Working out and exercising on a regular basis is a surefire way to make sure that you stay healthy, reduce your risk for lifelong health conditions, and prevent future injuries from occurring. Some workout accessories can help you enhance your workout, aid in injury recovery, and reduce the likelihood of future injuries by providing extra stability or support during those tough exercises.
You can get an effective workout while at home or at the gym, and we’ve highlighted some useful workout accessories that will help you optimize your workout routine and reduce your risk of future injuries no matter where you choose to workout.
Lifting belts are one of the most popular workout accessories and if you’ve regularly gone to the gym, you’ve probably seen these in use quite often. While lifting belts are typically used for Olympic-style lifts, they can also be used for a variety of exercises or be in use during your entire workout. Lifting belts serve many purposes while you’re getting your workout in.
Lifting belts are primarily used to increase trunk stiffness and intra-abdominal pressure, which in theory helps to stabilize the spine during lifting activities. In addition, they can help you prevent back injuries by dispersing the load and alleviate stress on both your spine and lower back. Lifting belts are also stiff in nature, and if you’re wearing them properly you’ll have an easier time performing your lifts with the proper form and technique which can also help you avoid injuries.
Lifting belts are supplementary in nature in that they will help you perform certain lifts and movements properly, but you should also prioritize building abdominal and back strength to avoid injuries while lifting heavy weights.
Resistance bands give you the tools you need to workout wherever you want, using just your body weight. You don’t need an expensive gym membership or hundreds of dollars in equipment to get a solid workout in. Resistance bands are an affordable workout accessory that doesn’t cost too much money and can be used in a variety of innovative ways to spice up your favorite workouts.
There are plenty of ways to use resistance bands at home or wherever you’d like to get an effective workout in, which makes them one of the most versatile workout accessories on our list. You can perform a variety of movements, exercises, and stretches with resistance bands and they give you an opportunity to build functional strength with your body weight. Because you are able to vary the tension of the resistance bands, a variety of ranges, intensity, and movements can be performed. Resistance bands are great for those individuals who are constantly traveling and are looking for a way to get a workout in.
Compression clothes have been a recent fad in the last several years. You’ve probably seen a commercial or two about different types of compression wear and a celebrity endorsement or two. While you’re working out, compression sleeves can help you improve bloodflow to the targeted muscle groups. Research suggests that there is a potential link in the ability for compression clothing to aid in muscle recovery after a workout. Recovering effectively after a workout is essential in avoiding future injuries.
Mobility bands are a useful workout accessory when you’re looking to dynamically warm up those leg muscles before an intense workout. Mobility bands are thicker and much smaller in design, and go around your thighs while performing certain leg exercises. Mobility bands give you the tools you need to activate those smaller abductor and rotator muscles before you begin to lift heavy in the squat rack or other intense lower body exercises.
Mobility bands are best used before you begin your workout as part of your light warmup and stretching routine to help get the blood flow moving to these muscle groups.
Picking up weights, dumbbells, and barbells at the gym or at-home can leave you with some gnarly calluses or rough hands for days after. While wearing lifting gloves at the gym might not be the most in-style fashion recommendation, it can help you increase your grip and save your hands from some of those rough calluses that can creep in with time. Lifting gloves can also help protect your skin from knicks and gashes that can occur as you’re moving equipment around or re-racking weights after use.
One of the biggest things that can cause someone to injure themselves while at the gym is a loose grip or grip fatigue. Hand grips are a great workout accessory that can help you improve your grip and offer more traction when doing certain exercises. Depending on the style you choose to purchase, you can even substitute the lifting gloves we’ve outlined earlier for hand grips because they can offer similar types of protection.
Losing your grip while performing certain movements could spell disaster and with hand grips, you can strengthen your hold and alleviate some of the strain you’re putting on your hands, skin, and wrists. While you can use hand grips to boost your grip strength, you should also prioritize building hand and grip strength through exercise so that you’re not solely relying on this workout accessory during your workouts.
Wrist wraps are useful when you’re performing certain exercises that require additional support for the joints near your hands and wrists. Whether you’re performing overhead lifts or doing a simple push up, wrist wraps can provide extra stability to prevent hyperextension.
Yoga mats are great for performing yoga exercises, but they can also serve other purposes as well like a cushion to do other exercises on. Yoga mats can come in handy when you’re looking to workout at home and avoid scuffing up your carpet, tile, or wood floors with heavy weights and other at-home gym equipment.
Yoga mats are also useful when you’re looking to have a bit more padding on the ground so you can be a little bit more comfortable while you’re doing your post-workout stretches.
Foam rollers can provide assistance before and after an intense workout. Many individuals choose to use foam rollers to make muscles more pliable before a workout to avoid an injury and then speed up the recovery process by relaxing the sore muscles and alleviating pain after an intense workout.
We’ve highlighted some great workout accessories that can help you avoid injuries by giving you that extra bit of stability during your workouts. At Results Physiotherapy, we’re passionate about helping individuals get back to doing what they love with physical therapy. If you’ve been experiencing pain or have an injury, our licensed physical therapists can help develop a unique treatment plan that best suits your goals and needs.
Our licensed physical therapists will work with you to alleviate the pain you’re experiencing, prevent future injuries, and recover effectively with a focus on manual therapy and functional fitness. Schedule an Appointment Today at one of our clinics across the United States to see how physical therapy can help you!
