Muscle Power strength accessories

Why choose Muscle Power strength accessories?

Almost every brand in this category sells you a handle that sits as comfortably as possible in your hand. This brand also sells you the opposite: a handle that is harder to hold on to. The foam grips come in medium, large and extra large plus an outside version, and you slide them over the bar or the handle you already own. Your hand then has to close around a bigger circumference and squeeze harder, while nothing changes on the cable or on the weight stack. Having four diameters side by side is the real point, because it lets you progress: medium on your rows, large once that gets too easy, extra large for the last set or for holds. No other brand in this category gives you that ladder.

The second line of its own is the rotation range: a lat bar, a straight bar, a curl bar and a single handle that swivel in the middle, plus a twenty centimetre revolving pull handle. On a fixed bar your hand is locked into the same position from the start of the movement to the end, while your forearm wants to rotate as you pull; the difference between those two ends up in your wrist and elbow tendons. A bar that swivels simply lets your hand make that small rotation. On lat pulldowns and certainly on heavy curls, that is the difference between an elbow that nags after twenty sets and an elbow you never think about.

Third point: this is the brand where you buy in bundles instead of one piece at a time. There is a combi accessory bundle, a pulley accessory set and a handle set, and with those you kit out a cable station in a single order at a sharper price than hunting down the same pieces separately. Whatever you order, keep the dividing line in this category in mind: separate handles, bars and ropes are universal and hang from any cable with an eye or a snap hook, but weight stacks, leg press and curl attachments and replacement cables are tied to a brand and a series and should be bought from the manufacturer of your own machine. Also take a look at the other fitness equipment from Muscle Power.

The Muscle Power strength accessories range

Thirty-four items, split across six groups that each do something different for you.

• Foam grips: an ergonomic grip in medium, large and extra large, plus an outside version that goes around the outer side of an existing handle. You slide them over a bar or handle to increase the circumference, so your hands and forearms work harder at the same weight.
• Rotation line: a rotation lat bar, a straight rotation bar, a rotation curl bar and a single handle, each with a swivel point in the middle. There is also a twenty centimetre revolving pull handle for single arm work.
• Cable bars and handles: a tricep bar, a short angled lat pulldown bar for a narrow grip and a long parallel lat pulldown bar for wide pulling, plus a handle set for the single lat pulley.
• Rope and strap handles: a single tricep rope and a set of strap handles. At the end of a pushdown the rope gives you more freedom than a straight bar, while the strap handles let you pull on a soft loop instead of on hard steel.
• Bundles and sets: a combi accessory bundle, a pulley accessory set and a handle set. This is the quickest route to a cable station that is finished, without ordering separately for every exercise.
• Protection, belts and floor: a bar pad and a squat pad that keep the bar off your neck and shoulders, a squat belt that supports your torso during heavy sets, an ankle cuff for leg work on the low pulley, a fifteen centimetre dropzone mat set for the floor under your barbell bars, and a pivot trainer that anchors a bar in a fixed pivot point for rotational and pressing movements.

Which Muscle Power strength accessories suit you?

What you need here depends on where you run into a wall: in your hands, in your joints or in your kit.

Your grip gives out before your muscles do: start with a foam grip in medium and put a large next to it. You hold the same bar but with a bigger circumference, so your forearms work harder without adding a single kilo. If you are chasing a heavier deadlift, that is exactly the link you are missing.

You want to train crushing grip on purpose: take all three diameters and use them as a ladder. Medium for your normal work, large for your heaviest pulling set and extra large for holds at the end of a session. That way your grip actually progresses instead of tagging along by accident.

Your wrists or elbows nag after pulldowns and curls: switch to the rotation line. The lat bar, the curl bar and the single handle swivel in the middle, so your forearm can make its natural turn and your tendons get less pull in the wrong direction.

You are setting up a cable station in one go: then choose a bundle. A combi bundle or pulley set gives you the bars, handles and rope that cover most of your exercises in a single order, and that works out cheaper than collecting the same pieces one by one for your strength station.

You squat with the bar on your neck: a bar pad or squat pad takes the pressure off your cervical spine and shoulders, and a squat belt supports your torso during your heaviest sets. Note that a squat belt gives support rather than carrying weight; a dip belt, which is what you hang plates from, is a completely different thing.

You drop the bar after a heavy set: put the dropzone mats where the plates land. Fifteen centimetres of thickness absorbs the impact before it reaches your floor, your slab or your plates.

What to look for when buying Muscle Power strength accessories

Which foam grip diameter you need

Medium is where you start and works well if you mainly want to make your grip harder without changing the exercise. Large you feel in your forearms straight away and is the logical step once medium feels easy. Extra large is the heaviest of the three and is mostly meant for short sets and holds, because you deliberately give up some grip security. The outside version goes around the outer side of a handle rather than around a bare bar, so work out where you want the foam before you choose.

Swivel or fixed

A rotation bar does nothing for your strength and everything for your joints. If you do pulldowns and curls two or three times a week and feel it in your elbows, the rotation version is the purchase that pays off most. If you train light or rarely do those exercises, a fixed tricep bar or lat pulldown bar is cheaper and just as usable. The attachment is identical on both, so you can hang them on the same cable and swap per exercise.

Short and angled, or long and parallel

The short angled lat pulldown bar keeps your hands closer together and hits your lat more from below; the long parallel bar lets you take a wide grip and shifts the work to the outer side of your back. The long bar needs more free width beside your pulley, and with a low ceiling also more height to hang it up tidily. Check how much room you have under and beside your pulley before you go for the long one. Anyone who does both exercises prefers to keep them side by side.

