Читать книгу Calisthenics X Mobility - Monique König - Страница 28

What’s true for foam rollers (i.e., they’re not equipment you necessarily need) is true for using gloves or a weightlifting belt during training.

At Calisthenics X Mobility workshops, people always ask Monique what she thinks about wearing gloves during calisthenics training. And, similarly, they ask me with respect to weightlifting belts for deadlifts and squats.

The answer is similar to that of the foam roller. All these things are tools. You should know each tool’s specific use without depending on any of them. Using gloves during calisthenics training is very popular because gripping the bars causes callouses to form on the hands. In many circles, callouses are considered unaesthetic. Moreover, some look to the example of gymnasts who wear wrist supports so they can swing around the horizontal bar.

If we take a quick look back at human history, it becomes apparent why calloused hands are considered unattractive. In the past, there were working peasants and the nobility. Unlike the working peasants, the nobility didn’t have callouses on their hands, because the nobles didn’t do hard work. Back then, unblemished skin was considered a beauty ideal.

To reemphasize, if you aren’t a world-class athlete, there are no technical, performance reasons for using gloves or a weightlifting belt during legwork, only aesthetics. At best, these tools will lower your performance. After all, humans are creatures of habit. You’ll quickly rely on the supposed protection, which can cause the quality of your movements to suffer.

Gloves don’t allow you to grip the bar properly, and a belt won’t let you maintain proper abdominal tension. This advice applies particularly to beginners and slightly advanced athletes who have maybe one to three years of training experience. All others, if they’ve completed the proper training, have learned how to control their bodies for a certain movement, which is why these tools can certainly be useful. It’s all a matter of performance level and the way you use these things.