Sports Around The World

Blog

  1. Home
  2. Blog

All Blog Posts

Should You Build a Home Gym?
22 Apr 2021
Colleen Byrd 0

Should You Build a Home Gym?

Building a home gym is such a great idea, especially during this difficult time. The home gym has various different benefits that you should know. For example, by building a home gym, you will save tons of money from an expensive gym membership. Plus, actually getting to the gym also costs time and money. However, your home gym will be there whenever you need, with no expense, practically no time to reach. 

The idea of a home gym is a nice one for sure. But it is not for everyone. You may want to build your own home gym, but it is easier said than done. Before actually making the decision, you will have to consider a lot of things including where and how will you build the gym. After you’ve built the gym, it is obvious that you will save money, but building the gym is a costly process. There is a whole process of planning, designing, building, and so on. But don’t get scared. To convince you better, here are 5 reasons for owning a home gym.

Overall, the decision of whether or not you should build the home gym is completely up to you and your situation. Personally, I 100% recommend you try building your own one. It might seem like a daunting process at first, but you can always start small. To give you a little more detailed guidance, below are some tips for building your own home gym on a budget.

Grab your essential equipment 

After all, what is a gym without any pieces of equipment? You might be imagining huge, and heavy equipment you see at your previous local gym. However, if you are planning to build your gym on a tight budget, you do not have to buy hugely expensive pieces of equipment at all. 

You should first ask yourself what type of workout you will be focusing on most of the time. For me, I enjoy yoga and a little walking. So in my case, a treadmill and a yoga mat seem sufficient. If you haven’t thought about the equipment, I suggest you go for a treadmill, a mat, exercise hand weights, resistance bands, and lastly maybe a foam roller for massaging your muscles. Pretty simple, huh? Generally, think about your workout steps and find the best equipment for them. Another great idea is to get multipurpose equipment if you are planning to save money on those. 

Check out cheaper marketplaces

Everyone wants brand new, high-quality expensive equipment to fill their gym. However, you should check out cheaper marketplaces if you really strive to save money. Sometimes, it is the best idea to get some second-hand equipment. But you don’t have to buy every piece of equipment from second-hand stores. To save money, I suggest you buy the huge and costly equipment from second-hand stores. 

The best websites you should check out are Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay online. An offline great store could be Target for small-sized pieces of equipment like exercise hand weights and resistance bands. To add more comfortable furniture to your space, check out this website: https://ottomans-shop.com/bed/fold-out/

Personalize the space 

I don’t know how much space you are dedicating to your home gym. It is true that bigger is better, but size really doesn’t matter. You could build your home gym in your garage, basement, empty room that you don’t use much, or it is even okay to dedicate a little corner of your room for a gym. 

Wherever you’re building the gym, try to make the most out of the place. You will be exercising there regularly, therefore, make it your favorite place to go. Place some Bluetooth speakers, motivational posters, a mirror, a place for your towels and water bottles, and so on. It could be also a good idea to put up a TV. You can listen to a workout playlist on youtube or watch exercise videos. 

Overall, I believe you should build a home gym if you actually want to. Plus, don’t forget to consider whether you have space and budget for it. 

Working Out While Working?
16 Mar 2021
Colleen Byrd 0

Working Out While Working?

You might be wondering if it is possible to work out or exercise while working. Killing two birds with one stone is a time saver and give you important hour of the day to do something that matter to you. Going to the gym can be a hassle for some people. First you have to sign up for a membership at a gym. Not only that, but you waste a lot of time going back and forth between your home and your gym.

In such cases it might be better to have a home gym, but nonetheless you have to get dressed, work out, shower, and drive back home, which can take more than 2-3 hours of your time during the day. However, what if you could stay in shape while saving time?

In essence you have to make being fit a part of you, or a part of who you are as a person. When you do that it does not have to feel like you are wasting time or could have spent those hours on something else.

Diet is very important

People think working out is the only solution to losing weight and staying healthy, but in truth, it’s just part of the puzzle. There are plenty of other ways that you can stay healthy without having to actually go to the gym or workout. It just requires you to have an active lifestyle that is optimized for your well being.

