Do I really need that? A look at the business that is fitness

Lifting gloves: Disclaimer: “Trolls” on the internet love to pick on people who wear lifting gloves - just ignore them. Whether you need lifting gloves is for you to decide and is no indication of how much you can lift, how “beast” you are, or anything of the sort. Many bars and barbells have a knurled surface (is that a fun word or what?). You’ve probably seen it, the pattern of thousands of diamonds that cover most of the bar, it’s there so athletes can get a better grip on the bar. This knurling, however, doesn’t make for a particularly pleasant grip and can cause the hands some discomfort – to reduce this discomfort, some people choose to wear lifting gloves. Others wear gloves to improve their grip when their hands start to sweat, and others wear gloves for entirely different reasons. Point is, if they’re going to benefit you, go right ahead. Don’t feel the need to put on a brave face while the bar exfoliates your hands. It doesn’t make you any more awesome than the guy or gal next to you whose hands aren’t the same shade of bright red.

Brand-name apparel: I’m not even going to go there. Your body is just as strong and just as amazing in your highschool gym shorts as it is in Lululemon yoga pants that set you back $140, or bright green UnderArmour sweats.

Supplements: This is a tricky one and could have a series of blog posts all to itself. Long story short is you don’t need them. If you have specific goals in mind, supplements may help you reach those goals more efficiently and you should do some research before taking anything (I recommend research outside of your local supplement store where their goal is to get you to buy the products). This is a very expensive part of the industry to buy into, if you’re exercising to feel good and aren’t participating in a bodybuilding competition anytime soon, spend that money on ice cream, friends - it tastes much better.

Home fitness equipment: This stuff is… GREAT. If I had an endless supply of money, you can bet I’d be buying into this market. If I can workout and promptly hop into my own shower, put on my fuzzy slippers and curl up with some Netflix… I would much prefer that than the journey that is “going to the gym.” Having said that, most of us can’t set up a home gym at this point in our lives and so, using our free gym membership may be a more cost-effective alternative for now. Before you buy, try to be honest with yourself – ask yourself “Am I going to use this?” I like to convince myself that once I invest in it I will definitely use it – I can tell you that’s proven to be less than accurate.   What products have tempted you lately?