Equipment Reviews

Iron Company was kind enough to send to me a custom-sized and custom dated Forged Passion Power Belt to check out. This is a review for that belt. The 13 mm, Forged Passion Belt is a made-to-order leather powerlifting belt. It’s assembled in the USA using two thick layers of premium sole leather rather than multiple [...]

This will be a fairly short post meant only to show the few subtle differences between three major brands of competition-style bumper plates; the Rep Fitness Competition Bumper, the Vulcan Absolute Competition Bumper, and the Rogue Fitness Trainer 2.0 Bumper. There are other brands obviously; some of which are low-quality, some that are comparable to [...]

This is a review for the Force USA MyRack Modular Power Rack. This comprehensive and rather lengthy review will cover not only the centerpiece of the MyRack system; the power rack itself; but also the complete line of accessories and attachments currently available for it. Fear not, for a table of contents can be found following [...]

This is a comprehensive review of the new Rep Fitness FB-5000 Competition Flat Bench; a relatively new bench that offers virtually unlimited load capacity on a lightweight, low-profile, foot-drive-friendly frame – and for a very attractive price. Introduction The FB-5000 was designed to be used in conjunction with the thick, grippy vinyl pads; pads like [...]

This is a review of the Powertec WorkBench Levergym System;  a multi-use, plate-loaded gym station designed to give a home gym owner with limited floor space and limited funds access to a large variety of machine-based resistance exercises. It features both a low and high pulley system, adjustable pressing arms, and an adjustable, detachable bench. [...]

This is a review of the Iron Company 5150 Olympic Weightlifting Bar; a new 20 kg, 28 mm, multi-purpose bar that has many premium features, a fair price, and specifications that rival some of today’s most popular mid-range Olympic and WOD bars. On paper this bar is definitely promising; offering us versatility, durability, and a [...]

This is a review of the Rubber Coated Hex Dumbbells by Rep Fitness, a new and improved version of that classic garage gym dumbbell that we all know and love; mostly because it is what most of us can afford. In this article I am going to discuss what makes the Rep version of this implement [...]

This is the long-awaited review for Vulcan Strength’s new Stainless Steel Absolute Power Bar; the ridiculously strong, pleasantly aggressive, oxidation resistant beast that is literally 100% stainless steel – so long as you don’t count the end caps. One only has to look at the images of this bar to see that it’s a beautiful [...]

This is a comprehensive review for the Strength Shop Bastard Power Bar, a mid-range bar that can be purchased both in the USA and in most of Europe from one of Strength Shop’s many domains. The Bastard Power Bar retails for US$275 but it can be found on sale fairly regularly (at least that is [...]

This is a review of Rep Fitness’ new rubber-coated Kilogram Change Plates. While not the most complicated of products to review, the lower pricing and high level of interest in these plates made them worth checking out more thoroughly. In this review I will cover the basic specifications of these plates, design features, and plate [...]

I want to take a look at the Arm Blaster, a strength training accessory that has made quite a comeback as of late. The Arm Blaster is a piece of curved aluminum about 24″ long and 4″ high that is designed to be worn around the neck when performing bicep curls. The Blaster keeps your [...]

Vulcan Strength recently upgraded their incredibly popular Absolute Power Bar to version 2.0. This is pretty exciting news because the Absolute was one hell of a power bar already, especially considering the strength of the steel relative to the price to your door. To discover that it could be made better without being more expensive [...]

I bought something like 230 kilograms of the Rogue Calibrated Steel Plates back during the 2017 Black Friday sale, and aside from realizing almost immediately that I didn’t order quite enough weight I have been completely happy with this purchase. I wanted to take a couple minutes and write a short review on these plates [...]

It was recommended to me that I keep a running list of all my barbell reviews, and even go so far as to perhaps comment on which bars were kept in the gym and which weren’t. Well I thought that was a fantastic idea, so here is a list of all the barbell reviews found [...]