Title Double Handle Medicine Ball Review

Medicine balls are, and have always been, one of my very favorite pieces of equipment.  I still have the very first medicine ball I ever purchased, an old Everlast leather ball which is now almost entirely held together with duct tape.  Though that old Everlast ball is more of a gym decoration now than anything else, I still regularly use a medicine ball in my training – my ball of choice now, a Title Double Handle Medicine Ball.

Title is a well known and respected name in the boxing world and home to a veritable smorgasbord of high quality strength, conditioning and fitness equipment for both combat athletes and regular Joes just looking to get in better shape.  I’ve purchased a number of decent quality training implements from this superstore, but I can honestly say that my favorite and most used piece is the 15lb Double Handle Medicine Ball.

I use this ball in the same way as you would a traditional medicine ball – for exercises like tosses, twists, slams, thrusts and countless others, but I also make use of the handles for exercise like one handed swings, curls and presses.  Fifteen pounds may not sound like a lot of weight, but when you are performing high rep circuits of various swings and presses it can certainly start to feel like a lot in a relatively short period of time.

I’ve used my Title Double Handle Medicine Ball in dozens and dozens (probably hundreds) of workouts and it has been slammed more times than I can count but it keeps coming back for more.  This is most definitely a worthwhile tool for anyone that is looking to build explosive strength, develop a rock solid core or dramatically improve their conditioning – and that is saying a lot for a piece of equipment that will only cost you around forty bucks.

Lifeline USA Power Wheel Review

I’m well aware that the vast majority of folks surfing the web for fitness information have the goal of carving out a sexy set of washboard abs.  That’s why I want to preface this review with a bit of pertinent information – while this may be one of the very best tools for completely blasting every single muscle of your core, simply using it alone and completely neglecting other types of movement and exercise or completely neglecting your diet will most likely not result in you seeing those much desired abs.  Despite what some advertisements promise, attaining a six pack takes more than just “five minutes a day.”

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s actually talk about the Power Wheel!  This ab roller from Lifeline USA, who just so happens to be a company that offers a number of incredible pieces of equipment, is far and away the single best ab roller on the market.  The Power Wheel is incredibly sturdy, is ultra smooth and, unlike a good deal of other wheels out there, actually works on just about any surface.

In addition to just being a much better quality piece of equipment than just about any other ab wheel out there, the Power Wheel also has versatility on its side.  With the Power Wheel you not only have access to the comfortable handles, you can also opt to secure your feet to the pedals instead in order to change things up and work your core from an entirely different angle.

If you are looking for a unique and highly effective way to get a super intense core workout in as little time as possible, I would definitely recommend the Power Wheel from Lifeline USA before any other ab wheel or fancy ab machine out there.

Mir Weighted Vest Review

I had tried a number of different weighted vests and was convinced that there simply wasn’t a unit out there that was both comfortable to wear and capable of delivering a safe and effective method of hands free resistance.  Sure I had tried vests that were awesome for adding weight to basic movements like pushups, squats and pull ups without any problems, but most didn’t really perform as well as I would have liked during explosive movements.

The majority of low end vests I had tried didn’t fit well, didn’t adjust easily and seemed to bounce around like a son of a gun even when I had the fasteners adjusted to a borderline uncomfortably tight level.  It wasn’t until I strapped on the Pro Vest from Mir that I really came to the conclusion just how versatile and effective a weighted vest could be to a home gym.

Since then I’ve tried a number of vests (mostly more expensive, high end models like those from Mir) that I enjoyed using and would definitely be willing to recommend, but Mir is the brand that I own and use with regularity in my workouts.

Mir has an enormous variety of models to choose from to suit just about any purpose or person imaginable, but every different model shares one common attribute – exceedingly high quality.  The vests from Mir are easy to adjust, easy to get on and off, super comfortable and highly durable.  I’ve used both the Mir Short and Pro models with great success in a wide variety of movements and despite having been used and abused over and over, both are still in excellent condition and show no signs of failing any time soon.

There is no doubt that you could find a cheaper weighted vest out there, but a weighted vest is one instance where you don’t necessarily want to sacrifice quality to save just a few bucks.  Even a cheap weighted vest can set you back a bit so you are much better off putting off your purchase for a few extra weeks in order to get a high quality Mir vest that will last much longer and be able to effectively deliver much more intense (and comfortable) workouts.

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.

David Horne’s Vulcan Hand Gripper – An Essential Tool for Building Grip Strength

This is a guest post by Bestcovery.com fitness equipment expert and grip strength training enthusiast Jeff Wilson.

Up until Just a few short years ago the only experience I had with grip specific training involved playing around with some plastic handled hand grippers that you can buy at most sporting goods stores.  Even among the heartiest of these grippers, there wasn’t a whole lot of resistance and I didn’t see much way that using them on a regular basis would be of much benefit to my strength training at all.

I didn’t give a whole lot of thought to grip training beyond those cheap plastic grippers until I accidentally stumbled upon the Diesel Crew website and subsequently the GripBoard grip strength forum.  It was through those two websites that I was introduced to “real” hand grippers like the Captains of Crush grippers from IronMind.  After finding this devoted group of individuals and high quality training equipment, grip specific training became somewhat of an addiction for me.

