Spoiler: they're great.

 If there's something I've always wanted to have in my home workout arsenal, it's a pair of sliders. I think I saw them first at one of PopSugar's workouts back in 2017/8 and I remember just wanting to have my own pair there and then, although I didn't get them asap because around that time, I exercised outdoors (which equaled to cement flooring aka not a great match for sliders). Because of that, I forgot all about them and continued to use the equipment I do have: free weights and mini bands. Come September 2020, I was now working out indoors and and since it was my birthday month, I got myself a few items from Booty Bands PH (check out my haul here!), one of them being a pair of their Powder Sliders. 

Sliders bring a different level of difficulty and spice to any workout. If dumbbells are more for strength-training and muscle building, sliders are more for toning and lengthening, as well as for improving control and stability. They're usually used to target abs but they're my favorite to use for legs. Most sliders are made of hard plastic and are dual sided (smooth plastic on one side, a matte textured side on the other) so that they could be used on any surfaces.

I've had them for a year now and not gonna lie, it took me a while to get used to them. Using them for the first time was a bit...chaotic. Because they're quite slippery (especially on the smooth side), I felt like I had little to no control over them. My lunges were a wobbly mess and I had to ditch them for a while because they were scratching my room's tiled floors and scratched tiles aren't cute, you know? I think it's safe to say that I wasn't a big fan of them in the beginning.

I guess I have to thank fitness Youtubers like Abby Pollock and Sydney Cummings for their amazing workouts because if it weren't for them, my pair of sliders would still be collecting dust. Slider workouts are present in some of their workouts so I have no choice but to use them. Giving sliders a second chance, I was slowly able to utilize them properly. I was able to figure out the best ways to use both sides of the sliders without further damaging the tiles and the sliders themselves, and now I pretty much look forward to slider exercises.

As I've said earlier, I love using my sliders for leg work, specifically in curtsy lunges. It just brings a whole lotta burn for my glutes, quads, and hamstrings! For curtsy lunges and lateral lunges/slides. I like using my sliders smooth side down on the floor. For reverse lunges, mountain climbers, bear crawls, and hamstring curls, I prefer to have my sliders matte side on the floor. The exercises actually help me decide which side of the slider to use. If an exercise requires a lot of weight on the sliders (like reverse lunges), I use the matte side to prevent the smooth side from getting scratched. If I don't really have to put a lot of weight on my slider (like curtsy lunges), I usually use the smooth side down.

A Quick Pros and Cons List:

Pros:

-They increase the intensity of leg and ab workouts.

-They improve balance.

-They're lightweight and very travel-friendly.

-Can be easily bought online and in fitness stores.

Cons:

-They only work on smooth surfaces.

-They scratch pretty easily. The tiniest dust will probably scratch them quickly.

I still need to improve my slider game but I feel like I'm so much better compared to when I started. Are they really worth getting? Personally, I think so! My leg and ab workouts are never the same when sliders are involved. I'm really glad I now have some ounce of control over my sliders and now, I look forward to doing slider exercises instead of dreading them. So if you're thinking of adding a pair of sliders to your workout arsenal, take this post as a sign: GO GET 'EM! Such a great addition to my home workout equipment!