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Hand Protection for Kettlebells and Pull-ups? Reviewing the New Grips

Since I began using and teaching kettlebells, I laughed at the idea of using any sort of gloves.  Of course I tried it first before laughing.  Reasons why I have not recommended using gloves with kettlebells in the past is as follows:

 1. The gloves can hinder the kettlebell to maneuver around in the hand seamlessly.
 2.  Weight gloves will bunch up and cause the kettlebell to dig in to the hand even more.
 3.  Gloves can mask the sensory connection from the hand to the brain.
 4.  They are just not very cool looking, so toughing it out is just the way we do it!

Now as much as I agree with the reasons not to wear gloves, I have come to the terms that there is a time and place where specialized hand protection can be very useful.  Anyone who uses kettlebells frequently in addition to doing pull ups and other hand trashing activities, should be able to relate.  No matter how hard I try to keep my calluses under control I still get the pain in my hands from time to time, when I use heavy bells for one arm swings, snatches, and tons of pull ups.

After searching around, my class and I have to agree that the New Grips have delivered the best type of hand protection for certain kettlebell exercises.  I DON'T feel these grips are good for ALL kettlebell exercises.  As you start using very heavy weight and your hands hurt, these will allow you to use them without any issues. Here are the exercises my clients and I have enjoyed using them with.

One Arm Swings
2 Hand Swings
Pull Ups (night and day)
Goblet Squats
Renegade Rows -Great padding for those who complain about hands hurting during Renegade Rows.
Push Ups on Kettlebells



Reasons why I love New Grips

In addition to providing hand protection for the calluses and padding for sensitive hands, these have also been great for when there is no chalk around and your hands are just too slippery to hold on to a kettlebell.

They are super easy to use!
It really stops the pain immediately on the hands.
Here is some more info about how they have helped hands.

I would not recommend New Grips for multiple snatches with heavier kettlebells, for the maneuver reason I mentioned above.  However, just tried it again the other day, and it worked great.  It takes adjusting, but nevertheless did really well!  The new grips SAVED my hands.  All in all I think New Grips are a great product to add for those days that your body wants to workout, but your hands are not cooperating.  I am not saying use these every day for your training.  I am only saying these are great for those days that your hands just don't want to cooperate.  Hope you are able to get extra reps or a training day out of it, when your hands aren't up for it like I have had!

Update 11/16 on my new grip.  Last week I did 110 snatches with the 16kg in under 5 minutes.  My hands were sore and not in the snatching mood before I began, so I thought I'd give New Grips the real test.  It worked with flying colors and my hands felt as good as new when I was done with them.  It does take a few seconds to get used to the new feeling of having a grip between you and the kettlebell but it sure helped me with being able to do the exercise I loved without having any pain in the hands!

Thanks to New Grips I don't have an excuse not to get my pull ups in!

See what other Kettlebell users and some RKC's have said about the New Grips


Comments

ramber said…
THANK YOU!!! My hands are tore up and I would LOVE some gloves that will work with the KB. THANKS ♥
ramber said…
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Unknown said…
Lauren, do you still use the NewGrips on occasion?
Anonymous said…
I just ordered a pair. Despite caring for my calluses, I find swinging heavy kettlebells with one hand quite painful. I also find it hard to hold onto bigger kettlebells when my palms sweat, so I am looking forwards to giving these a test drive. Thanks for sharing Lauren!

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