The last entry in this series was about barbells. For barbells to be useful, you need plates for them.
Continue readingHome Equipment – 4: Weight Plates
Make It Easier
An old article over at painscience.com includes this gem:
A common mistake is to give up instead of just making it easier.
Yes! Although it wasn't used in reference to strength or aerobic training, it applies very well here.
Continue readingHome Equipment – 3: Barbells
Our last installment discussed dumbbells. Sticking with the weights, it's on to barbells this time. In particular: straight bars.
Barbells are probably what most people think of as "weights." They're used in powerlifting and the Olympics and for all the heaviest lifts. You don't have to go heavy with a barbell but it's nice that you can. And it's so fun!
Continue readingReview: Forerunner 35
Last Christmas, I asked Santa for a Garmin Forerunner 35 to replace my good ol' Forerunner 305. The 305 still worked fine--I even bought a snazzy new band for it last year--but Garmin stopped supporting the software so it lost some of its usefulness.
Continue readingHome Equipment – 2: Dumbbells
Continuing our series on equipment you can use at home, we move to one of the most common items used at home for strength training: dumbbells (DBs).
Continue readingStretching: Good or Bad?
A few weeks ago, whilst lunching with Sensei Hutch, he mentioned reading an article on stretching being worthless--or worse--which contradicted all he'd believed about stretching for so many years. This article surprised me since I'd seen lots of pro-stretching articles over the past year or so. Plus the rise of dedicated stretching centers where you can go to be stretched by a "licensed coach." Some other practices, such as massage therapists, have also jumped on the stretching bandwagon.
Recently I read another pro-stretching article and thought: why all the confusion? So let's take a look...
Home Equipment – 1: Mats
Well here we go! The first in a seemingly limitless series of posts on fitness equipment you can use at home. I'll be starting a page that will have links to all the posts in the list as it grows but for now it's just this one.
Each of these posts will include one or more images with arrows pointing to the equipment's location in my home gym. Unless it's equipment I don't actually have, of course.
The most basic piece of fitness equipment you can use at home is a mat. You don't really need any mats. But they sure come in handy.
The most common is the ubiquitous "yoga mat" which can be seen traveling around town in stylish bags. This is a thin, easily rolled mat that can be used for things like yoga (duh), Pilates, and any floor exercise that can be made a bit more comfortable with some padding. But it's not just comfort: the mat can also protect the floor from sweat. Mats are much easier to clean than carpet, for example.
