Some
weight lifting accessories and attachments are must-haves.

Some are optional.

Some are a waste of money.

In this video I’ll guide you through the accessories I’m using at the moment and also show you some attachments I’m using too.

Watch the video first, then I’ve listed the items below…

Tricep Push Down Bar with center swivel. Any V bar will do but a center swivel makes the movement flow better. Used for tricep pushdowns.

Straight Bar Cable Attachment with center swivel. Again, the center swivel will create a smoother, more consistent resistance throughout the full range of motion. Using this mostly for cable preacher curls.

EZ spinlock Curl Bar. My curl bar isn’t spin-lock but I still have control over the exact load I use.

Lifting Gloves with wrist wraps. Similar to the ones in the sidebar from Amazon. I got these from myprotein.co.uk

Spin-lock Dumbbells. I couldn’t be without these. As I’ve stated before, small progressions are absolutely essential to ongoing progressive overload. Take too big of a jump and you’ll plateau. Like I say in the video, a 5 pound increase for dumbbell bicep curls is just too much. This may not be the case for deadlifts and squats, but in smaller lifts, it’s a gain-stopper.

Ab Straps. Not at all necessary. I bought these to experiment to leg raises and to see if I could simulate the pullover machine by placing these around my elbows and attaching them to a high pulley. Results weren’t very impressive. You can simply hang from a bar to perform hanging leg raises.

Stirrup Attachment. Good for unilateral cable bicep curls and great for cable tricep kickbacks.

Lifting Straps. Always generates a debate. If you don’t want to use them, don’t. Personally, I’m not going to run the risk of terminating a set because of grip and forearm strength. I want my deadlifts to cause muscular failure in my back. And I can certainly take more load on my back than in my hands. Straps don’t eliminate the development of good grip strength, they simply ensure that it doesn’t become a “weak link” in an important movement.

Lifting Belt.

Stopwatch. You need to get scientific about your training. Guessing your rest periods is not the way to go. There’s only one way to know for sure if your progressions are really due to strength increases: time your rest between sets and keep it consistent from week to week.

Ankle Attachment. Dog chewed it up on me. I was using this for cable lateral raises. Certainly not an essential piece of kit.

0.5kg plates. 1.25lb plates.

Slippers for lounging around the house. Rest and recovery is important! You grow while you rest, not during the workout. Get comfy! 🙂

Hope that helps some of you.

Stay Motivated!

Mark