Gear

Home gym gear

I have never paid for a gym membership in my life. If it wasn’t for working as a lifeguard or a personal trainer, or being in the army, I would just stay at home and train. This is what I train with.

1. Iron Gym Pull-up bar

If I were to only purchase one piece of kit for my home gym, it would be this. A pull-up bar that I can use in a doorway without damaging my house. No screws, nothing. For around 40 bucks, this is well worth the price.

2. Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells

These dumbbells are great for quickly adjusting the weight between 5 to 52.5 pounds. I would not recommend going for the larger 1090’s which go from 10 to 90 pounds. I find the cost is just too much for me.

If you find the cost of the 552’s are still too much, I would recommend dumbbells similar to this Rubber Coated Hex Dumbbell Set. If you are going to go for these kind of dumbbells, then I would recommend going to a store and finding a weight that you can lift over your head 10 times. Start with that pair of dumbbells. However, ff you can lift it twenty times overhead, then you should really go up from there. You will find exercises like the bent-over row and bench press too-easy.

3. Concept2 Indoor Rowing Machine

Skip the treadmill, the stationary bike or the elliptical. Go for a rowing machine. Before any client sees me, they row at least 1 km on a Concept 2 rower. I have 20 year old guys and 80 year old women with fake hips on that rowing machine. No exceptions. The beauty about it, is that it is such a low impact workout. I love it for my knees and my back, and it burns more calories than a treadmill, or a bike, or an elliptical machine. Try one out at your local gym and you will see what I mean.

If you are going to buy one, I would highly recommend the Concept 2 brand. I wouldn’t really worry about the model though. Just pick up whatever is cheaper. I think the Model D is the cheapest choice. I would also look around on Craigslist or Kijiji for used cardio equipment. People are getting rid of that stuff all the time.

If you want a good alternative for a cardio workout, buy a nice mountain bike, or running shoes. I have always been a Mizuno fan. Just because I can pick up a good pair of choices for less than a hundred bucks. I will be trying out the Vibram Fivefingers in the next few weeks and mention them here if I like them.

4. Flat Bench

The flat bench allows for you to do a bench press exercise, squats, bent-over rows as well as bench dips and incline push-ups. I found this one on Amazon for about 50 bucks. Although most of these exercises can be done with dining room chair, it is difficult to pull-off the bench press on a chair. So I would recommend picking up a flat bench.

A cheaper alternative is to use the chair for many of the aforementioned exercises and pay out about 20 bucks for a stability ball. The usually come in 45cm, 55cm, 65cm, 75cm. The best way to size them is to use a ball that is roughly the height from the floor to your knee. But if you don’t have a chance to size them up, you really can’t go wrong with a 65 cm.

5. Medicine Balls

These are great for working your core, using for kettlebell swings, or ball slams. I try to incorporate them into almost all the core exercises that I do. I rotate through a 5, 10-12 and a 20 pound ball. If you are only going to pick-up one, I would recommend the 10-12 pound one. Just make sure that it has a tough outer exterior. Our gym used to have a 20 pound medicine ball until a client of mine, a 65-year-old retired stats prof, destroyed it. I was really proud of him that day.

Outdoor climbing gear

Stay tuned, I will be releasing the essential climbing gear to get you started with indoor rock climbing and outdoor top-rope rock climbing.

If there is any other equipment you would like my opinion of, please feel free to contact me at jbell@digitaltrainer.ca.
Your Digital Trainer,

Jeremiah