At one time I could only lift in my tiny apartment. There wasn't a single door frame there capable of holding a pullup bar without being destroyed (one valiantly sacrificed itself in order to save the others). Upon research, I found out there was a bench that could actually hold a pullup bar, and Coop said it worked pretty well. I found the Super Bench Pro on marketplace with the pullup, dip, and decline attachments for only $200. It absolutely killed it as a modular pullup station in the time I needed it for that. As a bench for pressing though, it's hit or miss. I've come to learn more about the company NICKEL-AND-DIMEMASTER over the years as I've now put more than $200 back into the bench. It came with the Pro pad with the double widths, but it was pretty stiff and not very grippy. The hybrid grippy pad that now exists is much, much better and mandatory if you don't have it. The thicker seat pad also helps the seat attachment, which I think works better than people give it credit for. I also got the grippy decline roller attachments to replace the disgusting open cell foam that feels like a sweaty sponge on your legs. I had to buy a 3D printed attachment from etsy to stand it up without wearing out the pad; this was before Ironmaster finally came out with one. Funny to think previous versions charged extra for a handle and wheels, each sold separately! All told, I do think it does one thing better than all adjustable benches to this day: decline work. The bench is totally flat with no seat; perfect for decline situps, hanging upside down, decline bench, etc. For the price I got it for, it'll always have a place, though I am excited to get a better dedicated flat bench.

The Power Twister as a concept dates back to the '30s and the birth of spring resistance exercises. It's hard to believe, but we've been debating resistance curve profiles for over a century. I couldn't afford a York Krusher so I decided to get one of these and loved it so much I got several more. There are many of these types of imported twisters for sale on Amazon but I'd go with these. I have the 30kg, 40kg, 50kg, and 60kg twisters. The 30kg and 40kg make for a nice light pump in the highest rep ranges (20+). The 50kg is a main workhorse and you can work hard to get your 15-20 reps. When my bench press was in the mid-to-upper 300's, I could get 10-12 reps on the 60kg. I'm curious about the 80kg and 100kg but I believe reviews that says they require titanic strength. Spring resistance is no joke! They say there's DOZENS of exercises you can do with these but all of them are terrible except two: the power twister fly and the power twister pec deck fly. For the fly, hold your arms out straight, but not locked out, and bring the twister ends together with it arcing up or down. The more you point your arms up, the more chest you recruit; the more you point your arms down, more lats. For the pec deck fly, just imagine you're on a classic pec deck and hold it with your elbows bent, the arc of the twister going right above and behind your head. I like to make sure the top of the bend is right above the back of my head. Now bring your elbows together and feel the pec burn without the big, bulky machine. Awesome for pressing warmups, some idle pumps at your office desk, very fun. The handles are sized just right to get Fat Grips on them too, which adds serious forearm work to the mix. However, you should ALWAYS use the safety straps over your hands (even with the Fat Grips by running the strap through the little slit in the grip) because these can and do slip out of your grip and will do so very violently. Keep your teeth! I do wish this strap was more robust.

From Alabama with love! Hi-Temp plates are tried and true for a reason: they work and hold up to serious abuse. Don't convince yourself you need expensive, thinner bumpers unless for some reason bumper plates are the only plates you're going to get or you compete in Olympic weightlifting. I use iron plates for deadlifts and my Olympic bar holds enough Hi-Temps and change plates for Lasha Talakhadze to repeat his all-time world record snatch of 490.6 lbs if he ever stops by. Wider bumpers also absorb shock better and resist breaking at the hub, where all bumpers break. These Rogue US-MIL spec plates even have a 15 lb. option, which means you can avoid ever buying the fragile, doomed-from-birth, 10 lb. bumper (the 35 lb. plate of the bumper world).

Very few pieces of gym equipment are more polarizing than the original, the rotating, and the GREATEST adjustable dumbbell: the loadable handle. Yes it's hard to stay humble when you see people debating the warranties of their cutting edge, credit card funded units that only go as heavy as an Econo Lodge hotel gym while you smoothly snatch and one-arm overhead press a truly Circus Maximus-sized load stacked with 25's. But if there was a downfall to this concept from the 1920s to today, it's painfully impaling your thighs while getting into position to bench press. Well Abmat has solved this problem entirely with the loadable dumbbell cushions. They stick on tight, weigh some imperceptibly small amount, and protect your precious quads from the demands of your hungry pecs as you kick the dumbbells up. If you have two pairs, you can even be fancy and put them on both sides, letting you converge as you press and bonk them together easier. If your handles are smaller and you're wondering if you'd have room after plates and collars, they will still work because they need just a bit of the edge to stay stuck on, not the entire depth of the cushion. As a side bonus, they are stable enough that you can leave them on and store your unloaded handles vertically when not in use.

Like the Greek god Prometheus, Mark Bell brought the fire of the Slingshot to mere mortals and was punished harshly. His punishment is having to explain, over and over again for the rest of his life, what the Slingshot is actually for and how to use it. It's not a bench shirt and doesn't really replicate one. It's not an ego lifting device, though it certainly works for that. It is very simply accommodating resistance for the bench press in the same way a reverse band would be, only it also keeps your elbows and shoulders positioned correctly while doing so. I like that the stronger models of the slingshot are named after one of his brothers (except the one named after cold hard cash, the fruits of the Slingshot). Full Boar is named after his brother Chris, Mad Dog after his brother Mike. The Full Boar has angled sleeves which makes it stretch differently across the chest sooner and more gradually. I've had the regular Slingshot too but I like this one better. I like finishing my bench sets for the day, throwing on another 50 or 60 lbs and then doing a couple sets with the Slingshot for some overload. The value is kind of low because this model is really for heavy benching only. That said, the Slingshot has two secret fantastic applications: pushups and dips. It gives you a little bounce at the bottom of both of those and it keeps your shoulders supported by locking your upper arms and elbows in. Especially for dips, it protects you most at the bottom where it's riskier on your shoulders. I use it pretty much every time I do pushups or dips both, especially when adding weight. A psychotic application is wearing it backwards (behind your back) and trying to do barbell curls with it; get a friend to help you put it on and try it sometime. Slingshots tend to get worn and ratty looking with years of use but they hold their tension well.