I literally wore my weight-lifting gloves to shreds! I don’t know why exactly but I’m inordinately proud of this. For a girl who used to avoid the weight floor like celebrities spokespeople avoid straight answers, to lift so many weights that I wore my gloves out, well, is kinda awesome. One of the first investments I ever made for myself in fitness was a cheap pair of lifting gloves. I told everyone it was because I didn’t want callouses (makes putting on moisturizer so much scratchier!) but really it was because they made me feel, pardon my French but there’s just no other phrase for this, bad ass. The gloves made me feel like I fit in and looked like I knew what I was doing (at least until I actually picked up a dumbbell). They gave me the confidence to keep lifting weights even when I was the only girl in the room.
And now? I’ve Schwarzenegger-ed myself (think muscles, not extramarital affairs and secret babies) to the point where I have to buy new fitness equipment because I NEED to rather than just want to! (As is the story with the majority of my gym gear…)
You can’t see in the pic but the holes go all the way through the thumb area and in between my first two fingers.
Of course this leaves me with the question of what to buy. These gloves I got for free from Harbinger when I reviewed them and I’ve quite liked them. They were comfy, had cute little swirlies (that I thought were dragons all the way up until today) and most of all because they were girl-sized. I have little elf hands and wrists so even a men’s or unisex size small usually doesn’t fit me. Unfortunately girl gloves usually cost more than guy gloves.
Do you wear weight gloves? What’s your rec for strong, durable, bad ass gloves? Anyone else have a gym milestone like this? (First pair of shoes with holes in the toes? First sweat towel retired? First pair of capris thrown in the trash because no amount of washing will get the sweaty crotch smell out??)
Congrats!!! I wore mine out a few months ago…my CrossFit coach (who is incidentally my husband) encouraged me to start lifting sans gloves since apparently you can get more weight through direct contact with the bar, so now I am SUPER calloused. My gloves were GoFit from good old Target, I think, and they served me really well…and were cheap. I know you love Target, so not a bad place to look! (I also have tiny hands and they worked well for that.)
Okay now I MUST know: DId you meet your hubby doing crossfit?? I love me a good fitness-romance story!
Haha – I wish! That would be so cute! Although our story is a good one…we met 11 years ago in school…my best friend thought Jared was REALLY cute and I was totally in love with another boy and was not interested. We slowly became friends and started dating in college. He’s a great guy and is the one responsible for me eating well and working out!
I’ve never used weight lifting gloves but I don’t get callouses either because my skin is so sensitive that they rip off before they fully form. Sounds a lot mour hourly than the reality. But now I want gloves so I can destroy them too!
At this rate I think I’m going to be one of the first victims of a super bug that starts in the weight room.
Ah, you and me both! I’m actually surprised (knock on wood) that I haven’t caught something really awful from teh gym yet.
That is great! I think I now have a new fitness goal..worn out gloves may be more realistic than 4% body fat. Maybe?
Giiiirl, you better be kidding me with that 4%!
Hahaha congratulations!!
Not a glove guy myself and can’t speak to the stinky crotch-ness of the clothing because I’m a guy and everything stinks, but I did start running a year ago and I’m starting to wear through the bottoms of my running shoes, which I think is pretty cool!
Ah, I’ve yet to wear through the soles of my shoes! My big toe usually pokes a hole first.
I’ve got the same problem, I never manage to properly wear shows out, just burst through the toe like a Hobbit/She-Hulk.
Yep, I have the big to problem, too.
Just got fitted for new running shoes on Saturday and was told it may be because I’m flexing my foot to compensate for shoes that are too stiff (was wearing stability shoes but now need a neutral shoe). We’ll see if that helps.
Oh, and I bought my women’s weight gloves at Target. Scored them on clearance for $8.98. I don’t use them a lot, though, so I have no idea how they’ll hold up.
LOVE of course!!! 🙂 Well, you know me, I am a very bad-ass in the gym so I wear thru everything too fast! Years ago I started to wear men’s small gloves because there is not one pair of women’s gloves out there that I don’t ruin in 2-3 months! 🙂 Maybe you can find men’s XS…
CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So proud of you! 😉
Have a wonderful weekend!
Good to know! So they just make men’s more durable? That makes it even suckier that women’s are more expensive!!
Wearing through your gloves is a good sign! I also use the Go Fit gloves from Target and they work well for me – when I actually remember to bring them with me. I do find that gloves makes lifting heavy a little easier. As of now the only thing I am wearing out are my favorite workout pants….Waiting on the “split” since the first of 2 seams is gone. They are so comfortable (again I got them at Target 🙂 ).I can’t bear to part with them!
Nothing like finding the perfect pair of workout pants!! And thanks for the Go Fit rec!
