Fitness Gear
As a seasoned personal trainer, I've used and tested a variety of gear. Below, you'll find my top picks for personal training equipment, curated to help you achieve your fitness goals. From resistance equipment to recovery tools, these are the items I trust and recommend for a safe and effective workout regimen
Resistance Equipment
The LIT Axis Resistance Band Workout System is a game-changer for fitness enthusiasts and professionals alike. It brings the effectiveness of gym-based resistance training right into the comfort of your home (or wherever else you'd like to take it).
In my personal experience, the LIT Axis was instrumental in my recovery journey from an ankle injury. The system allowed me to focus on full range of motion exercises while maintaining an emphasis on time under tension, a crucial aspect of strength training and muscle recovery. It helped me to regain strength, stability, and confidence in my movement, a testament to its value for rehabilitation purposes.
What sets the LIT Axis apart is how it emulates the functionality of a portable Pilates reformer. For those unfamiliar, a Pilates reformer is an exceptional piece of equipment known for its capacity to improve strength, balance, and flexibility. Having this capability in a compact, portable format is a massive win for those seeking a comprehensive workout tool that is space-efficient and travel-friendly.
The LIT Axis has also proven to be invaluable in addressing muscle imbalances. It offers an adaptable, comprehensive workout that can be tailored to target specific muscle groups, thus helping to correct discrepancies in strength and mobility. This targeted approach has not only benefited my own fitness journey but has also proved to be a fantastic addition to workouts with my personal training clients.
On that note, it's a great asset for fitness professionals. Its versatility and adaptability make it a fantastic tool for coaching a wide range of clients, catering to their individual needs and fitness levels.
As a bonus, you can use the code 'thehealthyyinzer' for a 15% discount on your purchase. Give it a shot - your muscles will thank you!
In the era of working from home, maintaining an active lifestyle can be a challenge. With hours spent in front of screens and fewer opportunities for incidental movement, it's more important than ever to find ways to incorporate physical activity into our daily routines. Enter the Cubii Under Desk Elliptical Bike Peddler - a solution that combines convenience, innovation, and wellness.
What sets Cubii apart is its sleek and compact design. It slips effortlessly under a desk or in front of your favorite chair, transforming your workstation or living room into an impromptu fitness area. Its low-profile design means it doesn't interfere with your regular activities, allowing you to work or relax while simultaneously getting a workout.
But don't let the small size fool you. The Cubii Under Desk Elliptical delivers a surprisingly effective lower-body workout. It targets your legs, hips, and glutes while promoting improved circulation, which can help to reduce sedentary-related health risks. Moreover, the adjustable resistance levels allow you to customize your workout to match your fitness level and goals, whether you're looking for gentle movement or a more challenging ride.
One of the key benefits of the Cubii is its contribution to multitasking. With this under-desk elliptical, you can pedal while you power through your emails, engage in a video conference, or even while relaxing with your favorite book or TV show. It's a clever way to incorporate physical activity into a busy day without requiring extra time or a change of scenery.
The unique benefit of the Fitness Slam Ball is its inherent instability. Unlike traditional weights, which are typically symmetrical and balanced, the slam ball’s shape encourages your body to engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously to maintain control. This added element of stability training can help improve core strength, coordination, and balance.
While it may have "slam" in the name, this equipment offers a variety of exercise possibilities beyond just slamming. You can use them for weighted squats, lunges, Russian twists, overhead presses, and even as a scaled-down substitute for medicine balls.
One of the standout benefits of the Fitness Slam Ball is its potential for cardiovascular exercise. Performing high-repetition exercises with the slam ball can significantly raise your heart rate, providing both strength and aerobic benefits. This dual-function workout can save you time and provide a full-body workout that burns calories and tones muscles at the same time.
Balance and Stability
A Swiss Ball, also known as an Exercise Ball or Stability Ball, is an incredibly versatile piece of fitness equipment that can enhance your workout routine. It can help improve your strength, flexibility, balance, and core stability.
One unique aspect of the Stability Ball is that it can also double as a workout bench. This unconventional use adds a new dimension to many standard exercises like bench presses, tricep dips, and seated shoulder presses. The ball's unstable surface challenges your balance and engages your stabilizing muscles in addition to your targeted muscles. For example, when performing a chest press, you're not only working your chest and arm muscles, but also your core and leg muscles to maintain stability.
