For many years, I was a gym junkie.

I always enjoyed lifting weights, and I would typically do a 5-day split, working out in the evenings three days during the week, as well as on Saturday and Sunday.

Then Covid hit. The gym closed. And I was reduced to riding my bike and doing pullups on the greasy garage door track.

I wanted to do more HIIT, and especially wanted to focus on upper body and movements/equipment I could do from home.

I looked into a sledgehammer and a used tractor tire. I had seen Crossfitters banging away like that, and the idea appealed to me. I had grown up splitting and sawing wood, and I always felt like the chopping motion spoke to the primal beast inside.

But guess what – used tractor tires are not easy to find. And they are sort of pricey. And you cannot easily fit them in your car or even a full-size SUV. And if you leave them out in your yard, they kill the grass, look like a redneck yard ornament, and during the summer they can fill up with water and create mosquito problems. Wait, is this an “about me” section?

Anyway, I came up with the idea of a heavy rubber-headed hammer that could be used on it’s own without needing a tractor tire.

I made myself a prototype. And then I made my friend one. And one of the guys at work one. And… I’m still making these cardiohammers for folks!

These are hand made in the good old US of A. By me.