Best Gym Gloves for Weight Lifting in 2024

If you never tried weight lifting before, using gloves for the gym might seem unusual to you. But if you are an avid lifter, then you know why gloves are a much-needed part of your gym routine, and we will discuss just how much they help your progress.

Using gloves while weight lifting will help improve and strengthen the grip you have on your weights. It is common for hands to become quite sweaty during weightlifting, which can seriously hinder the grip you have on the weights. Weight lifting gloves will keep your hands on the weights and keep them safely in position, rather than letting your hands slip from your grasp.

Calluses and blisters are also a common occurrence when you are lifting weights. If you have blisters, it can be painful. If the blisters burst, it will be even more painful, and you might even get an infection! It is because you cannot comfortably maintain your grip on the weights.
The weightlifting gloves can hide these small imperfections while allowing you to maintain a secure grip on the weights. At the same time, it prevents future calluses and blisters from forming during your weight training program.

Using weight lifting gloves can also provide your hands and wrists with much-needed support while you are lifting heavyweights. The material of the gloves also faces scrutiny, as this material will be what helps stabilize your wrists. It is because the wrists bend backward while you lift the weights. Weightlifting gloves can also help increase the pressure capacity that your hands and wrists can handle during weight training so that you can lift more weights effectively and safely. The gloves will help distribute the weight more evenly, especially while you are performing deadlifts and upright rows. Adding wrist straps to the weightlifting gloves can also help you increase the amount of weight you can handle during your training sessions. As you can see, gloves are quite an essential part of your session, and if you are serious about lifting, you shouldn’t skip out on them!

If you participate in exercises and weight training activities that involve dumbbells, pull-up bars and the like, then you know that after these sessions, your hands can become very sore and even raw if you don’t utilize workout gloves for the added protection and support you need.

Your weightlifting gloves should fit so that they will not risk moving and sliding around while you are lifting weights. If they slide around, it can turn disastrous because you can easily lose your grip on the weights. Of course, this is dangerous when you are doing overhead lifts.
The workout gloves should also be comfortable to wear and should not cause additional pain when you are wearing them. If you experience any discomfort, then you most likely purchased the wrong size for you.

Many weightlifting gloves come as fingerless options as well. It is, so they still offer you the support you need for your hands, wrists, and palms. However, it may be easier to grip if the top half of your fingers can still be exposed.

Good weightlifting gloves should also be extremely durable, flexible and breathable. The gloves are going to be used very often in weight training programs. As a result, it is important that they can maintain their shape and support for continued usage. Finding a non-slip material for the palm is also a good idea to help prevent slipping. Flexibility will allow more movement. They may take more time for you to break in than the other more rigid weightlifting gloves. However, you will find that the more movement you are allowed and the better grip you can get will be a big advantage to you in the long run. Fingerless gloves are the more breathable option and tend to be lighter in weight. Some gloves even have mesh materials to allow increased air circulation. If you choose leather weightlifting gloves, remember that the material will definitely be less breathable and less flexible. Neoprene gloves are better and can wick moisture away from your hands and provide you with a very suitable workout glove.

The closure of your gloves will also affect the fit. When the gloves were first brought into life, we still didn’t know about elastic or velcro closures. So we had to work with what we had, and that was a drawstring closure. But if you ever owned anything that had such a closure, you probably felt how uncomfortable it is when the string cuts into your skin, and you also noticed how much circulation it cuts off. Other users saw this as well, and some changes had to be implemented. This is when the elastic closure was thought of. Since elastic closures are pliable, they soon gained traction and were a super popular choice. But, the drawback here is that the elastic closure lost its properties over time and with use. Sooner or later, the elastic would give in ultimately making the fit awfully loose, and you’d need to head out to buy an entirely new pair!

The comfort of your gloves is a super important factor, because if your gloves lack padding you could end up with some pretty messed up injuries. If your gloves lack cushioning, they will cause what they are meant to prevent - blisters and calluses, thanks to the rubbing between the material and your skin.

At first, the foam was the material chosen as padding. Foam is quite cushy and comfy, and multiple layers are needed between your skin and the weight to protect you adequately. Sadly, these layers get worn down quite fast, and you have left once again with an uncomfortable glove. Because of this, many gloves today are padded with gel or silicone, whichever the manufacturer chooses to use.

Gel pads are quite popular and are used in many different sports equipment today. They are great as pads and as insulators too, keeping you both warm and cushy at the same time. The gel absorbs the energy of impact quite effectively, saving your joints from any unnecessary strain. But, when you lift, no type of shock will be delivered to your gloves rendering the gel pads almost completely useless. Some companies still choose to use it because it’s able to adapt to prevent the friction caused by lifting, but it’s overshadowed by silicone by a long shot.

Silicone is soft and bendy, and can easily negate the stubborn friction and rubbing when you grip your weights. Silicone is also super sticky, which lets you have a secure grip on your weights. Because of these things, silicone is the best possible option for the pads in your gloves and should be the thing you look for first when buying your new mitts.

When weight lifting gloves were first created, they were made out of leather. Leather is a might material, as many shoe manufacturers already know, simply because it can withstand years and years of use, and come out stronger than it was. It is all thanks to your skin, or specifically, thanks to the oil found on your skin. When you exercise, the oils secreted by your skin are absorbed by the leather, making it supple and soft. Leather also stretches quite nicely, and molds to the shape of your hands, which made it the most popular glove material.

As time went by, leather was slowly but surely forgotten. Yes, it is great, but it’s natural, and all-natural things degrade over time. It also wasn’t so breathable, trapping in heat and making you sweat beyond belief. Lucky for us, technology advanced, and soon enough, we had a myriad of new fibers to test out. It was when gloves made out of Neoprene or Nylon started to appear, boasting improved durability and strength. Nylon did not last for a long time though - even though it was very breathable and light, it simply didn’t offer a good grip since it was too slippery. It lacked grip inside as well, causing blisters and friction burn.

Today, most of the gloves are made out of Neoprene. It is a synthetic material, most commonly used to create wetsuits. Neoprene hugs your skin nicely, and molds to the shape of your hands, giving you a snug fit. Neoprene is also on the thicker side, so it gives you padding without any cushioning added in. It can wick away moisture too, keeping your hands dry and odor-free. Since it’s washing machine-friendly, you can pop it in for a quick dry, and they’ll be good as new, making the material easy to maintain. The only drawback here is the latex fiber found inside - if you are allergic to it, you won’t be able to use Neoprene gloves!

Although using gloves seems like a reasonable choice, many experienced weight lifters and pros still choose to avoid them. Why is that, are they simply not that effective?

One of the most important reasons why some builders avoid gloves is because they can’t feel the weight properly. With a layer of material present between your hands and the weights, you lose some of the sensation you might feel when your hands are bare, which can cloud your judgment, and you could hurt yourself. One more thing to think about when using gloves is your grip. When you grab a bar with your gloves on, it will feel thicker, and it might seem easier to lift. It will make it seem like you’ve got quite a powerful grip, which is not true if you are a beginner. You need to work on your grip strength naturally, which is why some pros do not recommend wearing a glove until you’ve got a good grip.

Finally, many people worry about developing blisters and calluses, while others wear them like pride marks. When it comes to lifting, calluses are not all that bad, although they are painful. Some pros recommend sucking it up a bit here, to help the nerve endings in your hands build up strength, which will make lifting even easier.

In the end, the effectiveness of the gloves will be determined by your personal preferences, and nothing more. If you want to wear gloves - go for it! And if not, don’t wear them. It’s best to wear them when things start to get heavy since you probably won’t need them before you get to the big guns!