing gloves while lifting, but mostly it comes down to personal preference. Here’s how we feel about it:
Eric: No Gloves
He’s not a fan of adding thickness to the bar, not being able to feel the bar well, and having one more thing to bring to the gym. He also feels that since he’s a man, he should have hands that can withstand the barbell. This comes from building up calluses.
Bryan: No Gloves
He just doesn’t feel he needs them. His grip only gives out on deadlifts, and he works around this by using an alternating grip. Sometimes you just don’t need to overthink things. If you aren’t worried about needing them, don’t bother starting.
Sarah: Gloves
Unless it’s quad day, I’m wearing gloves through most of the workout. I sometimes take them off for pull-ups, but never for things like deadlifts, bench, or rows. Why? I don’t want to tear up my hands, and I don’t want calluses. Yes, gloves disrupt a bit of the mind/body/bar connection since you can’t truly feel the bar anymore, but I think that you can work around this by having someone form check you, and generally being aware of what good form feels like for each lift beyond your hands.
Sarah handles all things marketing for Gravitus. An avid baker, she enjoys developing macro friendly recipes. She's been lifting heavy since 2013, and loves the barbell like she loves cute puppies.
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