For example, the foods you eat will have a great impact on your weight and how good you feel. If you eat processed foods that are made out of empty calories then you can be sure to feel lethargic and weak, even gain weight. Over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese because of this specific fat. Most people think working out or exercising is the only way to maintain a healthy body, but it’s not necessarily true.

Instead of drinking soda or pop, it’s better to drink water, milk, or tea. It can save you calories and it is much better for your body honestly.

Instead of pasta, bread, or empty calories try meats, vegetables, and other essential foods that will give you energy without giving you all those calories.

In fact, you can lose weight without working out, as long as you are eating healthy foods and maintaining a proper diet with the nutrients that you will need.

Being Active While Working

Before modern day technology, we did not sit around all day staring at screens. We used to play outside, meet people, go out for a hike, or work comprised of being out and about doing something that keeps your body moving. But now a lot of people spend over 8 or so hours a day staring at a screen, which can be very healthy for not just your body, but also your spine, and back.

Which is why some offices and companies are implementing ways to keep their workers healthy by changing up the chairs with something that is healthier and also fun. Standing desk chairs for example are a great way to do work, because you are standing and more focused.

Read more: https://www.officehomeideas.com/

You could get a standing desk that has a treadmill even. You could do things while walking on a treadmill. Many people have actually said that they were more focused and were more productive with such things interestingly.

But at the end of the day what is important is that you need a lifestyle that is suited for being healthy and fit without necessarily making it hard for yourself.

Level Up Your Fitness With This Backpack!
2 Feb 2021
Colleen Byrd 0

Level Up Your Fitness With This Backpack!

When you are working out and into fitness, you will need a backpack that is suited for both every day use and something that will help with your fitness goals. It needs to be big enough but also light enough for you to put your equipment and gym clothes in.

American Gunner is actually having a special promotion with the evatac free backpack! You can get one for free from their website if you pay shipping and handling costs. While it may not be a premium backpack, for day to day use it is perfect and has many uses for it. You do have to pay for shipping, but it is worth the cost to get a decent backpack that is almost 50 or so dollars in value.

In most places like Walmart and Amazon, you will find similar backpacks that cost around the 40-50 dollars but actually are not that different from what they are offering.

Besides for fitness use, you can also use it as a school backpack, so for college students or just people who are short on cash, it might be an opportunity to get a good deal.

How Big Is It?

It’s not that different from a normal sized backpack. For normal people who need some space for laptop, clothes, books, etc, it should be plenty enough to fit your things inside it.

If however, you are looking for a gym bag, then maybe a duffel bag might be something to consider. I found this evatac free hybrid duffel bag as well that may be better for gym use.

There are plenty of compartments, and if you prefer you can actually change it into a traditional backpack with the shoulder straps so it’s a cool feature. Besides that, the bag is ventilated so your shoes and gym clothes won’t smell as bad when you open your backpack.

Why Is It Free?

It’s probably to get their brand name out and a way to do PR campaign for their business. By supporting people in such times, it builds good will and reputation and some trust between customers. They don’t just sell backpacks, American Gunner also has offers for plenty of other fitness and outdoor equipment.

Is It Good for Travel / Day to Day Backpack?

If you are looking for backpack that is larger for backpacking around the world, then you will need a different design because it’s not large enough, but day to day use, it’s alright. It is pretty light and portable so you can fold it into your suitcase when you are traveling and use it when you need to go hiking or outdoor activities.

It should be large enough to fit things that are required for 1-2 day excursion out into nature.

But make sure to try out their offer!

Get Offer
Lifting Regimes
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Lifting Regimes

When it comes to lifting weights people have different routines and different exercises they like to perform. While muscle mass certainly looks good on a man, I like the muscles to be at least functional and of use, otherwise it’s a waste of a lot of good mass.

Of course being muscular can help you life more weights, however, I believe fitness should be the goal when it comes to looking good. Here is a routine I really like and recommend for people who are seeking strength and functionality.

