Benedikt Farsmann Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Does it make sense to wear mittens to bed to keep the hands warm if the muscles you need to grip are in the forearms... so: mittens to bed, what for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volko Krull Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 bender highly recommends it on his site. Just do it, you'll be surprised how good your hands will feel the next day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kormaz Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) Wearing gloves/mittens to bed keeps your hands warmer than they would usually be and increases the blood circulation to the hands. This helps to speed up recovery. I started doing this last week, i havent really noticed that much of a difference purely because i havent had sore hands but it cant hurt to do it I'd say it would help your hands more than anything but maybe since there is increased circulation to the hands, that means there is more blood going down through your forearm as well? I don't know but it would make sense to me Edited June 10, 2009 by Kormaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightyjoe Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I've always wondered about this theory. How does wearing mittens increase blood FLOW? You can warm your hands without increasing blood flow. This would be like wearing an arm warmer to bed for your biceps. The muscle may be warmer but blood flow hasn't actually increased. Get up and do some DB curls and blood flow would increase. To me there's a difference between increasing heat and and increasing flow. Think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbe705 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I started doing this towards the beginning of last month. I think it makes a difference. ideally you would be wearing long sleeves and gloves to bed but, sometimes it's too warm for that. I have found that I am making better progress and I seem to be fresher even though I have such a busy schedule. the trick I found is that the gloves have to fit just right. otherwise I kept taking them off in my sleep. or, maybe I just needed to get used to them. regarding the forearm issue. the hands have a lot more tendons. tendons get less blood and therefore recover more slowly than muscle tissue. I think that might be another reason to keep the hands warm. sometimes in the evening I'll wear my elbow sleeves on my elbows. but, I pull them low so they get a lot fo my forearm as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoC#3 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 It does seem to help for me. Cold hands = weak grip. Also, when you are hot, vasodilation occurs. When cold, vasoconstriction. Vasodilation = more blood flow = more muscle growth and better recovery. The same applies to general training. I recover quicker in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdckr Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I've always wondered about this theory.How does wearing mittens increase blood FLOW? You can warm your hands without increasing blood flow. This would be like wearing an arm warmer to bed for your biceps. The muscle may be warmer but blood flow hasn't actually increased. Get up and do some DB curls and blood flow would increase. To me there's a difference between increasing heat and and increasing flow. Think about it. There is actually a good rationale for the theory, whether it works at the actual temperatures involved is another matter. Cooler temperatures cause vasoconstriction (and decreased blood flow) to the extremities as the body tries to conserve heat. You can find this in any basic human physiology text, but here's a link that explains it: The Sacrifice of Parts for the Greater GoodIn conditions when the body starts to lose more heat than it can easily generate to keep all parts at the normal 37°C it will start to allow the extremities, fingers, toes, ears, nose, and cheeks start to get cooler. There is still a blood flow to these body parts, but not as much flows as does normally. In order to keep the extremities at normal body temperature, greater blood flow would be required which would bring cooled blood back to the body core so cooling the body even further. The extremities have a high surface area/volume ratio, so they lose heat very easily. Mittens don't increase heat -- they conserve heat. They help prevent cooling or heat loss. So in theory, wearing mittens prevents cooling, preventing cooling prevents vasoconstriction, no vasoconstriction means maintained blood flow. You can argue that even while sleeping and laying still for 6-8 hours, you're generating enough heat to maintain your body temperature, or that your covers are enough to conserve your heat, or that the ambient temperature is high enough so that you're not losing much heat.... but I doubt it. Under normal sleeping conditions, there probably will be some degree of improved blood flow to your hands from wearing mittens. Whether this has any bearing on recovery is something else entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I figured it was just to make some kind of grip fashion statement. - Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odin Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Wearing gloves/mittens to bed keeps your hands warmer than they would usually be and increases the blood circulation to the hands. This helps to speed up recovery. I started doing this last week, i havent really noticed that much of a difference purely because i havent had sore hands but it cant hurt to do it I'd say it would help your hands more than anything but maybe since there is increased circulation to the hands, that means there is more blood going down through your forearm as well? I don't know but it would make sense to me I believe Bender mentions Arctic mittens. They keep you warm down to your elbows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Telling someone you wear gloves to bed to promote grip recovery is about the most indirect way of telling someone you are single that I have ever encountered. -Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubthewonderscot Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 That made me laugh audibly Rex, lol. so true, my wife allready knows I'm crazy, that would maybe push it over the edge. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeamdman Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Telling someone you wear gloves to bed to promote grip recovery is about the most indirect way of telling someone you are single that I have ever encountered.-Rex LOL!! My thoughts exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gripzilla Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Telling someone you wear gloves to bed to promote grip recovery is about the most indirect way of telling someone you are single that I have ever encountered.-Rex You have a point there. I don't know if I'd like to admit to using the gloves now . Just remember to put the gloves on after all other amorous business is taken care of. My girl just laughs at those "little gloves" as she calls them. She thinks all this gripping stuff is nutty but she does enjoy tearing small stacks of playing cards now and again. Kidding aside, using the gloves seems to work well for my recovery. I've actually even stepped it up a bit more. I put those rubber Playtex gloves on first and then put on the snow gloves over them. Those hands warm up really quickly with this trick. The gloves I have extend up to mid-forearm and can be tightened with the built-in cinch string. I know it sounds nutty but it really works. Even if I really bomb the hands, they're ready to go the next day. It cuts way down on any soreness of the hands for me. I'd recommend giving it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbe705 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Telling someone you wear gloves to bed to promote grip recovery is about the most indirect way of telling someone you are single that I have ever encountered.-Rex my wife calls them my "creepy gloves". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Telling someone you wear gloves to bed to promote grip recovery is about the most indirect way of telling someone you are single that I have ever encountered.-Rex You have a point there. I don't know if I'd like to admit to using the gloves now . Just remember to put the gloves on after all other amorous business is taken care of. My girl just laughs at those "little gloves" as she calls them. She thinks all this gripping stuff is nutty but she does enjoy tearing small stacks of playing cards now and again. Kidding aside, using the gloves seems to work well for my recovery. I've actually even stepped it up a bit more. I put those rubber Playtex gloves on first and then put on the snow gloves over them. Those hands warm up really quickly with this trick. The gloves I have extend up to mid-forearm and can be tightened with the built-in cinch string. I know it sounds nutty but it really works. Even if I really bomb the hands, they're ready to go the next day. It cuts way down on any soreness of the hands for me. I'd recommend giving it a shot. At last, someone from LA joins the grip community. Now we just need to get someone from NYC into grip. One more step towards taking this sport out of the woods. -Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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