Daedala (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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lifting_heavy_things2011-05-16 09:18 pm
daedala) wrote in lifting_heavy_things2011-05-16 09:18 pm
Home Equipment Babble
A while back, rydra_wong suggested we talk about workout equipment, and now I've decided to do that. Because I really want to finish the workouts I'm doing before Wiscon, so continually babbling will help with that, right? Right!
If I can link to the exact thing I have, I will link.
Personal trainer power blocks: They go from 2.5 to 50 lbs, mostly in 2.5 or 5lb increments. They are compact and sturdy as hell, and I love them. Their only annoying problem is they sometimes stick when I try to adjust them, and I think their new version, with the urethane, should help with that. (By the way, they look expensive! But I paid a lot less by going to a Second Wind Fitness type place at the end of the month, when they needed to meet quota and cut me a deal so I could afford them. Then I took a cab back home.) These are the mainstay of my workouts. They've more than paid for themselves. I've also owned them 5 years and they still look new, even though I've used them reasonably often.
Hex dumbbells in 5, 8, 10, and 12 lbs: At 12 lbs I realized it was going to get really expensive and bulky to keep paying for separate weights, not to mention more difficult to get them home in my backpack, so I got the power blocks. But it has been kind of handy to have light weights, too, and I use them quite a bit.
Adjustable weight bench: I got this from Amazon. I tried finding a used one first, but transportation was too hard. Some of the reviews say it's not good for tall people, but as I am short, I think it's great. The only problem is that I would like more settings on the incline -- I'd like a lower incline setting. But overall it's been very sturdy and helpful (though it is not heavy enough to use for step-ups). I conned my partner into assembling it, but he said it wasn't too hard.
Kettle stack, which I never use: I might start doing so once I'm done with the current New Rules of Lifting for Women sequence. I got it on eBay a long time ago based on the review at Stumptuous. Like everyone, I have exercise stuff I've never used. Very sad. I'm not going to list all of those, but this is one I'm keeping for a reason. (One of the big reasons I never used it was many of the kettlebell classes in town expect you to bring your own. On a bus? I DON'T THINK SO.)
Regular door-mount pullup bar, the kind you screw into the frame.
Fancy-pants resistance training bands for assisted pullups/chinups: I substitute these for all my lat pulldowns. Someday, I hope to beat my 11-year-old niece's five-pullup record. (She started with one unassisted pullup, by the way. I told my sister to tell her about grease the groove for pullups, and we've had to yell at her to slow down. Her mother says she smirks. Evil child.)
Thera-band tubing, various weights: I got these a long time ago. I never really used them, but then I found it very handy for pretending I have a cable machine! I use them for wood chops and reverse wood chops.
Swiss ball. <3
Yoga mat. I often just use the carpet.
Terry mountain bike. I got this used a few years ago. I love my bike, especially now that I've replaced the saddle. I never realized how uncomfortable my previous bike was before I got this. Terry bikes are famous for women-specific design. No more numb hands!
Low table for a library card catalog: Really! It is very sturdy, and I use it for the step-ups and the partial single-leg squats (I'm not flexible enough for real pistols). The table made the catalog too high to use as a sofa table, so I took it out and found it useful for workouts.
What do you have?
rydra_wong suggested we talk about workout equipment, and now I've decided to do that. Because I really want to finish the workouts I'm doing before Wiscon, so continually babbling will help with that, right? Right! If I can link to the exact thing I have, I will link.
Personal trainer power blocks: They go from 2.5 to 50 lbs, mostly in 2.5 or 5lb increments. They are compact and sturdy as hell, and I love them. Their only annoying problem is they sometimes stick when I try to adjust them, and I think their new version, with the urethane, should help with that. (By the way, they look expensive! But I paid a lot less by going to a Second Wind Fitness type place at the end of the month, when they needed to meet quota and cut me a deal so I could afford them. Then I took a cab back home.) These are the mainstay of my workouts. They've more than paid for themselves. I've also owned them 5 years and they still look new, even though I've used them reasonably often.
