We all know that weightlifting is a sport that can lead to a ton of injuries if you don’t train correctly and you don’t look after your recovery. Fortunately, in the last few decades, the fitness community has come a long way, and now there are many pieces of equipment dedicated to making the sport safer for all those who want to practice it.
In this article, we will take a look at a few essential accessories that can make your lifting sessions safer so that you’re not worried about getting injured, even when you’re training rigorously.
Accessories That Can Help Prevent Injuries
Even though regular exercise is beneficial for both the body and the mind, the fact is that it can also be dangerous and, in some cases, lead to severe injuries. Of course, we all want to be able to lift and train on a daily basis without damaging our bodies, and thankfully there are some ways to make that happen.
Let’s take a look at five weightlifting accessories and how they help prevent injuries.
Weightlifting Belts
Any weightlifter knows that having a belt is necessary, especially when you frequently start training with heavy weights. When used correctly, a weightlifting belt can provide extra abdominal pressure, which helps keep your spine safe when lifting heavy. Typically, weightlifters tend to inhale before lifting the way, hold their breath for a second, and then lift the weight. At the same time, when you perform lifting movements with the proper technique, you’re required to tighten your core muscles, as their main purpose is to put pressure on the spine and thus equal the force that is created by the muscles during the exercise.
The main function of a weight belt is to help the abdominal muscles provide that extra pressure, thus giving you a stronger core during lifting. For heavy lifters, belts are an essential accessory that helps them build strength and maintain proper form, even when their weight is near their maximum.
Safety Squat Bar
The biggest benefit of using a squat safety bar is that you don’t have to keep your shoulders in an unnatural position while performing the exercise. When doing the standard variation of the front or back squat, your shoulders have to remain under constant tension throughout the movement, as you’re required to hold on to the bar. With the squat safety bar, you no longer have to do that, and it can make a huge difference, especially if you’re training your upper body regularly.
Along with that, using a squat safety bar tends to pull you more forward than usual, which can help you strengthen your back.
Knee Sleeves
Knee sleeves are designed to fit tightly around the need, and because of that, they can be super beneficial to lifters. By compressing the knee, the sleeves force blood to increase in that area of your body, which has multiple benefits. The first one is that they can prevent swelling by compressing the tissue around the knee joint, which can cause pain or tendon fatigue during the workout. Another benefit that you can feel during the workout is the firm positioning of the kneecap. The compression of the sleeves keeps the cap where it belongs, not allowing it to slide during the lifts, thus causing less damage.
Additionally, in the period after the workout, the increased blood flow that was caused, thanks to the sleeves, helps the knees recover faster.
Wrist Wraps
The muscles in the wrist are made up of the so-called type 1 fibers, meaning they have a ton of endurance, but they also have a low power output – essentially, they do better with low weight for a long time rather than with a ton of weight for a short time. That’s why, for heavy lifers, especially those that lift more than 160 pounds, wrist wraps are a needed accessory. They help stabilize your wrists while providing the additional support necessary to withstand the additional heavyweight.
Lifting Straps
People often think wrist wraps and lifting straps are one and the same accessory, but that’s not true. Lifting straps are made to isolate the focus during pulling exercises. What does that mean? Well, essentially, the idea of using lifting straps is to help your grip and thus put all your focus on actually pulling the weight. Lifting straps provide lifters with a way to train with more weight without having to improve their grip strength first. That makes them an excellent accessory for beginners who have stronger backs than arms and who want to increase their strength without risking an injury.
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