There are many
products on the market today that you can add to your training regimen. When
used correctly, such products are a great way to add some variety to your
program. In this article I’ll go over a few of them and discuss the pros and
cons of each, when they exist.
Grip Aides:
Grip is often a limiting factor
for a lot of lifters, especially for the deadlift. To combat this problem, many
lifters resort to the use of chalk and lifting straps. There is no
doubt that both options work well. You’ll see chalk being used by any
elite level lifter, in Crossfit, Powerlifting, and Strongman events. The
main purpose of chalk is to increase the amount of friction between your hands
and the bar. This provides a better force transfer between you and the bar.
From a research perspective, however, the use of chalk has been mostly
limited to rock-climbing. According to this research, chalk can either decrease
or increase the amount of friction depending on the type of stone.1 Back
to lifting, though. Based on personal experience, I like using chalk. It
definitely enhances my ability to grip the bar, in combination with the
knurling of the bar. “Liquid chalk” has also been seen on the market
recently, and its use is similar to that of regular chalk. Using either of
these will accomplish the same goal of reducing the moisture on your hands,
giving you a better ability to grip the bar.
Next, we have lifting
straps. Lifting straps can be used to handle weights that you normally
would not be able to lift due to grip strength, and are often used for pulling
exercises. Straps are a good tool to cycle in and out of your training, in
order to add some variety. However, chronic use of lifting straps can have
detrimental effects on your grip strength and actually decrease it in the long
run.1 Therefore, using lifting straps for your top sets would
be recommended.
Sleeves and Wraps:
Sleeves and wraps can be worn on
the knees, wrists, and elbows. These are used primarily for benching and squatting.
Wrist and elbow sleeves/wraps add more support to the joints when benching, in
turn making the joint more “ridged.” If the joint is more ridged, there are
fewer opportunities for exerted force to dissipate and not be transferred into
the bar. The same can be said for knee wraps and sleeves. Another advantage to
wraps is that they can add some elasticity and provide a rebound force in
addition to the muscular force produced. Some knocks against the use of
sleeves and wraps include altered biomechanics and increased friction between
the patella and knee cartilage1, but research on these effects has
not been strong. Some pros to using sleeves and wraps, besides added joint
support, include better body awareness of joint position and additional warmth
to the joint, decreasing the risk of inflammation.1 If you are
only using sleeves and wraps to hold your body together when you train, and are
reliant on them, you may want to consider putting your efforts into other areas,
for example, lifts that do not require you to use wraps and sleeves. If
you are looking to add longevity to your training, don’t just rely on sleeves
and wraps to hold you together.
Lifting Belts:
Lifting belts are used to increase
the support and safety of your lower back when lifting. This is done via an
increase in intraabdominal pressure (IAP). Our bodies naturally have a built-in
“lifting belt” that is utilized when we perform a valsalva maneuver. The
term "valsalva maneuver" describes what happens when you draw in
air, tightening your abdominal region and holding in the pressure. This method,
in combination with a weight lifting belt, can increase your IAP to levels
greater than normally attainable. The increased IAP, in turn, reduces the
direct load on the spine.1 Using a lifting belt for loads
greater than 80% of your 1RM is a general rule of thumb, because of the higher
level loads above 80% 1RM and potential risk of injury. Overuse of a lifting
belt results in the same pattern as chronic use of lifting straps, and can
cause decreased strength and effectiveness of spinal stabilizers.1 If
you are familiar to the gym setting, I’m sure you’ve seen the bro who wears a
lifting belt continuously for the whole session, day in day out. Don’t be this
guy. You know better now.
Mouthguards:
Mouthguards have been
theorized to increase muscular force when used. Based on the evidence as of
right now, there may be some increase in muscular force development, but this
evidence is not very strong.1 However,
a mouthguard is not that expensive and would be a cheap experiment to
try out. This may be more of a comfort thing for lifters, and it will not
hinder your performance. Mouthguards have been shown to reduce dental
injury1, so if you plan on bashing your head into things when you
train, this could potentially be for you.
Ammonia:
If you’ve ever been to a lifting
competition there’s no doubt you’ve seen this one being used. Lifters will
smell ammonia before attempting a lift to get a “head rush” and increase their
state of arousal. There have been no differences shown in lifting performance
with the use of ammonia and without.1 Broscience would dictate
that it is beneficial, but its effects most likely depend on the individual and
belief that it works.
Shoes:
I’ve seen that lifting shoes have
become more popular as of late in the lifting community, especially for squats.
Commonly used shoe types include a wedged shoe with a hard raised heel and a
minimalist/flat-soled shoe. The enemy of the low back is shear force when squatting,
so an upright posture is considered ideal. There are obviously more factors
that go into squatting but we’ll keep this limited to shoes' effects on
upright posture. A raised heel helps keep a more upright posture when
squatting. I think that this can be beneficial if you are a more quad-dominant
squatter, with a narrower stance, but if you have a wider stance and like to
drive your feet outward while pressing up, a raised heel is probably not for
you. If you have a wider stance when squatting a flat-soled shoe is better
option. The wide foot position allows for better utilization of external
rotation force when lifting, which is not conducive to raised heel shoes.
When deadlifting, you want to use
a flat-soled shoe or even no shoes, regardless of whether you are a
conventional or sumo deadlifter, to reduce the distance that the bar needs
to travel. A heeled shoe would shift you center of gravity forward1,
and this is not ideal when deadlifting. Stick to the flat sole for this one.
Gear and Compression:
There is limited research in this
area but based on bench press and squat records between lifts performed with
gear and without gear, it is clear that powerlifting gear allows for lifters to
lift more weight. The term "gear" encompasses equipment such as briefs
of different plys, bench shirts, and squat suits. The increase in amount of
weight lifted is believed to be due to elastic energy released during the
concentric phase of the movement.1 Lifting in gear is a skill
in itself and is very different than lifting without it. Geared lifting is
much more dangerous than raw lifting, which is performed with a belt and knee
wraps, and often requires a team to spot and perform the lifts for safety
reasons. This is just another variation to lifting, however, and is another
variable that some can add to their training.
For consultation/personal training/coaching inquiries email:
ryangoodell@weightsandstuff.com
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1.Church JB, Allen TN, Allen GW. A Review of the Efficacy
of Weight Training Aids. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2016;38(3):11-17.