THE 5 x 5

If you haven’t heard of the 5×5 you might be new, but it’s a pretty good routine to hit all of your body major muscle groups. Of course it won’t make you huge or take you to the elite level, but if you are starting out, it’s a good routine to build overall body mass and strength.

The Benchpress. 

What’s a good routine without the bench press? A good indicator of your strength is if you can life 1.5x your bodyweight. So for example, if you are 150 pounds, you would be considered pretty strong if you can bench 225 lbs for your maximum weight. However, we are not going for PRs. So take your time and have a good feel for when you think you are ready to perform a set.

You are not trying to max out reps or anything, but do lift 70% of your maximum weight 5 reps. Take as much time you need for the recovery. Remember we are going for overall strength, so it’s better to rest more. Once you feel ready that you recovered, do another set of 5 reps until you hit 5 sets total.

The Squat.

I must admit I hate doing squats and that’s probably why my legs are not as toned and developed as I would like them to be, but without the squat you are missing the major leg muscle groups. No amount of leg press, hamstring curls, and quad exercises can beat the squat.

You want your back to be as straight as possible when performing the sets, otherwise you are setting yourself up for injury. Imagine your spine being attached to a wooden stick on your back and that you are not able to bend it. That’s how your back should be and you should try to as far as you can go down with proper form. “Ass to the grass” baby.

The Deadlift.

The deadlift is one of those exercises that can greatly benefit you or destroy your back; you have to be careful with the exercise. If you don’t have the proper form and good warmup, you can hurt your body in the long run and wear your spine over the long run.

I recommend sumo deadlifts as they don’t require your back to bend as much compared to the traditional deadlifts. Simply place your feet wide apart and grip the barbell and pull.

Those 3 compound movements should be enough, but if you want to look into some of the other minor exercises, check out: https://www.t-nation.com/training/reg-parks-5×5-program

Losing Gains When Travelling Around
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Losing Gains When Travelling Around

For the past few months I’ve been remote working from Mongolia since I happen to be a digital Nomad. The language is interesting and a bit tough but I’ve been getting by with basic phrases and broken Mongolian and some people do happen to be good at English.

If you’re trying to learn the Mongolian language my only advice is to speak it  as much as you can animate yourself in the courtroom and the people.  There are many great resources out there for those of you who are interest in the Mongolian and culture and language.

Anyways, you might be wondering whether you lose a lot of muscle when you travel around different countries and take time off. I am going to be giving some of my advice and some of my experiences with that.

The thing you have to remember with muscle growth is that you have to put strain and pressure on your muscles and break down the muscles in order to build them in order to make them bigger. You need time to rest and you need to relax once in a while, so going on a vacation is not bad once in a while for your gains. However, there is one thing to keep in mind.

If you take too long from working out, your muscles will start to atrophy after 2-3 weeks since those muscles will no longer be needed for your body. The beautiful thing about the body is that depending on your circumstances depending on environment and the strain and pressure you put on it, it adapts to that situation and it adapts to that demand.

So while you still need time to recover and for your muscles to regenerate and grow if you take too long time off if you take more than in my experience 2 to 3 weeks you start to lose muscle you and start to lose gains.

If your vacation happens to be a week, then there’s nothing to worry about because a week is a really good time for the body to rest and recover. You might be familiar with the term tapering. Tapering is essentially taking 1-2 weeks off to rest and allow your body to get adjusted to less vigorous and less intensive workouts so that you can perform better in you competitions.  I myself happened to shave 3 seconds off my 50m freestyle sprint in swimming.

For those of you happen to be taking long time off from working out and maybe going on a mini retirement vacation from working out, the truth is that you’re going to lose gains if you don’t work out and if you don’t exercise.  If you happen to be eating more than usual as well then yes you’re going to be putting on fat and losing muscle as a side effect of overeating.

The things that you can do in order to negate the effects of muscle loss and cardiovascular health is to exercise regularly while you travelling obviously. Of course if you have a local gym where you can work out while travelling, that’s the best solution, to keep on working out.

If there is no way for you to join a gym or no way to get weights and lift weights then you can try calaesthetics which is using your own bodyweight to keep in good shape.  Obviously compared to lifting weights you not going to be as big but still you’re being good shape and be fit.

