Brawler’s Guide to CrossFit Gear: What You Really Need

Yes, I’ve written a blog on this subject sometime in the past, but Brawler requested I revisit the subject, and I can’t resist a blog request.

I’m not a gear nut like some people (you know who you are), but I’ll concede there is some gear that is very useful to have for CrossFit. And over the years, my list has grown.

Before we get into it, an important disclaimer: none of this stuff is what makes you fit. Good coaching, consistent training, sound movement mechanics, strength, mobility, and recovery matter much more than anything you can buy and stuff into your gym bag.

But if you plan to do functional fitness for years—or decades, in my case—a few well-chosen pieces of gear can make training more comfortable, help protect your skin from unnecessary abuse, provide useful feedback, and generally make life in the gym a little easier.

Here’s what I think most CrossFitters should consider gearing up with.

1. Athletic Tape

The duct tape of the athletic world.

During the decades that I competed in judo, I never went anywhere without a roll in my bag. We used it to wrap twisted ankles, broken digits, and just about anything you could think of. By the end of competition season, we were more tape than flesh, like something that crawled out of an Egyptian tomb. A bunch of athletes held together by athletic tape.

So, yes, I have a bias.

CrossFit does not beat you up the way judo does. But it can put a lot of demand on the wrists. So these days, that’s the only joint I’m regularly wrapping for workouts. There are few workouts for which I don’t wrap my wrists.

No, I don’t have sore wrists, and I don’t want them. That’s why the tape.

People who haven’t used it to hold their joints together for combat sport underestimate how much support a few layers of athletic tape can provide.

Handstand walks, handstand push-ups, overhead squats, thrusters, shoulder-to-overhead work, snatches, and front rack positions like the clean or front squat all place demands on the wrists. Wall walks too. Personally, I like having a little extra support.

And ring muscle-ups are the worst movement to do without athletic tape. Not only does the tape provide some much-needed friction against the wooden rings to assist your false grip, but it helps prevent the skin on your wrists from getting rubbed raw.

So, the number one piece of gear in my CrossFit cubby is a roll of athletic tape.

2. Wrist Wraps

Yup. I’m still obsessing over the wrists here.

Look, I’ve been CrossFitting for 20+ years now, and once upon a time I used to put some heavy loads overhead. Wrists can take a beating, and I prefer to give mine as much support as possible when the workout calls for it.

Athletic tape is fantastic, but for some of the loads I move, I like more. This is not an either-or situation for me. For every movement listed above, except the ring muscle-ups, I use a base layer of athletic tape fortified with wrist wraps.

There are many styles available. Personally, I prefer cloth wraps. They’re inexpensive, comfortable to wear, and easy to use.

There are many brands, but here’s a link to an example.

3. Knee Sleeves

You know which other joint gets asked to do a lot in CrossFit?

Yes, your knees.

I wear neoprene knee sleeves for squatting most of the time: thrusters, wall balls, front squats, back squats, overhead squats, med ball squat cleans, squat cleans, squat snatches, goblet squats.

In CrossFit, we do a lot of squatting.

Again, I do not have a history of knee injury, and I’d like to keep it that way. I like the warmth, compression, and feedback that knee sleeves provide. For me, that little bit of feedback helps me stay aware of how my knees are tracking during a squat.

I prefer knee sleeves with a padded kneecap protector. This way I can use them for lunges too. CrossFit calls for full range of motion lunges, and I like to have some cushion between my knee and the floor.

You should too.

And you know what else knee sleeves are great for? Rope climbs.

Slide your knee sleeves down over your shins, and they provide a great protective barrier between your skin and the rope.

It’s a game changer.

Knee sleeves are my most-used piece of CrossFit equipment after wrist wraps and athletic tape.

4. Skipping Rope

Numbers one through three were easy for me. Hands down, those pieces are important to my longevity in CrossFit, and I consider them must-haves.

Everything from here on in I consider nice-to-haves because, no, you don’t need your own skipping rope. Your gym probably provides them.

But if you want to get good at skipping, it is really nice to have the consistency of using your own rope—a rope sized for you and one that is not getting frayed by heavy daily use from hundreds of other gym-goers.

If you compete in CrossFit, you may also need to bring your own rope. And if you travel and drop into other CrossFit gyms, you will be happy you brought yours because every gym uses different brands and styles, and finding the right length is not always easy.

When you’re trying to develop a skill like double-unders, consistency helps. Using the same rope every time removes one more variable from the learning process.

5. Arm Sleeves

These could easily go in fourth place.

If you do a lot of ring work, they may be more essential than a skipping rope. But considering that, for most folks, skipping comes up more frequently in the programming than rings, I put these in the fifth spot.

Ring push-ups, ring dips, ring muscle-ups—the straps are going to rub the flesh on your arms raw and leave you with nasty scabs.

The solution: a cheap pair of cycling sleeves.

Once again, there are many brands to choose from.

6. Pull-Up Grips

It might surprise you that these don’t appear higher on my list.

