Recovery & Cardio

Gray Matter Lifting

Last week I dropped my first official video for the year. The focus was on recovery and recovery tools, but MOSTLY on what recovery is and how it works (and doesn’t). I trimmed the video up a bit to make it a more streamlined discussion, but I think it flowed fairly well.

If you want the deeper dive, I wrote the written version for the Garage Gym Competition website. I spend the majority of the time walking through the foundations of recovery. Then we go into ways that you can improve these areas, whether with actions, lifestyle changes, or some tools I use regularly. Fair warning for my meathead friends, you are gonna be encouraged to do more cardio. Sorry.

Speaking of Cardio

I’ve been using a weighted vest recently for my daily walks, and enjoying the benefits. Rucking, as the cools kids call it, adds some extra calorie burn to the walk, as well as likely builds some muscle tissue in the upper back and core, while making the walk a bit more difficult. If I really try and speed through my 10 minute walk with the vest I notice I get an actual cardio workout. This lets me amp up the intensity when I got it, and just take a casual stroll when I simply need some outside unwind time.

Merach NovaRow R50 Rower

Yep! More cardio! We just got this in at the tail end of last week. This is a brand new rower offering. Merach, pronounced Ma-Rake, sent it over for testing. Their goal is a budget Concept2 offering.

Speed Run Tests Results

Remember that this is a VERY initial feedback process, and only for YOU as a newsletter subscriber. I won’t be posting this anywhere.

I cover a lot of details around shipping, specs, and that kind of stuff in the Review Pipeline write-up. So I won’t rehash that here.

The look and feel reminds me of my time with my old C2 Rower (I owned 2 or 3 over the years in different models). It has the same color contrasts, decal style, logo placement, everything. The one big difference is the monitor.

Out the gate the monitor is… less than intuitive. It wants us to select a mode, but that seems to not make much of a difference. In the first weekend of use, we ended up resorting to using our phones for a stop watch. I’m sure we are missing something painfully easy that a quick glance at the instruction manual will fix, but I like to see if I can figure stuff out without a book in my hands. I remember the C2 monitor being straightforward, easy to navigate and use for everything but the more complicated stuff.

From a monitor I basically only need it to work easily. So I don’t have super high expectations here. But out the gate wasn’t great.

I was pleasantly surprised by how simple it breaks into two for storage. This is a crucial one for us, and a key reason we got rid of the older C2 rowers we owned.

My wife is entering a diet phase, so the rower is going to be a perfect addition. My daughter and a few of her soccer/basketball friends are coming over on Sundays and the rower works well for their size as well, so a great addition that makes cardio easy and safe to include in a group setting. And you know your boy will be on it as well. I just moved back to 5 days a week, so this will likely get an introduction on Saturdays for me.

The immediate results are that this thing looks, feels, and performs just like a Concept2… except for the monitor. We will see if we can get the monitor figured out, or if it is an unfortunate cost cutting item.

If you were looking for a rower at a budget price and want to hop all in right now, you can Check Out The MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower. Use Code: Gray25 to save 25%. But make sure to check the Amazon listing and compare to the official website to see which price is better for you. Amazon Link For MERACH NovaRow R50 Rower

What Is Up Next?

Cable Attachments! I’m prepping for a non-stop onslaught of cable attachment videos and updates to my BEST Cable Attachments For Your Home Gym article. This will eventually end with 6 new videos and 3 total articles around cable attachments and accessories.

If you don’t have a cable machine, but want to add one on the cheap, GGC Contributor Josh Max wrote this excellent article on how to do just that.

New Additions To The Lab

We just got insulation installed, as well as a mini-split. These are going to be game changers for the summer months. I’ve said this before, but I’d never spend that money as a “normal person”, but since this is my job, I can’t exactly not film for 3 or 4 months because it is too hot.

Huge shout-out to all of you who have helped make this possible.

I also made a big move in “sustainability” for the gym. I had my computer and sound system set-up in the corner and on the walls around my FT2. I just took it all down, patched the holes, and cleaned up the wiring and stuff. Part of this is because (fingers crossed) the FT2 will be moving on soon for a new replacement.

