(Original review by Two Rep Cave)
I know that the Lebert EQualizer either sounds like a kid you would have stuffed into a locker in high school or the name of the latest Denzel movie, but it is actually a piece of workout equipment that can be quite handy. I needed something that was compact and could be used for a variety of exercises back when I only had about a 175 square foot area in my garage to train in. The Lebert EQualizer served its purpose.
Flashback a Decade Ago
I was a younger man back then with a spring in my step and hair on my head. I had just given up my gym membership along with civilization and bought a house out in the woods close to a lake. The nearest gym was nearly half an hour away from me and I wanted to stay my current size of 230 pounds with a good amount of muscle, so I went about figuring out what to include in my garage gym.
It was a roundabout way of coming across the Lebert EQualizer. I was looked for something that I could do dips with. I tried folding chairs by placing my hands on the back of them and lowering myself down. After one of the chairs collapsed and I nearly suffered a concussion, I thought I better switch tactics.
I came across the Lebert EQualizers online. While the style and colors have changed a bit on it over the years, at the time I purchased these yellow ones for about a hundred dollars.
Those scuffs on top are not from normal use – Ryan had put things on top of them, scratching them up
Allen bolts connecting the top and bottom pieces, and a nice weld on the T connection.
An older unit, as you can see from the label – May 2010. Still in decent shape, considering it’s been thrown around a lot.
Ask Not What You Can Do for the Lebert EQualizer But Ask What the Lebert EQualizer Can Do for You!
I was expecting to just be able to do dips with these things. They are made of solid metal and can probably hold up to being run over by a truck. But as I started searching on YouTube, I started realizing that there were a variety of ways to use this amazingly simple piece of exercise equipment besides just doing dips.
Push-ups
If you don’t enjoy getting down on the floor and doing push-ups or your limited mobility might prevent you from doing so, then you have an alternative with the Lebert EQualizer. There are a few ways you can do push-ups on these. You are really only limited by your creativity.
Parallel Bars
Have you ever wanted to start practicing on your very own parallel bars in hopes of someday making the Olympics? Well, that time might have passed for you, but the Lebert EQualizer basically gives you parallel bars to use at home. You could definitely work up a routine on these bars without ever having your feet touch the floor. You might want to film this routine and throw it up on YouTube just in case any Olympic trainers are searching for a new protege. If Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube, you can’t be too far behind.
Back Exercises
If you don’t have a cable crossover machine in your home gym, and most people don’t, then the Lebert EQualizer could be of assistance in doing back exercises. You can lay down on the floor underneath these things and pull yourself up just like you are doing rows or pull-ups.
Leg Exercises
I’ve witnessed a few leg exercises with the Lebert EQualizer that I would have never thought of. While a lot of them are just bodyweight exercises, there is nothing wrong with that. You can do lunges with these by having one leg up on the bar and bending your other leg until your knee touches the floor. Or you can do squats by holding one of these above your head and squatting down. These are only about ten pounds or so in weight, so they are not heavy, but they are heavy duty as they are said to support 400 pounds.
Shoulders
You can do front raises and side raises with the Lebert EQualizer. You can also do these with dumbbells, but sometimes just changing it up a little can make the biggest difference. You may also do a military press with these as well.
Abdominals
If nothing else, the Lebert EQualizer is good for improving core strength through the possible exercises you can do with this fitness equipment. Abs are often not a thing that people focus on hardcore at the gym. You seldom see people on the floor doing crunches, but who really wants to sit down on a dirty gym floor anyway as people step around you? The Lebert EQualizer will make abs fun again with the leg raises and swinging exercises that will work your arms and your core.
A Good Addition to Your Home Gym
Unless you are on the tall side, the Lebert EQualizer could be a good inexpensive addition to your home gym. I’m six feet tall and my knees come close to hitting the floor while doing dips. But on the other hand, there are exercises you can do where your height won’t affect your training. [Editor’s Note: Taller lifters should see the 31″ tall XL size] They hardly take up any room at all and can fit easily in a closet or under the bed if you want to jump on these first thing in the morning. The Lebert EQualizer is a simple, yet effective, piece of workout equipment.
