Archive for the ‘Exercise Equipment’ Category

How to Prepare Your Home Gym for the Next Wave of Quarantine

Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
do yoga in your home gym for quarantine

Staying fit during quarantine doesn’t have to be complicated. After all, you’ve already gone through quarantine once. You may not have worried about preparing your home gym for quarantine before, but now with multiple waves destined to hit us, it is a good time to give your equipment a little boost.

While the first time may have caught you off guard, there’s no reason the second lockdown should too. This entry into the Get Swole During Quarantine series provides some great tips for shoring up your home gym NOW, in case another pandemic hits in full force.

Having a well-equipped home gym can be the key to success! Don’t worry! You don’t need fancy, expensive things. 

Basic equipment, such as dumbbells and resistance bands is enough, but even those can be replaced. 

Sounds interesting? Keep reading to find out how to prepare your home gym for another quarantine.

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5 Undeniable Benefits of Installing a Home Gym

Monday, March 2nd, 2020
Home Gym

Finding the time, motivation, and money to make the most of your gym membership can be a hassle. However, you can stay on top of your fitness goals with ease by installing a home gym. Get yourself an online personal trainer from the likes of Caliber Strong and you will be onto a winner!

From time and cost savings to added convenience, here are five undeniable benefits of installing your own fitness center at home: 

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The Benefits of 24×7 Gym Membership – Why Lock Doors?

Thursday, February 6th, 2020

To maintain a healthy lifestyle along with the busy day to day life, a person needs to exercise in any way possible. Running, walking, Yoga, and many other types of exercise provide an easy way to maintain one’s health. However, working out in the gym is a much-preferred option for anyone. Working out in a gym has a lot of benefits and a 24×7 gym membership might be the way to go.

24x7 gym membership
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What Accessories Do I Need to Make a Decent Home Gym?

Thursday, January 30th, 2020
home gym accessories

Waiting until there is a free dumbbell or joining the queue to use the treadmill can be very frustrating. Aside from the sweaty atmosphere and testosterone-filled space, you have to deal with monthly subscriptions. I guess you are tired of it all and want to have your decent home gym. Good for you. Don’t raise your hopes just yet. Home gyms are not for everyone.

If perhaps, you draw motivation from the crowd, then a home gym might not be the best for you. Otherwise, a home gym is the perfect way to get in shape and stay in shape without the hustle and bustle of a commercial gym. You get to exercise whenever you want and in your own way. 

Here is a shortlist of what we consider to be the most important equipment to build a decent home gym. Most equipment, when possible, should be adjustable so you can get the most flexibility out of each piece.

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How to Bench Press Safely Without a Spotter

Saturday, August 31st, 2019
Heavy Bench Press

A major concern for all of us big-shot men is how we can bench press when we are training alone. Chest day has always been an important day in the weekly training regimen. It might fall on a Monday, a humpday, or even a Friday, but it is and has always been one of the most exalted workout days of the week for those training with a partner, buddies, or teams.

This is a day when we can walk in the gym with our chests puffed out.

This is a day when we can train those all-important show muscles… the pecs.

This is a day when we can perform the “manliest of exercises”… the bench press!

Let us examine some alternatives to bench pressing flat with a spotter.

(Of course for those of us who already know how to bench press, the bench press is really no big deal. There are about 7 other exercises I’d rather do than bench and at least 5 other goals that are more important to me than having a big chest or a big bench… but I digress… this article is about bench pressing after all.)

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TRX Suspension Training – 5 Reasons Why You Should Use It

Monday, August 12th, 2019
TRX Suspension Training

Have you ever tried TRX suspension training and been swung from the rafters before? If not, you might have probably heard or seen about it, but you haven’t paid attention to it. This training has been becoming one of the fitness trends and is becoming well-known for its simplified-less-equipment approach based on seven basic movements: hinge, lunge, plank, push, pull, rotate, and squat. I bet you might be willing to have a go. 

What is TRX Suspension/Resistance training? 

TRX or Total Resistance eXercises training, also referred to TRX Suspension training,  was initially developed by a former U.S. Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick. He created this training to keep his subordinates fit while doing their naval services in the remote areas of the world. This training focuses on developing one’s balance, flexibility, core stability, agility, and strength simultaneously. 

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Complement Your Free Weight Strength Training With Machine Exercises

Thursday, June 27th, 2019
Cardio workout

Strength training has so many benefits, from giving you the physique you’ve always dreamed of to reducing your risk of many health problems. A lot of people who are serious about weight training will often opt for either free weights or machines, believing that one is better than the other. However, incorporating both into your workout routine offers the most benefits, and that includes the often dreaded cardio machines.

