From Milo Ventimiglia rocking some fabulous short shorts around LA to Conor McGregor doing the unthinkable on a treadmill in Dubai, we’ve seen some ~sights~ in the fitness space lately.
But fashion’s Ferris wheel never ceases to squeak. Today we’re here to bring you yet another look for appraisal. Lewis Hamilton‘s latest gym getup.
The 36-year-old Formula 1 legend took to Instagram from Monaco on Thursday, sharing a mid-workout image in which he can be seen wearing gloves.
This pricked our blinkered masculine sensibilities, so we shared it with our own Instagram followers (an audience of largely Australian men), to see what they thought.
The conclusion? If our poll is anything to go by, Australian men are not fans of wearing gloves in the gym.
Maybe we’re just not lifting enough to understand the need for gloves? Maybe we’re provincial? Maybe we lack emotional maturity? Maybe we’re too proud of our callouses?
Who knows.
In any case, 76% of respondents to our poll said “no” to “gloves in the gym.”
Are we correct in our thinking, or labouring under a silly illusion? Read the following and decide for yourself.
There are actually many benefits to wearing gloves in the gym, including but not limited to:
- They protect your fingers, protecting against tendonitis
- They decrease callouses
- They eliminate the need for chalk
- They decrease the risk of dropping weights
- They increase stability
- They can improve your workout technique
- They provide a buffer to protect against hand pain
There are also some drawbacks, including:
- While gloves allow for a more comfortable grip and prevent slippage, they can also make your grip more imprecise.
- Gloves can also lead to some gripping force being lost, due to the reduced surface area of your hand being in contact with the bar
Our take? The use of gloves is not a simple matter of yes or no: it’s about what is convenient in each specific situation and exercise.
We draw the line at webbed ‘foot gloves’ though…