I’m sure that you have noticed that different people walk into the gym with different size bags and that some people have a lot more accessories for classes than others do. Today we are going to talk about some of the most common items seen in the average gym bag you see at Outlier and what items you should for sure invest in. There are lots of items that are custom made for CrossFit athletes and other items you can find at a regular sporting goods store. So let’s get into it and find out what to add to your shopping list!
We are going to start from the bottom and work our way up. Shoes, good training shoes are key to making your life in the gym easier. Especially at a gym like Outlier where we have a regular lifting schedule in the daily classes. There are two types of shoes that most CrossFitters end up with: conditioning shoes and weightlifting shoes. Nowadays between big companies like Nike, Reebok, and Inov8 coming out with new models every year, it is easy to find last season’s shoes on sale online. So you can easily find shoes for less than $100. That is for brand new conditioning or weightlifting shoes. So which one should you get first? I think that the new athlete should invest in weightlifting shoes before a fancy pair of conditioning shoes. The reason for this is that you can do 90% of the conditioning workouts with your lifting shoes, essentially you can use lifters for everything except running. The lifters offer a more stable platform for your body to create power with for our heavy lifts. As well the elevated heel you find in the weightlifting shoes can really help people find better positions in their squats and olympic lifts that typically give them trouble. Getting conditioning shoes made for CrossFit will feel better for lifting compared to squishy running shoes but still won’t compare to a good weightlifting shoe. Once you have a reliable set of weightlifting shoes in your bag, then invest in some bright and loud met-cons or nanos to let everyone at the grocery store know that you do CrossFit. Remember just because you got lifters doesn’t mean your lifts will dramatically get better overnight! You wouldn’t buy baseball cleats and expect to be able to hit a 90mph fastball or buy legit hiking boots and expect to be able to attack the Pacific Crest Trail without an issue would you? Having legit gear means that you are better prepared and will be able to have that much of a better chance to improve.
Now that we got shoes figured out, let’s talk about another small item that shouldn’t cost much but can be incredibly important on rope climbing day. Knee high socks! Get yourself some nice and thick and long socks. While it may be an unspoken right of passage, getting a giant piece of leg bacon from your first met-con with rope climbs is no fun. It hurts a ton and it takes forever to heal. There are companies that make specific “rope climb Guards” which are essentially soccer shin guards. They can be a bit more expensive than an old school pair of knee high socks. You can also find some super cool knee high socks with your favorite spirit animal riding a surfboard through outer space if you search the interwebs long enough. Then you will be hella stylish and have silky smooth shins after you knock out those rope climbs for the first time!
Now we will take the magic school bus up to the knee joints and talk about the common accessories we see here. Knee sleeves and knee wraps. There are lots of people that are very advanced and successful in CrossFit and weightlifting and swear that knee sleeves are the best thing ever. As well there are others that are just as successful that say they don’t do anything. The most common use of knee sleeves is to help create compression and extra warmth around the knees. They easily slide on before you workout and are easy to use. This can give the lifter the sensation that the joint is warmed up more than it actually is. Knee sleeves should never take the place of appropriately mobilizing the knee and warming up properly. For this reason I say the knee sleeves are not necessary at all but rather a personal preference. The prices on them can vary from $25 to $70 for a set, so maybe start with a cheaper set and if you like them, upgrade down the road. Knee wraps are typically used for extra heavy lifting sets. The extra compression around the joint can make the knees feel much more supported and can make lifts stronger if a lifter has spent time developing their raw strength before looking for outside supports. I wouldn’t recommend using knee wraps until you have been lifting for several years and you are working on absolute strength and doing true max testing on your lifts.
Let’s keep movin on up in the world and head to the waistline and talk about lots of people’s favorite buddy! Weightlifting belts! Weightlifting belts are designed to wrap around your midsection and be worn very tight for extra heavy sets. For the record I will state that my opinion on belts is that they should only be used for near maximal lifts and testing situations, not in training workouts and lifting sets that aren’t maximal or near maximal. Building your own core strength by learning to engage and maintain tension while performing large movements is key to long term growth in CrossFit/lifting. I personally don’t use my belt unless the percentages are about 90% or above. In a metcon situation I wouldn’t use one unless it was a competition. I think belts are one of the most over used items in the CrossFit gyms. With that opinion I would tell the new lifter to hold off on buying a belt for a while and really work on developing as much core strength on their own before using/buying lifting belts.
Now lets move onto the arms and common items we see people strapping on! Wrist wraps! Wrist wraps come in a variety of styles from tension wraps to velcro… stretchy and not. A lot of the barbell movements can be tough on the wrist joints. Especially the snatch and overhead squats. I remember first trying to do heavy overhead squats and thinking my wrists were going to explode sideways, luckily they didn’t. Back in those days CrossFitters didn’t know about wrist wraps and we just dealt with it till your wrist got more mobile and stronger. Now there is a happy middle ground. I recommend people treat wrist wraps the same as lifting belts. A little discomfort in the wrist isn’t a bad thing. Doing wrist mobility drills and developing raw strength is important. Waiting until your wrists are the limiting factor to incorporate the wraps is my recommended strategy. That way you give your body a chance to get stronger and you are less likely to develop a mental crutch on these items. So for the newer athlete, I would say hold off on these.
With the wrist handled, let’s go right around the corner to the palms and talk about a common issue called torn hands. Gymnastic grips! These items are very easy to get now days. There will come a day where there is about 10 more pull ups then your hands are ready for and you will tear off a nice chunk of your hand. While also a right of passage of sorts, it isn’t fun to deal with and should be avoided. Gymnastic mits can take a little time to get use to but can save you lots of hurt on pull ups, muscle up, and toes to bar. I recommend getting these and incorporating them on high rep pull up bar days or maybe towards the end of the week when the hands are a little worn down from the cumulative work of the training week! They aren’t expensive at all and are a good investment! A good buddy accessory to wrist wraps is old fashioned athletic tape. Make sure your gym bag has several rolls in stock for emergency situations.
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Lastly but not least… you just need to make sure you are looking stylish! So if your gym has sweet schwag like hoodies, shirts and hats! You should probably get some of that so that everyone you walk by and talk to knows you go to an awesome gym! They will most likely want to be your friend and take you out for a movie or at least go to mini golf with you or give you the friends discount at their food establishment. It will be like you just joined the Stone Cutters and everything all of sudden starts working better for you!
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Coach P