Advice & Guides

The trap bar, or as some call it, the hex bar, is one of my favorite specialty bars for building strength and explosive power while also minimizing injury risk (when compared to a straight bar). The trap bar is the first specialty bar I ever used at a local YMCA, and it's one that I come back to frequently in...

Let's be honest here... Building a home gym isn't exactly the cheapest endeavor. Depending on a number of factors, including quality, brand, product, etc... a home gym can vary wildly in terms of cost. That said, you don't NEED a $10,000 home gym to get strong as hell. Sure, those home gyms are sexy, functional, and downright awesome, but not everyone has a...

The Swiss bar, sometimes referred to as the football bar or multi-grip bar, is a very popular piece of equipment for building strength. Not only does the Swiss bar help you get strong, but it also improves training variety and it's great for those with shoulder/upper extremity issues. The Swiss bar was actually the first specialty bar I purchased for my...

I'm seeing it more and more... Folks are one-stop shopping when it comes to building a home gym. Hey, I did it too when I first started mine... a full-on Rogue home gym. Rack, bar, bench, and plates - all purchased from Rogue Fitness. Of course I've expanded my lineup since then, but Rogue makes it very easy to outfit an entire home...

This is a guest post by Daniel Walter, co-founder/owner of Bar Shield USA and expert on barbell maintenance. #1 - Bar Storage Where are your barbells stored? Are they in a climate-controlled gym or a gym that is continually exposed to the elements? Depending on the climate that you live in, this could pose an immediate threat to your barbell(s). Climate-controlled gyms...

Squats, and bench, and deadlifts, oh my! Whether you're a competitive powerlifter, an aspiring powerlifter, or just someone who wants to build total body strength centered around the main three lifts, having the right equipment is paramount if you want to make real progress. A great way to do that? Build a powerlifting gym at home. The problem that arises for powerlifting-minded people...

Let's be honest for a second... Buying gym equipment isn't cheap. It can actually be pretty freakin' expensive. But it doesn't have to be. I'm a HUGE advocate for sourcing gym equipment in the used marketplace. Places like Craigslist, Facebook, OfferUp, LetGo, etc... can be gold mines when it comes to finding quality pieces to outfit your gym. You'd be surprised, for example,...

The safety squat bar is an amazing piece of equipment that produces massive benefits in terms of strength gains, injury prevention, and upper extremity preservation. It's a very versatile implement that has carry over to many different training modalities, including powerlifting, strongman, bodybuilding, etc.. Now, I'm a big fan of specialty bars in general. I use them with regularity to round...

Will it all be worth it? You can't help wondering sometimes as you assess your current gym situation. Let me guess... You're tired of the obnoxious amounts of people jockeying for the opportunity to use a piece of equipment. You're tired of having to ask, or even being asked, "hey, can I work in with you?" You're sick of seeing that...

Winter is here, folks. 'Tis the season for ice cold barbells, chapped lips, and shrinkage... of capillaries... because it's so cold... nevermind. It's not particularly easy to go out and train in the frigid cold when you're so close to the warm comforts of your own home. But not training isn't the way we do things around here, and fortunately for us, there are...