Hex dumbbells in 5, 8, 10, and 12 lbs: At 12 lbs I realized it was going to get really expensive and bulky to keep paying for separate weights, not to mention more difficult to get them home in my backpack, so I got the power blocks. But it has been kind of handy to have light weights, too, and I use them quite a bit.
Adjustable weight bench: I got this from Amazon. I tried finding a used one first, but transportation was too hard. Some of the reviews say it's not good for tall people, but as I am short, I think it's great. The only problem is that I would like more settings on the incline -- I'd like a lower incline setting. But overall it's been very sturdy and helpful (though it is not heavy enough to use for step-ups). I conned my partner into assembling it, but he said it wasn't too hard.
Kettle stack, which I never use: I might start doing so once I'm done with the current New Rules of Lifting for Women sequence. I got it on eBay a long time ago based on the review at Stumptuous. Like everyone, I have exercise stuff I've never used. Very sad. I'm not going to list all of those, but this is one I'm keeping for a reason. (One of the big reasons I never used it was many of the kettlebell classes in town expect you to bring your own. On a bus? I DON'T THINK SO.)
Regular door-mount pullup bar, the kind you screw into the frame.
Fancy-pants resistance training bands for assisted pullups/chinups: I substitute these for all my lat pulldowns. Someday, I hope to beat my 11-year-old niece's five-pullup record. (She started with one unassisted pullup, by the way. I told my sister to tell her about grease the groove for pullups, and we've had to yell at her to slow down. Her mother says she smirks. Evil child.)
Thera-band tubing, various weights: I got these a long time ago. I never really used them, but then I found it very handy for pretending I have a cable machine! I use them for wood chops and reverse wood chops.
Swiss ball. <3
Yoga mat. I often just use the carpet.
Terry mountain bike. I got this used a few years ago. I love my bike, especially now that I've replaced the saddle. I never realized how uncomfortable my previous bike was before I got this. Terry bikes are famous for women-specific design. No more numb hands!
Low table for a library card catalog: Really! It is very sturdy, and I use it for the step-ups and the partial single-leg squats (I'm not flexible enough for real pistols). The table made the catalog too high to use as a sofa table, so I took it out and found it useful for workouts.
What do you have?
Ooooh, an excuse to babble about my toys!
Assorted small hex dumbbells, the first things I bought, which were rapidly supplanted by a York adjustable dumbbell kit. This is currently partly dismantled so I can use some of the plates in a homemade wrist roller and some for eccentric finger exercises. All of these still get used, though mainly for shoulder/elbow/wrist rehab and prehab.
An 8kg kettlebell, which has served me well for many years.
Two of those strap-on 1kg ankle weights, acquired many many years ago before I realized how pointless they are. Currently turning out to be very useful to strap onto the handle of the 8kg kettlebell to turn it into a 9 or 10kg kettlebell.
A pair of bright blue 12kg kettlebells. This is my current limit for kb stuff, and I still revert to the 8kg for some things.
A Swiss ball, sometimes pressed into service as an interestingly-unstable weight bench.
A yoga mat, which is not really related to the lifting of heavy things but tends to be underneath them. *g*
A sledgehammer (I think around 4kg), for elbow rehab.
A Lifeline Jungle Gym, which hangs in a doorway it shares with my Rock Rings. I don't have a regular pull-up bar; I tend to use the one at the climbing wall, which is the Best Pull-Up Bar In The World (it's a ten-foot long scaffolding bar over squishy matting, adorned with more rock rings, knotted ropes for working towards one-armed pull-ups, and so on).
A broomstick.
A bodybar (around 7kg, I think); this falls into the category of "shit I would not have bought if I'd known better", but since I have it, I occasionally use it for things where the broomstick's too light but a barbell is too heavy.
A foam roller.
Two 4kg clubbells. Delightful new toys!
If I'd known more when I started out, I could have put together a much more streamlined kit, but this is what I've got, and it's fun.