Read the full article here.
Health and exercise pros advise clients to add variety to their workouts all the time—and we do our best to devise programs that meet these expectations. At the same time, however, it’s not uncommon for trainers to select the same pieces of equipment over and over because those tools are most familiar and they know what to do with them. If this sounds familiar, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and start incorporating some new equipment into your clients’ workouts.
Perhaps there are one or two items on the gym floor where you train that you normally walk past on your way to the dumbbell rack. Or maybe you use certain items occasionally, but not habitually because you don’t know much about them. This article, part one of a two-part series, will help you branch out with strength and conditioning equipment. Learn important technique tips and a short routine you can do on your own or with clients using three popular, but often-underused items: Hyperwear SandBells, battle ropes and Lebert EQualizers.
Expert Trainer: Marc Lebert, personal trainer, creator of the Lebert EQualizer bars and president of Lebert Fitness in Toronto, Ontario
Getting Acquainted: Despite their visual simplicity, the EQualizers provide dozens of variations on most common exercises, and some unique ones, as well.
“Trainers who attend our conference sessions often go in thinking the EQualizers are basically dip bars or hurdles, but they leave knowing the bars can be used for warming up, agility, compound strength moves, stretching and more,” says Lebert.
The bars, which come in a few versions and weigh between 8 and 10 pounds, are designed for body-weight training, but you can also lift them. Depending on what you do with them, the EQualizers render typical exercises either harder (e.g., place the back foot on a bar during lunges) or easier (e.g., lay the bar down to do wrist-friendly, incline push-ups or burpees).
Important Technique Tip: The bars come in a set of two, which you can use together or separately. When pairing them up, always check that you’ve got the spacing right to protect your shoulders. “Make sure the bars are never too far apart,” advises Lebert. A lot of exercises work well with the bars in a “V” position, where the bottom, stabilizing bars (called the feet) touch each other while the other end remains open about 12 inches. Also, when performing any exercise where both feet leave the floor, such as with advanced triceps dips, always place the hands on the foam handgrips in the middle of the bars.
View warm-up video
Warm-up (Total time: Approximately 3 minutes)
This warm-up uses one EQualizer bar in two distinct ways.
1 minute: Lay one bar on its side, using it like an agility ladder as you step laterally from the left side of the bar, into the middle, and out onto the right side of the bar. Repeat the sequence while moving right to left.
30 seconds: Stand with feet hip-width apart and one hand on either side of an EQualizer lifted to shoulder height, palms facing in. Perform a squat and, at the same time, straighten the arms and raise the bar overhead. Stand up, bending the arms and lowering the bar back to shoulder height. Repeat sequence.
Repeat for two rounds total.
View workout video
Workout: (Approximately 5-9 minutes)
This push/pull drill is a mix of cardio and strength exercises, and requires both bars. Complete each exercise for 30 seconds, and rest up to 30 seconds between each interval (fitter clients may be able to perform the intervals without resting in between).
Incline Chest Press: With the bars in a “V” position, place hands on the outside curve of the bars and get into a plank position with the legs straight. You should be balancing on your hands and toes as you bend the arms, lowering your body toward the bars in a push-up.
Inverted Rows: With bars in a “V” position, get into a supine pull-up position with feet flat on floor, legs bent to 90 degrees, hips high and hands on foam handgrips. Your head should extend just beyond the narrower end of the bars (the side where the feet touch each other). Pull yourself up toward the bars, keeping head and hips aligned. Pause, then lower to starting position.
Agility Drill: Lay both bars on their sides next to each other with about 20 inches of space between the two bars. Perform the agility drill described in the warm-up, moving laterally across both bars this time and going at a faster pace. Focus on driving the arms and lifting the knees. For more intensity, add a burpee at each end, placing hands on the bar instead of the floor.
Repeat sequence up to three rounds total.