101 things every fit guy must own: this year's best stuff—from free weights to Ace bandages to jockstraps and more - Gear

Men's Fitness, Dec, 2002 by Mark Thorpe

This rendition of our annual gear guide is strictly a no-frills zone, my friends. You'll find no winged doohickeys or portable thingamajigs here. What we're offering is a stripped-down tour of the everyday gear you step into, strap on, tie up, and burn fat and build muscle in. We've ignored the hype and the hullabaloo; we've waded through heaps of substandard new-product refuse and sussed out false promises of the Next Big Thing. We rejected the rejectable and admitted only those items that are in step with the principles we promote each month. The result is a fit guy's trove of must-have treasure, meat-and-potatoes essentials for bigger arms, a tighter stomach and a thicker chest. Throw that in your blender!

HOME EXERCISE

1| Body-Solid adjustable bench $187 2| Intellbell Power Block dumbbell set $219 3| Aero Speed jump rope $35 4| Flexband $18.50 5| Dietminder & Bodyminder journals $15 each. 6| Fitter 1 Togu 65-cm fitness ball $33 7| Keys push-up bars $18 8| The Pivit Board $100 9| Fitter 1 6-lb bouncing PVC medicine ball $36 10| Door Gym pull-up bar $45 11| Tanita BF559 body-fat scale $160 12| UCS Challenger exercise mat $160

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

THE EXPERT'S VIEW

Kevin-Taylor Isaacs, Ph.D., 2002 IDEA Fitness Trainer of the Year and American Council on Exercise Personal Trainer of the Year:

"To build power and speed you need to keep your muscle under tension for very short periods of time. Medicine balls are great for this, To work your chest, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the ball in line with your nipples, just above your chest, and throw it upward as fast as you can. When you catch the ball, throw it again toward the ceiling as fast as you can. Start with 30-second intervals. To be quick, you've got to train quick."

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

IN THE GYM

13| Ogio All-Terrain gym bag $55 14| Creative Labs Nomad MuVo MP3 64 $110 15| Adidas a3 cross-training shoes $130 16| Adidas Astro pants $60 17| Russell Dri-Power mesh shorts $28 18| Russell micro mesh shorts $15 19| Adidas Hebron reversible shorts $30 20| Russell Dri-Power muscle shirt $20 21| Adidas Supertech top $21 22| Polar S120 heart-rate monitor $99 23| Champion Double-Dry T-shirt $25 24| 2(x)ist micro top $28 25| Champion jockstrap $6.50 26| Champion Evolution compression shorts $30 27| Harbinger Big Grip weight gloves $40 28| Skechers slides $25 29| Wigwam Cross Trainer socks $6.40 Thorlo Men's Fitness socks $12 31| Harbinger Power Series lifting straps $5 32| Cascade Designs Personal Pack towel $30 33| SmartWool X Train socks $12 34| Russell sport socks $6

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

THE EXPERT'S VIEW

Mike Gostigian, fitness consultant and three-time Olympic pentathlete:

"Anyone who steps into the gym and is really interested in looking good and getting fit needs to train in their target heart-rate zone. People are often out of touch with their bodies and think they're training at one level when they're really training below or above where they should be. If you train too hard, you can burn yourself out before you reach your target; if you train too lightly, you'll never reach your goal. Training with a heart-rate monitor is like having a personal trainer or a coach right on your arm."

ROAD RUNNING

35| Brooks Trespass trail shoe $85 36| Thorlo Lite running socks $12 37| 2(x)ist running socks $8 38| Timex Ironman Speed/Distance watch $220 39| Dahlgre, trail socks $12 40| Nike Air Kantara $120 41| In Sport Power tee $32 Nike Dri-FIT 42| Slacker mock $65 43| Brooks Aireplex running jacket $90 44| Asics Alta running top $35 45| Asics Agility running top $45 46| Nike Storm-FIT running jacket $150 47| Adidas Erickson baggy shorts $25 48| In Sport Summit Trail shorts $40 49| Nike Interchange running glasses $99 50| Asics Praxis shorts $32 51| Sporthill Endurance II shorts $28

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

LIGHT HIKING

52| Columbia Omni-Tech Booney hat $33 53|Royal Robbins Go Everywhere shirt $29 54| The Northface Aurora Flux shirt $75 55| Ultimate Directions Horizon day pack $70 56| Columbia Trekker convertible pants $65 57| Lowe Alpine Adrenaline Tech jacket $99 58| Leki Makalo Air Ergo trekking poles $140 59| Merrell Chameleon Ventilator hiking shoe $100 60| SmartWool trail socks $12

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

SWIM GEAR

61| Oakley Chisel swim shorts $48 62| Speedo swim foils $15 63| Tyr Racetech goggles $10 64| Tyr Velocity goggles $16 65| Tyr silicone swim cap $8 66| Swim cords $33

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

ON THE ROAD: TRAVEL GEAR & CLOTHING

67| Eagle Creek Big Dame travel bag $250 68| Travelasmith Coolmax travel shirt $69 69| Mountain Hardwear Extend antibacterial shirt $30 70| Apple iPod 10GB $349 71| Royal Robbins Go Everywhere pants $60 72| Mountain Hardwear Canyon shorts $55 73| Travelsmith ultralight microsuede jacket $125 74| Timberland Siberia Blues shoes $75 75| Fox River X-static antibacterial socks $12 76| Freestyle Split watch $100

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

CYCLING

77| Giant Warp DS-2 mountain bike $770 78| Briko Brand jersey $70 79| Polo Distance jacket $275 80| Giro E2 helmet $150 81| Oakley MTB 2.1 shorts $85 82| Camelbak Classic hydration pack $40 83| Briko Lucifer glasses $99 84| Specialized Body Geometry Pro mountain shoes $99