10 Gadgets Every Guy Must Have

You're constantly being inundated with fitness products to strap on or step into that tout results like: ripped abs, a chiseled chest and big arms. To save you the time and money of weeding out the junk, I’ve narrowed down a list of 10 must- haves for fitness success.

If the shoe fits -- Injuries begin from the feet up. Having properly fitted sneakers will not only comfort your feet, but also stabilize your ankles, reduce impact in the knees, keep your hips aligned, reduce tension in your back and improve your posture. If your sneakers are more than six months old, it’s time to treat your feet to a new pair.

Get a properly fitted sneaker by going to a store where someone can measure your foot's length, width, and arch. If you log more than 20 miles a week running you should have a pair reserved just for running and an alternate pair for other fitness activities.

The beat goes on -- Knowing your pulse while you are training can mean all the difference in the world. If yo're not training hard enough you won’t see the same health or fitness benefits as you would training in your "zone." And, training too hard can sideline you with nausea, fatigue, achy knees, and a high heart rate. Wearing a heart rate monitor gives you an instant pulse on your intensity. Typically you should strive to work between 65 and 85 percent of your maximal heart rate.

Get on the ball -- Those oversized balls you may have seen in retail stores are for more than bouncing. Using the ball as a bench gives you a level of instability that will force you to engage more muscles and strengthen your core. You can also get a pre-stretch for your abdominal muscles that you couldn’t get performing crunches on the floor. Sit or lie on the ball and you will notice your muscles (especially your abs) having to contract to keep the ball in place. You’ll be able to conquer strength imbalances you may have never knew you had.

Get on the write track -- Journaling is key in maintaining a successful exercise program. Research shows that people who keep a fitness journal lose more weight and see more health benefits than those who don’t -- and they have better success keeping off the pounds!

Journaling will help you learn more about yourself, your habits, and daily activities, which will better equip you to make those healthy long-term lifestyle changes! Having a journal will give you a mission to stay motivated. You will be joining the ranks of athletes whose training logs and goal setting have taken them to world-class levels.

Down the hatch -- Water is your friend when it comes to fitness. You should be consuming a minimum of 64 ounces of water (8 glasses) per day and should consume even more if you are exercising heavily or are a large person. Keep a water bottle with you at all times. And don't count coffee, soda or sweetened beverages towards your water intake.

Stretch your options -- Fitness tubing (rubber tubing with handles) may look wimpy to you, but they are especially useful during travel and for targeting the smaller muscle groups like shoulders, biceps and triceps. You can get a challenging total body workout for under $30 with three different size tubes.

Big things come in small packages -- ProBell is a compact dumbbell that allows you to go from five pounds to 30 pounds at the switch of a dial. What would take up an entire wall in the gym can slide neatly under your bed. You can make fast and easy adjustments in five pound weight increments. The adjustment dial helps to simplify your workout by allowing you to add or release weights with a turn of a dial.

Get a grip -- Weight lifting gloves can save your hands from undue stress. Gripping weights can cause unnecessary tension in your fingers, hands and forearms as well as increase your heart rate and blood pressure. Gloves can keep your hands from slipping and decrease the spreading of germs. Having padding between your tender skin and the raw iron will also keep your significant other happy.

Get the skinny on fat -- If you still use an old bathroom scale, it’s time to upgrade to a more sophisticated model. Today’s scales give you not only total body weight but percent of body fat. This is especially important if you are training because you will increase your lean muscle mass and decrease your percentage of fat which may not show up on a traditional scale.

Stretching Strap -- While you certainly can stretch without a strap sometimes just having a prop for stretching will remind you to engage in flexibility exercises after your workouts. Straps are effective for total body stretching and may give you that extra inch or two that you could not achieve on your own.

This is a perfect time to put some of these items on your holiday list and start the New Year off with all the tools you need to build a buff bod.

Kelli Calabrese – MS, CSCS, 2004 Personal Trainer of the Year. Kelli is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and 20 year fitness industry leader. She is the author of Feminine, Firm & Fit – Building A Lean Strong Body in 12 Weeks. She has 23 fitness, nutrition and lifestyle related certifications and is available for personal training, online training, iPod workouts, phone coaching, grocery shopping tours, seminars and media appearances. Kelli’s personal mission is to provide individuals with the tools to make health, fitness and wellness a permanent part of their lives.

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