Training Equipment Level 3 - Adding Weight

Before I was able to lift, I just did a ton of pushups.

There's nothing wrong with that, and that's a great start with anyone. But I should have started adding more variations to make things harder instead of doing tons of reps.

I think Greg O'Gallagher has a good progression and mindset towards bodyweight movements. Things should get harder over time. As an example, instead of doing thousands of pushups against the wall, you can work up to a feet elevated one-arm pushup. Instead of doing tons of regular pull-ups, you can work to a one arm pull-up. Instead of doing a ton of air squats, you can work to ATG split squats (that's from Ben Patrick).

Those movements are awesome. Yet at some point in time, there may come a point where you want more. You want to be able to produce more force. Maybe you want to get bigger or you want to produce more force than any bodyweight movement ever could.

I love all training. I believe people should never get into the trap of one training method being better than another.

• Is running better than lifting weights?

• Is powerlifting better than bodybuilding?

• Is doing bench worse than doing dips?

How about we all come to the agreement that any training is good. Leave the specialization to the top 0.01% athletes in the Olympics. Most of us can grab from a few disciplines and be more well rounded.

That was a bit of a rant, but moving on.

This is the next in a series of gym equipment. We've already covered:

• Using the ground aka your own bodyweight (calisthenics, yoga, stretching, running, sprinting).

• Getting a pull-up bar. (hanging, pull-ups, leg raises)

For level 3, Let's say you want to start lifting weights now. That would be the next logical progression, right?

Well you're in the right place, pal. Let's dive in.

Why the Barbell?

If someone wanted to start lifting, a barbell should be the next logical option.

But why?

• Barbells can be incrementally loaded.

• Just using a barbell forces movements you choose to be from a small list, which makes sense because there are only a few movement patterns humans do.(Those would be push, pull, hinge, squat, carry/gait pattern. You can't really carry a barbell though, unless you walk down the street with weight on your back or over your head.)

• The small list of movement patterns simplifies training.

• You can train those few movement patterns for decades and still make improvements.

• The loading is simpler than having a huge set of dumbbells at home.

If you want to be well rounded (which I hope you do), then you can get bumpers as your weights so you can start working the Olympic lifts: the snatch and the clean and jerk.

If you want more weight, you can get solid metal plates. (That's for the basic barbell lifts. Not sure what will happen if you try to do the Olympic lifts with them.)

More weight means more force production. I love bodyweight movements too, but there's no way to make them any harder once you've mastered them all unless you try to add weight vests and belts.

Finally, a simple set of weights and a rack is "better" than machines. Again, anything is better than nothing, but here are a few issues with machines:

• Your body works on patterns, not parts. Machines can isolate muscles. That's not necessary for the vast majority of the population. With a barbell, you're just moving a "thing" in space, forcing you into one of the movement patterns.

• You can load the movement pattern more effectively with weights vs machines.

• You can go much heavier than most machines can.

• Machines take up tons of space. If you don't have dedicated space for a full gym layout at home and all you have is a corner of your garage to work with, a rack and some weights are your best move. For most people, you want effectiveness and not flash. Think "I want to get stronger" instead of "I want to work my biceps."

Setting Up a Home Gym

If you made it this far, you're probably considering setting up a home gym.

It's like bringing a newborn baby home. I'm happy for you.

Let's list out the process.

You Need Space

• Ideally you're using your garage since the floor will be more forgiving than your hardwood floors.

• You'll need enough space for a rack and a little space right behind (in front?) of it so you can perform deadlifts, Olympic lifts or have enough space to back up when you squat.

Get a Squat Rack

• Get a squat rack that's sturdy enough and ideally with a pull-up bar.

• If you don't have the space overhead for the pull-up addition, then just get a door frame one for somewhere else.

Get Some Weights

• I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you want to do the Olympic lifts at some point. If that's the case, start with getting a good set of bumpers before getting metal plates.

• Metal plates come second when you run out of room on the bar with the bumpers. You can get ones brand new, but the cool thing about metal is that you can probably find some that someone is selling local to you in good condition. That's not always a guarantee with bumpers.

Get a Bench

• Just get a simple bench (you can snag one for about $50 on Amazon) so you can bench press.

• It can also be used for other movements.

Optional: Get a Platform/Flooring

• A platform is made from a few pieces of plywood and rubber mats so that you can drop your deadlifts or Olympic lifts without destroying the floor or trying to lower a heavy weight slowly.

• An alternative is to just get flooring for the entire gym floor. You'd only need a few pieces of it. Then if you really need to drop a heavy weight, you can slide it into your driveway so you don't crack anything inside your garage.

Follow a Program

• Congrats! Now you just need to find a program (probably a barbell program) and start training.

• Keep it simple! If you're like most people, you don't need a ton of exercises. Anything else that's needed for rehab or assistance stuff can be done with bodyweight movements, costing you zero bucks.

What About Assistance Exercises? Dumbbells?

For most things that you want to do for assistance or rehab exercises, there comes a problem when you want to get equipment for those things:

Space.

There are quite a few machines that could still come in handy: back extension, seated calf machines, hamstring curls, Nordic curl benches, etc.

The only problems are that we're starting to add more cost to your home gym and are starting to require more space. There are still decent bodyweight versions of things that fill the nooks and crannies of your training, so research those before you rearrange your budget, gym space and life trying to figure out where to add this stuff.

Same goes with dumbbells. I have no clue how strong you are. You could have a simple set that goes up to 25lbs, but if you're stronger and need up to 85lbs, where are you going to put it? Do you need every 5lbs increment up until then? Imagine the dumbbell rack at a commercial gym and try to picture that in your garage. It's probably too much. For most people, you could get away with tiny weights up until 10, then 25, 35 and 50. That's enough to have decent weights but not crowd your space.

What If I'm Not Strong Enough?

This is a good question that I saw recently. Someone was doing StrongLifts 5×5, but wasn't strong enough to do the bar (45lbs) for all 5 sets. You might be in that same boat. You're eager to lift, but you're not strong enough because you haven't trained this way before or you're coming out of a layoff.

This is where bodyweight strength comes to the rescue, and that's the reason I wrote these articles in this order.

It doesn't make sense for someone to get down to bench press when they can barely do 5 pushups on the ground. If that's the case, then spending time with calisthenics is your best, no-cost option. No-cost because the alternative would be to get a set of dumbbells and work your way up until the barbell isn't so daunting. That approach requires a set of dumbbells, and at a certain point you might grow out of them.

Again, I firmly believe I was so good at benching the first time I did it because I spent so much time doing pushups. There's more to it than the strength to lift 45lbs off your chest. It's also preparing your body and neurological system to be ready for the movement. Similar to you being able to hold a bodyweight squat well helps you for squatting with weight and being able to hang helps you with doing pull-ups.

So pay your dues with your own body first. Remember, resistance is resistance. Your body and muscles don't know if you're using a bar lifted overhead or if you're doing handstand pushups. It just knows that things are getting harder.

If You Build It, You Will Lift

I'm a big fan of using what you have and starting free or no-cost with a lot of things. Exercise is no different. Doing calisthenics can take you far. But if you want to take the path into the iron, a home gym is a wonderful thing to have.

It will cost you a decent amount of change up front, but over time it will get rid of gym fees, the need to travel, the need to wait on a rack to be available, having to cover up whatever gym music is playing with ear plugs, etc.

Who knows? Maybe making that investment will make you want to keep showing up.

Thanks for reading! As always if you have questions you can reply back to this newsletter or fill out this questionnaire.