During the pandemic lockdowns people began to purchase exercise equipment. People bought rowing machines, treadmills, and other equipment like hotcakes. But not everyone can afford fancy set-ups like that – and thankfully, the bottomless pit of junk that is ‘Amazon’ provides.
Amazon sellers sell a variety of small gadgets that can help you stay in shape. Do you want to exercise in your living room, or at a computer? This website seems to have everything that you need. These gadgets are very affordable and will be reduced with Prime Day 2021.
Where are you located?
Column number 8
Date written: 15/06/21
Days in:
Current location: St Robert, MO
Distance traveled: 439.57 miles
Distance left: 1,838.43 miles
Current tracker: Red Magic Watch
I am currently running across America, writing TechRadar columns about the tech and gadgets that I use every fortnight. This adventure has made me more aware of my health and I was thrilled to see all the cool gadgets Amazon had for me to keep fit.
Which gadgets are worth your effort? They are affordable and can they be used in small homes? Are they able to help you get in shape? Instead of reading testimonials from athletes, coaches, and experts, I decided to buy five gadgets and do my own research.
Three factors will be considered when evaluating each gadget I purchased: It must be simple to use and cost-effective. I didn’t spend more than £25 (roughly $35, AU$45) on any of these things – I generally chose the cheapest I could find, so brand and build quality wouldn’t be a factor in whether the kit was worthy or not. Or so I thought.
Grip strength trainer
Confession: I used a grip strength device to improve my grip strength, and it was that experience that inspired me into this Amazon gadget hoedown. It helped me improve my grip during bouldering and I love it.
All you need to do is squeeze the thing repeatedly in one hand, and you get stronger (in theory) – you can adjust the tension, to make it harder to squeeze, and apparently it’s also useful to release your grip slowly to train another type of strength.
The grip strength trainer is my favorite because it’s so easy to use while doing other things. If I click around the web with my mouse in my right, my left arm will swell. If I eat cheese with my right hand, my right hand will get fitter.
It’s also a great piece of kit because it’s transportable – I bring mine into the office and use it there too.
The real question is if grip strength training actually improves grip. Well, this clearly isn’t a scientific article, but I think it does – I’ve found it far easier to grip on beams and hand-holds since I started using it. This kit won’t make you look like a musclebound model or a Hollywood celebrity. It is simple to use and will improve your fitness.
Grab strength trainers are now available Amazon US(Opens in a new window) / Amazon UK(Opens in a new window) / Amazon AU(Opens in a new window)
Power ball
I kept coming back to the powerball, which I considered the best. “orb thing”In my notes, while testing the gear. The name “power ball”It is as unscriptive as it gets and as forgettable as it gets. The powerball was created because, while the pull-up bars strengthened my arms and the strength training boosted my hands, my wrists could become very wavy. This is where the powerball steps in.
The powerball is made up of two balls, each one with its own ball. To spin the ball, wind a piece string through one end. Then pull the other out. To keep the inner ball spinning you must turn your wrist in circles.
If this description sounds confusing and unclear and you don’t understand what’s happening, it’s probably a good representation of how the thing felt. The powerball felt like something I was supposed to throw at Pokemon to catch them. It wasn’t a tool to make my wrists stronger.
There’s a knack to the power ball – if you rotate your wrist at the right rhythm, you keep the ball inside spinning longer, and one time I managed to do it perfectly, so the ball never stopped rotating. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to duplicate this feat.
I’ve used power balls quite a bit now and I still don’t know what to do with them. I just turn my wrist and hope for the best. Is this a good exercise for you?
It takes time to set it all up. It takes approximately half an hour to wind the string. The ball rotates for 10 seconds. It isn’t very efficient. I found that I could use my wrist strength trainer instead of the power ball, since it didn’t require any setup and could be used repeatedly.
Power balls are now available Amazon US(opens in new tab) / Amazon UK(Opens in a new window) / Amazon AU(Opens in a new window)
Resistance
We’re now getting into the serious workout stuff. You can use resistance bands. These rubbery elastic bands can be pulled on in many different ways to strengthen different muscles. They can be used to do squats, hook them up on your door frame, pull them down or for sit-ups. You can make it even more difficult by using different combinations.
I was amazed at the variety of door anchors and hand-holds in the parcel containing the bands. It was a puzzle to me. ‘this is the real deal’ – coming after the orb thing, it felt like some serious exercise kit. I was ready to get ripped (my bodies and not the bands).
I was unable to understand the instructions and was unable to open it.
The graphic showed all the bands in one place, with the label. “100lbs”A second image with the label is then taken. “150lbs”You can arrange the bands in a different way. This means that bands attached in a different order will have more resistance. This is logical. They can’t be kept in the same place if they’re attached to the hands-holds.