A bundle or piece by piece

A bundle is cheaper per item, but you are stuck with the combination on offer. If you have nothing at all yet, that is actually convenient, because you get a workable base in one delivery. If you already own a rope and a lat bar, you are better off buying the two or three pieces you are missing. The handle set is the most targeted package of the three: separate handles are exactly what wears out or goes missing first.

What does not belong on the cable

Three things in this range have nothing to do with your pulley and still end up in the same order. The neck pads belong on a bar across your neck, the squat belt goes around your waist and the dropzone mats lie on the floor under your barbell. So you choose those on the basis of your bar and your floor, not your cable system. For everything that does hang from the cable, the rule is simple: if it has an eye or a snap hook, it fits.

Our advice: work out what your problem is first. If you run into a wall in your hands, a foam grip in medium and large gives you the most straight away, and that costs less than a single bar. If your joints are complaining, go for the rotation lat bar and the rotation curl bar and leave the fixed versions alone. If you are right at the start, take a bundle and add single pieces later. And if you train with free weights next to your cable, put down the dropzone mats or something from the mats before you damage your floor rather than after.

Who are Muscle Power strength accessories for?

• Anyone stuck on grip: your back and legs can handle more, but your hands slip off. Four foam diameters give you a way to work on that deliberately instead of hoping it keeps up.
• The lifter with sensitive elbows or wrists: you want to keep doing pulldowns and curls without your tendons picking up the bill. The rotation line is the answer here and comes in four versions.
• Anyone who has just got a cable station: you have nothing to hang from the cable yet and do not want to place seven separate orders. One bundle and you can get to work the next day.
• The home trainer with a machine from another brand: your cable ends in an ordinary snap hook, and everything from the cable side simply fits it. You do not need to look up a part number from your own machine brand.
• Anyone squatting and deadlifting heavy: neck pads, a squat belt and fifteen centimetres of dropzone matting cover the three places where heavy sets go wrong: your neck, your torso and your floor.
• Small spaces where the floor is not yours: a rented home or a garage with a poured floor needs a landing zone for your plates before you start training heavy on it.

Less suitable if you are looking for breadth. Thirty-four items is a focused line, not a catalogue: you will not find chalk, wallball targets, sliders or a long row of rowing handles in five versions. And if you are after a part that bolts onto the frame of your machine, such as an extra weight stack, a leg press attachment, a replacement cable or a pulley wheel, this is the wrong place too; that is tied to brand and series and is ordered by year of manufacture from the maker of your own machine. If you want pure comfort in your hand rather than a harder grip, the foam grips are not meant for you, because they do precisely the opposite.

Need help choosing?

Would you like to buy Muscle Power strength accessories but are you not quite sure which handle, which attachment or which upgrade fits your machine? We are happy to help. You can reach our fitness specialists by phone on +31 85 773 00 57, send an email or visit our fitness store in Volkel, the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions about Muscle Power strength accessories

What does a foam grip actually do, and which size should I take?

A foam grip is a thick sleeve that slides over a bar or a handle, making the circumference you hold bigger. Your hand cannot close as far around the bar and therefore has to squeeze harder, which makes your grip the limiting factor instead of your back or your legs. There are three sizes plus an outside version, so you can build up: medium for your normal work, large once that gets too easy and extra large for short sets and holds. Start with medium, because the heaviest size deliberately costs you some grip security and you do not want to discover that halfway through a heavy pulling set.

What is the difference between a rotation bar and a normal bar?

A rotation bar has a swivel point in the middle, so the bar turns along with the movement of your wrists. On a fixed bar your hand stays in the same position from start to finish while your forearm wants to rotate, and that difference ends up in your wrist and elbow tendons. It shows up mainly on lat pulldowns and heavy curls, because those involve a lot of repetitions with a firm grip. It makes no difference to your strength but a real one to your joints, and since the attachment is the same you can hang both versions on the same cable.

Do these bars and handles fit my strength station from another brand?

Yes, in almost every case. The foam grips, the rotation bars, the lat pulldown bars, the tricep rope and the strap handles are universal: you hang them from the cable of a strength station, a cable crossover or a lat pulley with an eye or a snap hook, and the badge on that machine makes no difference. What is tied to a brand are weight stacks, leg press and curl attachments, replacement cables and anything bolted to the frame; those are bought per machine series from the manufacturer of your own machine. If your cable ends in a bare loop without a hook, you will still need a separate snap hook to make the connection.

Is a squat belt the same as a dip belt?

No, and those two get mixed up constantly. A squat belt sits tight around your waist and supports your torso during heavy squats and deadlifts, giving your abdominal muscles something to brace against; no weight hangs from it. A dip belt has a chain or strap from which you hang plates, so you can do heavier dips and pull-ups. From this range you are buying the first kind, along with the neck pads that keep the bar off your neck and shoulders. So decide first whether you are looking for support or for extra load.

Am I better off with a bundle or with separate pieces?

If you have nothing on your cable yet, a bundle is almost always the better buy: you pay less per item and one delivery gives you a workable base. If you already own a tricep rope and a lat bar, you are better off adding the two or three pieces you genuinely miss, because a bundle will inevitably duplicate something. The handle set is the most targeted package for anyone who only wants handles. And you add the foam grips separately in any case, because they replace nothing but change what you already have.