Find yourself dropping the ball with workouts over summer because you’re away from the gym, or on holiday with friends and family? You aren’t alone, this happens to many of us, so we’re here to help!

Here at The Fitness Depot, we understand it’s not about doing your best workouts during this time of year – you’ve been sitting behind a desk, not sleeping so much, eating and drinking all the treats – it’s all about just moving – “Motion is lotion”. Moving every day is an essential, you aren’t training to break records, you’re training for life.

Set yourself up with these 4 summer essentials to leave in your car and you’ll be equipped to workout on the go wherever you are. There are so many things you can do with these 4 pieces of equipment, there won’t be any excuses for falling off the wagon, and you’ll feel a million times better for it – especially in those first few weeks of the new year. You’ll be able to workout alone in a park, or set up a circuit with your friends and family.

A number of our staff take these things on the road with them over the summer, and they love it. They’re having fun and set up to MOVE wherever they are. We’ve included the 4 essential pieces of equipment, why they’re great, and a selection of exercises you can do with each.

1. Kettlebell

A great tool to do almost anything and everything with – focusing on strength, cardio, and core.

A handful of exercises are kettlebell swings, goblet squats, or the clean. You could get creative and make it as hard as you like. An example is performing two swings, two squats, two cleans, and two presses – that’s one component (linked exercises).

We have a range of kettlebells in stock, in competition, Cast Iron, and Vinyl options – check them out online here.

 


2. Resistance Bands

Who doesn’t love a good resistance band? A simple and effective way to maintain strength over summer. For the resistance band, we’d recommend one that isn’t particularly thick, a 15mm band would suffice.

Everyone has slightly different ways of naming this – it’s our light XS band at TFD.

Bands are a great way to warm up for any exercise, whether you’re on the road, or training regularly.

What can you do with resistance bands?

- Warm-up

- Cool-down

-Strength training – assisted push-ups, pull-ups, rows, squats, Monster walks.

- Hip thrusts, utilizing a bench or post

- Sprints– wrap the band around a pole

- Pallot press

All that sort of good stuff.

Check out the images below for some workout inspo with a resistance band.


3. Dumbbells

A pair of dumbbells will never go a miss while you’re out and about. A set of dumbells creates a bit more variety for your training and they’re smaller than a kettlebell. We recommend you choose a lighter set than you normally would, it just means you do more reps – a lighter weight means they’re smaller, more universal to carry with you, and anyone could use them!

You can do push-ups off them, bent over rows, shoulder work – the options are endless.

If you’re going on a hike with the family, chuck a dumbbell in your backpack. This is one of the simplest ways to add a bit more load and tick that workout box for the day.

Some great exercises are Bicep curls, Bent-over reverse flys, weighted lunges, rows.


4. Aerobic Deck

The most expensive piece but it makes it so much easier to hit different angles because we all know there are only so many push-ups and squat variations you can do. Having an aerobic deck is great for performing Unilateral opposite loaded movements – step-ups, box squats, benching, burpees jumping over the bench.

You can lie down and perform one-arm dumbbell presses to work your core, or sit up and do some dumbbell curls.

Our Komodo deck is smaller than the average suitcase with dimensions: L 110 x W 34 X H 20/35CM, making it super easy to put it on the bottom of the boot and load your gear on top of it. Check it out here.

The numbers.

Because we know what you’re thinking – how much do these things cost?

8KG Vinyl Kettlebell $44.00 Shop now
Resistance Band 22mm $10.00 Shop now
8KG Dumbbells x 2 $96.00 Shop now
TOTAL: $150.00
   
Aerobic Deck $350.00 Shop now
TOTAL COST INCL DECK: $500.00

Got your timing sorted?

Don’t worry, we do!

It’s helpful if you’re running a circuit or looking to do bursts of high intensity to have a good timer. These apps are recommended and a good place to start if you don’t have one installed!

 

  • Interval Timer — a functional app that’s designed for the fitness enthusiast. Regardless of whether you’re hooked on HIIT or smitten with circuit training, Interval Timer is just for you!
  • Tabata Stopwatch Pro is one of the best interval workout apps both for iOS and for Android. Despite the fact that the app is almost completely free, it contains a huge amount of useful features. You can use it for HIIT, kettlebells, running, bodyweight exercises, and a lot more.
  • Circuit Training Timer Lite– designed to coach your workouts so you can focus on actual training without staring at the watch. This timer meets the needs of amateurs as well as professionals. It was designed to be flexible and highly customisable so it can be used for all kinds of training.

Having all 4 pieces of equipment means you can set up a circuit with friends. One on the bench, someone with the bands, another doing kettlebell work and keep rotating around!

Shop online at thefitnessdepot.co.nz to view all our fitness equipment.