Should You Invest in Weightlifting Gloves?

Every time I go into the gym at work and one of my female coworkers is in there lifting, she's wearing weight lifting gloves. In my entire life of conditioning for sports over the years and even now that I'm lifting recreationally  I've never worn gloves. Well, I shouldn't say never...I wear weighted gloves for kickboxing class but that's a completely different subject. Ok, back on subject. It got me thinking that maybe I should look into it.

I started reading articles about why they are good and why they are bad. So the pros obviously are that they help you get a better grip and they prevent calluses. For me though, after years of playing softball and then doing a bunch of manual labor around the house, I already have calluses. So that point doesn't do me any good. So these two pros do not outweigh the cons. Here's what I found:

1.) You are prepared for for real, live situations that require you to grip something. So if you're about to, let's say, fall off a cliff, you can't call timeout to put your gloves on so you can grip for your life. Wearing gloves decreases your everyday grip strength and body awareness so you can't perform at your best.

2.) Weightlifting gloves don't in fact prevent calluses. This makes sense to me because although I wore batting gloves for 15 years of softball, I still have calluses on both hands where I gripped the bat. If you do something repeatedly or on a regular bases, gloves or no gloves, you're hands will still pay the price.

3.) Gloves give you a false sense of accomplishment. They limit your forearm workout since the weight and stability are put into your grip with a glove.

4.) And lastly, how often do people really wash these things?!? They probably smell like sweat and can't be too sanitary... just saying.

So my suggestion? Don't waste your time or money on gloves. They really don't help as much as they hurt you. But, if you do have an open blister or cut on your hand, a band-aid won't help, plus they are just plain gross. This is when I would suggest wearing gloves until your "wound" heals.

I'll end with a funny: Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength, wrote, "And if you insist on using the [weightlifting gloves], make sure they match your purse."