Notwithstanding this weird science, I flipped over the instruction manual to find a list of workouts that was longer than the entire Encyclopedia Brittania – there were countless pictures of different exercises, with names in font so small I could barely read them. Each illustration only had two or three small graphics that showed the different parts of an exercise.
I will admit that I did not follow the instructions exactly. Sometimes I could feel the. ‘burning’It was hard to do a hard workout. Other times, it felt like my body was making mistakes. I was also unsure what activities I should combine in order to build the muscles I was trying.
I did find the resistance bands super easy to use though – they seemed sturdy, and the door anchors were effective in keeping the band attached to a door, for different types of workouts. Although I struggled to find the right exercise for me, I finally found one that worked well and was simple to use.
Would I recommend resistance bands? I’d give it a tentative yes – while I’m not sure I found them as effective as the grip strength trainer or pull-up bar, I actually had more fun with them, and they fit in my small flat pretty well. It’s a sure yes if you have a friend or personal trainer who can teach you how to use them correctly and which activities to link together.
You won’t be disappointed by the bands’ prices, so you don’t have to spend a lot. stretchToo much.
These resistance bands are worth a look Amazon US(Opens in a new window) / Amazon UK(Opens in a new window) / Amazon AU(opens in new tab)
Pull-up bar
I recently bought a pull up bar. These are metal bars that attach to your home’s doorframes and allow you to do pull-ups.
This could be a red alert for some. To pull-up, you must rely on the structural integrity of your home. The first time I attempted to secure it in mine I almost fell and damaged the paintwork. I hope my landlord won’t see this.
A doorframe should allow you enough height to be able to lift yourself up.
Depending on where the pull-up bars are placed in your home, they can either be an annoying little extra that you don’t use or the most important part of your home gym.
If you attach the thing directly on your doorframe, you will have the task of attaching and unattaching the thing every time you want to do pull ups. This can quickly become a problem.
It will be more useful if you can find a spot in your home where you can keep the bar up. It can be casually walked over while you are doing other tasks. I use mine while I’m cooking dinner, watching TV or on my iPad.
Since the day I started my own business ‘pull-ups-when-I-can-be-bothered’ fitness regime, my arm strength has noticeably improved – I’ve received comments pointing it out too. Result! Result!
Pull-up bars available Amazon US(Opens in a new window) / Amazon UK(opens in new tab) / Amazon AU(opens in new tab)
Ab roller
Finally, we come to the ab roller – this is basically a fancy way of doing press-ups. Instead of moving your arm up and down, you can roll this thing up on the ground.
My ab roller arrived in a black box that looked luxurious with an insignia. It was classier than the plastic bags with resistance bands inside, or the plain-looking boxes that contained the powerball, grip strength trainer, power ball, and power ball.
I felt alarm bells in my head when I opened the box. The wheels were made of cheap plastic and couldn’t support me. The alarm bells only got louder when I constructed the thing, and found a gap between the wheels so that they wobbled when in use – and the mental bells reached a wailing crescendo when I looked for instructions on how to use the thing, only to find instructions absent, and a link to a WikiHow article for ‘how to use an ab roller’Instead, write on the back of each box.
Okay. Realize your expectations.
My first problem with using the ab roller wasn’t to do with the product, though, but my flat – it turns out you need lots of floor space to do a press up, and even more to use an ab roller, and my tiny central London flat didn’t have much of that. To exercise, I had only the narrow corridor in my apartment.
Despite my plastic cheap-feeling and wobbling legs, I was still able to complete a few reps without injury. However I didn’t quite like I was doing it right – these are meant to be fantastic core exercises, but it only felt like I was working on my arms.
I was a bit clueless on how to use the ab roller properly, and WikiHow’s guide – well, it’s WikiHow, I don’t need to say more. Similar to my reaction to the resistance band, I enjoyed adapting my routines to find the best way of using the elastic worms. An Ab roller allows me less flexibility.
If you know your stuff, an ab roller is something worth considering. It left me feeling exhausted. It didn’t seem to improve my core, and I wasn’t sure if the stress and confusion it caused.
Check out our ab rollers Amazon US(Opens in a new window) / Amazon UK(opens in new tab) / Amazon AU(Opens in a new window)
Which would you recommend?
There’s not a single piece of kit I bought that I straight-up regret – even the worse ones still seemed to work now and then, and given I barely paid anything for them, it was probably worth it.
If you are unable buy one, I will list them according to my preference. Remember, I consider value, ease of use, and fitness improvement to be my three factors.
Amazon Prime Day 2021 will take place on June 21. It’s worth waiting to purchase the kit as there may be a discount. If you’re tired of all the cheap home gym equipment, you can get the real deal by reading this article.
- Grip strength trainer
- Pull-up bar
- Resistance
- Ab roller
- Power ball
