Gymstick
| In this update I thought I'd talk about a new fandangled piece
of gym gear called the 'Gymstick' from the ever innovative Finnish
people. I first saw this in Australia about 6 months ago and
thought wow how cool and then when I saw that it was being
distributed in NZ, I thought great as its a good little bit of gym
gear for those who want to workout but don't go to gym but want to
start somewhere. I think its also great for other PTs who want to take their clients outdoors and want to take some equipment with them but don't want to lug around a big gym bag! |
 Lisa and a Gymstick |
So what's a gymstick? no, its not just a dynaband on a stick!!
that's what I thought but after working
out with it on my clients, it has alot more scope than a dynaband. The 2 bands are attached to the ends of a very strong fibreglass (or something with super dooper strength) and there are loops at the bottom for you to put your feet in. Depending on what exercise you're doing you can increase the resistance on the bands to make it harder by just rolling the bar around to increase the tension. And the beauty of the Gymstick is that you don't have to change or add equipment because you can just change the tension and move the stick around your body, so you're working much faster and less time wasting...which makes for a harder workout!
You can do all sorts of things with The Gymstick that you can do
at gym. Ofcourse you're not going to get the same heavy weights but
this stick isn't really catering to the seasoned gym bunny! You can
get different band strength that gives you weight from the green
band of 1-15kg to the super heavy Gold band that can give you
weight equalling 35kg which is probably plenty for the home gym or
beginner weight trainer.
To put the gymstick to the test, I roadtested it on a some of my
'very' willing clients Kevin, Janette and Dawn to see how they
handled the weight. I used the silver and gold bands which is aimed
at the stronger end of the weight spectrum and they passed with
flying colours.
 You can go from Squat to |
 Bentover row to lunge |
 without changing equipment |
One of the things I like about the Gymstick is that it's really great for working on your core stability and balance. Because you've got the tension of bands on both sides, you really have to think about your stabilising muscles, especially when doing things like squats, lunges and side lunges you have to work twice as hard to maintain balance and control. The Gymstick's probably good for those in rehab as the stick would provide a more 'gentler' control of weight which is still challenging.
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All in all I enjoyed using the gymstick, not sure if Kevin
Janette and Dawne enjoyed the torture using it though! but the
gymstick does provide variety to training and gives different
stimulus to the muscles which is trained at different tension. I
like the ease you can go from one exercise to the other without the
hassel of changing gear. The Gymstick is convenient as you can just
carry it around with you without taking too much equipment. So if
you go for walk you can carry it to a park and do some training
there.
Gymstick classes are huge in Europe, I've been told Richard
Branson's Virgin gyms are doing gymstick classes on a grand scale
so perhaps we'll see them here in near future. Apparently you can
burn over 400 cals in one class!
 Cable flyes |
 Body Extension for core |
 Tricep extension |
Get one from Go Figure and
get a Free Starter programme valued at $65, DVD and
wallchart!
If you're interested in finding more about Gymstick or would like
to buy one, you can get one from us! And I'll design a Starter
training programme for you for free. As I said Gymstick is really
for those who want to start an exercise plan but don't want the big
investment of a gym membership. The Gymstick would be a good
starting point before you get the courage to going to the big
gym.
Also ideal for PTs who want to take one piece of equipment with
them if they want to take their clients outdoors for extra workout
and change of scenery.
For further info you can check out www.gymstick.co.nz
Click pic below to shop for
GymStick!