Re: Ooooh, an excuse to babble about my toys!
I forgot about ankle weights! I have some too. Mine go up to 20lbs each, at least. (Maybe someday I will talk about my baby-steps intro to weight lifting, aka Nelson's Strong Women Stay Young. Totally mickey-mouse program, but it did get me started. I haven't used those in a while, though they might be an interesting option. I bet I could hook both of them together to make a dip belt, if I ever wanted to start weighting pullups rather than assisting them.
I also have a foam roller that I don't really know how to use.
And I may have just now built a standing desk out of reams of paper. Ahem.
Re: Ooooh, an excuse to babble about my toys!
I am susceptible to good-looking weights. It makes me happy that my deadlift lets me use the lovely teal blue 20kg plates.
I also have a foam roller that I don't really know how to use.
Short version: you put the tight/stiff/knotted bit of yourself on the roller, apply as much of your bodyweight as you can tolerate, then roll it to and fro. Whimpering if necessary.
Some demonstration (without whimpering) in this nice little mobility video from Bodytribe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX8F1XHdSJg
More details (ignoring the dreadful style of the article -- it has useful pictures):
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=475832
Re: Ooooh, an excuse to babble about my toys!
I...have not found that my attempts at foam rolling seem to do anything. Including hurt. It's just there. And yet I know that I am insanely tense. So something is up. I will try the body tribe thing.
My cats do help, just like the puppy!
Re: Ooooh, an excuse to babble about my toys!
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Very old not-very-resist-y resistance bands. I have no idea what resistance they're supposed to be, but they're way too long for me to use for anything without doubling and tripling them up, and even then the resistance isn't very high.
Two 5 lb hex dumbbells, which I got a long time ago.
8 lb medicine ball. My roommate and I used it to play catch before her wrists made her sad. This is an awesome thing to do with a medicine ball; heaving it at someone and then have someone heave it at you is excellent exercise. (The Romans did something similar -- we saw it on I Claudius.)
A sunken living room with a raised fireplace; this gives me a ~6 inch step and a ~15 inch step that I can use for step-ups or elevated push ups. There is also a ~18 window seat which cannot be used for step-ups because the window nook doesn't give me enough room to stand on the seat, but I can use this for push ups too.
A piano bench. Not long enough to lie down on, but workable for kneeling on it and doing rows.
An ottoman which is long enough to lie down on, and I've been using it for pullovers and bench press type things.
An elliptical trainer. Can be programmed to increase and decrease the resistance and incline. Haven't been using it much lately; tried doing intervals on it this morning and it doesn't do "fast" well, so I had to change my approach, but if I do two minutes of low resistance and then one minute at a much higher resistance at the same quick-ish speed, it feels similar to switching between going slow and fast.
Stationary bike that does arms as well as legs. I have been using this for intervals and managing to do level seven for a minute at the end of the exercise is still a distant dream. Though I did manage level seven for thirty seconds before having to drop back to five for the rest of my minute.
Two sets of adjustable dumbbells (with 2.5 and 5 lb plates) which have thirty pounds of plates (which can fit on one dumbbell.) They go up to forty pounds with both dumbbell handles and all of the weights in the box.
Swiss ball.
And my roommate has a loft bed, which I'm hoping will be sturdy enough for me to be able to use it for pull-ups.
no subject
I hope, that if your roommate is sleeping up there, that the bed is sturdy enough for pull-ups and then some!
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I'd like to think the bed is sturdy enough, but it likes to shake and I am paranoid about the pins holding it together coming loose. But I suppose she does put her full weight on one small portion of the frame while she's climbing up there.
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(BTW, I'm assuming you're renting and can't drill holes in the door frames; if you can, I've always been perfectly satisfied with the stability of my bar. I got it when I was renting and put it in the basement -- the landlord didn't mind, since it was just for laundry.)
no subject
Though my roommate is about eight inches taller than I am, so anything that I can easily reach may hit her in the head, which is non-ideal. ::g::