After loading up on dozens of CoCs, BBs, RBs and HGs I thought I’d never need another tool to build grip strength – and I was probably right, then I stumbled upon David Horne’s website.  Horne is an arm wrestling and grip strength legend and he’d developed what appeared to be the ultimate tool for developing crush strength – the Vulcan Hand Gripper.

The Vulcan was a bit more expensive than the torsion grippers that I’d been using, but it had a unique advantage over them as well – it was completely adjustable.  Horne’s Vulcan effectively replaced every single gripper that I had in my collection, plus added dozens of additional levels of resistance that I didn’t have, allowing me to experiment with maximum effort single rep training or with high volume, high rep training all with the very same piece of equipment.

Horne’s Vulcan is rock solid and very well built and after hundreds of workouts and thousands of reps it is still every bit as fluid and functional as the day it arrived at my door.  Of course, I still have an affinity for torsion grippers and still use them on a regular basis, but I can honestly say that if I had found David Horne’s Vulcan before I went on my torsion gripper shopping spree I’d have far less grip equipment to store but I believe that I’d be every bit as strong in the grip department.

If you are into grip training and need a highly versatile tool or if you are planning on getting into grip training and want to start out at the top of the food chain in terms of equipment – invest in this gripper, you will not be disappointed.

Kettler Power Stepper Review

When I hear the name Kettler I automatically think of high end rowers – and if you’ve ever had the pleasure of working out on a Kettler rower, you should be fully aware why.  I was admittedly a bit skeptical prior to getting on the Kettler Power Stepper, but this piece of equipment proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this German manufacturer is far from one dimensional.

The first thing I noticed about the Kettler Power Stepper was its size, or lack there of.  This unit seems quite a bit smaller than most other units in the same price range, but the smaller frame size doesn’t seem to do a thing to the structural integrity.  As I said before, I’m far from a big dude, but I’ve been on countless pieces of exercise equipment in my day and I can tell when one feels as though it won’t hold up to regular abuse and this is certainly not the case with the Power Stepper.  Even when I was moving at a pretty good clip I didn’t feel as though there was ever an issue with how this unit from Kettler would hold up.  The smaller frame size can be a big benefit for those of you that live in smaller apartments or that want to keep the size of your home gym under control.

As far as versatility goes, the Power Stepper has got that going for it as well.  There are twelve different levels of resistance to choose from so just about any body can find a perfect starting point for their fitness journey and still have room to grow.  The hydraulics seem super smooth through every level and the computer console gives you just about all the features you would expect from a unit in this price range.

And that brings us to the very important question of price…  At about eight to nine hundred bucks this stepper isn’t exactly what you would call cheap.  What you’ve got to consider though, is the fact that you can use this piece of equipment all year round for an awesome cardio workout and if you don’t downright abuse it, it will probably last you a lifetime.  There are other steppers out there with comparable features and the same buttery smooth resistance, but in all likelihood you’d pay quite a bit more for any of them.  If you want a high quality, versatile and rock solid unit that won’t totally demolish your home gym budget I definitely recommend taking a look at the Kettler Power Stepper.

Budget Treadmills - Gold’s Gym 480

Of course I shop at Walmart – in this day and age who doesn’t?  I just don’t normally advocate buying major pieces of fitness equipment from the big box store.  Now I won’t say that I haven’t bought any fitness equipment from this retail giant, they do have good prices on jump ropes and such, but the vast majority of my Walmart purchases come at Christmas time from the toy department.  That being said, I have found one “diamond in the rough” so to speak when it comes to pieces of fitness equipment larger than that will fit into your pocket from Walmart – the Gold’s Gym 480 Treadmill.

The Gold’s Gym 480 can be had for under $400 online and can be delivered right to your door for a startlingly low shipping cost.  This is a very reasonable price for a motorized treadmill with this amount of features (albeit limited by some standards) and, though I’ve tried many, I can’t seem to find another motorized treadmill in this price range that feels as though it could hold up to the 480.

I’m far from what you would classify as a big guy, standing at around 5’11” and weighing in at a mighty 175 lbs, but this treadmill seemed to handle the force I generated even when I turned on the gas a bit.  The 50” deck isn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination, but it accommodated my stride well.  As with any piece of workout equipment, I imagine that folks who are exceedingly tall might have some issue with comfort in terms of stride length - if you want a treadmill that will comfortably accommodate a 6’4” frame, you’ll probably have to invest in a much more expensive unit than this.

I felt absolutely no creaks, cracks, groans or grumbles from the 480 while working out on it and to me, that’s pretty impressive from a treadmill in this price class, especially having felt what I have from other similarly price units.  The unit is easy to set up and the entire process of selecting workouts, adjusting speeds and adjusting incline is user friendly. 

Is this the best treadmill on the market, with the best warranty and the most pre-programmed workouts and exciting features?  Absolutely not, but it is the sturdiest, most comfortable and most functional treadmill that I’ve found for a price this low.  If you are looking for a budget treadmill for your home gym, the Gold’s Gym 480 is certainly worth a look in my humble opinion.