{TOPIC} edition

Here's this week's round up of your questions! If you want to submit your question, you can do so here:

What pull up bar is that? It's massive!

First, let's ask, is the pull up bar massive, or am I just 5 ft 1 in? 😂🫣

Second, I did specifically look for a pull up bar that was as far from the wall as I could get. This ended up being from Titan Fitness. Depending on what you need from the bar, I would take a look at the weight limit as since it's farther from the bar, the weight limit is less. If you're willing to sacrifice a few inches, there's one from Rogue that has similar dimensions, but a higher weight limit!

What equipment should I buy for a home gym? What basic home training equipment do you recommend?

It all depends on your preferences/style of training and your space.

Some people want/would benefit from a barbell and plates, others may just need rings and bands.

I've seen high level athletes with minimal weights and just some equipment for bodyweight stuff (ex rings, parallettes, bands, weighted vest. But in contrast to that, I've also seen high level athletes that have a lot more in their home gym including some legit machines.

I'd take a look at the equipment you typically use in the gym and your goals, and build a list of must haves and would be nice to haves and go from there!

Was it expensive to build your home gym?

Gym no, current house, yes 😂🫣

When I first built my home gym, I was a fresh new grad from PT school and had a very limited budget. I figured an average gym membership is about $50 (cause I'd need one that was open 24h and wanted one with a little more open space, so the super cheap ones wouldn't cut it for my needs). So if I multiplied the $50 for 2 years, that would be a total of $1200, which was my budget (but now I'm second guessing this and my have said 3 years for $1800...but I think it was 2 years - I have it written down somewhere on an external hard drive, but for this it doesn't really matter that much). Long story short, I've had the gym since 2018, so about 6 years now so even if I went over budget and spent $2000, that's less than $30 per month that I spent to set up the gym (and it's only going down). Plus, now since I have my husband, that's 2 gym memberships we're saving, so less than $30/month for 2 people since about 2020.

I prioritized things that were multi use and focused on the basics for what I wanted. I did things DIY when I could as well.

So I added DIY squat rack/salmon ladder, DIY plyo boxes which doubled as safeties for the squat rack. I got adjustable DBs off of Craigslist, a budget pull up bar and rings. I splurged on bumper plates and a barbell and figured they'd last a freaking long time (barbell has a lifetime warranty). Then I already had bands and DIY handstand canes.

I've accumulated more over the years, but those things aren't as much as a need for me personally and have more to do with my work!

What's your opinion on supplements? What supplements do you take daily?

Supplements are supplementary, they're not a replacement for proper nutrition, hydration, sleep, and volume management.

I was just talking with a client recently and they were inquiring about pre/post workout supplements as they've been more fatigued recently. They made some positive changes to their nutrition after working with a nutritionist, so it wasn't related to any nutrition changes. I asked about any changes in activity (ex new job causing them being on their feet more, etc) and there weren't any real changes there. There weren't any changes to sleep or hydration either. Training had been steady for months as well without any crazy changes.

I was about to say, it may not hurt to add a pre workout here and there, but then I asked when the last time they took a day off was... it was a few months ago.

So we decided to take it easy for a few days to a week either off the gym and just saying active with walks/light stretching or with 50% effort in the gym and see how they feel, then decide if she feels like she needs preworkout or any supplements.

Most of the time, there's something you can do from a lifestyle or training standpoint that's cheaper.

But, contrary to that, I do take supplements myself. I have a pretty good handle on the basics, but sometimes whether it's due to life, work, etc. things aren't ideal. I'm also at a level that small changes do help.

All my supplements are from Legion Athletics, which are super high quality, have dosages supported by the evidence, and only use ingredients backed by research. Here are the supplements I take daily and why:

1. Triumph - women's multivitamin - more as a mini insurance policy in case I miss a micronutrient in my diet
2. Ascend - a nootropic - to help focus/brain function
3. Biome - a probiotic - as I'm working through some gut issues. Long term this isn't something I want to take, but it's helping as I'm working through some diet/lifestyle changes
4. Ashwagandha - an adaptogen - I personally have noticed a change in mood when I take this, so this helps me with stress/anxiety (which tbh if I really wanted to could probably get medication for if I wanted, but I'd rather use this and lifestyle changes)
5. Plant+ or Whey+ - protein powder - I am not ever hungry in the mornings and having a shake helps me get the protein I need in. It's also a convenient way to help me reach my protein goals depending on what the rest of my diet looks like day to day.

If you have your lifestyle and training factors nailed down and want to try any products from Legion, use code LAURA at checkout and that will give you 20% off your first order or double rewards after that! (full disclosure, I do make a small commission when you use my code)

Tell me about handstand blocks. When should you start using them? Benefits?

Handstand blocks can be used as you are more intermediate to advanced in hand balancing. They can be used to progress to canes or as a training tool. Since they change how the fingers are vs. on flat ground, they can change the demand on your wrists to allow you to increase your overall training volume as you become more advanced. It also places your forearm muscles in a little more advantageous position (more mid range vs. end range with the fingers on the ground), which can help improve strength in that position.

This doesn't mean you should stop training on the ground though! Training on the ground is also important and will again vary the demands on the wrist from the blocks!

There are also blocks and canes that are at an incline that help change the angle of the wrist to change the forces and allow continued handstands while you can't access that range due to an injury or other reasons, but again, this will change the balance and this is a tool in your tool box, not a need to do all the time type thing!

If you're interested in building your own blocks or canes, I have a blog on how I built them here!

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That's it for this week! If you have any questions to clarify my answers or found it super helpful, go ahead and hit that reply button!

Don't forget you can ask your questions below to be featured in an upcoming email!

Best, Laura Kummerle No one is perfect, and that in itself, is perfect!

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