The best lockdown workout equipment
Missing the gym? Time to make the gym miss you
Being trapped at home all day can make your mind and body feel sluggish, and lockdown seem gloomier.
One of the best ways to avoid cabin fever is to exercise, but with gyms closed, you’re limited to using equipment that you can set up easily and quickly in and around home.
Here, The Week looks at some of the best bits of kit:
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TRX Home
TRX suspension training will already be familiar to the fitness fanatics, and it is rapidly gaining popularity with regular people who just happen to want a core of steel.
The TRX Home 2 requires almost no set-up time. It’s just a case of fixing it in place by shutting a door on the anchoring strap, then you’re good to go.
Once in place, the TRX Home can be used to improve performance, flexibility and strength through suspension training, using seven key movements - push, pull, plank, rotate, hinge, lunge and squat - to get fitter and leaner from anywhere.
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There’s a TRX app which is free to download, and features a variety of audio and video workouts from world-class coaches to use alongside the suspension trainer and your own body weight.
London-based boutique fitness studio The Fore has put together a series of at home workouts using your TRX - including a home based video version of its NOGA classes.
The Fore’s NOGA series is a selection of 8-25 minute classes that combine the power of movement and breath work to aid flexibility mobility and core strength deepening.
You can try them out using a TRX or just your bodyweight, and they’re currently free to view on The Fore website.
TRX Home 2: £169.95
Wahoo KICKR + Canyon Roadlite
My home cycling set up was made up of the Wahoo Fitness KICKR power trainer and the Canyon Roadlite. Individually, they’re two impressive bits of kit, and together they’re top of the range.
They’re both incredibly easy to set up, with short videos from Canyon and Wahoo guiding you through the few simple steps to get going. And unlike some turbo trainers, the kit runs quietly, so you won’t make enemies of your neighbours during lockdown.
The accompanying Wahoo app works smoothly, giving live information and storing data on workouts.
I was also able to connect my MyZone MZ-3 heart rate monitor to the same app, which meant I had live and accurate data on how much effort I was putting in during a session.
After a stint on the bike, you can export your workout to popular apps like Strava, and it will send data from all the various trackers used in one neat package - so Strava gets your heart rate data along with your distance, speed, wattage and other metrics.
The best thing about cycling at home is that you can walk the fine line between laziness and efficiency by pointing your bike at the television and catching up on the best lockdown TV while getting fit.
Canyon is encouraging people to Stay Fit, Stay Healthy while gyms are closed, and is helping people to stick to their fitness goals, or set new ones, despite the current situation.
Along with Coach Watto, Canyon have put together the following workout for home fitness fanatics who want a blitz on the bike:
Workout 1: The 30 Second Intervals
Warm up
10 mins starting easy and building resistance gradually to a 5/10 effort
Main set
30 secs, full effort 10/10
4 mins 30 secs easy recovery spin
Repeat the above 4 more times
5 mins, cool down easy recovery spin
30 secs, a final 30 second 10/10 effort
Off the bike, Canyon recommend doing the occasional body weight session for all important strength training to accompany the fitness gained on the bike. The following session, repeated at least three times, will complement the cardio workout:
10 x Burpees
10 x Squats
1 x min rest
Canyon Roadlite from £999, Wahoo KICKR Smart trainer from £999
Microskaters
If you can’t skate but have been meaning to give it a try, you won’t find a better time than now.
Microskaters have built a range of high-performing inline and slalom skates for children and adults that are comfortable, stylish and offer a smooth roll.
The MT Plus are the perfect bit of kit for someone who is new to the world of skating, or is a more accomplished skater on the lookout for a durable and dapper pair of wheels.
They’re sturdy and adjustable, with a fitted liner that means they feel snug but not tight around your feet, and a strap system which means they can be customised to the taste of each user.
The high resistant polypropylene shell and cuff offer good support for people who are a little nervous about getting on wheels for the first time, and will handle more advanced skaters pushing them to the limit.
Available from £109.99 at Slick Willie's
Peloton
The Peloton Bike combines the best of fitness and tech, offering indoor riders the chance to take part in classes, monitor performance and compete against others with a real-time leaderboard.
“In a nutshell Peloton is a high-quality exercise bike with a tablet attached to the handlebars,” says The Week’s editor, Arion McNicoll. “But the device is a gateway to a near-limitless library of live and pre-recorded spinning classes. This means you get a personal trainer in your own home – which makes it that much harder to make excuses for not working out.”
Available to order from £1,990
APEX
APEX bikes have a stylish and ergonomic design, and come with state-of-the-art technology and gamified software so you can compete while you work out.
Riders can connect Apex to their iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth or cast to their TV screens, and from there can follow unlimited high-energy classes with a £30pcm subscription.
Apex works with real-time interactive leader boards that measure and track RPM and resistance, and reward each rider with Apex points based on how much effort they’re putting in, so you’re encouraged to keep going when the going gets tough.
Pre-order from £1200 with a £120 deposit