Episode 5, Training Equipment
We learned from last week’s episode that the ideal training for your best years is a hybrid one i.e., a mixture of strength and endurance. This gives room for plenty equipment. We will have a closer look at what is available, what can be useful and what is complete nonsense. Note that this is my personal opinion and has no objective evaluation. Please feel free to get in touch (rocketenterprises24@gmail.com (Opens in a new window)) whether you agree or not and what kind of equipment you have in use!
The two big areas I touched during my physical “career” are jogging and strength training. When it comes to jogging, there is a whole market for equipment. By the way- when I write equipment, I don’t mean what you really need. It is beyond any discussion that you need appropriate shoes when you are jogging. What I mean by using the term equipment is the optional stuff. I remember two things I used to have. The first one looks like pretty much like Tim Tailor’s tool belt. It came with six small water bottles to keep the weight distributed evenly. Unfortunately, they tasted like plastic really badly even after a few round in the dish washer. But the belt also had a zipper for an energy bar which was so important when I started jogging and was fighting my way all four kilometres nonstop. The second thing I used to have was a belt for my upper arm to carry my smartphone. It was crucial to keep the distance between your device and your eyes as close as possible since bluetooth headphones were not state of the art. Additionally, no one liked to carry a smartphone in your pocket while running.
When it comes to strength training, there is one It-Piece I always used: Bandages for my wrists. I had the opinion that rough hands are manly and hence cool, so training gloves were not an option. But bandages were something different. Nowadays I must smile when I think of myself sitting in the gym and preparing my max. 60kg bench-press by putting on wrist-bandages. But hey, safety first! It actually is quite astonishing that no one ever spoke to me about it.
I don’t use any of this equipment today. I wouldn’t say that using equipment is unnecessary in general, but I realized that I don’t need it to achieve my goals and follow my training plan. What I need instead is a routine that works for me and a vision that keeps me going.
I hope you had some flashbacks to whatever stuff you used to train with. Next week we will round off our little health and fitness series by looking at how you should train in your prime years.
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