Congrats on wearing out your gloves! It’s usually enough for me to simply wear out a pair of shoes, but I def get the excitement. My gym milestone was when I used to run (don’t do that anymore), I lost a toenail. Gross, yes, but totally exciting to me. I even showed a couple of my high school students.
Haha – that’s awesome! I bet they loved it!
This is hilarious! I’ve never lost a toenail, but when one turned black after Warrior Dash, I was pretty excited. Maybe someday…
Wow! That’s awesome!
My gym milestones tend to be, well, my sport bras. Poor things have to work pretty darn hard. That may sound like bragging, but it’s really not.
🙂
Oooh that’s a good one too!!
I totally did that recently as well! I didn’t realize how I should take pride in it though! Thanks for pointing it out 🙂 Good luck finding new ones! It can be tricky!
Heck yes you should be proud, Becky!!
I don’t wear gloves. I’m proud of my calluses and I have better grip strength this way! Wearing gloves can make you quite lazy, as you won’t be able to lift the same weight you do currently without gloves.
I’ve never heard that before! I haven’t ever tested it out but now I want to try it! I’m not sure how weight gloves can make you “lazy” but I”m intrigued with this theory now! Gym Buddy experiment here I come!
I am also quite proud of my calluses, stupidly so. And as silly as it is, the first time I tore a callus attempting pull ups I was ridiculously proud of how hard I worked. Although it hurt like a B and I considered gloves for a bit afterwards 🙂
They do hurt like a b!! I remember that fun from my gymnastics days:)
I met my husband in the weight room at our local gym. I got tired of being ignored – not that I wanted to be hit one but just someone to say hello when I arrived -no t many women go to our gym. so I started saying hello to everyone , My husband says my smile almost made him fall off of the treadmill. We would each finish our workout and walk around the track together for a cool down. Eventually the walks were way longer than the workout and the rest is history
Aw, I love this story! Why has no one made a gym romance movie yet??
I use these gloves too!!! I love them. I recently just lost one of them, so I had to order a new set. I found them on Amazon and ordered the same exact pair again!!
Congrats! What a great excuse to go shopping.
I don’t mind callouses, but I wear weight gloves because they distribute weight more evenly across the hands when doing things like crab walks and plyo pushups so it’s less impact on the joints.
I think I’m on my 5th or 6th pair. I’m more proud of wearing out a jump-rope. You know those triple-braided, virtually indestructible looking nylon ropes? I couldn’t believe it when I wore it down to the core. (I didn’t even know there was a core till I saw it.)
And now I have a new goal! My current jump rope is plastic. Lame!
Haha! I literally laughed out loud when I read about having to throw out stinky workout clothes. I was just in a class when an awful smell came wafting up. I looked around, trying to find the responsible party. I did a discreet whiff (you know, pretending to wipe the sweat off your brow with your forearm, with your nose turned to the side to smell your own pits…) and realized the stink was my bra. Ew! Too bad, too, ’cause it was one of my favorites!
Ah yes, the discreet pit sniff! My fave way to see if the stank is from me is when I do push-ups – for whatever reason, a little puff of air comes out of my cleavage area and, bam, I know it’s time to get a new bra;)
Congrats Charlotte!
I’ve done the same with my biking gloves but they got a hole within a week of use so I don’t think that counts the same.
What kind of biking are you doing?? Please tell me you ripped out your gloves doing wheel pops over barbed wire or something;)
where did you get your pink shirt in the picture? I really like how long it is.
Oh thank you! It’s actually from JC Penney. Their xersion line is super affordable and lasts forever. I also have this same top in silver and purple sparkly;)
I second the recommendation on the JCP Xersion line! Love their stuff almost as much as I love the Target C9 stuff!
I wore out my lifting gloves in under a year (I guess they were cheaply made to begin with?) and just started using these funny mousepad-looking things: http://www.amazon.com/GRIP-POWER-PADS-ALTERNATIVE-Lifting/dp/B007WM0874
I have both firm and soft (they gave me one for free in exchange for a review), and like the soft a little better. I don’t foresee these ever wearing out, not to mention they’re much easier to clean!
Wearing stuff out makes me feel bad ass, too. However, I do kettlebell sport and we’re not allowed to use gloves, so I have a killer set of calluses. In fact, I realized this fall that I no longer need gloves to garden–nothing blisters anymore because I have so many calluses. The upside is that my grip strength has increased.
I’m coming off another sprained ankle. Does that count?
I was proud the first time I needed to get new running shoes 🙂
I haven’t been able to find a pair of gym gloves that fit me yet. Still looking…
One of my milestones was when I got permanent calluses on my hands from hold a waterskiing bar. They’re small now, but they’re still there, little bar-shaped thick patches where the top of the palm rolls against the bar. 🙂
Congrats! I had the same excitement the first time I wore through a pair of ballet slippers! 🙂 Also, your outfit in that picture is really cute. I love your top.