One of the main benefits of using a Stability Ball is that it promotes active engagement of your core muscles. Whether you're doing abs, lower back, or oblique exercises, the ball encourages a higher level of core activation compared to floor exercises. This can help improve your posture, reduce the risk of back pain, and enhance your overall stability, making day-to-day activities easier.
A yoga mat is arguably one of the most essential pieces of equipment for anyone interested in yoga, Pilates, or any form of floor exercise. It's more than just a surface; it's a personal space. It offers a protective cushioning between your body and the floor, enhances your balance, and increases grip during various poses and workouts.
The mat's cushioning aspect is designed to support your body and make your workout more comfortable, especially for poses or exercises that require you to kneel or lie down. It provides a level of comfort and protection that a bare floor cannot, safeguarding your joints and muscles.
A crucial element of any yoga mat is its non-slip feature. Whether you're in a downward dog pose or in the middle of a dynamic flow, the mat's surface helps you maintain a firm grip, providing stability and helping you to perform each pose accurately and safely.
Not limited to just yoga, the mat is a versatile piece of equipment, suitable for a range of exercises such as Pilates, HIIT workouts, stretching, and even meditation practices. Its portability makes it easy to carry to a class, the park, or to use within the comfort of your own home.
Loop Resistance Bands are an incredibly versatile and effective fitness tool. Compact, portable, and easy-to-use, these bands can significantly enhance your workouts by providing variable resistance to help strengthen and tone a wide range of muscles.
The true beauty of Loop Resistance Bands lies in their simplicity. They can be used to add an extra challenge to almost any exercise, from squats and lunges to bicep curls and shoulder presses. They work by adding an external resistance force that your muscles must work against.
One standout feature of these bands is their ability to target small, stabilizing muscles that often get overlooked in traditional weight-based exercises. This makes them particularly effective for rehabilitation, mobility, and balance training, as well as for overall muscle tone and strength.
Loop Resistance Bands are suitable for all fitness levels. They often come in sets with varying resistance levels, making them adaptable to your strength and allowing you to progress at your own pace. They're also excellent for stretching and can help increase your flexibility and range of motion.
Home Gyms
The Bowflex Exceed Home Gym is a versatile, compact, and efficient solution for those looking to bring the gym experience right into their homes. Though I haven't used this machine personally, it stands out for its advanced design, extensive range of exercises, and easy adaptability, all of which make it an appealing choice for fitness enthusiasts of all levels.
The Bowflex Exceed offers over 65 different exercises targeting all major muscle groups, from strength training to cardio workouts. This broad spectrum of exercises allows you to customize your workouts according to your fitness goals, whether that's building muscle, improving flexibility, or enhancing endurance. You can work out your arms, chest, back, shoulders, and lower body all on one machine, making it a truly all-in-one fitness solution.
One feature that stands out about the Bowflex Exceed is its Power Rod resistance system. This technology provides a smooth and controlled resistance that feels as good as (or better than) free weights but without the risk of joint pain or injury. The resistance can be easily adjusted from 5 to 210 lbs, making the machine adaptable to different fitness levels and progression over time.
The design of the Bowflex Exceed also deserves mention. It's compact and space-efficient, which is ideal for home use, especially if you're limited on space.
The Peloton Bike is a high-tech, feature-packed exercise bike that promises to transform your at-home fitness routine. Designed with the modern, busy professional in mind, the Peloton bike offers a dynamic and immersive workout experience that could be especially beneficial for those working from home.
The Peloton bike is more than just an exercise bike – it's a personal fitness studio that brings world-class instructors and on-demand classes right into your home. Its expansive library of classes means you can find a workout that suits your mood, fitness level, and schedule. This flexibility is particularly useful for those working from home, as it allows you to easily fit in a workout during a lunch break or wind down with a class after a long day of work.
The bike itself is sleek, durable, and designed for comfort. It's adjustable to suit a wide range of body types, and the high-quality construction means it will withstand regular, intense workouts. Importantly, the Peloton bike is not a piece of equipment that you'll want to use as a clothes hanger – it's a tool designed to inspire and motivate, with a large HD touchscreen that connects you directly to the energy and excitement of the live studio classes.
