In your life, it's safe to assume you've worn gloves. Whether they be for washing dishes, repairing your car in the winter, playing a sport in the cold or gardening with mom; when you reach for your gloves and put them on, odds are good that you've already done it yourself.

When you're working out, it's important to stay warm. Whether that means putting on a pair of gloves or finding heated treadmills is up to you!

A lot of guys (and girls) avoid wearing gloves or other accessories in the gym because they're "too busy doing their own thing" or want to get calluses and feel like they've been through something difficult. These are often the same type of people that lift until they puke, scream before grabbing their weights, and leave a messy concoction of blood and chalk on the olympic bar when they’re finished.

Luckily, for the rest of us with day jobs, we also have ways to prevent these types of injuries. From braces to pads - it's a good idea to ensure that you have equipment in place so you can get back to work quickly.

The most popular accessory in any gym is a heavy-duty weightlifting glove, but should you put it in your gym bag? Let’s go over some of the benefits and drawbacks of having gloves at the ready when lifting weights.

Power Grips have been specially engineered to effectively replace all your weightlifting gloves, wrist wraps, supports and hooks – all of which can be bulky and take up a lot of space in your gym bag. They're easy to use, lightweight & designed with an "active gapping" technology which collects bio-electricity from the areas it is applied.

Pros of wearing lifting gloves

Better Grip

The most obvious benefit of wearing gloves is the increased grip. Most gloves are designed with materials that offer more grip in key areas such as the palm, thumb and fingers. The material on a lot of modern gloves is made to absorb sweat, which means less slipping when grabbing a cable pulley or barbell. The less-slipping means fewer injuries.

Wrist Support

One of the lesser-known benefits of wearing gloves at the gym is that they can provide wrist support to prevent injury and relieve discomfort if you have suffered an injury in the past. This additional brace can help a lot of lifters who depend on their wrist for grip strength. Weightlifting gloves with wrist support are also the perfect solution for those recovering from wrist injuries. They’ll help you get back to the gym faster and prevent future injury.

Check out our Premium Leather Weightlifting Gloves here

Probably the main reason people use gloves in the first place is to prevent callused hands. Wearing gloves regularly will prevent this from happening.  It may be because they have a white-collar job and see calluses as unprofessional or unattractive, or they may just not want the pain. Many weightlifters prefer to wear gloves when they are working out and this preference usually revolves around two major aspects: protection against calluses on their palms & fingers.

No Need For Chalk

Some people who refuse to wear gloves will use chalk as a substitute. Chalk has many benefits, although it's also messy and hard to contain.  Bringing chalk into the gym is likely to get it all over your other belongings, which can make them difficult to use.

Finger and Hand Protection

A big part of lifting weights is simply making sure that you’re safe. You should reinforce your weights so that they are stable, get a spotter for exercises such as the benchpress, and don't lift anything too heavy on your own. However, an unfortunate twist to this is injuries from weight accidents which can range from tiny injuries to large and sometimes even life. Weightlifting gloves will help to reduce the amount of pressure and pain you feel when lifting weights.

Cons of wearing lifting gloves

Reduced Grip Strength

There are certain people who believe that gloves will hinder grip, but the truth is that they actually maintain the strength of the hand, so you can still perform other tasks with your hands.  This may be true, but can easily be alleviated by specifically training for a stronger grip (which you should already be doing).

No Calluses 

Let's be honest: some people actually love their callused hands, and view them as a sign of the hard work they've put into the tasks they perform. While it might be seen as an outdated opinion to others, it's more than healthy to honor one's accomplishments this way.

Worse Grip

The thickness of a bar will affect your grip, with thinner bars providing better grip. This is because thinner bar are easier to hold on to than thicker ones.  This is why many people like to train with Grips from Grenadier, as they increase the size of the barbell and activate more muscles in the hand & forearm.

Gloves can make certain exercises even more difficult to do. If the bar you’re gripping is larger than the usual specs, then it's best to not use gloves so you can get a better grip.

Change in Technique

When you are just starting out in the gym, it might not be immediately obvious to you what your technique might need work on.  If you’ve been lifting for a few years and decide to start using weightlifting gloves, there will be an adjustment period while you get used to the extra layer between your hands and the bar.

You may even prefer to go without gloves with certain exercises, such as the Overhead Press.

And the decision is…

Wear gloves at the gym to avoid wear and tear on your finger and hands, as well as making weights easier to manage.

While gloves can't automatically transform your lifts into a thing of wonder or completely eradicate grip problems while deadlifting, they are certainly useful and every serious athlete needs to have a good set of lifting grips.