Unconventional Training Equipment for Fitness and Strength Training
There are various types of equipment you may have in the gym to assist in achieving your health and fitness goals. There are the common pieces such as wrist wraps, Swiss ball and captains of crush. There are also some more unconventional training methods such as the use of:
- Resistance bands
- Chains
- Weight vests
- Kettle bells
- Sand bags
- Wrist rollers
In this report I am going to give a brief outline as to what each of these are as well as what they do to benefit you and your training.
Resistance bands:
Resistance bands are used mainly be power lifters and athletes. The advantage resistance bands have for your training is the fact that they give heavier load as they get stretch up. These bands range between resistances of 15-400 kilograms.
For example: Smith machine shoulder press.
Wrap a band around each side of the bar and then around the base of the machine. As you press upwards the band will stretch increasing the resistance on the bar. Resulting in the bar getting heavier as it rises. Then on the downward phase of the press the trainer has to resist against the band trying to 'snap down' resulting in a hard workout on the upward and downward phase of the exercise.
There are many exercises that can be done with a resistance band and if you use them frequently you will develop a lot of strength in both the concentric and eccentric phases of muscle contraction.
Chains:
Chains are another power lifter invention very similar to the resistance bands. Chains come in different sizes but obviously the bigger the links in the chain the harder the exercises becomes due to the fact that you will be lifting a heavier chain.
For example bench press:
Wrap the chains around each side of the bar. And (depending on how hard you want to work) let the chains hang. As the trainer performs the downward phase the chains hit the ground lessening the load on the bar. But on the upward phase of the lift when the trainer is pushing the chains uncoil from the floor adding extra weight to the bar. Resulting in the bar getting heavier as it rises (similar to the resistance bands).
Chains can be used on anything with a barbell such as squat, deadlifts, shoulder press etc or they can be used on their own with exercises such as side raises.
Kettle bells:
Kettle bells have been around for 100's of years and are starting to become more popular in modern day gyms. Kettle bells were invented in the Soviet Union and are still used in their military recruitment tests as well as by nearly every athlete from the eastern European nations.
Kettle bells are simply round lumps of iron with a flat base and a handle on top. They come in 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48 kilogram sizes. There are literally hundreds of exercises that can be done with a kettle bell the most famous being the single arm snatch and pistols (single leg squat).
Kettle bell exercises are all based around core stability as well as muscle co-ordination resulting in a very challenging, yet fun workout.
Kettle bells take a little while to get familiar with and you may experience bruised wrists due to practicing the snatch. But the day after a kettle bell workout, when you have sore muscles in muscles you didn't even know you had, you will be very happy you gave these lumps of metal a go.
Sandbags:
Sandbags are another military based training contraption and are most commonly used by the military training systems as well as the wrestling based sports. Sandbags are literally what they sound like, a bag with sand in it.
You can make a sandbag yourself or you can buy one over the internet but either way they are a great buy. Every traditional lift can be done with a sandbag, bench press, shoulder press; bicep curl and even Olympic lifts such as power cleans can be done with a sand bag. But they are a lot harder.
For example if you can standing shoulder press 80 kilograms, good luck pressing a 50 kilogram sandbag overhead. This is due to the fact that the sand bag isn't a dead weight. Due to all the sand within the bag the weight moves around resulting in you having to use all your little stabilising muscles to keep from dropping the weight.
Sandbags are very similar to a kettle bell. They in-corporate all you're little muscles but mainly your core muscles.
Famous sandbag exercises include the Turkish get up and the power clean. There are also some fantastic fitness and conditioning workouts you can do with the sandbag.
Weight vests:
Weight vests are mainly used by athletes that need explosive legs. Sports people like boxers, wrestlers, sprinters etc all wear weight vests to make them try to become more explosive at a heavier weight. But when the vest is taken off they feel a lot lighter therefore resulting in a more explosive athlete.
Some athletes also use a weight vest while doing chin-ups, dips, and rope climbs due to the simple fact that they are more comfortable than a chin/dip belt. The only disadvantage is they don't hold as much weight as a chin/dip belt.
There are two types of weight vests, varying in size and price. The first is an army style weight vest that has pockets at the front and back where the small iron weights are kept. These army style vests are very expensive but can be loaded to about 20 kilograms. Great for the heavier athlete where the small 10kg weight vets is too light.
The other style is more of a belt that wraps around the stomach and is fastened by a Velcro strap. These styles come at a maximum of 10 kilograms but are a lot sturdier than the vest style. The only disadvantage is that if you are doing a lot of stair running or jumping you may experience chaffing on the hips.
Weight vests are a great investment to make if you are looking at building explosive legs for your sport.
Wrist rollers:
Wrist rollers are a simple yet functional way to build not only big sturdy forearms but also a firm grip any arm wrestler would be proud of.
There are 2 types of wrist rollers with only a slight difference between the two, the grip. The first wrist roller can be made at home. With an old broomstick handle attach a strong piece of rope with a weight (or half a brick) at the bottom.
The other style of wrist roller is with a thick grip (an inch and a half or 40mm).
The correct technique when using the wrist roller is to hold your hands outstretched at shoulder height. When winding the weight to the top of the stick try to keep the stick horizontal to the floor at all times with minimal movement. Once the weight reaches the top it is half a repetition, the weight must then be wound back down the rope to the bottom.
Be sure to use a light weight when starting this exercise because a lot of people sprain their wrists by using too much weight. The wrist roller really works your forearms muscles and will develop strong tendons and stabilizer muscles in the forearms and wrists.
Towels:
Towels are another practical way to strengthen the fingers and forearm muscles. Instead of using DB forearm curls or metal grip crushers try using a towel when doing chin-ups or farmers walk. Towels are simply harder to hold onto because it requires you to use all the little muscles, ligaments and tendons in order to grip on to the weight.
Towel pull ups are great for athletes like rock climbers, judo players, grapplers and power lifters who may need a vice like grip.
At first take it easy and gradually ease into the use of towels. Many people start by doing a lot of towel exercises and end up spraining all the little ligaments that join the fingers together. Ease into them and soon you'll strong enough fingers that would put Rocky's handshake to shame.
So if you are sick of having to resort to using wraps in order to hold onto a bar maybe try doing some towel pull ups to give yourself a super strong grip.
Author: Matt D'Aquino
http://www.workoutsforjudo.com
Matt is the founder of Beyond Grappling fitness and conditioning. He is a 2008 Beijing Judo Olympian as well as nationally ranked freestyle wrestler and National Champion in Brazilian Jujitsu. Matt has a passion for teaching all aspects of grappling especially the fitness and conditioning aspect. Recently he has been traveling the world aiming to qualify for his second Olympic Games.
To learn more about Matt and his fitness and conditioning training visit http://www.workoutsforjudo.com
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