What Tools Do You Go To Battle With?
There are so many tools out there that can help us navigate the journey of sculpting our ideal body. We can pound our body’s all we want with weights, but sometimes we need a little extra to get us to the finish line.
Everything from the right shoes, to lifting support, to instruments that help us with prehab. That’s right, prehab. We only know about rehab because it’s normally a necessity when we get hurt. But we have the power to limit injury by taking some time pre and post workout to give our muscles & joints some love.
Here’s the tools in my gym bag currently that I rely on to either help me improve or keep me from breaking down.
If you haven’t embraced the powers of foam rolling, I implore you to embrace it immediately. As we get older, our body needs a little more TLC to get going. We’re not as able to just jump into a workout and hit the ground running as we once were.
Even for the younger lifters, taking the 10 to 15 minutes to warm up now, could have endless benefits down the road.
So regardless of age, foam rolling could and should be an integral part of your weekly routine. Some of the benefits include
~ Increased blood flow to your muscles which in turn helps deliver oxygen
~ Helps relieve muscle tension
~ Increased range of motion
~ Decreased recovery time
I’ll be totally honest with all of you, I did not really start squatting seriously until I was 27. I always lifted in college, but it was all about the “aesthetically pleasing” muscles back then. Some chest, some shoulders, sprinkle in some abs and at least 3 arm days a week. Those polos needed to be tight around the arms.
Fast forward to 30 year old me and I’m not one to say I regret, but I definitely regret not getting under the squat rack much before then. My knees wish I did too. Today, I definitely take adequate precautions to make sure my joins are primed and ready to handle the grunt work of an intense leg day.
One of those precautions is to ensure my knees are secure when commencing compounds movements such as squats. Rock Tape Knee Caps are the best in the game from my own personal opinion. For those that need just a little extra knee support get involved and your knee joints will thank you
Without a doubt, free weights will always elicit the most response from your body. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are the only way to train your body. There are other methods out there that can push you in new ways and it’s certainly nice to switch it up every now and then.
One of those methods is adding resistance bands to your training. The present a variable that free weights don’t. You could add a resistance band to your squats, your bench press, do push ups with them … let your mind run wild. They’ll add tension to your lifts where you never felt it before.
My choice is Freeto Resistance Bands.These guys come in all levels of resistance. From 15lb all the way up to 165lb (one day I will be using that, just you wait). Add these to your arsenal and you’ll open up a whole new method of training.
If there is only one thing you take away from this article, then please let it be this one.
I swear by very few things, and this rub is one of them. Getting sore after an intense workout. Having some muscle aches from repetitive beatings in the gym. They are all unavoidable.
For all of aches and soreness that come from your training regimen, this rub works wonders. You’ll find some instant relief that few other things can provide.
This is my go to shoe for leg day and/or deadlifts. It’s a very functional shoe and allows you to perform normal movements without much restrictions.
For squats, it allows you to get deep in the whole without much movement. Keeps you stable on walking lunges. For deadlifts, it gives you a nice stable, flat surface where you can really explode from.
Hope you find some of these or all of them useful! Stay hungry and keep training hard!
~ Daniel Guzman
Aspiring Fitness Motivator. WBFF Professional.
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