Building Your Own Gym - The Essentials: Car/RV Living Edition

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Welcome to Part 4 of the "Building Your Own Gym" Series. This series will focus on the top 5 items I believe are best for creating your own "gym" based on your individual situation. As the title indicates, part 4 in this series is focused on best equipping the fitness needs of those living their best lives on the road, in their own cars or RVs (or any other vehicular device).  1.  Kettlebells: Incredibly versatile, a kettlebell is an absolute game-changer for your fitness if you love to travel and are living out of your RV or car. Living in your car/RV necessitates that you take maximal advantage of your space.  Kettlebells take up very little space and are extremely fun for training.  Buying one kettlebell will absolutely suffice for your nomad training. A single kettlebell will allow you to do any unilateral pressing and rowing movements for building your upper body, while also allowing for kettlebell swings, goblet squats, cleans, and snatches for training your l...
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Time Under Tension: What You Need to Know For Building Muscle

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 TUT. Time Under Tension. An extremely simple principle that I don't believe enough people pay attention to. If you are looking for muscle growth, understanding the principle of TUT will greatly benefit you. In the most basic of terms, Time Under Tension in relation to muscle growth and fatigue can be broken down into 3 phases of time:


Looking to build strength and power? 

  • Make sure your set does not exceed 20 seconds
    • 5 - 15 seconds is probably ideal
  • Consequently, this time range usually allows for a 1-5 rep range
  • A lower rep count allows for max force output and the movement of greater loads, as muscle endurance does not play much of a factor in the 1-5 rep range
  • greater loads = greater potential force output = greater power/strength results

Looking to build muscle mass?

  • Make sure your set falls within the 20-60 second rep range 
    • 30 - 50 seconds is probably ideal
  • Consequently, this time range usually allows for reps within the 6-12 rep range
  • A moderate rep count allows for moderate loads that will fatigue the muscle while also incurring strength adaptations 
  • Moderate loads = greater muscle fatigue with muscle fiber stimulating loads = greater muscle mass adaptations with some strength adaptations
Looking to build up your muscular endurance?
  • Work your sets in a time range exceeding 60 seconds 
  • Ideally, if you are still looking for some muscle mass/growth adaptations along with the muscular endurance adaptations, stay within the 60 - 90 second range
  • This time duration will necessitate lighter loads, and work on making your muscles more aerobically efficient under load.
    • This type of training can be highly fatiguing to the muscle and I do not recommend you do it very often
  • This time-domain usually allows for reps within the 15+ rep range
  • Lighter Loads = greater time under tension = increase in oxygen efficiency of the muscles

I hope you enjoyed the article! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment below!
As always, if you are looking to invest in some weights, cardio equipment, t-shirts, or anything else fitness-related, check out my two favorite fitness manufacturers, Rogue Fitness and Kettlebell King's. 
You cannot go wrong with their equipment. Invest in the best! Invest in Your Health!

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