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8 Features to Consider Before Buying a Running Shoes

Thursday, June 20th, 2019
running man

Finding the right pair of running shoes is more than going to the nearest shoe store and picking up the first pair you find. It requires you to study its features that will help you to run smoothly. You can’t just wear a pair of your old sneakers; running shoes, as opposed to regular sneakers, need to provide you comfort and avoid any foot or back pain.

Consider these features below before you buy the perfect pair of running shoes.

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All The Gear And No Idea? Gym Equipment You Actually Need

Monday, April 15th, 2019

Gym memberships aren’t for everyone, some people prefer to train at home by themselves. Having made that decision, it can be really difficult to decipher what equipment you actually need to achieve the goals you’ve set. Any good salesman is going to convince you that you need to set up an Olympic grade weightlifting gym in your garage. For most people, this is very unnecessary. Don’t get swindled into buying a bunch of gym equipment you don’t need. Sidestep the noise, and understand what gym equipment you actually need.

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Reasons Why You Should Not Ignore Your Mini Trampoline At Home

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019
trampoline rebounder

You have been slacking most of your adult life and your stomach folds are getting harder to ignore. Then you tell yourself it’s enough as you try to think of ways to lose weight. Little did you know, you have been ignoring the answer to your problem – the rebounder your mother bought you back in your “active” days.

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Best Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage

Monday, January 7th, 2019
body fat scale

Leading a fit and healthy life is probably every person’s dream. However, very few of you have the will power to fulfil such dreams. Are you one of them who spend hours at the gym every day in order to shed excess body weight?

There are many of you who work out at the gym on a daily basis but when it comes to proper results, it is not as expected. It is important for you to remember that your body weight should never be the primary focus of your workout routines.

There are people are fall in the category of “overweight” but are still healthy. On the other hand, there are people with normal weight and are unhealthy. To be sure you are becoming healthier by lowering your overall body fat composition is, you will have to use something other than a simple scale. Here are some methods that work best.

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Elliptical Vs Treadmill – Which Is Better For You?

Tuesday, May 29th, 2018

treadmill vs elliptical
There are several types of workouts which you can do at a gym. Some of the most effective and useful workouts for weight loss and overall health are cardio exercises. You will find several workout machines and pieces of equipment that can help you get a proper cardio workout. Two of these include a treadmill and an elliptical trainer.

These machines can help you get a solid cardio workout within just a few minutes. You will hear several myths about these two types of exercise machines. However, the truth is that if you use them the right way they can both be highly effective for your body. Elliptical trainers and treadmills are especially beneficial for those of you who are interested in losing excess body weight while putting minimal stress on their joints. (more…)

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7 Pieces of Home Gym Equipment Every Bodybuilder Needs

Friday, May 25th, 2018

Home Gym GirlAll of us would prefer to be in better shape, but in today’s hectic world, it isn’t always easy to find the time to do so. It is much easier to get the necessary exercise and to stay in shape when the equipment you need to is in your home. But with so many options for gym equipment out there, it can be hard to know where to begin. The following are the most essential pieces of gym equipment for any home gym setup.

Adjustable Dumbbells

No home gym is really complete without a set of adjustable dumbbells. Whether you are going to be trying to build or maintain your muscle growth, a set of adjustable dumbbells will see you through. Not only are dumbbells an already versatile piece of equipment, by adjusting the weight, you can increase or decrease the difficulty and, therefore, effectiveness, of your workout routine.

Of all the most common pieces of gym equipment found in the home, dumbbells produce the most reliable and consistent improvements. The nature of dumbbell exercises means that they require a significant amount of effort from muscle fibers to maintain stability. A good set of adjustable dumbbells is a worthwhile purchase for any serious bodybuilder.

Olympic Barbell Set

Much like the dumbbells, a barbell will put the same kind of strain (a good kind) on your body and muscles as dumbbells. The barbell is essentially a single long dumbbell, and most of the exercises done with the barbell are two-armed variants on dumbbell exercises. A barbell set is a worthwhile addition to any home gym setup, but if you already have dumbbells, and there are other pieces of equipment you are missing, you might want to invest in another piece of equipment first. (more…)

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How to Choose MMA Gloves

Wednesday, March 28th, 2018

MMA ChickMMA is one of the toughest contact sports and having the right gear is extremely important for both your safety and the people you train with. In mixed martial arts, the main piece of equipment is your gloves. The type of glove you want to buy is dependant on the type of training you want to do since there are many different aspects to mixed martial arts.