The OppsDecor 6-in-1 Dumbbell Weight Set is a smart, budget-friendly investment for those looking to kick-start or maintain their fitness journey at home. This versatile set packs a comprehensive range of weight options into a compact, space-saving design, making it an ideal choice for home workout enthusiasts and those seeking a simple, straightforward setup.
The set includes a variety of weight plates, offering a total adjustable weight range from 22lbs to 88lbs, which means you can easily customize your workout to your strength level and specific training needs. This adaptability makes the set suitable for a wide array of exercises, from basic strength training and muscle building to toning and rehabilitation exercises.
One notable feature of this set is its 6-in-1 design. With its included connecting rod, the dumbbells can be transformed into a barbell, adding even more variety to your workouts. This feature not only broadens the types of exercises you can perform but also simulates the full-body movements often involved in lifting a barbell, providing a more comprehensive workout experience.
Exercise Recovery Essentials
Since first incorporating the Theragun into my fitness and wellness routine in 2018, it has become an integral part of both my personal recovery process and the services I offer my clients. The Theragun is a powerful, professional-grade percussive therapy device designed to relieve muscle tension, improve recovery, and enhance physical performance.
The Theragun works by using rapid, percussive strokes to stimulate blood flow and heat in the muscles. This promotes a deeper state of relaxation, reduces muscle stiffness and soreness, and improves range of motion. Whether you're a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone simply looking to ease everyday aches and pains, the Theragun can offer significant benefits.
From my personal experience, the Theragun has proven to be a game-changer. Its impact on my recovery has been substantial, helping to accelerate the healing process, improve muscle responsiveness, and reduce the physical stress associated with intensive training. The device has become so integral to my routine that it's hard to imagine life without it.
As a professional, the Theragun has also added considerable value to the services I provide. My clients have reported significant improvements in their muscle recovery and overall physical performance since incorporating the Theragun into their sessions. It's rewarding to see how this device can offer such immediate and tangible benefits.
Don't settle for cheaper versions! They lack the necessary amplitude to effectively work.
Recovery Air Boots have proven to be an indispensable tool in my recovery toolkit, notably during my own recovery from a broken ankle and after long, strenuous days spent on my feet. These innovative devices are designed to provide dynamic compression to the legs, improving circulation, reducing swelling, and accelerating recovery.
For those unfamiliar, Recovery Air Boots are pneumatic compression devices that use air pressure to massage your legs, enhance blood flow, and facilitate lymphatic drainage. This process is crucial for helping the body recover from intense physical activities and injuries.
In my personal experience, the Recovery Air Boots have been incredibly effective in reducing the swelling associated with my ankle injury. The boots helped to mobilize fluid buildup and increase blood circulation to the injured area, promoting healing and reducing the discomfort that often accompanies such injuries.
Moreover, as someone who spends a significant amount of time on my feet, the Recovery Air Boots have been a lifesaver. After a hard day's work, using the boots has provided much-needed relief, helping to alleviate feelings of heaviness, tiredness, and discomfort in my legs. The massaging action of the boots not only promotes recovery but also provides a relaxing and therapeutic experience.
The Therabody Wave Roller is an innovative tool that merges vibration therapy and foam rolling into one revolutionary recovery solution. This product is designed to target and relieve muscle tension more effectively and provide a comprehensive approach to your muscle health and recovery routine.
What sets the Wave Roller apart from the standard foam rollers on the market is its inclusion of powerful vibration technology. With five intensity settings, the Wave Roller allows you to customize your recovery to suit your specific needs. This added element of vibration provides deeper, more efficient muscle treatment compared to traditional foam rolling methods.
From a personal perspective, the Wave Roller has been a game-changer in my recovery routine. The vibrations enhance the foam rolling experience by facilitating blood flow, reducing muscle soreness, and accelerating recovery. This has proved especially beneficial after long days of physical activity and strenuous workouts, helping to keep my muscles loose and prevent the build-up of tension and stiffness.
Remember, the right equipment can enhance your workouts and help you reach your fitness goals more effectively. All the gear I've listed here is from trusted brands that I personally use or recommend to my clients