Christmas is not far down the road whilst it might be too late to get these items in time for your loved ones at xmas here are three items that might be a nice little addition to your gym bag in the new year. Go on treat yourself!
1 – A decent lifting belt.
The number one thing I love in my lifting lift is my lever belt, it just works so well. No messing about getting three mates and a squat rack so I can pull it to the right setting, just set the lever into the correct position then boom flip the lever like a boss! Belt tight as fuck no messing around no heaving and hoing just straight up trunk support.
You might have prefrences over the kind of belt some people like double prong, some people like single prong but no one like a shitty quality belt. Sure you can get a belt for 10 quid off amazon but trust me it’s not worth it just pony up the cash and get a good quality belt.
My personal favourite belt is the Inzer lever belt. It’s expensive but it’s sexy as fuck.
2 – A good pair of Wrist Wraps.
Wrist wraps much like belts are a great lifting tool, loads of people get achy wrists from overhead squats, snatches, front squats, cleans, push press etc. They can save you a whole lot of trouble though if you just throw them on for heavy or awkward lifts. When worn properly they should fuse the joint in essence making it inflexible and solid. A good pair of wraps can take away almost all of the discomfort at the wrist joint by making it solid, as with the belt you can pay 5-10 quid on a pair of wrist wraps but it’s a fool economy the Velcro will ware out eventually making it useless.
My personal favourite pair of wraps is the silver metal vikings.
3 – A good set of Knee Sleeves
Last but by no means least a good set of knee sleeves can make the difference between a pair of happy knees and a pair of achy decrepit hinges you call joints. Your knees can stand up to a real good pounding but they are prone to aches and niggles if you do a lot of lowerbody liftings and with heavy weights.
If you do dynamic lifting (read snatching, clean and jerks) or you squat deep on a regular basis a pair of knee sleeves can really help to keep your knee joint happy.
In 2011 when I decided to be a retard and do the John Broz squat max everyday programme I pook up some issues I’m fairly sure I had some MCL damage at one stage due to a lack of stability in my knee during walking.
Since then I squat 2-3x a week heavy but with the addition of knee sleeves my knee’s have never been an issue. I am now squatting 40-50kg heavier than those days and I have no issues I can mention I also throw in the odd snatch and clean into my training with no issues.
I personally love rehband 7mm which can be found here.
Marc.