Getting into great shape doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. Sure, you could buy a Turbo Infomercial Fitness Machine 9000, but it’s going prohibitively expensive and take up too much room. That’s why all the items here are just $10-40.

Hand Grips

These are just simple grips that go over any typical sized barbell/dumbbell and forces your hands to open wider as if you were lifting a very thick object. This gives you more real-world useful strength and increased muscle size, because it forces your muscles to work harder.

Just a few years ago, these were not so easy to find. This has changed recently, however, because you can find similar rubber grip handles all over the internet now. After the recent discoveries of strength and muscle size improvements, they have become pretty popular.

Not only do they improve hand and forearm strength, but they will also increase the load on your other muscles like biceps, triceps, shoulders, inner shoulder, lats, and back. If you are using them with pushing exercises, it will even improve your chest. Even though it only looks like it would work your hands, it actually targets the entire upper body in an interesting new way. If you want a new challenge to take you over a plateau, give these a shot. They really challenge your muscle to take on loads in a new way.

My favorite thing about these is that you can just leave them on your existing equipment and get a nice boost every time you use them. No need to do anything special, and no need to think about it.

They also last forever, like any workout equipment should. I got a set of Fat Gripz a decade ago when they cost even more because they were the only brand available (seems like they are still the gold standard for thick grips). They’re as good as the day I got them.

Beware, though– you’ll be surprised just how much heavier the weights feel when you’ve got these on there. I like to leave mine on my pull-up bar and do a few chin-ups in between working on my computer. With the grips on, I might be able to do 5 or 6 chin-ups. If I hold onto the part without them, though, I can do 10 or 15! Suddenly I feel like Superman when I go back to a regular grip. Do you remember when the characters on Dragon Ball Z would be stronger because they always wore weighted clothing? Yeah. It’s kind of like that.

You can get Fat grips here

Kaatsu occlusion bands

This is where things get really weird, but trust me on this one– because it works really well. Actually it works incredibly well. But watch out! you need to be very careful with this so you don’t get hurt.

Kaatsu training, or blood flow restriction (BFR) training involves wrapping your upper arms or upper legs to restrict blood flow and oxygen to your muscles. This causes your body to believe that it’s working harder than it really has (take note of that, because that’s actually how our bodybuilding hypnosis works!).

What your body THINKS is happening may be even more important than the work it actually does. The blood flow restriction makes it feel like you are working very hard, even though you really aren’t. That’s why I always encourage you to be present with the sensations of your body while you lift weights. This shows the brain that your body is working hard, and needs to grow stronger and more muscular.

These bands are more popular than ever now, and you can get off-brands that are not official Kaatsu, but will work fine. They are often called BFR devices.

In fact, you are only supposed to lift 20% of your normal lifting weight. That’s going to feel very light. It may even feel like you’re not working hard enough. You’re so used to overworking the body to get results. But with this, you really don’t need to.

Lifting any heavier than that may be dangerous! Please remember to be careful, and we are not responsible if you go overboard and hurt yourself by causing blood clotting issues or otherwise.

No one is completely sure how it works, but a number of researchers are working to figure it out. So far, they know that it causes changes in your HGH (Human Growth Hormone) levels, along with changes in other systems of the body. The same effect can be achieved by training in a low-oxygen (low altitude) chamber. Athletes like Michael Phelps hang out in these chambers to drastically improve their fitness levels.

Kaatsu was invented by a japanese man who noticed the blood restriction in his legs while sitting, and wondered if this could be used somehow to get health benefits. It’s used as a great way to get older or sick people into shape, increasing their muscle mass even though they cannot move too much or lift heavy weights. A lot of Japanese athletes use this too, and some western athletes are just discovering it now. Bodybuiilders are really getting into this now. If you try it now, you’ll be ahead of the pack as one of the early adopters of this incredible technique.

There are multiple studies proving that this works, and increases muscle gains and strength much faster.

When you try this method, you’re going to be amazed at how quickly it makes your body stronger and gives your muscles a real bulging look.

It may sound counter to traditional weight-lifting (the lift heavy and take a multi meme), but you’ll get amazing results if you combine thick grips with BFR bands and lift really light weights. But your muscles are still going to get a really hard workout.

You can get BFR Bands here.

Jawzrsize

This is a great way to really sculpt the shape of your jaw and give you that ultra-masculine look. Studies show that people are more attracted to males with larger and more defined jaws. The great thing about this is that you only need to use it for a minute or two. Take it easy with these things. You dont want to mess up your jaw with overtraining, which is totally possible. You might also consider just chewing Mastic Gum. I love that stuff, and it’s certainly more fun to chew.
When you are doing mouth clenching exercises, make sure that you are also doing mouth opening exercises, because this balances out your muscle system and prevents jaw imbalances, clicking, or popping in your jaw.

You can get Jawzrsize here.

Massagers

Hitachi Magic wand

Alright, I know that no one actually uses these for their muscles (they happen to be very popular with females that love some extra stimulation), but massaging your muscles IS what they are intended to be used for. Massaging your muscles is not just good for you, it helps your muscles heal and grow.

Foam Rollers

Lay down on one of these and just keep the pressure on your muscle. It will roll out any knots that you have built up in your muscles (and trust me, you have lots of those). You’re going to get huge size and performance gains with this if you really do it. It’s a great way to go to that next level.

It’s going to hurt like hell but it’s also going to feel like bliss afterwards. It’s that deep-tissue hurt-so-good feeling. It’s similar to getting a deep tissue massage from a professional. We can’t all afford that luxury, as incredible as that would be, but you can certainly afford a roll of foam.

So roll it out after every leg workout. Lay back, flick on a movie, and enjoy it while you roll.

I consider it quite a pleasure, and I feel like a million bucks after a good roller massage.

You can get a foam roller here

So have you ever heard of any of these obscure items? I’d be impressed if you did! Let me know in the comments.

The Ultimate Muscle Program

Of course, the best way to get into amazing shape easily is with The Ultimate Muscle Hypnosis Program. After years of refinement, this is the best muscle-building audio program on Earth. You can get 7 different recordings in a package deal.