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Workout Accessories

What accessories do you need for bodybuilding?

Belts:

Belts are probably the most used accessory next to gloves, and are probably used far to often.
A good belt can spare your back from the worst pressures on your lower back, but be advised, by using the belt too often you might develop a weaker back than you would without.
A belt should only be used on your "heavy" days, or with certain exercises like deadlift.
Belts come in all different sizes and variations, be sure to get a belt that is not to big, a belt needs to be tight to have any effect at all and a wider belt usually gives better support than a narrow.
Good belts are often designed with a broad back and narrow front to ensure good comfort.

Gloves:

Gloves are used to ensure good grip and to spare your hands. There are also gloves developed for wrapping around the handle or bar to ensure better grip and let you use more of your muscles for lifting instead of griping. These are gloves and wrap in one and have the same advantages and disadvantages as a wrap.

Strap:

When doing pullups you might experience that you get exhausted in your arms way before your back. To avoid this you might use some leather for instance to wrap around your hands and the bar/handle, this will allow you to use more of your back muscles to pull yourself up, thus giving your back a more thorough workout.
However by using wraps your arms might never catch up with your back and might allways be lagging behind.

Chalk:

Chalk is used for better grip by absorbing the sweat off your hands. Most people however seem to prefer to use gloves instead.

Training diary

A training diary can be of great help if used right and often.
By writing down as much as possible about your training and nutrition you will be able to spot what makes your muscles grow and what not. You can track your progress and keep yourself motivated.
Divide the diary in two, one for nutrition and one for training.
Log your training time, length, exercises, sets, reps etc.

Example of how to keep a training log:

17 July, 

Training time: 1220-1307:  47 Minutes

Biceps curls	2 x 12 x 60 , 1 x 10 x 70, 1 x 8 x 80
1 arm alt. dumb. 1 x 12 x 25, 1 x 10 x 30, 1 x 8 x 35
......

(you might also want to add comments like:)

Overall good training, but got exhausted too fast, 
probably due to running in the morning.

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