Favorite Fitness Products
There are no products that are required for The Refine YOU Program. Frequently our clients inqure about products that we enjoy and ask for recommended brands and products.
This page does include some affiliate links, thank you for supporting some of the brands that we love!
Gift Guides
Each holiday season I put together some gift guides with some of my favorite products to use and give as gifts. Here are this year’s gift guides.
Fitness Equipment
TRX Suspension Trainer
This piece of equpiment is not required for The Refine YOU Program workouts but it is a good option to add more variety to home workouts. The TRX Suspension Trainer is one of the best pieces of equipment, and is one you can bring with you anywhere! If you were to choose one piece of equipment to give you a full body workout for any level, this would be my recommendation. You can set it up virtually anywhere in less than a minute. You can set it up in your home over a door, from the ceiling, take it with you to a park, or pack it in your bag for a trip . Work out anywhere and on your own schedule. BURN FAT and BUILD LEAN MUSCLE. With 300+ exercises, the TRX will give you TOTAL BODY results, helping burn unwanted fat and build lean muscle and build a stronger core.
There is only so much you can do with dumbbells. If you are planning to do your strength workouts from home, I would encourage you to consider the investment. It's basically like having an entire gym at your house with one piece of equipment. You will be given both a TRX exercise and a correlating dumbbell exercise to choose from in the workouts.
Below are 3 different demonstrations of TRX exercises from the Refine YOU YouTube Exercise Library.
2. Dumbbells
In The Refine YOU Program, the only equipment for the home workouts is 3 sets of dumbbells (light, medium, and heavy). You can purchase inexpensive dumbbells at many stores. If you don’t have a lot of space, these adjustable dumbbells are a good option. There are many brands available and weight varities. You may also choose to purchase individual dumbbells.
bowflex Adjustable dumbbells
Adjusts from 5lbs to 52.5 lbs. There are also 2 other models that will adjust to 60lbs and 90 lbs.
proform adjustable dumbbells
Adjusts from 2.5 lbs to 12.5 lbs. There is also another model that will adjust up to 25 pounds.
Cap Barbell
150 Pound Dumbbell Set with Rack with sets of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 pound dumbbells.
3. Workout Mat
Choosing the best workout mat will depend on what you plan to use it for. If you are using this at home for core work, then you can use a thick foam mat up to 1 inch. If you are using the mat for yoga classes, then you will need a thinner, more portable mat. Both types are recommended below.
gaiam yoga mat
Premium 6mm extra thick yoga mat
hemingweigh
Workout Mat- 1 inch thick
4. Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are elastic bands that provide resistance to a regular bodyweight workout and make it extra challenging. They’re lightweight, affordable, packable, and work your muscles differently than free weights.
5. Peloton Bike
The Peloton bike is not required for The Refine YOU Program but we are frequently asked about the Peloton bike. Since so many people own the bike or use the app, The Refine YOU Program has a guide explaining how to use Peloton for the workouts.
I personally own the bike, and feel that the investment in this bike is well worth it. The quality of the hardware and bike itself is amazing. The connectivity that the bike gives you with others gives you that class vibe without leaving your home. The connectivity provides the ability for you to compete with others or yourself. I shared my journey in an independent review of the app and the bike. You can click here to read the review. I also address the new Bike+ in this review.
If there is a showroom near you, you can schedule a time to take a class on the bike or the treadmill to try it out before purchasing. You can even purchase your bike, try it, and if you decide it isn’t for you, you may return the bike within the 30 days for a full refund (they will even pick it up for you).
If you are going to purchase a bike you may use this referral code YEP8HW to get $100 worth of accessories for your bike! (I recommend the mat and a set of weights if you do not already have some that fit on the bike)
The Peloton bike
6. Functional Trainer
This equipment is not required for The Refine YOU Program. Many clients inqire about additional fitness equipment. Functional trainers are an excellent addition to any home gym. These cable machines feature a limitless number of exercises due to the versatility of their pulleys and unrestricted multiple planes of motion, which allow many more muscle groups to be used. Functional trainers vary tremendously in size, price, and features. I only recommend products that I own or have used persoanlly. The recommended functional trainer is one that I purchased and enjoy for more variety with home workouts to fit in the limited space allowed (low ceilings).
