Get Your Gym Space Ready

Starting your home gym means you will need a space dedicated to your workout and exercise sessions. Your minimum gym space area should be at least 6 by 6 sq ft, which you can find from one of your unused rooms, your garage, basement, attic, or even your living room. This compact space requirement makes it possible for people living in apartments or condo units where square footage is limited. You might be thinking of immediately setting up a set of official gym equipment, but a reliable fitness equipment review site would recommend otherwise. Many reputable equipment review sites recommend starting with basic workout items and equipment to make your home gym setup simple and convenient.

Prepare Gym Equipment That You Need

Researching how to stock your home gym with basic stuff is just the first step in preparing your gym equipment. The next step is aligning your fitness needs with the equipment that you are about to set up. If your goal is cardio exercise, you can select different types of gym equipment that are designed for cardio workouts. If you want to undergo strength training, there are also gym equipment specially designed for this purpose.

You can also get a combination of cardio and strength training equipment if you want to do both workout types. Get your basic setup started with a yoga mat, skipping rope, resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, bench, and fitball as some of the recommended equipment.

Set Up and Organize Your Equipment

We mentioned before that you need at least 6 ft by 6 ft of square space, but you don’t have to limit yourself to that minimum space requirement. A good rule of thumb for a convenient gym setup is where you can freely move or extend your arms and legs in any direction, whether you are standing up or lying on the floor. Freedom of movement is essential for any workout or exercise so set up your movement-intensive equipment near the center of the room, while those that are used for unidirectional or bi-directional movements can be set up near the walls or corners.

Organizing your equipment with this in mind can help avoid clutter and keep you comfortable while performing your workout sessions.

Integrate Your Storage Area

Storage is a key consideration for your home gym regardless of the number and size of equipment that you have.  Storing your equipment efficiently not only helps clear up your home gym space for easy cleaning but also helps keep your gym space safe. It also extends the usable period of your equipment. Your storage space needs to be organized for easy access, which is why you need to find a suitable location to designate as a storage area in your home gym.

Corner shelves and racks are ideal for storing dumbbells, kettlebells, weight plates, sandbags, slam balls, and other heavy items. A storage container is a neat and compact item you can use for storing small and portable gym equipment such as yoga mat, skipping rope, sliders, resistance bands, and other small items. If you want to maximize your home gym space, you can utilize the walls for setting a hanging organizer.

Add Other Important Items

Lighting is an essential factor in any room.  Your home gym is no exception, where you need to regularly keep an eye on your form. Having sufficient light within your home gym area also makes your workout comfortable and safe.

A mirror is also an essential addition to your workout space as it serves to distribute natural and artificial light across the room. More importantly, it helps monitor your form to get you to perform your exercises and workouts properly. Having a mirror can also help you keep track of your workout progress and motivate you to maintain or ramp your exercise or workout.

Getting started with your home gym doesn’t need to be complicated. Securing a proper space, identifying your workout needs, and matching basic workout equipment with your workout needs are the fundamental steps in setting up your home gym. You don’t need anything fancy or grand in getting started. What matters are the comfort and practicality of your gym setup to get you motivated.

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And that is why it matters what you wear on your feet when you’re lifting weights, more so when performing compound exercises like Deadlifts or Olympic lifts.

In this article, we explore the workout shoe market to bring you the top 5 weightlifting shoes available right now. 

What To Look For in a Weightlifting Shoe

Grip

Look for a shoe that provides a lot of floor gripability in the sole. You don’t want any lateral movement of the shoe when you’re lifting heavy as this could cause injury and impaired performance.

Balanced Cushioning

You need a balance between comfort and support in your weightlifting shoe. Too much cushioning will compromise the secure, solid base that the shoe is meant to provide. You should especially avoid excess cushioning in the heel.

Heel Height

Some weight lifting shoes have elevated heels that are designed to provide better bodily alignment when squatting. The amount of heel height really comes down to a matter of personal preference. However the ideal weightlifting shoe height is between 0.5 and 1.2 inches.

5 Best Weightlifting Shoes

Adidas Men’s Powerlift 3.1 CrossTrainer

The Adidas Men’s Powerlift 3.1 Crosstrainer excels in its provision of a wide sole to ensure maximum grip. The provision of a midfoot strap ensures that you are securely locked in to make for a very rigid, secure shoe. There is also extra ankle support and reinforcement through the midfoot area. The high density die cut wedge allows for an ergonomically advanced design and fit. 

The Adidas Men’s Powerlift 3.1 Crosstrainer is a very breathable, comfortable shoe. It features an air mesh tongue, collar and lining. Finally, the Adiwear outsole provides a high level of style and durability.

Nike Metcon 5

There are two big weightlifting exercises by which you can judge a shoe; the squat and the deadlift. When put to the test on those two compound moves, the Nike Metcon 5 for weightlifting comes through with flying colors. An ongoing challenge with weightlifting shoes has been that squats require a higher heel than deadlifts. The Nike Metcon 5 solves this dilemma with a brilliant but simple innovation – removable heel inserts!

