There’s no doubt a leather workout gloves is better.  The question is what are the best crossfit gloves for you?  Let’s breakdown what exercises you might do in a typical crossfit #wod or similar bootcamp or circuit style workout.

1. Pull Ups

Anyone who’s jumped up to the pull up bar with your personal trainer or coach barking rep counts, knows how the simple pull up can tear up your hands!  Assuming you’re doing a proper pull up, you want to make sure you have a pull up grip that allows your hands to move, but still gives you some protection against the friction of the bar.

2. Muscle Ups

Similar to pull ups, with muscle ups you’re going to want something to be a barrier between you and the rings – but still allow your hands to move.  Some of the best crossfit gloves out there are great for exercises that don’t require a lot of agility, but because they’re restrictive they can actually hurt your form for more free movements like pull ups and muscle ups.

3. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell workouts are tough.  It requires a combination of strength to move the weight and coordination to keep the kettlebell moving freely in your hands.  You might be able to hold a light weight kettlebell static, but the heavier you go the more natural movement that is required.  A leather grip is going to be good here too, but again you need something that still allows the rest of you hand to move naturally. 

4. Cleans and Clean and Jerks

These are popular exercises in many crossfit #wods and they’re a great way to pack on the muscle too!  For those of you who don’t know what a clean and jerk is – it basically refers to moving a weighted barbell from the floor to full extension above your head.  The “clean” part of the movement is lifting the weight up to shoulder level, and the “jerk” part of the movement is the extension above your head.  You definitely want to make sure you have a grip that doesn’t slip with the best crossfit gloves you can find, if you’re pushing 100’s of pounds above your head!

Regardless of the exercise you’re using them for, your workout gloves should work with you and not against you.  It’s important to try out a few different types of gloves to see what’s the most comfortable for you!

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