A: Look, no one said that this was going to be easy. You may need to figure out how you will be able to video yourself, you may not have immediate access to all of the required equipment or you may be busy. There may even be some financial or social sacrifice involved. The truth is that if you have an intense desire to make the most out of their gym time and riding time then you will be willing to do what is needed to commit to yourself on this level.

If you have a legitimate concern then feel free to contact me at james@mtbstrengthcoach.com and I’ll let you know if it is something that we can work around.
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A: Any commercial gym or well stocked home gym will do. There is absolutely no "specialty" equipment used in my programs. Here is a list of what you will need access to as well as a price breakdown if you wanted to start your own home gym.

Essential Equipment

Dumbells or Kettlebells: You have 2 choices with dumbbells - 1) A selection of regular dumbbells, or 2) a pair of adjustable dumbbells. If you go the adjustable route you can either go with the standard version (handles and weight plates) or you can invest in a pair of PowerBlocks. Avoid the SelecTech dumbbells as they are not very sturdy and do not seem like they will stand up to much abuse.

If you want to take advantage of kettle bells you can invest in a pair of Kettle Grips ( http://www.ironwoodyfitness.com ). Kettle Grips will replace dumbbells as well as give you some unique advantages not offered by them.

Remember that you will need a good selection of weight plates for the adjustable dumbbells or Kettle Grips. You can usually find some cheap used ones at a local fitness store for 50¢ a pound or less. Just make sure you know which size hole you need - the smaller 1 inch holes or the larger Olympic bar size holes.

Stability Ball: A stability ball will allow you to do a lot more exercises and they are relatively cheap, making them another "must have" item. You will be able to use it in place of a bench for exercises that require one and it also allows you to do some unique exercises such as leg curls. If you are under 5'10" tall you will need a 55 cm size ball and if you are over 5'11" you will need a 65 cm ball. While you can find adequate balls for around $20, I highly recommend that you invest in a Sissel brand ball http://www.sissel-shop-usa.com/sisabsprobal1.html ). They are the highest quality balls around, cost about $35-$40 and will maintain their firmness much longer than the cheaper balls.

Chin Up Bar: While mounting a bar to a door frame is still the best option, with the advent of the Door Gym you no longer need to mount hardware in a door frame for a good chin up bar ( http://www.doorgym.net ). You can pick one up for one $40 and can add a broad reach attachement to do pull ups for only $25 more. All in all, you must be able to execute chin ups if you want a good program and this allows you to do so easily.

Jump Rope: Seriously, if you don't have one, get one. It is one of the best conditioning tools ever.

Olympic Set: For around $150 you can pick up 300 pounds of weight. This is a deal that just can not be beat. Without the ability to expose your body to heavy loads like you can with barbell exercises it will be tough to get truly strong. Just make sure that you have a place to put the weight plates.

Strength Bands: These big rubber bands can be found on www.ironwoodyfitness.com and are extremely handy. They can serve as a "poor man's" cable unit for rows and pull downs (which is what I do in my facility). They are great for stretching. They can help you with assisted chin ups. They can be added to almost any strength training exercise with wonderful effect. I would recommend at least a pair of minis, super minis and smalls to start with (this is the Starter Package on Iron Woody Fitness).

Steps: Having some steps to stack up for step ups and plyometric drills are invaluable. Unfortunately, regular aerobic style steps are freakin’ expensive so most people don’t consider them for home use. I have an instructional video where I show you how to make much better steps for a fraction of the cost so you can take advantage of this great training tool.

Pricing for The Essentials
· Adjustable DBs (handles & 120# of weight) $100
· Stability Ball (Sissel) $40
· Chin Up Bar (Door Gym) $40
· Jump Rope $10
· 300 # OL Set $175
· Strength Bands (Starter Set) $75
· Steps (Materials) $50

Total: $490

Let me put this number into perspective for those of you working out at a gym – if you pay $40 a month in gym dues you will pay for this initial investment in 12 months with what you will save. If you pay $50 a month you will actually save over $100 in gym dues in the first 12 months. In other words, if you hate your gym and/ or think that it would not conducive to doing these workouts then investing in a good home gym will more than pay for itself in 12 months or less.

Now, there are 2 other pieces of equipment that fall just short of "essential" but should be considered when designing a home gym.

Extras:

Bench: A stability ball is nice but you eventually need to be able to execute exercises that require a bench on a stable surface. I recommend that you look for a bench that does not have a lot of padding and is low enough to the ground that when you lie back on it your feet can lie flat on the ground without your knees dropping below your hips. If you are going to invest in a bench get one that will incline up. This will make the bench remarkably more useful and is well worth the extra money. A good inclining bench will run you between $150 - $250.

Power Cage: You do not want the cheapest thing you can find here. Throw down at least $300-$500 for a good rack that will last you. You don’t need much in the way of extras, just a box of steel that you can use to rack your bar on when you want to get it off the ground. A good rack will also have a chin up bar as well as safety bars/ stops. This will round out your equipment and, along with the essentials, will give you a gym that can rival the true functionality any commercial gym

These are my recommendations for a home gym. Obviously there are a lot of other equipment options such as medicine balls and ab wheels but these are the basis for a solid home gym and should be addressed first.
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Q: How do you know that I won’t just join, fake everything and then rip you off at the end of the first month?

A: I don’t, but just remember that karma is a bitch. Ripping off a fellow rider who only wants to help you become a better rider and enjoy the trail more is certainly not the best way to get the universe on your side.