Adjustable Dumbbells

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Gym Equipment

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Review: Months of Regular Home Use

One dial, 5 to 25 pounds, and a corner of my garage back. Five months of three-times-a-week use, plus six neighbors every Saturday morning.

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells vs Bowflex Selecttech: Which Fits a Home Gym Better
Home Gym Equipment

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells vs Bowflex Selecttech: Which Fits a Home Gym Better

One set is built for a spare corner and a 25 lb ceiling. The other is built for a basement and a heavier press. Here is how to tell which one your garage actually wants.

10 Reasons Adjustable Dumbbells Suit Home Workouts After 35
Home Gym

10 Reasons Adjustable Dumbbells Suit Home Workouts After 35

A practical list for anyone setting up a first home gym after 35, from a 52-year-old instructor who trains in her garage.

How Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Changed My Home Workout Routine
Home Gym

How Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Changed My Home Workout Routine

A 52-year-old instructor's honest story about clearing the garage floor, sparing her husband's knee, and finding a set she actually uses.

How to Build Strength in a Spare Room With Adjustable Dumbbells
Strength Training

How to Build Strength in a Spare Room With Adjustable Dumbbells

A five-step plan for turning one corner of a spare room and a single dial-based dumbbell into a strength habit you actually keep.

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Adjustable Dumbbells

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

A 52-year-old group fitness instructor on what the 25-pound ceiling actually means, where the 2.5-pound steps earn their keep, and who should buy something else entirely.

Resistance Bands

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Fitness

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Review: Months of Regular Home Use

A garage-gym instructor's honest look at five latex loop bands, the guide that comes with them, and what held up after months of regular use.

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands vs Tubes With Handles: Which Fits a Home Gym Better
Home Gym Gear

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands vs Tubes With Handles: Which Fits a Home Gym Better

One set of five loop bands against a pair of tubes with handles, judged by what actually gets used in a converted garage bay six days a week.

10 Reasons Resistance Bands Suit Home Workouts After 35
Strength Training

10 Reasons Resistance Bands Suit Home Workouts After 35

Ten practical reasons a five-band loop set earns its hook in a garage gym, from a 52-year-old instructor who trains a Saturday group in a single bay.

How Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Changed My Home Workout Routine
Home Fitness

How Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Changed My Home Workout Routine

One small bag of loop bands outlasted every expensive thing on my garage shelf. Here is what actually changed, and what did not.

How to Get Stronger Without Heavy Weights Using Resistance Bands
Strength Training

How to Get Stronger Without Heavy Weights Using Resistance Bands

Five loops, one hook by the door, and a progression plan that does not need a rack, a spotter, or a good knee day.

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Resistance Bands

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Five latex loops, a carry bag and a guide. What the light and medium bands do well, where the heaviest band falls short, and who should buy tubes with handles instead.

Exercise Mats

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Gym Gear

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Review: Months of Regular Home Use

Six millimetres of padding, a textured surface that actually holds, and one honest limit that most reviews skip.

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat vs Foam Exercise Mat: Which Fits a Home Gym Better
Home Gym Flooring

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat vs Foam Exercise Mat: Which Fits a Home Gym Better

One is a mat you roll out and put away. The other is a floor you install. Here is how each one actually earns its space in a garage gym.

10 Reasons a Yoga Mat Suits Home Workouts After 35
Home Workouts

10 Reasons a Yoga Mat Suits Home Workouts After 35

Ten practical reasons the mat by my whiteboard gets more use than anything else in the garage, from a 52-year-old instructor who trains neighbors on Saturday mornings.

How a Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Changed My Home Workout Routine
Home Fitness Gear

How a Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Changed My Home Workout Routine

Two winters, one hot Tulsa summer, and the garage floor that finally stopped winning.

How to Start Floor Workouts at Home With a Yoga Mat
Home Workouts

How to Start Floor Workouts at Home With a Yoga Mat

The floor is the first piece of equipment. Here is the order to do things in, from a garage gym in Tulsa.

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Yoga Mats

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Six months, one concrete garage floor, six neighbors and two mats. Here is what the Gaiam Essentials actually does well, where it quietly fails, and who should buy something else.

Adjustable Kettlebells

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Kettlebells

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Review: Months of Regular Home Use

One dial, six weights, and months of real mornings in a one-car garage gym. What the Bowflex 840 does well, and where 40 pounds stops being enough.

