We discussed if the economy is holding people back from buying gym equipment, interest in the new Pro Series from Force USA, Specialty Bar Hot or Not Results, and More.
(1:02) Many have purchased gym equipment in 2022, but many are wary of buying more because of the economy.
- Nearly 2 out of 3 have purchased gym equipment so far this year. While many may have been smaller purchases, that is still a pretty high number.
- Stock prices are down, and gym equipment prices are up. 56% think that the current state of the economy means that they are less likely to buy gym equipment.
(3:52) Only 35% have a single person utilizing the home gym.
- When seeing others’ home gym setups, it’s essential to keep in mind that it’s unlikely they are the only ones using it. Therefore, not all purchases are just for a specific individual.
- When asked, the overall numbers were not too much different than six months ago, but 32% did say one person back in November 2021 (now up to 35%). That will be a potential trend to keep our eye on as more may go back to a commercial gym-type setting.
(5:39) About half typically take a pre-workout before working out.
- This has been down slightly since the last time we asked about it back in November 2021, but it is still around half.
(6:39) More say they’re interested in the X20 vs. X15.
To Start:
- Between 20 and 21% have high interest in the new options from Force USA. Last November, about 8% expressed high interest. This is more than double what we typically see when asking about the G-Series (which include a Smith Machine) from Force USA.
- About half have low interest.
- When asked between the two, about 2 in 3 went with the X20 (Power Rack Option).
(11:04) Eleiko wins vs. Kabuki, but the gap is getting closer
- Ejleiko was chosen by 53%, but the lead is shrinking. Last November, 56% chose Elieiko, and in 2020, 59% voted for them.
(13:56) Where are you buying a specialty bar from? Rogue wins against several other popular options.
- The Rogue brand seemed to be a heavy contributor to this one because they are not primarily known for their specialty bars (until recently). Rogue is the easy winner with 44% of the votes even though they didn’t perform exceedingly well in the Hot or Not results listed below.
- Kabuki came in second but had half of the votes as Rogue.
- REP beat out Titan for 3rd place here.
(17:05) Hot or Not Results – Specialty Bars
Here is a list of all the bars with the percentage of hot votes. Some highlighted notes are below.
| Specialty Bar | % Hot |
| Deadlift Bar | 79.54% |
| Kabuki Open Trap Bar | 75.49% |
| SS Yoke Bar | 75.14% |
| Cambered Swiss Bar | 73.98% |
| Kadillac Bar | 71.59% |
| REP SSB | 70.79% |
| Multi-Grip Camber Bar | 70.22% |
| Oppen Deadlift Bar | 70.09% |
| Rackable Curl Bar | 68.41% |
| SS3 | 66.93% |
| Squat Bar | 65.92% |
| Arch Nemesis Swiss Bar | 64.27% |
| Transformer Bar | 64.20% |
| Duffalo Bar | 64.15% |
| Rogue CB-4 | 62.88% |
| Trap Bar | 59.08% |
| Industrial Rackable Trap Bar | 58.57% |
| Mult-Grip Barbell | 58.27% |
| Curl Bar | 55.96% |
| Rogue Axle Bar | 54.19% |
| Rogue MG-4C | 53.34% |
| Marrs Bar | 49.66% |
| Rogue MG-4G | 49.41% |
| Rackable Strongman Log Bar | 45.41% |
| Yukon Bar | 43.99% |
| Bandbell Bars | 42.07% |
| CB-1 Rogue Camber Bar | 39.50% |
- The deadlift bar was the #1 rated specialty bar with this Hot or Not method.
- Kabuki Open Trap beats out Oppen DL Bar by a decent amount for the top trap bar.
- Kadillac Bar narrowly beats out the REP option for the top spot. The Titan Multi-Grip Camber option was also above 70%.
- Rackable curl bar wins big against regular curl bar
- The new Rogue Bars did not do so hot, and the CB-1 Rogue Camber Bar even came in last place.
- Traditional camber bars were not at the top of the list, and the Yukon Bar was the lowest.
- Strongman logs and Bandbell bars were also at the bottom.
Where to Listen
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