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PlateMates

When you start a weight-training program, increasing your weights by the

smallest increment possible is important. PlateMates, shown in Figure 25-1,

can help fill in the gaps. These ingenious weight magnets adhere to each end

of a dumbbell and save you the cost of buying extra weights. They come in

four weights:^5 ⁄ 8 pound, 1^1 ⁄ 4 pound, 1^7 ⁄ 8 pound, and 2^1 ⁄ 2 pounds. Prices range from

about $19 to $28 per pair. Stick a pair of 1^1 ⁄ 4 -pound PlateMates on the end of

your 5-pound dumbbells and voila — you have 7^1 ⁄ 2 -pounders. Now stick ’em to

your 10-pounders, and you have 12^1 ⁄ 2 -pounders. You can buy a handy carrying

case for the weights (about $9) so that you can take them to your health club

as well.

Photograph by Sunstreak Productions, Inc

A Gym Bag

You’d never consider boarding an airplane carrying your shirts, pants, shoes,

toothpaste, hairbrush, and shampoo all in your hands. Yet many people arrive

at the gym juggling all sorts of paraphernalia, including car keys, membership

card, tape player, towel, water bottle, and magazines. Perhaps this is because

they don’t realize how sophisticated gym bags have become. The best ones

have pockets for everything — small compartments for a wallet or member-

ship card, medium-sized zipper sections ideal for a radio/CD player or work-

out gloves, and mesh pouches for your stinky clothes so that mold doesn’t

start to grow. Many bags have special features for different sports. In-line

Figure 25-1:

PlateMates

can save

you big.

370 Part VIII: The Part of Tens