Dumbbells are some of the best fitness tools money can buy. If you’re decking out your home gym, you can’t really afford to miss them out – they are a complete must have. They are incredibly versatile, for starters. I use them a lot for both compound and isolation work, for main movements and accessories, … Read more
Benches are incredibly useful training tools. They should form a cornerstone of any home gym if you’re looking to build one. They can be used for classic bench and chest presses, including incline and decline variations if the bench is adjustable, can be used for lower body movements such as step ups and split squats, … Read more
Plyometric exercises are an incredibly beneficial group of movements for improving overall athleticism, with particular emphasis on explosive strength and power. They are, in effect, high impact exercises that focus on what is called the ‘stretch reflex’ of your muscles – the stretch and shortening of each muscle during any given period of work. The … Read more
Our resident PT James Dixon takes a look at the best dip bars to complete your home workout setup. Find out what made the list below… Home gyms are more popular than ever before. There are many reasons for this. The inaccessibility of conventional gyms, especially in recent years, combined with the range, quality and … Read more
Skipping is one of the best forms of cardiovascular and conditioning training going. Jump ropes are able to spike your heart rate almost instantaneously whilst working co-ordination and lower leg endurance and ankle strength. However, it can be a little rough. It’s tough on the joints – and the ropes themselves can be rough on … Read more
The greater the calorie deficit you manage, the faster you will be able to lose weight and meet your goals. You need to maintain a deficit of around 500 calories per day for every 1 lb (0.5 kg) you want to lose per week, which can be done through a mixture of diet (eating less) … Read more
Suspension trainers have begun to crop up in gyms worldwide in recent years. Essentially just ropes with handles attached, they may seem unexciting and perhaps even slightly confusing to many gymgoers. Why play around with them when there is much more exciting, much fancier kit to play around with, after all? I would caution against … Read more
If you’re looking to throw around heavy barbells through large compound movements, there is a good chance that you would benefit from using bumper plates. They are far more resilient and a fair bit bouncier than regular iron or steel plates. This is because they are generally either constructed from or at least sheathed in … Read more
For the sake of having 3-4 resistance bands, ranging from light to heavy, you can work pretty much any and every muscle in the body through its full range of motion. They are a great substitution for dumbbells and give you a great deal of accommodating resistance (they get harder through the range of motion). … Read more
As home fitness users turn more towards kettlebell exercises, competition kettlebells continue to grow in popularity. Although the name might suggest that these training aids are reserved for competitions and sporting events it is actually not the case at all. Competition Kettlebells are used in official events but there is a lot more to them … Read more