There are a plethora of accessories available for those who exercise. Many products appear to help you obtain the best results, yet it depends on the person and her type of workout to determine which accessories are really necessary. The following products are listed based on who they will help.
For Anybody
While many of these seem of the common sense nature, they are all important. These items include a towel to wipe off sweat, water bottle so you don't have to walk to the water fountain and risk losing your bench or machine, and an MP3 player to both get you pumped up and help you from being distracted while exercising. In addition, a gym bag allows you to store all of your accessories and provides a place to store a change of clothes or shoes for after your workout. A mat helps with Yoga, stretching and ab workouts. Finally, a scale is a way to track progress if you are trying to either gain or lose weight.
For Weight Lifters
Many accessories are designed for weight lifters with the two main goals being to either avoid injury or improve the workout. These accessories are not needed, but can help. Lifting straps and chalk help with getting a better grip on the bar while lifting. Likewise, lifting gloves improve grip and will prevent blisters and hand pain. Hand grippers build forearm strength. Dipping belts allow you to use more than body weight for dips or pull-ups.
Ab straps allow you to do an ab exercise if crunches or leg raises give you back pain. Lifting belts are designed to give you lower back support, but do limit range of motion. Similarly, wrist wraps stabilize your wrists but also limit range of motion. Knee and elbow wraps also keep their respective joints stable but range of motion is severely limited and can result in improper technique.
Numbers Accessories
These accessories are for numbers people. They are not needed and do not improve a workout, yet will help you mentally if you need to see numbers. Unless you have heart problems, a heart rate monitor is unnecessary. Even if you do cardio workouts, you should concern yourself with how fast you are going or how long before you get tired, instead of focusing on heart rate.
Body fat testers claim to measure body fat percentage, yet these cannot be verified. If you test yourself with two body fat testers, you will probably get two different numbers, making them unreliable. Instead of testing body fat, look at yourself in the mirror. If you are unhappy with what you see, keep working to change the way you look.
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