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Tips for attaching exercise bands to stable anchors at home

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Exercise bands are incredibly useful for physical therapy and strength training. But what if your home doesn’t have good ways to attach them to something sturdy? In this post, I share some ways you can get creative and affix exercise bands to anchors that you’ve got around your house or apartment. Types of exercise bands There are four common types of exercise bands. From left to right in the photo below: Small bands, usually lightweight . They’re sold in sets and are usually color-coded by resistance level. As-long-as-you-need-them bands that come in rolls and can be cut to length. Usually you only see these in physical therapy offices since you need to purchase an entire roll at a time. Large, higher-resistance bands . These are often used to add resistance to bodyweight squats or push-ups, or to assist in doing pull-ups. Tube bands , which are color-coded by resistance level and have handles or carabiners at each end. These are often sold in sets with various accessories, s...
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Feeble to Fit Part 2: Tips on physical therapy over video

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a series about my experience with physical therapy to fix chronic knee pain and problematic shoulders Part 1: My experience with a world-class physical therapist Part 2: Tips on physical therapy over video Part 3: Coming soon!   Introduction Except for two in-person sessions, all my physical therapy for my knee and shoulders has been over video chat. This worked surprisingly well, but it did require me and my physical therapist, Lev , to find creative ways of doing what’s normally a hands-on activity. I this post, I cover the pros and cons of doing physical therapy over video chat, who I think virtual PT will work for, and tips we figured out along the way to make our sessions more productive. The value of a hands-on assessment All physical therapy programs begin with an assessment session. The purpose of an assessment session is so the physical therapist can understand you and the issue that brought you to them. Then they create a plan ...
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Kettlebell Kings 16kg kettlebell review: high quality fit and finish

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Summary At the time of publishing, I had used this kettlebell several times a week for six months. This kettlebell has the smoothest surface of any power-coated kettlebell I’ve tried. It’s still got good grip, but doesn’t cause many calluses. There are no defects in the casting and the wide base makes it stable when doing push-ups or other mat exercises. I happily recommend Kettlebell Kings to anyone who wants a high-quality kettlebell . The kettlebell It was shipped in the most protective type of packaging you’ll see for kettlebells, a Styrofoam clamshell. If you want your bell to arrive in mint condition, this is great. If you want to cut down on your Styrofoam use, it’s not optimal. On their website, Kettlebell Kings (KBK) claims that their kettlebells are cast in one piece – i.e. the horns aren’t welded on. This certainly appears to be the case. The casting finish is spotless, and where the handles join the body shows no signs of welding. In fact, the seam usually created du...
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Weekly Fitness Deals Newsletter – Sept. 22, 2022

In this week’s fitness deals you’ll find that Labor Day sales are still going strong and there are big savings on stationary equipment, including treadmills and weight training stations. We checked dozens of brands and collated the best deals here. Email us if we’ve missed one! The biggest deals of the week? Probably Tru Grit’s Adjustable Power Bench being $200 off or Fringe Sport’s rubber floor mat gym package being 40% off. The deals Perform Better Perform Better is a long-established fitness manufacturer and distributor based in Rhode Island. It’s big Summer Sale still has a week left. Dozens of products are on sale — here are just a few. Gravity Kettlebells are 10-30% off Bumper Plates are up to 40% off The “Commercial” and “Sweat System” TRX Training kits are $40 off PB Extreme Rower (comparable to the Concept2 RowErg) is $150 off Economy Ultimate Sandbag – 22% off Schwinn Airdyne AD 7 air bike is also $150 off Garmin Garmin is one of the leading manufa...
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Weekly Fitness Deals Newsletter – Sept. 15, 2022

In this week’s fitness deals you’ll find that Labor Day sales are still going strong and there are big savings on stationary equipment, including treadmills and weight training stations. We checked dozens of brands and collated the best deals here. Email us if we’ve missed one! The biggest deals of the week? Probably the Nautilus T618 Treadmill being $500 off for a sale price of $999, or Fringe Sport’s rubber floor mat gym package being 40% off. The deals Perform Better Perform Better is a long-established fitness manufacturer and distributor based in Rhode Island. Their Gravity Kettlebells are 10-30% off Bumper Plates are up to 40% off The PB Extreme Rower (comparable to the Concept2 RowErg) is $150 off The Schwinn Airdyne AD 7 air bike is also $150 off Garmin Garmin is one of the leading manufacturers of smartwatches for training. The Forerunner 45 training watch is $50 off Garmin’s vívoactive 4S is normally $349 but on sale for just $199 now The fēnix 6X – ...
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Rogue 24kg (53lbs) powder-coat kettlebell: good with a minor (funny) flaw

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Summary Rogue’s standard kettlebell looks pretty and works great, but doesn’t quite match the quality standards set by other manufacturers. If you’re a brand loyalist, you won’t regret the purchase. Otherwise, consider other options such as Onnit , Again Faster , Kettlebell Kings , or Rogue’s other line of made-in-USA kettlebells . Why you can trust this review We purchased this kettlebell at full retail price and have been using it almost daily for a few weeks. Additionally, for this kettlebell we spent an hour and a half taking precise measurements and creating a to-scale digital silhouette you can use to compare the size and shape of this kettlebell to others (more reviews coming soon). The kettlebell Manufacturing and shipping Rogue does make kettlebells in the US, but this one was made in China. Like most kettlebells, it got a little beat up during shipping, but was protected by some pieces of foam and an extra cardboard box. This level of protection during shipping is ...
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Weekly Deals Newsletter – June 2, 2022

This is the second issue of our weekly deals newsletter! Each week, we find the best sales, coupons and discounts from fitness equipment manufacturers and retailers. If there’s any we’ve missed, email us at deals@thehomefitfreak.com and we’ll add them. – The Memorial Day sales are all done, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t deals out there. Father’s Day is coming up and, for some reason (good taste?) no one is promoting sales to “ help Dad lose the dad-bod ”. Onto the deals!   Titan Fitness                  Titan’s scratch and dent Economy Color Bumper Plates are 15% off (note that the photos on the scratch and dent page are wrong – they incorrectly show the Elite Color Bumper Plates) If you sign up for Titan Fitness’ email list, you’ll get a 5% discount code   Yoga Accessories Buy-one-get-one on yoga mats and foam blocks , including extra-thick yoga mats   Ativafit Ati...
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