Why You Can Trust CNET Get in shape with the BodyBoss 2.0 home gym for just $100
Plus, save $25 on your first box from Daily Harvest, my new favorite meal-delivery service.
Save 50% on the versatile BodyBoss home gym.
Yesterday I shared a deal on Fitterclub, a service that provides custom meal plans and workouts so you can improve your overall health and fitness. (It's still available, by the way.) Now let's talk about strength: If you want to build muscle, you need a gym membership and all the equipment therein, right?
Not necessarily. For a limited time, and while supplies last, Woot has the BodyBoss 2.0 portable home gym with extra resistance bands for $99.99 -- a full 50% off the regular price and the best deal I've seen. It's available in your choice of pink or gold.
The BodyBoss consists of a fold-up base that you stand on and resistance bands that you hook to it in various configurations. Then, using a bar or hand grips, you can perform a variety of exercises: curls, squats, tricep extensions, upright rows and so on. There's also a door anchor that expends the regimen into things like pull-downs and flies.
This kit includes a total of four bands; the resistance is equal to 1-30 pounds per pair, depending on how you hook them to the base and the exercise you're doing.
I haven't tried this myself, though I'm no stranger to resistance bands. While I don't find them as satisfying to work with as actual weights, they certainly do give your muscles a workout. Plus, they're way cheaper and take up considerably less space. Over at Amazon, nearly 600 buyers collectively rated the BodyBoss 4.3 stars out of 5.
Although the kit is, technically, portable, I wouldn't call it travel-friendly; the base is still pretty large even when folded, and the gear bag is fairly long owing to the bar. If you're looking for something you can toss in your carry-on, check out this Polygon Resistance Bands Set for $35.99, minus 10% when you clip the on-page coupon. It affords many of the same exercises, with the straps simply looping under your feet instead of connecting to a base.
All this is to say that if you're looking to build some muscle without the time or expense required for a gym membership, resistance bands are an affordable, effective option. At $200 the BodyBoss strikes me as overpriced, but at $100 it's worth a look.
Your thoughts?
I didn't expect to like Daily Harvest's bowls, soups and smoothies as much as I did.
Save $25 on Daily Harvest clean-food delivery
Healthy food that actually tastes good? Yeah, right. I was skeptical of Daily Harvest, a company that delivers "clean" soups, smoothies, bowls and the like, all frozen, all entirely plant-based. Then I ate one of their Harvest Bowls for lunch. Then I ate another. Then I tried one of the soups. Delicious, all of them. Not just "tolerable because it's good for me," but actually tasty.
Want to see for yourself? For a limited time, you can get $25 off your first Daily Harvest box when you apply promo code CNET25 at checkout.
Annoyingly, you can't get pricing without first supplying your email address and ZIP code -- but I've got you covered. You can sign up for nine, 12 or 24 cups delivered weekly (at $7.75, $7.49 and $6.99 per cup, respectively), or 24 cups monthly (again, $6.99 per cup). Thankfully, you can pause deliveries at any time, for any duration, or cancel your subscription outright.
That's on the pricey side, no question. Frozen Healthy Choice bowls and the like are available at the grocery store for around $4-$5. But here you're getting not only delivery, but also ingredients like avocado, organic maca and hemp protein. Everything looks bright and fresh, not dull and processed.
My advice: Choose the nine-cup option and try one or two items from each category. And be adventurous; I did not expect to like "shredded Brussels sprouts and Maine kelp noodles tossed in a spicy almond-sesame-ginger-lime sauce," but, wow, good stuff. (Maybe skip the Bites, though, the one thing I didn't really care for.) It'll run you $44.75 after applying the coupon -- about $5 per item.
Read More: All the latest Amazon coupons
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest promo codes from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.