Ben Shephard, 51, Shares the Budget Fitness Gadgets He Actually Uses

Ben Shephard isn’t one to stick to a single training style. Over the past year alone, he’s completed an intense strength programme for his Men’s Health cover, finished his first Hyrox (in 1:15:17), and is now deep into training for the London Marathon.

So when it comes to trying new fitness gear, he’s not exactly short on context. The 51-year-old recently put a selection of affordable training gadgets to the test – to see which ones are genuinely useful and which are more novelty than necessity.

First up: . Designed to keep workouts varied, they’re especially useful for anyone travelling, training without equipment or simply lacking inspiration.

The set includes one die with six exercises – squats, lunges, burpees, push-ups, jumping jacks and crunches – and another with time intervals or rep counts. That gives you 36 possible combinations. Still, it’s fair to say Shephard wasn’t thrilled when he rolled 90 seconds of burpees.

‘The devil exercise,’ he says. ‘Literally my most hated exercise – we’ve established the fitness dice can fuck you.’

Next, he tries a , typically used by people dealing with golfer’s or tennis elbow. Twisting the bar creates resistance through the forearms, wrists and elbows, helping to build grip strength and support the surrounding tendons. Shephard quickly sees the appeal.

‘As phallic as they look, they’re really brilliant for loosening off. Essentially, you twist it and hold it. Being able to do something that targets all the tendons and muscles around the elbow is really important,’ he explains.

He also gives a a go – a small ball attached to a string that wraps around your head, designed to improve speed, coordination and reactions.

‘Punch it and keep it away from my face,’ he says. ‘It’s great fun, but it’s terrifying. Just don’t get hit in the face.’

Finally, Shephard tries an – something that hits closer to home given his history of back issues.

‘A little gadget the team have given me to support my lumbar spine. It’s got these acupressure points as well. You lie on top – it mimics the natural curve of your spine and decompresses all those small joints,’ he says.

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