The Metcon 5 has reworked the outer design over its previous version to provide greater grip on the floor. This is another extremely breathable shoe. It is a great choice both for pure weightlifters and those who train crossfit style.

Inov-8 Men’s Fastlift 325 CrossTrainer

Inov-8 claims that the Fastlift 325 is the lightest dedicated weightlifting that exists. Combining features of general fitness and weightlifting shoes, it is designed for CrossFit trainers who mix up such weightlifting moves as snatches with dynamic moves like box jumps. The body of the shoe is a mix of mesh and synthetic material. This makes it both breathable and light. 

The Inov-8 Fastlift 325 has a Meta-Flex sole, which provides a solid groove in the sole from side to side. This enhances flexibility for plyometric exercises. However, the shoe is a little light on providing a super firm hold on the floor. This means that it is not the ideal choice if you are a dedicated heavy weight lifter. 

The Fastlift 325 has a raised heel by way of TPU plastic tubes. A single metatarsal strap across the midfoot ensures solid lockdown. 

Adidas Men’s Leisttung.16 II CrossTrainer

The Adidas Men’s Leisttung.16 II CrossTrainer is a strong, secure and visually appealing cross training shoe. The wide platform ensures a secure hold on the floor while the heel lift puts you in a better ergonomic position for squatting, with the heel being one inch higher than the heel. The micro-adjusting Boa closure keeps your feet and ankles securely locked in. This shoe has a synthetic woven upper and a TPU heel. 

NoBull Men’s Training Shoe

The NoBull Men’s Training Shoe is a no frills piece of kit for serious weightlifters. This shoe provides you with an excellent mix of light weight, breathability, secure hold and flexibility. The upper of this shoe is made in a one piece trademarked Superfabric. High carbon lateral and medial guards ensure durability and strength for those one rep max workouts. 

The NoBull Men’s Training Shoe has been created for use in both an outdoor and an indoor training environment. That means you can go directly from squats to a run around the block with no footwear change!

Weightlifting shoes

A weightlifting shoe is more than a gym fashion accessory. It is rather, an essential requirement for anyone who is serious about what they do in the gym. For pure weightlifters our top shoe is the Adidas Men’s Powerlift 3.1, whereas for Crossfitters our recommended shoe is the Inov-8 Fastlift 325 CrossTrainer.

Photo credits:

• Anastase Maragos
• Alora Griffiths
• Victor Freitas
• Sam Sabourin

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This is the first of the Fit & Flex Fridays (FFF)! posts, where I will just highlight one of my workouts I did during the week, for anyone to give a try or modify for themselves. After switching to only calisthenics training for quite some time I decided to include some weights back in, to increase overall strength and to get back into the bodybuilding feel of it, and to target specific muscles that I had neglected.

The workout covered here is predominantly a back workout starting off with some calisthenics work and holds and includes the basics, nothing fancy or complex at all. When in doubt stick to the basics.

The calisthenics part is focused on pull ups and the front and back levers as well as the human flag. I am working towards mastering the front lever.

 

So following on from one of the previous posts this is a #backlever now, quite a drastic improvement ? but it did take quite a bit of time!? When we all start we want to immediately be able to do all the fancy stuff but it doesn’t work that way. So if you’re starting out remember that it all takes time.

A video posted by fitnish.com (@fitnish) on Sep 28, 2015 at 6:46am PDT

Calisthenics workout

• Band work (band lat pull downs, rows) just to warm up.
• Explosive pull ups | 3 sets of 4 – 5 reps.

Try getting over the bar almost into a muscle up here. They are quite taxing at first but keep at it to get used to them.

• Skin the cat, controlled all the way up and down | 2 sets of 2 -3 reps

This will get the shoulders warm and give them a small stretch getting ready for the back levers. It is also a great core exercise.

• Front tuck lever holds | 3 sets of 15 seconds each
• Back lever holds | 4 sets.

Depending where you are at with the back lever just move into the position that you can hold, and hold there for a bit.

 

 

Be prepared to tire quickly when you start out. It’s quite demanding on your body and energy levels so when you get to a point like this where everything’s exhausted don’t stress about it too much, just get some food and have a rest.?

 

A video posted by fitnish.com (@fitnish) on Oct 26, 2015 at 8:07am PDT

 

Just a quick back lever ??? A video posted by fitnish.com (@fitnish) on Mar 24, 2016 at 3:42am PDT

• Flag negatives and holds | 2 sets of each side. (lowering slowly and holding for a few seconds.)
• Wide grip pull ups | 3 sets of 5 – 8 reps
• Close grip pull ups (chin ups) with tuck lever extension at the top | 3 sets of 3 reps.

The extension at the top will help strengthen the muscles for the front lever, but if you find yourself too tired by now to do it don’t sweat it, just stick to regular chin ups.

 

A photo posted by fitnish.com (@fitnish) on Apr 15, 2016 at 3:39am PDT

Weights workout

All exercises are mostly kept between 6 – 12 reps.

• Seated machine rows | 4 sets
• One arm dumbbell rows standing | 4 sets
• Dumbbell pullovers | 4 sets
• Hyper extensions | 4 sets

• Stretching routine for flexibility.

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