Gym Equipment Articles

Hex trap bars are an odd looking piece of equipment if you’ve never seen one before. They’re designed to have your centre of mass inside the bar when doing deadlifts, which keeps your back in a more upright position thereby decreasing stress and likelihood of injury. Determining which is the best trap bar for you […]

The humble Tricep Rope is a staple in gyms. From a commercial facility or a humble home gym. They are relatively inexpensive and great for training triceps. This tricep rope guide will help you choose the right rope for your training. Tricep ropes were a mainstay in our gym packages. If there was gym equipment […]

We recently had a question from a customer who was looking to upgrade from a thrust bearing barbell to a needle bearing barbell. He had been maintaining his thrust bearing bar by regularly lubricating the inner sleeve with 3-in-1 oil. Hewanted to know if needle bearing bars required the same barbell bearing maintenance.   In actual […]

If you can’t afford or don’t want to spend the money on a fixed dumbbell set or Ironmaster Quick-Lock Dumbbells, there are a few things that you should take into consideration before purchasing Olympic Dumbbell Handles. They do have their limitations and if used improperly, can be dangerous.  We lay out the pros and cons in this […]

One of the coolest aspects of Olympic weightlifting is how simple of a sport it is. You start with a barbell on the ground, and the only goal is to lift it over your head. No fancy equipment necessary. Although mastering the technique is unbelievably difficult (if not impossible), it is easy to get started […]

The Powertec Workbench Ab Plus was a quirky machine. I only ever got a handful. It is a real walk down memory lane in terms of training styles. This was a time when people thought the only way they could train abs was with a machine. Nowadays there are so many other simpler ways. In […]

The Powertec Workbench Leg Press Attachment was one attachment that had a mixed response. Some people liked it while others were not impressed. I reluctantly sold it, only after a few people said they liked it. After a while it become too much trouble. Personally I feel the actual concept of a leg press attachment […]

The Powertec Vertical Gym was a real quirky gym. Definitely not my cup of tea, but it was popular with some. When you look at the footprint, it was not far off the Powertec Leverage Gym. The extra space and money was well worth stepping up to the bigger gym. This recommendation was based on […]

The Powertec Leverage Shoulder Press was a great little machine. The fact that it was little was one of the reasons that made it great! In just over one square meter you could load it up and hit the shoulders hard. This machine could handle as much weight as you could fit on it. Or […]

The Powertec Shape System was one of my favorite machines. At the time of me writing this – 30th April 2024 – I am still in possession of one. Granted it is nearly out the door after moving it out of my gym. Given these were last made in 2008 that speaks volumes of what […]

The Powertec Leverage Lat Pulldown was phased out in 2008. So I only sold a handful over the years. It was a quirky machine. For starters why opt for leverage over the traditional lat pulldown cable machine? Leverage machines are nearly always cheaper than their cable counterparts. They are much simpler to manufacture. For the […]

The Powertec Leverage Arm Curl has combined simple and heavy-duty design with several handy features to make the best value bicep machine on the market. The angle of the preacher curl bench has 3 adjustment levels. The steep setting targets the lower bicep. Increase the weight and drop the reps and set the preacher pad […]