In this article we are going to cover some tips and information to pick the best mma gloves for the type of martial arts training you want to do.

#1 – Style

There are a few different types of mma gloves that serve different purposes.
Bag gloves – These gloves as the name suggests are meant for bag training. They are tough and lightweight and are primarily designed for training with the speed bag.

They have a thin knuckle padding and therefore are used with hand wraps. These gloves can be used for hitting either a speed bag or heavy bag.

Training gloves – As the name implies these gloves are used for training and they are quite similar to boxing gloves. Their designs is much like that used for boxing though slightly different. (more…)

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Is Bike Exercise Good Cardio?

Sunday, January 14th, 2018

Exercise bikes, also called stationary bikes, are exercise equipment pieces that function exactly the same way as regular bikes except for the fact that they stay in one place as you pedal them. They are meant to give the user a similar workout as the one provided when riding a regular bike on a road or street.

Mountain Biking

This is achieved by the bike’s design which requires the user to place a lot of pressure on the pedals in order to spin the suspended wheel. This pressure can be adjusted by the user thus allowing them to progress to higher intensity levels as their levels of fitness improve.

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7 Tips for Selecting the Best Home Gym

Thursday, November 30th, 2017

Home Gym
Training at a commercial gym can be a frustrating experience. There’s nothing worse than losing your pump while you wait your turn in the queue for the bench press machine. If you want to get the workout of your life, then it’s time to consider investing in your own gym equipment.

However, where do you start your research into the best home gym that suits your training needs? There are many different set-ups to choose from that the task of selecting the right equipment can be overwhelming.

We put together these seven tips that can help you to choose the best home gym that suits your training needs, your budget, and your home.

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Keeping Fit With Music by Using a Running Phone Belt

Tuesday, September 12th, 2017

I always tend to find workouts at the gym very stressful when visiting at peak hours. There are so many people grunting and grinding, dropping weights and chattering. I really can’t concentrate on my own workout when noise is all around me. It increases my heart rate and makes me nervous and uncomfortable. Yet because of work schedules, I often find that the only time I have to visit the gym, is during the peak hours, along with everyone else.

This is where my cell phone comes in to save my day (and sanity); I simply plug in my headphones and turn up the volume for 45 minutes until I am safely out of the gyms doors. I know this is sounding terribly unsocial of me, but the gym at peak hours isn’t a calm social gathering to me, its prime purpose is unwinding and letting go of the days stress.

gym music

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Creating an Olympic Style Gym in your Garage

Thursday, August 31st, 2017

So, you want to train at home. Great! Having your training on tap is going to make your life easier and your workouts more frequent. But, if you plan to train heavy in your garage, you had better make sure that you set it up right. In this article we pace you through the key steps required to set up a heavy duty Olympic style gym in your garage.

Olympic home gym

We’re assuming here that you have at least the size of a single car garage or basement to work with and that you have the freedom to install flooring and wall mirrors.

The first you need to do it is to clear out your potential workout space. Get rid of it all so that you have a blank space to work with. (more…)

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How to Create the Ultimate Home Gym

Tuesday, April 11th, 2017

What Would Your Ideal Home Gym Look Like?

Away from the annoyances of a crowded gym, a workout space at home is a sanctuary that can be tailored to your every whim and desire. You can give the soulless house music a miss, mute the mindless chatter, skip waiting lines and travel times and really focus on what matters – getting fitter.

Creating the ideal home gym depends on your goals, but there are some must-haves whatever pre-conceived designs you have.

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Have You Ever Met Weightlifting’s Cousins?

Wednesday, March 29th, 2017

4 Examples of Alternative Fitness Equipment

If you try to increase muscle, strength, or conditioning, and you all you use is mainstream weightlifting using set routines day in and day out, you could be setting yourself up for failure in several ways! Do you find yourself scratching your head?

Here are three potential ways in which weightlifting can lead to failure:

  • plateauing – in strength, conditioning, assistance muscles, tendons, and ligaments
  • boredom – lifting day-in and day-out without variation
  • injuries – from max effort with free weights and repetitive paths

alternative fitness equipment - tires

I want to introduce you to traditional weightlifting’s cousins in just a moment. Before I introduce them, I will assure you they are all very viable means to fully developing muscle and also to help you to tone your body by accelerating fats loss as well as giving you a variety of choices to complement your weightlifting program. Without further ado, the cousins to weightlifting are kettlebells, resistance bands, the stability ball, and last but not least, homemade exercise equipment.

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