Monkey Feet…What?!
A simple tool to add to your home gym, travel bag, or gym bag.
I recently stumbled upon a really cool device for lower body exercises. It is called Monkey Feet, created by Animal House Fitness. Keeping it simple, Monkey Feet allows one to lift dumbbells with their feet.
Due to their size, and ease of use, these things are an awesome addition for a home gym, or a place where you have limited space, or budget. They are also great for travel due to their portability. Simply pop them in your bag and you have an entire system for a great lower body workout at any hotel gym or place where you have access to dumbbells.
Basically, the device holds most dumbbells. You are able to attach it to your feet via a ratchet system, which is easy to don/doff quickly.
Set-up
There are three steps to setting up the Monkey Feet device. These are FOLD - CLAMP - RATCHET. Simply choose your dumbbell size, fold the device over the handle of the dumbbell, place your foot inside, clamp it down, and ratchet to tighten. The ratchet piece is reminiscent of the roller blades fasteners from back in the day.
A Note on Weight Selection
These little guys are quite deceiving when you look at them. Look… I can easily pop out a high number of reps at 120 pounds on a leg extension machine…no problem. You can try that with these, but I am confident in saying, you simply will NOT be doing that with these! These little guys will absolutely humble you!
I would suggest beginning with a lower weight, and depending on your positioning, you may have to increase, or likely decrease that weight.
Exercises
There are several exercises you can do with Monkey Feet. If you check out the website, they list about twenty “how-to videos”, incorporating ab work, glutes, quads, hamstrings, etc. These exercises can also be modified in their positioning to make them easier, or more difficult. I tried a few of my own.
Quad Extension
Standing at a bar, which is at about hip-height. With a foam roll, bar pad or mat draped over the bar, place your leg over the bar.
Seated on a box/bench, alternating or unilateral.
You can place a foam roll, bar pad or rolled up mat under your leg.
Standing Hamstring Curl
Place a bar bad or a mat over a bar, using it as support for your leg upper leg, just above the knee.
You can make this more difficult with no support, holding onto the bar for balance, if needed.
Glute Kickback/Hip Extension or Donkey Kick
Standing at a bar, or wall, for balance. Engage your glute and kick back.
For a donkey kick, get down on your knees and elbows or hands, engage your core, and maintain a neutral spine. Engage glute and lift foot straight up to the ceiling.
Standing Hip Flexion
Using something to support yourself for balance, and standing on a step or stacked plates, keeping a neutral spine and your core engaged, lift your leg slightly past hip height.
Hip Abduction
Standing: Using a bar or wall for balance, engage your core and kick your leg out to the side using a slow and controlled movement.
Laying: Lying on your side, bend your bottom leg at the knee and slightly flex it forward. Keeping your core engaged, and your trunk and working leg in alignment, slowly raise your leg toward the ceiling, leading with your heel.
Other Exercises
The above is not an exhaustive list of all of the exercises you can complete with Monkey Feet. Other exercises include reverse hyperextensions, hanging leg raises, fire hydrants, hip thrusts, even pull-ups. There really are several movements in which you can incorporate these. Animal House Fitness has several “how-to” videos on their website. If you are so inclined, they also offer a set of guided workouts you can follow for a one-time fee.
Notes
Keep in mind, intensity can be altered in many ways including increasing your time under tension, slowing down your reps, or even including isometric holds at the top of your reps.
I do not represent Animal House Fitness or Monkey Feet, nor am I sponsored. When I find items I find useful, I love to share it!