Vintage exercise equipment experiences
Discussion
If you're as old as me you may have used equipment that is no longer around or certainly not mainstream.
I remember buying a keep fit set from Woolworths in the late 70's,it compromised of a chest expander,a spring bar thing that you had to bend and a pair of grip exercisers which were like crocodile clips .
I then moved on to a Bullworker purchased from a newspaper ad.
Next up came hollow plastic weights that I filled with sand.
Needless to say I didn't turn into Charles Atlas.....and yes I bought his exercise program too
Anyone else ?
I remember buying a keep fit set from Woolworths in the late 70's,it compromised of a chest expander,a spring bar thing that you had to bend and a pair of grip exercisers which were like crocodile clips .
I then moved on to a Bullworker purchased from a newspaper ad.
Next up came hollow plastic weights that I filled with sand.
Needless to say I didn't turn into Charles Atlas.....and yes I bought his exercise program too
Anyone else ?
I suspect I’m a bit younger than you OP but I do remember my dad buying the Bullworker which came with a colour exercise guide showing the exercises to do with it. I did try using it when I was somewhere around 10-12.
I recall having in the garage a York weight lifting bench with a bar and some plate weights which were plastic and likely sand filled along with a couple of dumbbell bars.
I guess although I didn’t have a clue what I was doing at the time in hindsight it did spur me on and now I’m in my 40s I’m a regular gym goer.
I recall having in the garage a York weight lifting bench with a bar and some plate weights which were plastic and likely sand filled along with a couple of dumbbell bars.
I guess although I didn’t have a clue what I was doing at the time in hindsight it did spur me on and now I’m in my 40s I’m a regular gym goer.
Remember when everyone was talking about the Shake Weight a few years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWtcE52LKgk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWtcE52LKgk
AlexC1981 said:
Remember when everyone was talking about the Shake Weight a few years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWtcE52LKgk
Never seen that before, I thought it was a spoof commercial but no, it's an actual thing lolhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWtcE52LKgk
Blue_star said:
Evening,
Not sure about home equipment but looks like gym machines gave massively gone downhill.
Convenience and design are sleeker but functionality is a lot lower.
I would love a gym where you have machines allowing just eccentric movement or have belts….
A previous gym I went to (~20 years ago) had pneumatic resistance machines. Adjustable air pressure for resistance instead of metal plates and gravity. It felt like something was missing from the spirit of a gym.Not sure about home equipment but looks like gym machines gave massively gone downhill.
Convenience and design are sleeker but functionality is a lot lower.
I would love a gym where you have machines allowing just eccentric movement or have belts….
Where I am now has a load of plate loaded machines including one for belt squats you clip a belt onto. Can also clip onto the other adjustable cables if you want to.
Not sure what you mean by 'allowing just eccentric movements' you need the concentric to get back to the starting point for the second rep.
I had had the springy hand grippers. Almost useless as a healthy bloke. But I did get an upgraded set from Captains of Crush. Their 'Trainer', and 'Level 1', grippers take a lot more force to close (100lb and 140lb) with stronger versions available. They still get some uae when I remember.
I may still have one of those ab roller wheels in the back of a wardrobe. Tried a couple of times and forgotten.
I also have a CoolBoard balance board stashed away from years ago. Its a board like a large skateboard to balance on a ball. It was pretty good for balance and gave my feet and ankles a good workout trying to not fall off it
unfortunately the inflatable balls it came with soon deformed and deflated. I've just googled it again and they now have solid rubber balls to ride on so I may buy myself a replacement.I inherited my dad's old "bullworker". As a teen, I remember my dad being able to squeeze the two ends towards each other but I could never move the damned things. Now that I've done the gym thing for a few years, it's nice to be able to shorten the rusting lump.
I decided to pause bench presses and push ups for a month to see what effect this bullworker would have and it certainly gave me a chest pump. What I didn't like was the pressure it exerts on the elbows - it felt like I was always one step away from golfer's elbow using it, so I stopped using it.
It's quite heavy so I sometimes use it for lightish clubbell exercises if I fancy loosening up the shoulders.
Dunno the name but another piece of kit I inherited is some device that is about 120cm long with handles at one end, two springs, resting it vertically on the ground, you push the handles downwards to work the abs. You can also use it to work the legs and do stuff like chest work, compressing it similar to the bullworker. It's not difficult to compress the springs but it's just awkward to use because the action is jerky so standard dumbells are a preferred choice. I suppose I could oil the springs but the springs are pretty oily/mucky already, easily attract dust and I don't want them even more sticky.
Ultimately, nothing beats cast iron.
Oh, I started using my powerball again just for fun while waiting for videos to render. Christ, you get forearm pump from it if you hit it hard!
I decided to pause bench presses and push ups for a month to see what effect this bullworker would have and it certainly gave me a chest pump. What I didn't like was the pressure it exerts on the elbows - it felt like I was always one step away from golfer's elbow using it, so I stopped using it.
It's quite heavy so I sometimes use it for lightish clubbell exercises if I fancy loosening up the shoulders.
Dunno the name but another piece of kit I inherited is some device that is about 120cm long with handles at one end, two springs, resting it vertically on the ground, you push the handles downwards to work the abs. You can also use it to work the legs and do stuff like chest work, compressing it similar to the bullworker. It's not difficult to compress the springs but it's just awkward to use because the action is jerky so standard dumbells are a preferred choice. I suppose I could oil the springs but the springs are pretty oily/mucky already, easily attract dust and I don't want them even more sticky.
Ultimately, nothing beats cast iron.
Oh, I started using my powerball again just for fun while waiting for videos to render. Christ, you get forearm pump from it if you hit it hard!
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