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mighty top equipment picks by "the mighty kat" ricker Resistance training is something you are dedicated to doing for the rest of your life. However you do it - your form, load ratio, etc. - is going to shape your body for the better or worse. You are repeating specific movements in unnatural circumstances, sometimes more than once each week, practically every week. Therefore you are creating the conditions for your body to become better or to become damaged. As a personal trainer, I have seen far too many lifters set themselves up for sure damage, both immediate and, more frequently, of the gradual, insidious type. More lifters than not force their bodies into systematic degradation of joints, tendons and ligaments, and build-up of undesirable scar tissue. (How many men have you seen benching with elbow wraps to stave off the pain? How many intense squatters eventually totter around on ailing knees? Sadly, this is a major slice of the gym population. To me, chronic injury doesn't indicate athletic aptitude; it signifies lack of understanding.) And besides the issue of injury, there's the simple, common pitfall of working ineffectively, just as tragic in its own right for the serious athlete. With some awareness and education, lifters can ensure their efforts are furthering their real goals of fitness and health. This includes wise choices in equipment. Yet, the lifter's marketplace is flooded with devices to choose from. New gadgets show up on infomercials every Sunday. How do you know what the best choices are? Here's a guide to some of my top picks. The criterion I used includes biomechanical correctness, ergonomic design, effectiveness for the task, and significant protection of joints compared to other devices designed for the same task. Some of these picks are sizeable investments in space and money; others are inexpensive and portable. Many of these are the brain- and lovechildren of seasoned lifters who became innovative after suffering the ravages of traditional devices. Note that I am not getting paid to advertise for any of these products (how I wish!). My enthusiasm is sincere. LEGS 1. The "Safety Squat Bar" (around $400)
Various equipment companies offer bars based on Hatfield's design. Although there are pretty standard measurements for the majority of users, these bars can be made custom-made to fit the individual, especially good for smaller framed lifters such as myself. I got my custom-made bar from Sorinex at www.sorinex.com. Without it, I wouldn't be squatting today. 2. The Frank Zane Leg Blaster (around $400)
A padded harness makes contact with the shoulders and ribcage. This connects to the rack to prevent the lifter from tipping while loading. "It is engineered to hug your ribcage when you squat with your upper body in an erect position, making it unnecessary to use a lot of weights to get results. You can do any kind of squat simply by changing your foot position. The side weight-bearing arms of the harness angle downward giving you a lower center of gravity making it easier on knees and lower back. You'll find it safer and more enjoyable to build, shape and define your legs," says Zane. One-inch plate holders accommodate regular and Olympic plates. Obviously, this one is not portable. It takes up less space than a squat cage, and is much narrower than a squat bar, straight or "safety". 3. Manta Ray (around $45)
4. Bun & Thigh Roller (around $60, more like $90 after it's all added up) This device is making its way around the infomercial circuit right now. Former Mr. America Dean Tornabene invented this compact home device after working with the Swiss ball inspired him. He stabilized the movement and incorporated resistance to mimic the arcing motion the ball provided. The motion focuses on both concentric and eccentric contractions of all the muscles in the hips, glutes and thighs, and best of all, it does so with virtually no effect on the knees and back. Because the spine is supported and at rest, it is out of the movement. The arcing motion does not place knee joints into the vulnerable hyperflexion that squatting often does. I bought one of these and just love it. It allows me to hit small muscles deep in the glute region that I normally could only work through dangerously low squats. Because the resistance frankly isn't that heavy, I use mine on extended, super-slow sets. It's relaxing, and I'm hitting stuff I've never hit before. Heavier resistance band and arm attachment sold separately - not included in my price estimate above. If you want them, I recommend getting them when you buy the unit, because their shipping costs are high). ROTATOR CUFF 1. ShoulderHorn (around $60)
By isolating and strengthening your external rotators, you can develop minor muscles that often receive less work than they should, thus improving muscular development balance and setting the stage for proper functioning of the shoulder. "Two of the most underrated muscles of the body are the infraspinatus and the teres minor. These small muscles of the rotator cuff stretch from your shoulder blade to your upper arm. They work together to externally rotate your arm, and to stabilize your arm during almost all shoulder movements. If these two muscles are weak or underdeveloped in comparison to your major chest and back muscles, a muscular imbalance is created that can severely jeopardize your shoulder's integrity, and lead to chronic pain and injury. The ShoulderHorn helps restore your shoulder's natural strength balance by specifically strengthening and conditioning these two key muscles" (ShoulderHorn marketing). The ShoulderHorn fits closely and comfortable to your body. It rests your arms in the optimum position for isolating and strengthening the muscles of the rotator cuff. Then you simply lift very light weights (important! Approach this as you would a rehabilitation exercise, especially is that is how you are using it.) in the only path of motion available to you. It's pretty foolproof. My only bone to pick with the ShoulderHorn, and it's a common one, is that the steel bar is covered in the same foam tube used in plumbing - it tears very easily. It's not unusual to see weathered ShoulderHorns covered in duct tape. But now you know in advance, so like me, you can take precautions. Mine is three years old and still like new. ARMS 1. Tripower handles (around $25 each)
Used for single arm isolation exercises, the TriPower Handle works the triceps, biceps, and shoulders in a motion that alleviates undue stress and strain, creating a smoother action and actively motivates the user to workout feeling less pain. The It provides the slight difference in twist and movement which helps ease the stress when performing exercises. Furthermore, the four different handle styles available are solely for the purpose of single arm exercises as well as isolating your grip strength and control, which in turn, work the muscles in the hand, wrist and forearm. Advanced trainers can also use the handles for abdominal workouts. TriPower Handles can be used on any cable exercise machine or attached to rubber tubing. Mollet has loads of endorsements from professional bodybuilders including Arnold Schwarzenegger. He certainly has mine. In fact, it irks me when I check out a gym and they don't offer this type of handle. GENERAL 1. Platemates (around $20 a pair) If you're familiar with the concept of microloading, you know how valuable small amounts of weight are to making big gains. The unofficial father of microloading is the man who coined the phrase for exercise, Ken Benoit, the entrepreneur with a physical education background who has significantly influenced the spread of the concept in the U.S. When he went up five pounds too many on a preacher curl in 1995, he pulled a bicep muscle. The injury forced him to get innovative in order to recover: he duct-taped small weights to dumbbells for curls, and within one year surpassed his pre-injury max.