So that’s just my experience in what I would have to say about the topic of travelling and maintaining your health and physique.

Best Cardio Workouts
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Best Cardio Workouts

I like to advocate things that are easy and fun. It does not always have to be something you don’t enjoy so you can do things that you like besides the ones listed below.

RUNNING

Humans have been running since the dawn of time. Without being able to run, humans wouldn’t have become the top species on the food chain. What’s interesting is that scientists have determined that we are not necessarily on top of the food chain because we are the fastest runners, but because we had the endurance to run long distances. Your average homo sapien could run for a few miles without a breeze.

There is something called the runner’s high that you must experience for yourself. Once you get into a rhythm and a state of perfect harmony, your head becomes so clear that you forget all your worries and regrets fade away. Literally it feels like walking on sunshine and rainbows when you get into that zen like state.

SWIMMING

If you have always enjoyed being in water, swimming is the exercise for you. Swimming allows you to burn calories while building muscle. You still have to perform weightlifting exercises to build significant amounts of muscle, but with swimming you will be able to at least tone them and acquire a more fit physique without lifting weights.

Going to the swimming pool with friends is always fun way to spend your time, but if you are serious about swimming, it’s advised to do a few laps around the pool. A good workout session of 40-50 minutes will burn 500-600 calories, which is more effective than running and other types of activities.

CYCLING

Cycling is a great exercise for multiple purposes. You will get toned and strong legs as result while saving the environment. We’re not talking about stationary bikes or spinning as you call it; we’re talking about actual bicycles that you pedal. During the summer time, it’s the best way to travel back forth between places while staying in shape. An hour of cycling can burn you anywhere between 400-600 calories per hour depending on your weight. The breeze on your face is always a nice added bonus as well.

WALKING

And of course, you have walking. It’s easy, not much effort needed, but the people forget how the smallest things can make a big difference in our lives. Walking can shave that extra weight off if you make it into a habit. Compared to the old days, we drive everywhere, we sit, we watch tv; leaving very little room for the most simplest things such as walking between different places, and standing.

An hour of a brisk walk can burn a few hundred calories, and you need to be in 300-500 calorie deficit to lose ~1 lbs of fat per week. So think about it! Consistent habit of walking could actually make a big difference in your life. It’s so simple yet, we overlook very easy and simple things.

Is Lifting Everyday Healthy?
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Is Lifting Everyday Healthy?

You might be wondering if lifting everyday is healthy for you. Well it depends on what you are trying to do. If you are lifting to lose weight and burn some calories, it can be a great way to lose weight, however, if you are doing it to build muscle you got to be very careful when it comes to it.

Why you shouldn’t lift everyday

Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t lift everyday.

  1. If you are trying to build muscle
  2. If you are trying to get in shape
  3. If you don’t eat enough

Why you should lift everyday

Here are the reasons why you should lift everyday

  1. If you are taking enough supplements
  2. If you are doing lightweights
  3. If you plan on losing weight. 

So depending on your circumstance and situation, the answer may vary. It mostly comes down to your goals and what you hope to accomplish. If you are looking to relax and get some light exercise in, lifting lighter weights is great for keeping some muscle tone and keeping the extra pounds off.

When you are trying to build muscle, going all out everyday is not very smart. If you must, only work one muscle group each day.

Competitive Sports For A Successful Life
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Competitive Sports For A Successful Life

People mostly live mediocre lives well because they don’t know how to push themselves. However, through sports one is able to push themselves to their limits. It’s a discipline that people learn and it’s a gift that we all should appreciate.

People mostly think that sports are a matter of physical fitness, but no it is a mental test as well. Your mind is the deciding factor whether you will accomplish what you set out for yourself.

The people who want it badly enough are usually the ones to accomplish great things in life. So if you are looking for motivation and need to discipline yourself, pick out a sport and stick with even when things get tough. Only then will you be able to get yourself in the right mental state.

Becoming The Best You Can Be
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

Becoming The Best You Can Be

Becoming the best you can be sounds easy on paper but it is one of the most difficult things to actually do in life. Before we know it, we end up just going with the flow and not care where our decisions and actions are taking us. That is why you see a lot of people with serious faces, doing serious things, and talking serious.

