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 [...]
Gym Talk
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 [...]
Anyone who owns a bare steel bar probably already knows that it takes regular oilings and brushing to keep these raw bars free of rust. We all know it, but not everyone does it; or at least not as often as they should. If you are one who tends to neglect this minor chore long [...]
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 [...]
In an effort to control the length and size of my original barbell buyers guide, I’ve decided to create a separate guide for powerlifting bars. In this way I can cover a larger variety of bars and offer more information about each individual bar. If you would like a refresher course on the basics of [...]
Eleiko recently announced the NxG Collection; the newest generation of world-class Eleiko barbells. This extensive guide is my attempt to consolidate all there is to know about both the NxG Collection, and the entire Eleiko barbell line-up. In this guide I will go over the changes and upgrades have been made to the Eleiko barbell [...]
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 [...]
Have you seen the new Dumbbell Bumpers from Rogue? What do you think about them? These colorful rubber discs are designed specifically for use with Rogue’s DB-10 and DB-15 Dumbbell Handles. They are offered in six different increments ranging from 10 to 55 pounds (the same as regular bumper plates) but they are only 9″ [...]
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 [...]
I don’t always want to dedicate 1000-plus words to each and every product I purchase. I also sometimes want to highlight a new product without having to actually purchase it. That is why I occasionally do articles like this one. I can announce some new products of interest and do reviews for products that don’t [...]
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 [...]
The Thompson Fat Pad is a replacement pad for flat utility benches and commercial benching stations. It was developed by legendary powerlifter and equipment guru, Donnie Thompson, in an effort to overhaul the simple, narrow pads typically found on benches. Essentially, Donnie wanted to create a pad that maximized power in the bench press while simultaneously [...]
The E-Maxx Bar (aka “the SuperQuake”) is a member of Bandbell’s Bamboo Bar family of bars – a line of hand-made specialty barbells designed around the principle of Oscillating Kinetic Energy (OKE). The SuperQuake has the same hardened ash & composite resin shaft as the original Bamboo and Earthquake Bar, but because it’s over 6″ longer and has [...]