"The simple, common sense seems to gain people's attention," says Benoit. Equipment companies are quickly catching on. LifeFitness, Hoist, Vectra, Cybex and Nautilus all offer selectorized equipment with microloading provisions, generally at 2.5 pound increments. Powerblock offers microloading options and ties in with Platemates. 2. Muscle Clamps (around $30 - $35 pair)
If you're still using spring and iron collars, get a pair of these right away. You'll treasure them. The only trouble we had with these at the Ballys I managed was that they'd disappear. |
This squat bar is designed to balance the load directly through the midline, freeing the shoulders to be in safer positions than the straight bar allows. The shoulders are not forced into the vulnerable position of exaggerated external rotation and partial flexion in the frontal plane, which is a common culprit in longterm shoulder injuries for lifters, states its originator, famous Fred "Dr. Squat" Hatfield, the first man to squat 1,000 pounds. "For lifters such as me, this position is so damaging that if it weren't for this particular bar, I would never squat again. I'm a big personal fan of this bar design, and believe every gym should carry one," says Hatfield. In fact, most owners of this bar come to find it specifically because their shoulders can no longer tolerate the position the straight bar forces them into. "The bar has two pegs laying perpendicular to the main bar which rest across the meat of the tops of the upper trapezius muscles. This is where the load is focused, and the bar is balanced. The bar does not need to be held with the arms and hands, as a straight bar does. Forward or downward angles on each end draw the weight into balance" (Hatfield). The lifter is free to move his/her arms, even to grip the squat cage and self-spot, and he/she is not pitched forward as much as with the straight bar, thus protecting the spine.
For about the same price, an even safer alternative is Frank Zane's Leg Blaster. The device stabilizes the weight, placing the load through the shoulders and vertical midline. It distills the squat to a pure leg exercise and allows you to focus your efforts on contraction, not stabilization.
Sold in stores and through distributors on many web sites - comparison shop. The Manta Ray has become fairly well known, despite inventor Mark Pittroff's shunning of the spotlight. Pittroff's device may have been the first to address shoulder issues in squats. This 12.5" lightweight blue polyurethane attachment with its graceful lines easily slips into your gym bag, to be snapped directly onto a straight bar.
"It transfers the load to the traps exclusively and doesn't involve the shoulder caps. It's a simple load distribution principle where the load is spread over as much as 1600% more surface area than the raw bar. It's like comparing a bed of nails to a single nail," says Pittroff. He claims that since it sits just on the traps, it doesn't involve the delts.
This can pay off in your squat for three reasons: one, you still reap the benefits of stabilizer work; two, the decreased discomfort increases your work potential; three, "since the crush injury is eliminated from the upper body, all your bodies ability to build new tissue goes right to the stimulated muscle fibers rather than wasting that effort on damage control" (Pittroff).
Pittroff invented, developed and markets his invention, out of belief in its value.
Because rotator cuff injuries are so rampant in the gym, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. 
Bobby Mollet is another small businessman innovator offering a significant biomechanically advantaged tools - the TriPower Handles. It seems so obvious, and yet - generally the only handle attachments available for single arm movements force the wrist into pronation or supination only. Yet the natural, neutral position of the wrist is usually the most biomechanically correct position for the wrist and elbow joints, allowing for fuller, safer contractions and full extensions. After breaking his arm, Mollet became keenly aware of this, and his line of handles is a unique solution no lifter and no gym should be without.
Thus was born Platemates -- small, attractive, rubber-coated magnetic microweights to adhere to standard equipment. Since 1995, his company has mushroomed - demand has doubled every year for the past five years; Platemates are sold worldwide; portions of the military and several professional football and Olympic hockey teams swear by Platemates and the microloading technique.
Verl Miller says he was discouraged by what he saw in his physical education classes: the iron weight collars were too heavy, the spring weight collars were difficult to squeeze, the screw weight collars would strip while other weight collars simply fell apart. As a result, few of his students were using weight collars. This led to his invention of Muscle Clamps, which he rightfully advertises as the most intelligent weight collar available. His criterion for his clamp include safety, speed (clamp engagement and release are lightning quick), lightweight (be sure to bring them home when you're done or they'll disappear), affordability (Well, they're not cheap, but the quality is great), durability, sizing for both Olympic and home bars, and protection of the bar from scratches. I'll add a ninth he achieved - protection of fingers. There's no more pinching with these.