VS

We have but 30 minutes x days per week to fit in what we can in terms of teaching, learning, coaching, and most importantly making strides towards the goal. To complicate matters further there is a history of injuries. We are virtual. We currently have limited space. Yes, I am speaking of one of many training sessions during the era of COVID-19.

The above story is a client of mine who thankfully had a set of selectorized dumbbells, a kettlebell, and a multipurpose bench. In our first session, we went through some mobility, activation, and warmup concepts but he was happy to do these prior to our future sessions as they took away from our time. This is something I wish all clients would do (their homework) but understandably time is of the essence in people’s hectic lives of family and work.

I really enjoy training guys and women an alpha approach to training for a multiplicitous of reasons but being cognizant of controlling that is paramount for their own good…and mine!

Trending Training Tools or Focused-Fitness

It came up in one of our sessions that he wanted to add to his home gym and wanted my input on whether he should invest in heavier kettlebells, more dumbbells, or a barbell with plates and small rack. All are kick-ass options but for some of the reasons below, I opted to recommend the latter over the former. Here’s his why and what you too may want to consider:

• The tool needs to match the goal(s). Is your goal to be a specialist in using the tool and perfecting the necessary, time-intensive skills to master the use of the instrument, or is your goal to be able to play with your kids, nephew, improve substrate utilization for better health outcomes? Anything you do will require some level of time and dedication, but prioritize the fit when making your choices.

• The tool needs to allow for progressions and regressions. As you add to your training repertoire, you want the implement(s) you use to allow you to make progressive overloading possible while also allowing you to regress during times of deloading, retraining, or workarounds of (life or sport) injuries.

• The tool needs to allow you to live your life uninterrupted. While some of us would love to be professional athletes getting paid to do what they adore, this number is actually quite low and the probability is just as minute (with little to no ROI for some of the best). For said reasons, you will want the equipment to be able to meet a variety of needs, take up as little space as possible, and have a greater ease-of-use in terms of cleanup and transitioning.

• The tool needs to be durable. The term durable does not just refer to its capacity to overcome abuse of use, it also refers to the longevity of the modality’s use in terms of evidence-based training outcomes. I love me some gadgets and there are many uses for them if you are a lifelong athlete with a good training background, diverse experiences, commitment to the game, and a good sense of proprioception, neuromuscular control, and kinesthetic awareness.

Be honest with yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice in your current life to have a full-fledged training center in your home or are you just trying to be trendy? Stick with a couple of tools that will give you the best bang for your buck in terms of value-based outcomes. There is only so much you can fit in, so make it count 🙂 Need some help? Let me know!