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.
Next I looked at saw horses at Home Depot I believe. I had a couple in the aisle and started doing a few careful dips on them as people walked by staring. They were a bit shaky and I figured there had to be some sort of exercise equipment out there that was similar to this. If there wasn’t, I was thinking about inventing it. Alas, my dreams of being on Shark Tank were crushed when I came across the Lebert EQualizer 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.
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. Perhaps even use these as saw horses when I am working on my woodworking projects. 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.
Editor’s Note: Also see fitness coach Natalie Jill’s videos of several Lebert EQualizer workouts.
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. If you begin to get in your gymnast form and start to get the feel of these, you can do handstand push-ups that are great for adding strength to the shoulders. Just be sure to have a spotter when you do these so you don’t fall over and break your neck.
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 (see the video below).
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] And remember, if all else fails, they make excellent saw horses. (As you can see from the pictures of mine, I have used them frequently for staining table tops and boards.) 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. Â
