How can you improve the humble Ab Wheel? Everlast thought they'd come up with the 'killer' tweak - the quignog; give it an eccentric handle/axle. Sounds great actually looks good too. (On the left in photo)

It promises to give that extra stretch at the end of the motion - which it does. Is this really desireable though - that little bit extra at full stretch may sound tempting but due to being at the extreme end of ROM, this is uncontrollable.

It's not too bad if you're fairly strong and only doing rollouts from the kneeling position, start from the 'pike' position though and you tempt ending in the danger zone.

Reading this you probably think I've a horror story to tell; you're right I do, but it's not the "...went too far, lost control and ripped my abs of the bones and blewout my shoulders..."

Nope, my story starts at the start. In the pike position. We laugh everytime I recant the tale...

Pike start position.

Slowly ease weight onto wheel.

Blam! - Both the wheel and my arms set off backwards towards my feet, through my legs (the offset wheel 'took control')

Class one face plant, solid drop to the knees, wrists grazed, neck and mid/lower back jarred & injured. Over a year later I am still troubled by the 'clicky' neck and slightly stiff back.

TF it wasn't one of my Boxers, but the worst thing is that I've had to start back on kneeling rollouts.

You've been warned!

then promptly falling off in, ahm!, 'the fall.' Especially good if it's a bough of Ash. It doesn't have to be half a tree in size - take this replacement rower handle - from a reasonably small 'dog stick.' Fashioned by my good friend TJS on the ol' lathe.

(40mm Dia. x 380mm Lg)

All in all, a really good 'green' alternative  for the stock steel handle, giving a better feel both on the grip and best of all - in the pocket!

following on from the kettlebell mini slosh pipe and 'that' whole stability thing - one of the most overpriced pieces of kit around has to be the weighted vest. Homemade versions invariably centre about plates 'n' webbing; until now.
Some say it's two 'n' a bit inch dia. capped tubing, 4 front and back, horizontally laid, that they're sewn onto an old Status Quo denim jacket with two inch webbing, and that it's wearers only come out under the cover of darkness... We know it as The Sloshvest.


Get sloshed!

Y'know when you see something and instantly think
...sweet. The mini-gripper that is, unless you're a cagophilist!
David Horne's site has them for sale along with some great "commercial" homemade gear and it's top quality to boot. Take a look and be inspired. (Homemadegymstuff favourite)

Okay - I've admitted that I am cheap, but I'm not easily bought. So imagine my surprise when I received a pair of Rotaters in the post!
Now Rob had had his for a couple of weeks prior - but I'd resisted trying it out, in fact I hadn't even seen it. In the interim the 'woody' was being used not just by myself, but also by Dave (40something-business mogul/boxing coach), Nath (21y.o. - MMA nut) and even Tony (aka. 'Rusty') had a go. We were all still reaping the benefits when the 'instigators' arrived.
Simple, elegant & stylish - we love 'em. Dave's shoulders feel better than ever, Nath now has increased ROM/flexability and my glued-up-mouse-shuffling-key-pushing shoulders are rejuvenated. Along with strengthening the cuff muscle with the strong-arm band, the delts now have three distinctive heads and the shoulder girdle as a whole is much more free. Loving it! (note if you're gonna 'go at it' with the strongarm - radius off the corners of the slot, or you'll end up having to replace the thera band real soon... still beats the shoulderhorn hands down.)
Now the first response from Dave was that it was a bit flimsy. I would have agreed with him except for the fact that if the real Rotater was as rigid as the Homemadegymstuff 'woody' then more people would injure their shoulders than fix 'em. The 'give' in the frame affords some feed back, a warning if you like that you're trying to force the stretch too much. After several sessions Dave now also welcomes this inherent design feature. Here's my new best friend - me ol' timer, set at 20 seconds for that (for me) perfect stretch. Yes you could 'watch the clock' but a bleep allows you to concentrate much better. The mkII could incorporate one into the handle, with LEDs for the hard of hearing?

Sorry I lied, Dave is still 'me bestest mate'

So a heartfelt 'Thanks' goes out to two great guys, Chris & Scott for their generosity and dedication not only to the health of the rotator cuff but to the health of 'er in doors' too.

Just one more request via Nath, can you invent a version for the legs...

*Busted display curtisay of my niece. Mmm shame it's still working - I could have used it as an excuse to go buy a Gymboss...

Last saturday was a 'home alone' scenario - so out came the '300' DVD and the ol' X-Bike. Trouble is this bike is set-up for the mass market ie those that would amble along at three mph for twenty minutes; the dead simple solution is to wedge 'something' in the joint/pivot to increase the seat/peddle angle so that it better resembles a normal bike.Voila! the ubiquitous snap-karabiner steps upto the plate.

And for it's loyal contribution along the ride (1600 Kcals) it deserves an arty photo too.

All-in-all, this little mod has made cardio less arduous (technically phrased as numb-nuts) and cost practically nowt to boot.

It's not new by any means, but if you're having trouble finding a pool noodle - and have a reasonably soft medicine ball (or kiddies football) rolling around; why not give Yamuna Body Rolling a go...
"WHAT IS YAMUNA BODY ROLLING™? It's Health, Fitness & Massage rolled into one!
Yamuna Body Rolling™ is a revolutionary approach to health and fitness using balls designed exclusively for this practice. It consists of a series of routines using 6 to 10-inch balls. Unlike other ball exercises, YBR goes far beyond random movement and stretch. It allows you to work specific muscles in detail, to create suppleness in tight areas and optimize range of motion.
Yamuna Body Rolling™ reeducates muscles and stimulates bone, creating positive, permanent changes in the body.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Yamuna Body Rolling works the way a hands-on practitioner works -only using a ball. The ball replaces hands as it moves on muscles to stretch them, dislodge tension and discomfort, increase blood flow, and promote healing.
Lying over the ball, you literally roll your body out almost like dough, stretching and elongating your muscles. The YBR routines follow specific sequences that match the body's own logic and order. Starting where each muscle begins, at its origin, you roll toward where it attaches to the point called its insertion".

So there you have it, it won't cost ya a penny to try but could save a lot more. (and no! I shan't be posting a pic of my balls)