If you have read The Little Prince, it beautifully illustrates how many of us fall into the trap of other people’s expectations. Whether it is accumulating wealth, working for someone else, love, etc. It scarily shows the flaws in today’s society.

HOW TO GROW STRONGER

If you really want to grow stronger and make an experience for yourself, you HAVE to listen to yourself more. I am not saying you should take out a huge loan that will encumber you for the rest of your life to start a business, but I am saying to take small actions one at a time. What do you actually have to lose by listening to yourself more?

Do you have friends that put you down, but you are too afraid to be lonely and trying to fit in? Find better friends and associate yourself with people who life you up. Is your spouse or significant other always saying hurtful things that affect your life? Take ownership and fix what you can, otherwise leave it can’t be fixed.

You have choices and you have options more than you think! It’s easy to follow what others say and what others do, because you have something to blame if things don’t work out at least. However, it’s harder to actually walk your own path when everyone is telling you otherwise. Take control of your life and realize that you have more power than you think!

FIND ROLE MODELS

The first part of the process is finding role models; people who you aspire to be like, someone who you respect. It can be someone you personally know in life, or someone you know of through Youtube, Books, History; it does not matter. For me it has always been Elliot Hulse. His videos are powerful and insightful. He built his life from the ground up with nothing, so he knows what he is talking about.

Once you find role models, listen the fuck up! What are some things they are doing in their lives that you could be doing? What is something that you could emulate from them? Are the things applicable in your life? Learn and learn from people you admire and take action!

WALKING YOUR OWN PATH

When you want to walk your own path, do something that has never been done before, or go against the cultural norm, people will think you’re crazy, too much of a dreamer, and sometimes even not good enough. However, what they say and do is only a reflection of who they view themselves to be and no one will do or say things to you unless you accept it.

What I mean is as long as you tolerate bullshit people in your life, bullshit come your way. You can walk away if you really so choose. At first people will mock you, try to put you down, but once you succeed, everyone wants to be your friend. Pick and choose your friends carefully!

Walking your own path does not guarantee you will succeed but at least you will know you fucking tried and made and experience for yourself rather than living someone else’s version of their experience. Your life is yours and only yours. Make good use of it.

New Age Of Fitness
31 Dec 2020
Colleen Byrd 0

New Age Of Fitness

I’ve been physically active and health conscious since I can remember. When I was a kid, I used to play sports with my neighbors and joined my school sports teams, but I never was able to join professional clubs or specific teams that could aid in my growth and betterment in sport.

A trend I am noticing lately are apps that allow you to join gyms, sports clubs, seminars,etc instantly from your phone via an application. Check out: http://onefit.mn. It’s really cool what they are doing in Mongolia, a small developing country. Despite being behind in infrastructure and technology, they are developing mobile apps that are pretty useful.

Even in Europe it’s HARD to find applications that will show me nearby gyms, pools, dojos, etc and book a session without any contracts. Yes there are Meetups, Google Maps, but they don’t have the feature to schedule a training session or something like that easily.

However, I think we are coming to a new age in fitness and sports. See: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2485287,00.asp for top fitness applications, although they are a little different from the one above. People are starting to realize that more and more people are using their phones to find services and what not, so I’ve been seeing more developed Facebook pages and websites out there.

THE FUTURE

I think soon enough in the future, applications like onefit will become more common in other countries. I happened to stumble across it by accident, but I am sure there are more out there like it or applications in the works somewhat similar to it. My predication is that we’ll have wealth of information that we can choose from to make decisions.

The benefits obviously are finding centers that are close to you and being able to make decisions on the go without wasting time on finding more information through calling people and what not. Time is one of the most important things in life, and being able to manage it well is very important.

The flexibility these kinds of apps provide are also a great if you think about it! Some days I am just dead tired and other days I feel like I don’t need any sleep. Being able to log in and schedule a service feels like it allows people to do activities that are relaxing. Hopefully I will be able to download an application similar to it in my hometown.