7 Essential Items for Every Olympic Weightlifter’s Gym Bag

I have been involved in weightlifting since 2001 and all these years my trusted training partner was a gym bag in which my “training armor” lay. At the very beginning, it was not very big and often I did not find a second sock or sweatpants in it, which I forgot to put there after washing. To be perfectly honest, the gym in which I began my weightlifting career was not a fitness center or even a training gym.

It was a small room at my school, I would say a “strength corner”, where we had “one and a half” of a platform and where the boys “pumped up” and where my first coach Vladimir Rudenko noticed me. In general, almost any gym in Ukraine is such a brutal, harsh, and dusty place that is soaked with the spirit of sweat and hard physical work, after which, of course, you need to wash and change clothes.

If you are serious about your training, then your gym bag should have all the necessary items that will help you to work out comfortably and fully.

Personal advice: do not carry water bottles, shakers in your gym bag and tightly close the gel and shampoo. The same goes with ointments like heating pads and cooling gels – they can leak at any time during use, so be sure they’re sealed inside some plastic before starting your training or competition performance.

Believe me, competing with a large spot from the stomach to the middle of the thigh is not the most motivating experience)))). During my sports career, I have seen many variations of a gym bag: from an ordinary bag from a supermarket to a pretentious GUCCI bag with jewels. But this is not particularly important, the main thing is what is in the bag itself.

I Offer You My List of What an Athlete Should Have When It Came to Weightlifting Training:

• Strong spacious bag;
• Weightlifting shoes;
• A belt, if you use it;
• Knee sleeves and wrist wraps;
• Thumb tape;
• Straps;
• Chalk;
• Extra T-shirt;
• Extra sweatshirt;
• Tights/shorts;
• Underwear;
• Extra socks;
• Nail clippers and pumice stone;
• Towel;
• Shower gel;
• Deodorant;
• Patch;
• Pain medication.;
• Training diary and pen;

It seems to me that this is a complete list of weightlifter equipment. If we talk about competitions, and not about training, then, of course, you will also need the singlet. And if these are international competitions, then take with you also the flag of your country and a USB disk with the anthem, it will come in handy!

Chalk is fine in most gyms these days, but I still recommend having at least a small piece in your bag, just in case. By the way, liquid chalk is a very convenient thing: it does not stain everything around, takes up little space, and is very economical to use. Fell in love with it at first sight and now it is in the WBCM product line.

It happens that you can find some trash in a gym bag, so periodically go through the contents of this bag with an eye on discarding any unwanted items or cleaning off sweaty clothes. Take with you only what you need for training and in case of surprises, such as a callus tear or a torn T-shirt performing a jerk.

Always check your bag when you leave a new gym or competition venue. It’s a shame when, in the chaos, athletes forget their favorite straps, in which records were set, or new tights that were bought before these competitions. Another very important point regarding the gym bag. So you’re headed to the competition? Make sure your bag is always with YOU, even when traveling. NEVER check in your luggage.

It often happens that when transferring luggage falls out and does not arrive on time. The sports uniform of an athlete, especially weightlifting shoes and singlet, should always be with you. Also, when you are traveling to competitions by bus or train, do not lose sight of your bag, but rather keep it with you.

Trust me, walking around a new city looking for gear your size is not something you should be doing on a competition day.

Another important nuance and advice: do not take the gym bag in the back seat of the car. I’ve heard too much about broken windows and stolen bags. And in conclusion, remember that real weightlifters always carry the bag in the “hookgrip”))