The other part is because I wanted to take advantage of some options offered by Sony for my camera. I can better leverage the computer and monitor in my garage for video and photo work. So we moved the entire thing to the production toolbox, added new speakers, and we are cooking with gas!

Whats New In The Community?

Going with the cardio mindset, this week we are stealing one from Michael at Jungle Gym Reviews. He reviewed the X-Mark Air Bike about a month ago, and it is worth checking out if you want to add a bike to your list of cardio options.

Garage Gym Competition

Last week we dropped initial date details for the 2025 Spring GGC. Currently I’m working on locking down sponsors and getting a big list of prizes for the 2025 year.

Sponsor Highlight

Our first confirmed Sponsor for the 2025 GGC is Freak Athlete! I have been working closely with the team on a number of projects, providing feedback, testing pre-release items (I’ve got TWO in my garage right now), even having Benji the owner at my house to work through some product ideas.

I’ve seen a list of the products they plan to release in 2025, and if no one else dropped a new product for us, we’d still have some bangers as home gym owners.

But wait… there is more

Freak Athlete has been revising the Hyper Pro over the last few months, adding new features and functions, and today YOU get a special offering. They released a pre-order option to their newsletter people that just closed yesterday for the new Cable Attachment for the Leg Developer.

I held Benji down and forced him to open it back up for for subscribers of this newsletter. If you own the Hyper Pro and the Leg Developer, or want to now with the new functionality, this is the time to buy. They are confirmed raising the price on the cable attachment after this first release.

Prize Announcement

Freak Athlete is tossing in a Hyper Pro with all the fixings as a prize for the Spring and Fall Garage Gym Competition.

That means TWO people this year are walking away with:

• Hyper Pro

• Leg Developer w/ Cable Attachment

• Upper Body Kit

• GHD Attachment

• maybe more?

We are using our Hyper Pro multiple times a week. As I write this I am recovering from a nasty set of back extensions on it. I’ll be using it for Glute-Ham Raises later this week, QL Raises, and more.

A full review will be available for the Hyper Pro, from yours truly, targeted for May. My goal is to review all the pieces to the puzzle.

GGC Article

I spent two days going through the website and cleaning up the articles. When I rebuilt the website end of 2023, a lot got funky, but I didn’t have the time to fix it. I’ll be spending some more time going through the rest of the website soon, but the articles themselves are updated.

With it being perfect time to set some goals for the year, make sure you have read the article about Goal Setting on the site. It comes with a template to set your goals as well.

r/HomeGym

IronBull Strength came in and kicked off our AMA series for 2025 with a BANG! Not only did they drop some great giveaways, and have a MONSTER turn out, they used the AMA to release some monster details on their upcoming product launches.

I’ve been chatting with the team behind the scenes and they have some really cool stuff on the way. A few things they haven’t mentioned either, that I think are going to really mix things up in the industry.

Current AMA

This week we have my dude Mark from Flex Marks The Spot doing an AMA. Make sure to pick his brain. He is one of the guys I personally go to when I need advice on equipment.

Upcoming AMAs

Apparently I’m all about cardio right now. This chat with TrueForm was AWESOME. I rarely leave one of these conversations changing my mind about a product. I’ve never been a fan of treadmills, I can just go outside. But after this chat, I fully expect in a future gym to own a TrueForm Trainer. Their AMA is the first week of February.

Ironmaster and I had a great chat about some new stuff they have coming out. They are looking to release details during their AMA in the middle of February.

One Last Thing…

Just in case you think you need to buy a bunch of stuff for cardio, you don’t. Just like gym equipment at home, the more you have the more options you have and the less excuses you have.

But this past weekend we went out on a trail and managed to be 3 of 4 total people on it. Got to see some cool mushrooms, trees, found a nice spot for the sunset, talked to a few birds, and learned some things about the area around us thanks to the informational signs.

Plus, got it in a solid few thousand steps through various terrain. I’ll take that over a treadmill every day. But I still want that TrueForm Trainer 😁 

• Joe