Inspire ftx
Functional Trainer
Heart Rate Montiors
MyZone
MYZONE’s new MZ-3 physical activity belt—a Bluetooth enabled, heart-rate based effort tracking device. The MZ-3 provides you with immediate, motivating feedback on all of your physical activity by displaying your exercise progress and history via the free MYZONE app. There is a watch that you may purchase but this is not needed.
A heart rate monitor is optional and NOT required for the program. I have had many clients in the past ask for recommendations on heart rate monitors and this one is accurate, easy to use, compatible with the program, and affordable!
Enjoy using popular GPS tracking apps such as Strava, or using your own Bluetooth/Ant+ enabled devices, such as the Apple Watch or a Garmin bike computer. The MZ-3 and MYZONE app were built with versatility in mind so your heart rate data can be viewed through these platforms as well.
2. Apple Watch
I waited a long time before finally purchasing my Apple watch and the day I bought it, I seriously wondered why it took so long!
apple watch
Series 6
Display never sleeps
Customizable watch face
Has apps to monitor and check your heart rhythm
The Noise App alerts you when decibels rise to levels that can impact your hearing
Advanced workout metrics, GPS, to track your workouts
Water resistant to 50 meters
Activity App motivates you to stand, move, and exercise
You can compete with others in challenges
Streams your music, podcasts, and audio books
Built in compass
Call, text, and listen to music without looking at your phone
The Apple Watch is accurate for monitoring heart rate during exercise. I tested this many times while wearing the Apple watch and MyZone heart strap. The only difference that I saw was the Apple watch was a little slower to react to changes in heart rate than the chest strap of the MyZone. I personally prefer the Apple watch overall due to its versatility. However, the Apple watch does not show your zones, nor will it adjust to you as your heart rate adjusts.
Apps
Peloton Digital App
Did you know that you do not need the Peloton Bike or Treadmill to enjoy Peloton classes? Don’t get me wrong, the Peloton bike is amazing but you don’t need the actual bike to get the amazing classes. You can use any bike or treadmill for those types of classes. The Peloton Digital App allows you to take live AND on demand classes with a mix of cycling, running, bootcamp, yoga, strength, floor workouts, barre, and outdoor workouts available. You can filter by instructor, difficulty level, the type of music you like, and the type of class you like. You get an “in studio” experience in the comfort of your own home, gym, or even outdoors! You can even connect your heart rate monitor (including the MyZone) to the app!
Free trials are typically offered at different lengths and are through the App Store and Apple Play. The cost of all these unlimited (live and on demand) classes is around $20 per month! I highly recommend it if you want to do classes anytime, anywhere.
2. ClassPass
If you are a person who enjoys going to classes, you should consider the ClassPass App if it is available in your city. You pay a monthly subscription fee and this gives you points to use at ANY participating gym. This is usually less expensive than booking the class directly through the actual gym and gives you the flexibility to visit multiple different gyms without having memberships or punch cards at every single one. You can do yoga one day, boxing the next, followed by a bootcamp the day after that! If you travel for work, you can also use this in other cities.
It is very easy to book a class using the app. I like the fact you can save your favorites and only search your favorites for classes around the time you are looking for. There is a free trial or you can save $30 by clicking below.
3. Interval Timer App
Some of the cardio workouts in The Refine YOU Program are interval workouts. This means you are doing an activity for a certain amount of time then moving on to a different activity or rest period. Instead of watching a stop watch or timer, it makes it much easier and enjoyable to use an interval timer app.
“Seconds” is the best one that I have found so far. There is a free version which will allow you to do a basic interval timer. There is no customization with the free version and you will have to create a new timer each time (it will not allow you to use a previous timer).
INTERVAL TIMER FEATURES:
• Large, full screen, color coded display that is easy to read from a distance. The display works in either landscape or portrait.
• Templates for HIIT, Tabata and circuit training. A custom template to create every interval. And the compound editor where you can combine many interval timers into one.
• Speaks your interval names so that you can follow a workout without seeing the screen at all. Seconds can even provide prior warning of the upcoming interval. Other alerts including beeps and bells are available.
• Coordinate your music with your Tabata workout. Each interval can have its own music assigned allowing you to match the intensity of your music to the intensity of your HIIT workout.
• Seconds runs in the background allowing you to either have your display off, or use other apps while the HIIT timer is active.
• Export and import. Share the Tabata timers with friends or download them from the web and install them in Seconds.