The Best Exercise Equipment for Building a Perfect Body
Learn how to design the perfect gym for achieving every exercise goal and building a perfect body.
I recently packed up my wife and twin boys and embarked upon our annual family vacation to the tiny, sleepy Pacific Northwest coastal town Seaside, Oregon. In reality, Seaside —a somewhat touristy town with far more arcades, candy stores and ice cream shops than gyms —wouldn’t be my ideal choice for an active, healthy hotspot destination. But it’s a longstanding tradition in my wife’s family, so I joined in.
Into the back of the car, I threw my kettlebell, my suspension trainer, an elastic band, a couple of light “sliders” (think tiny plates the size of paper plates that can be used for a host of different exercise). With no access to a gym or any other workout equipment, but armed with these four simple and easy-to-transport tools and five basic exercises for each tool, every day I was able to perform an enormous variety of exercises, including:
Kettlebell:
- Swings
- Around The World
- Single Arm Clean to Overhead Press
- Goblet Squat
- Bent Row
Suspension Strap:
- Pull-Ups
- Suspended Push-Ups With Knee-To-Chest
- Left And Right Leg Suspended Lunges
- Plank Rotations
Sliders:
- Mountain Climbers
- Lateral Slides
- Pikes
- Bridges
- Crocodile Walks
Elastic Band:
- Front Raises
- Side Raises
- Lateral Shuffles
- Squat-To-Press
- Kickouts
Body Weight:
- Burpees
- Jumping Jacks
- Skipping In Place
- Sit-To-Stand
- Plank-To-Pushup
The fact is, from family reunions to road trips to long airplane rides and beyond, you can drop me just about anywhere on the face of the planet and I’ll figure out a way to not just maintain muscle, but to also build muscle, burn fat and develop power, strength, stamina and balance. Sometimes these tools are simple – such as the easy-to-use travel “kit” described above – and sometimes these tools are more complex, fringe biohacks that fly under-the-radar. But from simple to complex, every tactic I’ve discovered to mold the body will be described in this article, which will serve as your ultimate guide to biohack and build the perfect human using many little-known methods you’re not going to discover anyplace else.
Let’s begin with simple and easy-to-use tools that are indispensable to have in a suitcase, car, home office, park, basement, backyard or anywhere else a “pop-up gym” is required, including the best articles I’ve previously written or discovered on how to use each piece of gear.
- Kettlebell
- Jumprope
- Weighted backpack
- Weighted vest
- Training mask
- Powerlung
- Hand Grip Trainer
- Neuro-Grips
- Elastic Tubing
- Monster Band
- Suspension Strap
- Slider Plates
- Rings
- Blood Flow Restriction Straps
- Underwater Audio Player
Next, let’s move on to more complex biohacks that can be added to the list above to create the ultimate studio or home gym for molding the perfect body in the most efficient way possible using the most cutting-edge tools available (if you like the type of information below, then I’d highly recommend you read my latest review of the “Biohackers’ Handbook To Exercise”, which will be right up your alley.
- Infrared Sauna
- Portable Cold Pool
- Exercise With Oxygen Therapy Device
- Keg
- Tire
- Battlebag
- Incline Treadmill
- Standing Workstation
- Topographical Mat
- Trapeze
- Inversion Table
- Rebounder
- Medicine Ball
- Plyo Boxes
- Barbell Rack
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation
Whew! This may seem like a lot to digest, but try starting simple! For example,this week, begin to build your own travel exercise kit. Find some elastic tubing or elastic bands with a handle, some kind of a portable foam roller, a jump rope, and a suspension trainer similar to a TRX. Boom. It’s that easy. You’re now equipped to exercise anytime, anywhere – even in a quiet little seaside town.
For more, check out these resources:
- Stay Fit While Traveling
- 3 Tips to be a Fitness Freak While Traveling
- How to Effectively Exercise in a Small Space
- How to Make a Home Gym
- The Best Home Gym Equipment
- 6 Essential Tools to Turn Your Home Into a Mini-Gym
For more tips, and to join the conversation about the best exercise equipment for building a perfect body, then head over to Facebook GetFitGuy. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Get-Fit Guy podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen. If you have questions, comments or feedback, join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter.Â
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About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.
