Everlast Plastic Speed Rope Review

I’ve been a huge fan of boxing for as long as I can remember and since the moment I started trying to figure out exactly how to get myself in the best possible shape, the training style and tools of old school boxers has been a huge part of my regimen.  I make regular use of a medicine ball; do plenty of bodyweight exercise; hit heavy bags, speed bags and double ended bags and of course I use a jump rope.

A jump rope is a simple piece of equipment that you can take with you wherever you go, use just about anywhere you are and that is affordable enough for just about anyone to own without breaking their budget.  This awesome workout tool improves coordination, quickness, body awareness and it is one of the absolute best methods for improving conditioning and torching away excess body fat.

A lot of guys will tell you that if you want a rope that will hold up that you should probably go with leather and while I’m a fan of leather ropes, I’ve found a more economical version that seems to hold up just as well.  The Everlast Plastic Speed Rope has been in my regular rotation for well over a year now and has been used on a wide variety of surfaces without failing me yet.

During the spring and summer I’ve taken this rope to the great outdoors and used it on grass, dirt, concrete and asphalt and inside of my home it’s been put to the test on carpet, tile and hardwood and it still seems as though it’s in nearly the same condition it was when I took it out of the package (although a bit dirtier).  This rope has provided me with hour after hour of wickedly intense cardio and conditioning workouts for a total cost of less than ten dollars, which makes it an astoundingly good choice for fitness freaks that want to get the most out of their home gym without spending a whole lot of money.

There seem to be plenty of “world class” or “professional quality” jump ropes hitting the scene over the course of the last few years but from my personal experience you certainly don’t need to spend thirty or forty dollars on a professional quality rope in order to get a good workout.  If you want an excellent rope for a reasonable price, pick up an Everlast Plastic Speed Rope.

Stamina InMotion T900 Treadmill Review

Just like with biking, if I’m going to be doing some walking or running I very much prefer it to be in the great outdoors.  I like to see what’s going on in the world, to get the fresh air and to actually feel the breeze as I’m getting a workout in.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate at the times when we would like her to and in those instances it’s much better to bring your workout indoors than to forego it.

I’ve used a number of different treadmills with a number of different features in my day and I’ve really enjoyed the experience of some.  What I haven’t always been a big fan of on some of the treadmills that I’ve tried is the price.  Many of the top units with the best features can easily cost into the thousands of dollars and that can be well out of the price range for many people, especially for a piece of equipment that will be primarily used for free workouts that can’t be performed due only to the weather.

It’s easy to find a decent treadmill for seven or eight hundred dollars, but if you want a more affordable piece of equipment you’ll most likely have to invest in a manual model.  While there are manual treadmills out there that can provide a perfectly adequate walking workout, finding one that is built well and that will hold up to regular workouts can be a bit of a challenge.

Though I was admittedly a bit skeptical of a treadmill that cost under $150, I honestly have some good things to say about the InMotion T900 treadmill from Stamina.  Stamina produces a number of affordable pieces of equipment that are pretty useful and at least of reasonable quality, so that’s exactly what I expected from this particular unit – a middle of the road manual that wouldn’t necessarily impress me or disappoint me.  What I found was a manual that was very easy to put together, very easy to store and actually pretty sturdy.

I put the T900 through a number of workouts of different lengths and intensities and found it to have very smooth resistance and a sturdy enough feel that I would even feel comfortable recommending it for regular use.  I would caution that this unit would be best used for walking and not as the primary training tool for an avid or competitive runner.   Exceedingly tall walkers might have a bit of issue with stride length on this unit as well, but that is pretty much par for the course on manual treadmills that fold down for easy storage.

If you are looking for a very affordable piece of equipment that will allow you to participate in every single scheduled walking workout regardless of the weather outside, the T900 manual treadmill from Stamina would certainly be a viable option.  Unfortunately if you are looking for a runner’s treadmill with all the bells and whistles, you’ll probably have to be willing to spend quite a bit more than the T900 would cost you.

SandBell Review

I’m a huge fan of sand bags, medicine balls, kettlebells and functional grip training tools so it should probably seem pretty obvious that I would fall in love with a piece of equipment that combined the attributes of those individual pieces of equipment.

The highly innovative folks at HyperWear, who make an astonishingly good weighted vest by the way, have created the SandBell which is a piece (or pieces) of equipment that effectively serve the purpose of several other functional fitness tools.  I was honestly a bit skeptical prior to actually getting my hands on a few of these to try (thanks Big John!), but very surprised when I began putting them through the paces of a workout.

These highly durable neoprene disks can be filled with sand to create super versatile training tools that weigh from as little as two pounds up to as much as fifty pounds.  I used these for swings, presses, tosses, slams and more and after a few very grueling workouts they didn’t seem any worse for wear at all.

While I don’t necessarily think I’d ever trade in my kettlebells or dumbbells for a full set of SandBells I honestly did get one heck of a workout from the borrowed SandBells and would most certainly invest in a full set of my own for my gym.  Thanks to my buddy Jeff I’m a huge fan of grip specific training and found the SandBells to work exceptionally well for grabs, pinches and times holds for working crushing grip.

In addition to the fact that the SandBells are very versatile they are also super affordable.  You purchase the SandBells empty and fill them with your own sand from the home improvement center (which costs just a few dollars for a fifty pound bag) so you don’t have to pay the outrageous shipping cost you would for heavy dumbbells and kettlebells.

If you’re looking for a fun and affordable training tool that is great for building functional strength and use in intense conditioning workouts, I definitely recommend SandBells from HyperWear.

Iron Gym Pull Up Bar Review

If you are planning on putting together a complete home gym, a good place to do pull ups is not only a nice addition it’s practically an essential addition.  There are plenty of different options available when it comes to pull up bars, but if you live in a small home or apartment, a door mounted unit will probably the most convenient for your situation.

Even after slimming down the options and focusing on portable door mounted units, there are still quite a few to choose from.  I ultimately opted to review Iron Gym’s version of this incredibly versatile workout tool because of one reason – it’s affordable.  You can do pretty much everything on the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar that you can on others that cost upwards of fifty dollars, but you can find this unit on Amazon for around $20.

Once assembled, this bar can literally be “installed” in seconds to instantly provide you with a safe and sturdy place to do pull ups, chin ups, knee raises and hanging leg raises then it can just as quickly be moved to the floor to give you a set of convenient push up handles.  The unit itself is very sturdy, so if your door frame is capable of holding your weight through a set of pull ups or chin ups you should have no problem at all getting an awesome upper body workout with the Iron Gym pull up bar.

Building a fully functional home gym might take you a little time, but this one versatile and affordable addition can help you to effectively target areas of your body that would have a bit of trouble working well with other pieces of equipment.  If you don’t have the space required to set up a free standing pull up unit or complete power rack with a pull up bar or you don’t want to go through the hassle of affixing a permanent pull up unit to a wall in your home, the Iron Gym pull up bar gives you a super affordable and very effective alternative for getting a great upper body and core workout.