The Best Equipment if You are a Fitness Professional

If you are planning on opening your own fitness studio or gym, but don’t know where to start, the first thing that comes to mind is equipment. Fitness studios vary on how much expensive equipment they have. But, this is not a quality guarantee for success. The equipment should be adjusted to the training procedures you offer.Even so, there are a couple of universal pieces of equipment which almost every studio has, and there is a reason forit.

Resistance bands

These colorful bands not only look good on Instagram videos, but are becoming more popular for the effects they provide. Depending on what muscle groups you want to engage, there are different resistance bands for arms, legs, gluteus, or abdomen. The resistance varies in pounds, but without putting any actual weight on the muscles. This is why resistance bands are great for both muscle definition and recovery, as well. They are fairly cheap and can be easily carried around. Although their use is quite intuitive, keep in mind that people who are using them for the first time might hurt themselves. A 50-pound resistance band can be dangerous for the first time.

Protective gear

People easily get hurt in the gym, especially if they don’t have enough experience with the equipment. This is whyevery gym should have some protective gear. In order to avoid injury, first you need to make sure your clients do the exercises correctly. When it comes to lifting heavy weights, surveillance for beginners is a must. Also, a good practice is to interview people about their previous injuries in order to provide them with the right protective equipment. For fighting sports, the must-have piece of gear is a wrestling mouth guard. Some mouth guards have shock absorbers and additional impact protection. It is better to have them custom made for people who practice fighting sports often. Neoprene knee sleeves serve their purpose for jumping exercises.They guard injury-prone joints and aid stability while remaining flexible. Wrist and shoulder guards can help avoid injuries such as wrists suddenly going perpendicular to your hand or dislocated shoulders.

Fitness Necessities

If you want to avoid injuries you always need to consider what kind on trainers you’re wearing. For a fitness professional it’s important to have a stable, steady shoe. When lifting dumbbells or during cross-training workouts your ankles can easily get sprained and twisted. Besides sneakers, it is also important to have sustainable shirts and bras that are not easy torn. For women sport bras are the best protective piece of clothing. Sport bras keep your breasts tight so that they don’t get in the way when you exercise. Plus - they are more practical than regular bras since they are made from special fabrics with moisture wicking properties. This feature enables sweat to transfer from the inside to the outside of the garment, leaving your skin mostly dry. Choose T-shirts made from this material, as well. Hydration is mandatory when you exercise, so water is your best friend. It is always a good idea to be practical, so when you search for drink bottles online, make sure that they are reusable and made of non-toxic materials.

Sandbags

Although an average person might think of a sandbag as just kick-box training equipment, experienced trainers consider them much more useful and powerful. Josh Henkin, a CSCS and Master RKC with more than twenty years of experience in fitness, argues that the sandbag can be the most powerful piece of equipment for fitness professional. First, sandbags are easy to use, which makes it easier for newcomers. Second, sandbags are inexpensive, and you can buy them for your own home, as well. Thirdly, sandbags have been a satisfactory piece of gym equipment for years, which is why they are still on the top of the must-have fitness gadgets. One piece of advice: when you go to buy sand, ideally, you want to buy a coarse-grained type of sand, because it exhibits a good load bearing capacity.

Stability ball

The use of stability balls has largely increased in the past decade. Although all small equipment is becoming more popular, a 2011 IDEA Personal Training Programs & Equipment Trends report shows that 90% of fitness studios have stability balls. All kind of balance equipment such as BOSU Balance Trainers, disks, wobble boards and balance boards have increased by 26%, according to this report. Why is balance equipment so popular? Sitting on a stability ball can improve stability and balance with constantly engaging the core abdominal muscles to stay upright. By strengthening your ab muscles,you protect the lower back and promote better posture. It won’t help you burn a lot ofcalories (around 32 per day), but your spine will be much thankful.

Jump rope

Jumps ropes have been there since the beginning of fitness, and are a great example of how keeping it simple can give best results. They activate almost every muscle in your body, and jumping for 10 minutes can be as effective as a 30-minute jogging session. They take up no space at all, and are not expensive, so you can have in your studio as many as you like. Jumping is good for developing hand-eye coordination, plus - jump ropes are very intuitive to use. Just make sure to have the right length so that you don’t trip over while jumping.

Most of the equipment mentioned above is widely spread throughout fitness studios all over the world and are use- friendly. Either way, always remember to give your clients detailed instructions on how to use training gadgets. A good training session is always a safe one.