This is a full review of SABO’s newest lifting kicks; the GoodLift Powerlifting Shoes. The GoodLifts are designed primary for the deadlift but are also perfectly good shoes to wear when bench pressing, and for squats if you prefer to squat in shoes without a raised heel. These are flat, offered in two different colors, [...]
Equipment Reviews
You probably wouldn’t think that there was a whole that could be done to improve upon the rubber hex dumbbell short of just lowering the cost, right? That is to say, assuming that you select a reputable brand (one that permanently affixes the heads to the handles) they are a very affordable and durable dumbbell [...]
I’ve been a big fan of the Thompson Fat Pad since the very first time I benched on one. It’s wider, longer, thicker, denser, and more supportive than any other bench pad I’ve ever seen or used. In addition to all that it has a unique, heavy-duty “grabber” vinyl cover that prevents any slipping or [...]
I recently ordered and received a fancy 10 mm powerlifting belt from Pioneer (aka General Leathercraft). I’ve been wanting to do more with the Garage Gyms branding for a while now and I figured putting the site name across my favorite power belt was a great place to start. Now that I have it in my hands, [...]
I absolutely love the Ohio Powerlifting line; both the Ohio Power Bars and the Ohio Deadlift Bar. I have both of these beasts in raw, unfinished steel, and both of them are on my ‘never sell these bars’ list. The natural feeling of the raw steel combined with the deep, aggressive knurl makes for two incredible training [...]
A month or two ago on Craigslist I stumbled upon somebody selling the Infinity/Monster Lite Rogue Monolift Attachment; the version that’s compatible with my rack. I wasn’t really in the market for a Monolift and I wouldn’t go so far as to say I needed a Monolift, but they were in perfect condition and being [...]
This is a full review of the Elite Power Bar by American Barbell. This bar is one of only two semi-affordable, IPF-spec, stainless steel power bars currently on the market. In this review I will not only cover the specifications and features of the Elite, I will also compare it to that other semi-affordable, IPF-spec, [...]
This is an in-depth review of the new Eleiko NxG Performance Weightlifting Bar. This bar is offered as premium, less expensive alternative to the Eleiko IWF Training and Competition weightlifting bars for the sole purpose of training the Olympic lifts. The Performance WL Bar is functionally no different than its more expensive big brothers. It [...]
I get asked fairly often whether or not I still like a particular piece of equipment reviewed in the past, or whether or not that piece of equipment is still a good buy. Well I thought it might be fun to go back and revisit some of my old reviews and see exactly where these [...]
In this review I’ll mostly be covering the Cerakote Bella Bar 2.0 because that’s the bar that I have in front of me, but since both the Bella and the Ohio are unchanged save for the “new” Cerakote finish options, you can safely apply anything relating to the Bella’s Cerakote finish to the Ohio Bar [...]
In this review I’ll be looking at the new Vulcan Soft Cube, a premium version of the soft plyo box. Soft plyo boxes are the same size and shape of a wood plyo box, but rather than being plywood they are made of a heavy-duty, firm foam, and are then wrapped in a durable vinyl [...]
When I heard that Vulcan Strength was going to offer an EZ curl bar, I was intrigued. When I finally saw the specifications and the very low $139 price tag of that curl bar, I knew that I had to get my hands on one and check it out. So I did, and this is my [...]
The IronMaster Super Bench has been a fairly popular adjustable economy bench over the years. Used mostly in home and garage gyms, it’s one of the few decent alternatives to commercial-grade adjustable benches for beginner to intermediate lifters. It’s versatile, strong, relatively affordable, and for the average lifter the pros tend to outweigh the cons. [...]
This is a review for the Vulcan Professional Olympic Bar, one of the most competitively priced high-performance Oly bars on the market. Priced at only $599, the Pro boasts a ton of premium features including high tensile and yield ratings, great whip, smooth spin, and a beautiful, industrial chrome finish. While it should be obvious [...]
This is an in-depth review of the Rep Fitness Adjustable Bench; one of the few adjustable benches that manages to pull off flat, incline, and decline without costing a fortune. It has a wide range of settings, comfortable pads, and a strong, heavy-gauge steel frame. It’s not a commercial bench, but it’s solid, versatile, and priced attractively [...]
