The other day a client asked me what our thoughts were on lifting belts. And soon the conversation moved to the use of lifting straps, gloves and other gear people use when lifting. There are a number of different tools and gear used when we step inside the gym to train. If training means some light stretching and going for a run this doesn't require a lot of special gear or equipment. However for those that are into Olympic or powerlifting there may be more tools used. Below is a brief description of some of the more common things lifters may use as well as our take on them. Gloves, Chalk and StrapsWhen you see someone get to a certain level of strength in deadlifting you'll typically see them fail in a particular area. And this tends to be the grip. I remember a colleague sharing that the grip serves as a governor for the body. In other words when the body has reached it's capacity strength-wise the nervous sends a message to release the grip and we let go of the weight. This is to protect the body so we don't do harm. [caption id="attachment_5642" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The governor prevents the golf cart from going too fast downhill. Our hands serve as governors when we pick up heavy items. If the object is too heavy our grip releases. To get around a weak or slippery grip you'll see people use a variety of tools including gloves, chalk, straps and towels. And not a tool but a common method to get around a weak grip is alternate the hands when doing a deadlift. In this situation one hand would be overhand and one would be underhand. So what do we think of the use of each of these? Well if you've...

Last Saturday we held another powerlifting contest at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. Here's a quick recap of the day and two quick lessons that will help you improve your lifts. The one interesting thing about our powerlifting contests is how casual they are. We have the music playing. Everyone is joking around. And everyone is wearing triple layers of everything as it is -18 C outside. But once we get started we look forward to seeing who can lift what for deadlift, bench press, squat and 3 rep chin up. And it's always fun when friends and family come by to watch. One of them observed a successful deadlift, which involves picking a bar up off the ground and standing up with it, and commented 'now what?' Yes, it's true powerlifting may not impress everyone but it's still a great way to see where you're at. And besides seeing where you've made gains with your lifts you also learn quite a bit about the lifts themselves. Lesson #1 - Sticking Points ExposedFor example, you learn your sticking points. This is the part of the lift where the bar seems to stop moving and either leads to an unsuccessful attempt or results in spending an excessive amount of energy in order to complete the rep. Let's consider the bench press. If someone were able to press the bar off their chest but not be able to lock out the lift it may be that they lack triceps strength which is crucial for extending the arms and finishing a press. Maybe some isolated triceps training would help this person complete the rep more easily and push through to new gains. Or it could be that someone is able to pull a deadlift to mid-shin but lacks the glute and low back strength to...