Lighting Recommendation
In a recent survey, 32% of home gym owners listed lighting as an issue they face with their gyms. Garage gyms and basement gyms (especially if they are unfinished) can feel like you’re lifting in a cave. It’s worse in the early morning and nights. This can affect your energy and mood. Most home gyms don’t have the best lighting. It’s not essential, but a bright room can really clean up space and even give you better training sessions.
Check out this LED upgrade below with some Airand lights found on Amazon.
Straight Knurled vs. Ergonomic Semi- Knurled Hex Dumbbells
Most dumbbells include an ergonomic, somewhat knurled handle, but there are also a few dumbbell options (like Rep Fitness) where the shaft includes a fixed diameter and is fully knurled. On an Instagram post, it was asked what your handle preference was? The overwhelming majority was for the fully knurled option, which is what you’d find in most commercial settings. We’d have to agree.
- Overall, they are easier to keep a firm grip, which is especially important during heavier sets. There is less slippage, which means you won’t need to set down as much when that happens.
- Even when doing movements like DB cleans or snatches, it’s easier to grip and rip, with less concern of losing control.
- While the knurl may be different, it may take some getting used to those used to the other option.
Rogue Stainless Steel Lat Bar
Without being highlighted, this bar was in several different pictures over the past few weeks and numerous people reached out about this Stainless Steel Lat Pulldown from Rogue. So, here are a few takeaways:
- It is Made in the USA with a diameter of 1.125″ and width of 48.” With that, you have a nice wide grip. It also weighs about 16 pounds and is one of the best-looking bars out there.
- This Lat Pulldown Bar is fully knurled stainless steel, and it’s relatively aggressive. It’s easy to grip and leave “knurl marks” on your hand after a heavier lift.
- It’s not cheap. At $165 + Shipping, it’s much more expensive than many cheaper alternatives that’ll serve most just fine. With that being said, it’s built incredibly well and should last a lifetime.
Sunday Survey Results
A summary of last week’s results are below:
- 45% voted half rack vs. 55% power rack for their current space.
- About 63% are using one or two walls for their home gym, meaning that most are sharing a room with something else.
- The Rower and Air Bike are the conditioning tool of choice for most.
View last week’s results along with others this year.
Hot or Not Results
Last week’s winner was the Fleck Plates from Rogue, who narrowly beat out the FIDAB-2 from Get RXd. Full results are below, and a 2021 list is here.
| Rank | Item | Hot🔥 | Not🥶 | % 🔥 |
| 1 | Rogue Fleck Plates | 4,056 | 1,194 | 77.26% |
| 2 | FIDAB-2 from Get RXd | 3,628 | 1,071 | 77.21% |
| 3 | J-Cup 2.0 from Ghost Strong | 3,499 | 1,093 | 76.20% |
| 4 | AbMat Medicine Ball | 3,430 | 1,160 | 74.73% |
| 5 | Phoenix Squat Rack from Bridge Built | 3,202 | 1,309 | 70.98% |
| 6 | Kabuki Transformer Bar | 3,457 | 1,505 | 69.67% |
| 7 | Red GHD from Raptor | 2,906 | 1,558 | 65.10% |
| 8 | Vulcan Alpha Plates | 3,171 | 1,885 | 62.72% |
| 9 | Black Fray Fitness Cable Crossover | 2,590 | 1,700 | 60.37% |
| 10 | Rep Stone Strongman | 2,566 | 1,697 | 60.19% |
| 11 | Kraft Steel Raw Dumbbell Set from Intek Strength | 2,682 | 1,804 | 59.79% |
| 12 | Camo D-Warrior Bumpers from Uesaka | 2,900 | 2,007 | 59.10% |
| 13 | Force USA Leg Press Hack Squat Combo | 2,662 | 2,321 | 53.42% |
| Total | 40,749 | 20,304 | 66.74% |
That’s it. Thanks for reading!