Home Gym Essentials

I've had this plan for a while to create my own home gym. It started about a year or two ago when I impulse bought a yoga mat and fitness ball for stretching and ab work. Since then I've bought and acquired a couple accessories including ankle weights, an Olympic bar and weights, and some adjustable dumbbells.

I was looking for my next upgrade when this weekend I spotted the Iron Gym at my local Sports Authority for around $30. A friend of mine has it already, or something like it, and I enjoyed using it, so I thought I'd give it a go.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Iron Gym, it's a pull-up bar that fits in your door frame. It can also be used to keep your feet in place while doing sit-ups and it can be placed upside downs on the ground and used for either push-ups or bar dips.

When I first opened the box there were about five parts, four screws and bolts, a tool to tighten down the bolts, and an easy to follow instruction booklet. I actually messed it up and used the large screws on the small screw bit, but the mistake was easily rectified and I assembled it correctly the second time.

I performed an entire workout with it on Saturday and I am still sore. I guess my lats were a little weak and the mass repetitions of bar dips and push-ups created a burn in my triceps, but so far no soreness there. I'm beginning to think that the Iron gym was the perfect addition to my home gym, but I still wanted more.

For most of my seated dumbbell work, I've been using a flat chair which is effective but it isn't always in the position or angle that I want it to be in. The same could be said for my lying down work which I predominantly do on my aforementioned fitness ball. The ball is great for bringing up the stabilizer muscles when doing main exercises like bench and ab work, but sometimes I need a flat surface do to more heavy lifting or specialized work. What I really needed was a good workout bench.

After my workout with the Iron Gym, I went back to Sports Authority and checked out what else they had to offer. Turns out they didn't have much, but one bench in particular caught my eye. The 7-position Folding Bench is adjustable from a slight (about 10-20 degree) decline up to about an 85 degree angle, and many angles in-between. When I purchased the adjustable bench, it was fully assembled. It did, however, come with instructions to assemble, oddly enough. The price tag was around $120 or so, but I had already signed up for the "save $25 on your next purchase over $100 promotion" (see Sports Authority website). After tax and the $25 discount, I paid somewhere around $100.

After spending a total around $130 in the last couple days, my home gym is one gigantic step closer to becoming complete. The local Bay area gyms cost anywhere from $20-100 a month and anywhere from $60-$120 in "start-up" fees. The way I see it, I just saved myself from a lot of gym fees, gas money, and wasted time while waiting for the local gym rats to finish their baby curls. Money well spent.

What are the best purchases you've made for your personal home gym?

Power Movements and Power Burgers

Tuesdays are usually my biggest workout day of the week. It's when I like to do all my heavy lifting and really hit every major muscle.

Why Tuesday?

Most people do their Monday, Wednesday, Friday weight routines, and then switch to cardio on their off days. Even if they don't, the benches are usually open at the gyms I visit, because that M, W, F routine is their chest day. So on Tuesdays, most gym-goers are on their back or leg routine. With any luck, half of my needed equipment is open.

I like to lift ultra heavy one day a week and really push my limits. This builds strength no matter what phase of workout I am in, and if I'm in a rut, it tends to break me out of it. This also prevents burnout and boredom from interfering with my normal routine.

Today's workout goes something like this:

• Incline Dumbbell Chest Press
• Squats
  
• Flat Dumbbell Chest Press
• Straight-Leg Deadlifts
• Lat Pull Downs
• Hamstring curls
• T-Bar Rows
• Calf Presses
• Single arm Bent-over rows (lawn mowers)

If you are unfamiliar with any of the above-mentioned workouts, I recommend Arnold Schwarzenegger's The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (just don't look at any of the Lee Priest pictures). The book is really great for beginners and pros alike, and it's an interesting read. For shits and giggles, I weighed the book and found it to be just over 6 pounds, which would make it the Ah-nold in a sea of girly-man books.

After that workout, I'll feel pretty pumped up, but if I'm not maxed out, I'll finish up the routine with a three workout rotation of push-ups, pull-ups, and lunges. I'll keep doing the rotation until exhaustion.

By this time, I'm ready for some fuel, and I'll usually chug a light protein shake, just to get a little protein, but mainly to help rehydrate, and then I'll cook dinner.

After a good workout like that, I like to treat myself to some good protein and some great vegetables. For this I pull my recipe from Gregg Avedon's Muscle Chow, and a personal favorite recipe of mine, the "Power Burger." It is easy to make and relatively fast once you get the hang of it.

Power Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Extra-lean ground beef
• 1 tbs Sunflower seeds
• 1 tbs finely chopped onion
• 1 tbs finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup toasted wheat germ
• 4 whole grain burger buns
• And, whatever toppings you need for the burgers, lettuce tomato, cheese, etc.

Step 1: Preheat a grill or skillet to medium-low
Step 2: Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl, and add all the ingredients except the wheat germ and buns. Knead with your hands until everything is well mixed.
Step 3: Form into 4 patties. Roll the patties in the wheat germ until they're covered.
Step 4: Grill or pan-fry for 8 to 10 minutes for medium or 14 to 18 minutes for well-done.
Step 5: Place each burger on a bun. Top the burger with your toppings.

Makes 4 servings.

I'll usually add on some Vegetable-packed Israeli Couscous and another vegetable like Baked Asparagus, both found in the Muscle Chow cook book, and packed with nutrients and muscle building enzymes.

After a huge workout and a feast like this one, I'm usually revitalized both mentally and physically.