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell vs Cast Iron Kettlebell: Which Fits a Home Gym Better
Home Gym

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell vs Cast Iron Kettlebell: Which Fits a Home Gym Better

A garage gym coach compares the adjustable Bowflex SelectTech 840 with a traditional cast iron kettlebell, with an honest look at space, feel, durability, and who each one actually fits.

10 Reasons an Adjustable Kettlebell Suits Home Workouts After 35
Home Gym Gear

10 Reasons an Adjustable Kettlebell Suits Home Workouts After 35

One bell, six weights, and a garage floor that finally stopped being an obstacle course. Here is what a dial-adjusted kettlebell actually does for a home trainee over 35, and where it runs out of road.

How a Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Changed My Home Workout Routine
Home Fitness

How a Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Changed My Home Workout Routine

A garage gym teacher on the one adjustment that made her actually change weights.

How to Swing a Kettlebell Safely at Home With an Adjustable Kettlebell
Kettlebell Training

How to Swing a Kettlebell Safely at Home With an Adjustable Kettlebell

A five-step progression for learning the swing in a garage or spare room, from clearing the floor to knowing exactly when to add weight.

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Home Fitness

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Three months, one garage bay, and six neighbors later: the honest version of what an adjustable kettlebell does well and the three places it will annoy you.

Foam Rollers

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Recovery Tools

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Review: Months of Regular Home Use

Months of rolling on a garage floor with a cranky shoulder and a stiff hip. What the extra-firm multi-density surface does well, and where it is the wrong tool.

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller vs Smooth Foam Roller: Which Fits a Home Gym Better
Recovery Gear

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller vs Smooth Foam Roller: Which Fits a Home Gym Better

Two rollers, one garage shelf, and a plain answer about which one earns the floor space.

10 Reasons a Foam Roller Suits Home Workouts After 35
Home Fitness Gear

10 Reasons a Foam Roller Suits Home Workouts After 35

One roller, one corner of the garage, ten minutes. Ten practical reasons it earns the floor space when you started training later than your twenties.

How a TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Changed My Home Workout Routine
Home Fitness

How a TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Changed My Home Workout Routine

A 52-year-old group fitness instructor on the foam roller that earned a permanent spot by the mirror.

How to Ease Sore Muscles After Workouts With a Foam Roller
Recovery

How to Ease Sore Muscles After Workouts With a Foam Roller

Five slow minutes in the right order beats an hour of stretching harder. A garage-gym guide to rolling sore legs and shoulders without bruising yourself.

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Recovery

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

A season of real use in a one-car garage gym, including the parts the five-star write-ups leave out.

All Reviews

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Gym Equipment

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Review: Months of Regular Home Use

One dial, 5 to 25 pounds, and a corner of my garage back. Five months of three-times-a-week use, plus six neighbors every Saturday morning.

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Adjustable Dumbbells

Lifepro Adjustable Dumbbells Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

A 52-year-old group fitness instructor on what the 25-pound ceiling actually means, where the 2.5-pound steps earn their keep, and who should buy something else entirely.

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Fitness

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Review: Months of Regular Home Use

A garage-gym instructor's honest look at five latex loop bands, the guide that comes with them, and what held up after months of regular use.

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Resistance Bands

Fit Simplify Resistance Bands Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Five latex loops, a carry bag and a guide. What the light and medium bands do well, where the heaviest band falls short, and who should buy tubes with handles instead.

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Home Gym Gear

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Review: Months of Regular Home Use

Six millimetres of padding, a textured surface that actually holds, and one honest limit that most reviews skip.

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Yoga Mats

Gaiam Essentials Yoga Mat Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Six months, one concrete garage floor, six neighbors and two mats. Here is what the Gaiam Essentials actually does well, where it quietly fails, and who should buy something else.

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Kettlebells

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Review: Months of Regular Home Use

One dial, six weights, and months of real mornings in a one-car garage gym. What the Bowflex 840 does well, and where 40 pounds stops being enough.

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Home Fitness

Bowflex SelectTech 840 Kettlebell Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

Three months, one garage bay, and six neighbors later: the honest version of what an adjustable kettlebell does well and the three places it will annoy you.

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Review: Months of Regular Home Use
Recovery Tools

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Review: Months of Regular Home Use

Months of rolling on a garage floor with a cranky shoulder and a stiff hip. What the extra-firm multi-density surface does well, and where it is the wrong tool.

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It
Recovery

TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller Honest Review: Pros, Cons and Who Should Skip It

A season of real use in a one-car garage gym, including the parts the five-star write-ups leave out.