Training gloves are gloves that people wear for various purposes when they are exercising or training for some kind of athletic event. They come in many different forms and are used for many different purposes. Boxing gloves, for example, are large and padded and used to protect an individual's hands from blunt impacts, while lifting gloves are made to protect the palms of one's hands from friction and chafing while lifting weights. Training gloves designed for the same purpose can even be very different as different people have different preferences. Training gloves are generally inexpensive, though higher-quality gloves for more intense workouts tend to cost more.
The most common and widely-used training gloves are simple open-fingered gloves used primarily for lifting weights. The open fingers allow one to grip the weights; the covered palms prevent chafing and other harm resulting from friction. They usually secure around the wrist with an elastic or loop-and-hook fastening system. Often, the backs of the gloves are open or are made of some form of mesh to collect sweat, as one's hands tend to sweat profusely while lifting weights. These gloves can also be adapted for other purposes; some people wear them when cycling to protect their hands from chafing on the bike handles.
Training gloves are also used for boxing and for other martial arts that involve striking with the hands. These gloves are made to protect the hands from impact with punching bags or with other people; chafing is not a significant concern. The gloves are very large and padded; when they make impact with an object, the force that would normally go directly to the hand is instead spread out through the padding. The insides of the gloves are padded and absorbent, so they absorb sweat well. Sometimes, people wrap their hands and wrists before putting on training gloves because the gloves alone do not provide a great deal of wrist support.
Some people wear weighted exercise gloves while engaging in exercises that normally would not involve any contact with the hands, such as jogging, walking, or shadowboxing. Such training gloves allow people to work out several different muscle groups at the same time or to work on both muscles and cardiovascular health simultaneously. Many people, for example, walk or jog while pumping their arms up and down while wearing weighted gloves. They work out their arms, and they work on cardiovascular fitness at the same time.