Decades of CrossFit have toughened up my hands. I will still use grips for workouts with high-volume pull-ups but won’t bother if the sets are short. On the other hand, I prefer to use them for bar muscle-ups, which often tear up my hands.

For CrossFitters starting out, these might deserve placement a bit higher on the priority list.

Beginners generally haven’t developed the same tolerance for hanging from a pull-up bar, and torn hands can interfere with training for days afterward. Grips aren’t a substitute for learning how to hold and move on the bar properly, but they can certainly make higher-volume gymnastics more manageable.

7. Shoes

I’m not much of a shoe guy.

I prefer working out barefoot and believe the benefits of spending time training barefoot are underappreciated. But two things I won’t do barefoot in CrossFit are rope climbs and running.

For these, I wear shoes, and my go-to brand since 2010 has been Vivo. Yes, they are expensive, but my gym pair has lasted me something like six years now with no signs of wearing out. Ropes are notorious for tearing shoes apart, but the Vivo sole seems impervious.

And yes, I run in them too.

Because they are zero-drop shoes, I can lift in them if required. This means I don’t need to take them on and off if transitioning between a run and a lift.

What About Lifting Shoes?

The other shoe some CrossFitters like is a lifting shoe built specifically for Olympic weightlifting.

You cannot run in these.

But the solid raised heel can help athletes who struggle to reach full squat depth, particularly when ankle mobility is a limiting factor. Because my range of motion has never been particularly limited by my ankles, I’ve never owned a pair, but I understand that some folks love them.

This is also a good example of where coaching matters more than equipment. If you struggle with your squat, the answer isn’t automatically to buy lifting shoes. First figure out why you struggle with your squat. Then decide whether the shoes actually solve the problem.

8. Lifting Belt

I’ve got a great one custom-made to my specifications from the top company out there.

Not cheap and not quick. You have to wait on these custom orders. But it is an amazing belt for heavy lifting.

I will use it for heavy thrusters, front squats, overhead squats, or shoulder-to-overhead work. Personally, I don’t love a belt for deadlifts or snatches.

While this is a great piece of kit, I do not use it that often. And most people in the gym are probably not lifting heavy enough to justify the expense.

I also own one of the cheap Velcro lifting belts. I purchased it at the CanWest Games for a handstand walking event where I wanted some additional trunk support while still being able to breathe and move comfortably.

So, yes, a cheap Velcro belt does provide some support, but it’s not that good for heavy lifts. I think most people can skip this. It acts more like a security blanket than real support.

But I’ll still use it from time to time. There’s no harm in it.

9. Flow Rope

Now here’s something I’ve been using every day for over a year.

I put it near the bottom of the list because technically, it’s not CrossFit. It won’t show up in a workout.

But I have been thrilled by how ten minutes of rope flow daily has helped my body move better and hurt less. It’s not a miracle cure; it hasn’t made all my aches go away, but it has certainly helped me move in the right direction.

And it’s fun, easy, and relaxing.

It feels amazing after a tough workout, like a stretch and a massage combined.

As I get older, I find myself increasingly interested not only in how much I can lift or how fast I can finish a workout, but in how well I move and how good my body feels doing it. Strength and conditioning are important parts of healthy aging, but so are mobility and the ability to move comfortably through a wide variety of positions.

The flow rope has become one small part of that equation for me.

It is my favourite new toy and the only item on this list that I use every day.

10. Sweat Band

You can take the child out of the 80s, but you can’t take the 80s out of the child.

No, seriously, I sweat.

And it stings when it drips into your eyes.

Have you ever looked up to catch your wall ball and been blinded by your own sweat?

Ouch!

On those very sweaty workouts, sometimes I like to throw on a headband. I keep two in my cubby, just in case.

I don’t reach for them often, but there are days when I am very grateful to have them at hand.

Bonus: 11. Compression Socks

Though I personally have not tried compression socks, Mr. International tells me they are excellent for his calves during high-volume double-under workouts.

As someone who has strained a calf during double-unders in the past, I thought it was a tip worth noting.

Your mileage may vary.

Gear Is the Supporting Cast

So there it is, my top 10 list for CrossFit gear. Plus one.

After more than two decades of CrossFit, I’m probably more interested in longevity than I was when I started. I still want to be strong. I still want to develop skills. I still want to challenge myself. But I also want to be doing all of those things years from now.

That’s one of the things I love about functional fitness. Done intelligently, it isn’t simply preparation for your next workout. Strength, mobility, balance, coordination, cardiovascular fitness, and confidence all contribute to what you can continue doing outside the gym as you age.

For those of us training into our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, that matters.

The gear can help. But it remains the supporting cast.

Consistent training, good coaching, appropriate scaling, sound technique, recovery, and a community that keeps you coming back are much more important. Those are the things that really build fitness—and, hopefully, keep you using it for a very long time.

I’m sure other folks have different opinions and different gear to recommend. If so, please share in the comments.

What gear do you find most useful? What secret weapons do you stock in your CrossFit kit?