I’ve been lifting, tracking macros and coaching people to lose fat and get stronger for the best part of a decade.
In that time I’ve tried a lot of apps, equipment and supplements.
Here are the ones I recommend.
The number one app for tracking your macros
Without question, the best macro tracking app is MacroFactor. Ever since I first tried it I was hooked. It blows MyFitnessPal out of the water. I was recommending it so frequently on my socials that the founder, Greg Nuckols, reached out to me and offered me the chance to become an affiliate. That was an easy yes for me. Check it out here. Download it from your app store. Use code ROBNBF during setup for a 2 week free trial.
Macrofactor is great because it is super smart. It will walk you through the process of setting up your macros, but then it will also tweak them as you go along based on the progress you’re making. It adapts to you. If you’re not going to hit your goal, it will give you warning signs and suggest changes. Even if your tracking is terribly inaccurate it will still work because it will shift your targets.
Added to that, it’s incredibly intuitive to use, the database of foods is massive and it’s got a beautiful clean interface.
The best protein supplements:
The Protein Works is the first supplier of supplements I ever tried back in 2014.
I struck gold first time. Since then I have sampled most of the competition, but I have ALWAYS gone back to TPW.
I was delighted to get the opportunity to become an affiliate recently, as it’s my favourite supplier.
They have the best range of shakes, powders, snacks, porridge, pancakes etc. (and loads of flavours too)
Their products taste the best and mix the best.
And they’re exceptionally committed to quality. They have always made every ingredient in-house meaning you don’t have to worry about what’s in the products.
If you’re in the UK, use this link
If you’re in the US or Canada, use this link.
Use code ROB10 for 10% off.
The best doorway pullup bar:
Having somewhere at home to do pullups at home is essential.
With dumbbells and bodyweight, there’s a variety of ways to easily cover 5 of the 6 main movement patterns that will work all of your major muscle groups.
But if you want to perform the vertical pull movement (which you should, if you care about having a wide, muscular back) then you need a pullup bar at home.
Not everyone can fix one permanently to their wall or ceiling. You may lack the space. You may not own the actual building you live in so you can’t fix one to an outside wall.
Enter Jayflex Crossgrips. You’ve probably seen doorway pullup bars before. These are better.
I’ve used cheap doorway pullup bars. They did the trick, but they damaged my doorframe and after a few months the bar started feeling rickety and unsafe before eventually coming apart. They’re also not at all portable, and are hard to store somewhere due to their unwieldy size.
Crossgrips are a premium product. They’re designed not to damage your doorframe. They’re two small separate handles that fold flat for easy storage, and they’re portable enough for you to pack them in a carry-on.
See my review here.
Use this link to buy them and enter code ROB15 for 15% off (if not automatically applied).
The best, most indestructible, adjustable dumbbells
Dumbbells are a must in any gym. But if you’re training at home, having a full rack of them with every weight imaginable is going to cost an absolute fortune and take up more space than you have available.
There are lots of adjustable dumbbells on the market to solve this problem.
You have spinlock ones – which I don’t recommend. It takes too long to change the weights. You’ll spend mroe time fiddling with plates and collars than you will training. Also, the bar pokes out of the end, meaning you can’t rest them on your knees before a set of shoulder press or bench press (which you will need to do before heavy sets).
There are lots of quick-change adjustable dumbbells which have a better design that allows you to change weights in seconds, and also rest them on your knees comfortably BUT the big downside is they’re quite temperamental and fragile. You have to be really careful with them, and even then you’re probably not going to get long years of use out of them before they break. Most of them are limited to 40kg (88 lbs) as an absolute max, and many of them don’t even go this far.
Ironmaster Dumbbells are my adjustable dumbbell of choice. They don’t offer weight changes in seconds, but they’re still fast. Much faster than spinlock adjustable dumbbells.
The HUGE advantage of Ironmaster dumbbells is that they’re virtually indestructible. You can drop them, mistreat them, abuse them and they’ll still work perfectly. Those quick-change ones wouldn’t last 5 seconds with any kind of mistreatment. Ironmaster dumbbells just keep on going. One user even reviewed them saying that the California wildfires of 2018 destroyed absolutely everything in their gym, except these dumbbells! After they were cleaned up a little, they still worked perfectly!
The other benefit of Ironmaster dumbbells is they have the potential to get very heavy. They come as a pair of 75 lbs dumbbells, but you can purchase the expansion kits which take them up to 120 lbs or 165 lbs (and they are of course fully adjustable at 2.5 lb increments all the way down to 10 lbs)
They’re comfortable to use and they have a knurled handle rather than a contoured one and the more traditional shape of dumbbells. All of this replicates the feel of a proper gym dumbbell.
The best “quick-change” adjustable dumbbells
Ironmaster is absolutely my brand of choice for adjustable dumbbells, but if you want a second, smaller pair of quick change dumbbells, so you can superset or something, then I recommend AtivaFit adjustable dumbbells. These are better than the other quick-change type like Bowflex, Powerblock etc. because the inner locking plates are made of metal, rather than plastic – so they will stand up to some slightly rougher treatment. I wouldn’t use them as your main pair of dumbbells unless you plan to be very careful and stay quite light with your weights. Shop here. Use code ROB10 for 10% off.
Recommended Program for People with “No Time to Work Out”
If you don’t think you have enough time to fit in your workouts, you need 20 Minute Muscle. The revolutionary workout system will bust all of your excuses. It’s what I designed when I had newborn kids at home, a busy 9-5 job (really a 7-7) and a fast growing side hustle (which would become my full time job): fitness coaching. This link will get you 60% off.