Training Equipment Level 4 - Everything Else

I love lifting with the barbell. It really simplifies training.

However I've been in situations both in high school and college where we were surrounded with machines. We even had to use a few in high school.

Anything is better than nothing, but the problem with machines is that you'd be bound to going to a gym outside the home or having a big enough space to put everything in.

Let's say you still want to get something. You may be thinking about a certain machine (depending on your goals) or a piece of cardio equipment (which again, takes up a lot of space).

The key is to only get what you really need and then what you want.

What are my options?

So far in this series, we've talked about using the following:

• The floor/ground (and your own body)

• Then adding a pull-up bar.

• Then getting a barbell and a set of weights.

Now we're going to talk about everything else. Any other equipment comes in only two other categories:

• A machine to target a specific set of muscles, or maybe even one

• A machine for cardio

If that sounds daunting, just take comfort in the fact that they're not absolutely necessary.

Sprinting or jogging (or even burpees lol) can take the place of any cardio equipment.

A barbell, squat rack, bench and maybe a platform can be your multi-purpose strength setup.

Bodyweight exercises can be used to fill in the nooks and crannies of assistance exercises or rehab things.

So if you get to this point and still want more, you need to do an evaluation before you spend thousands more and space in your garage. That's not to say machines are evil. I just don't want you to get overwhelmed to the point that you get paralysis by analysis before you start anything.

What do I pick?

For cardio stuff, do you absolutely 100% need it? Can you get the same effects from sprint work? That's free. (I know that it could take some time to build the strength to be able to sprint again. Go check out the ATG stuff on that.) If you still want more, then go treat yourself. You can get a few kettlebells for swings, a rower, a treadmill, or even a ski erg.

If you're considering a machine for bodybuilding or strength purposes, exhaust the basic barbell lifts first. Bench will get you stronger faster than doing chest flies. Squat is more natural and requires more balance than a leg press. Work chin-ups, dips and handstand pushups for your arms and shoulders. THEN get things for assistance exercises (not just how they make you look). An example is the infamous lat pulldown machine. You can easily replace that with chin-ups and pull-ups. If you want it to get harder, you can get a weight belt. That becomes a much smaller piece of equipment than a full lat pulldown.

Assistance exercises can be for things that fill in all the parts that just a barbell alone can't do. Again, a machine version of each of these could take up a lot of room. Can you do calf raises with your body and just make it harder before you get a machine? Can you get a hamstring roller instead of a hamstring curl machine?

After going through all of that thought, if you have the space and the money to spend, then go wild. I won't stop you. (I guess no one can.) Just keep in mind need vs want.

Start Small, Then Build

I know I probably left you hanging with this list of options (or lack thereof). But I think there's an important point here.

When some people think of "working out," they think of going to a gym. They think cardio equipment, barbells, machines, loud music and tons of people. Is it any wonder why a lot of people are intimidated by the gym setting?

But sadly, if you're not going to an external location to make working out happen, what do you do? The gym is wonderful in the sense that it gives you the environment for working out. You're in the environment, you have the clothes on, you ideally have the plan, so your brain figures it might as well put in the work necessary.

This is only a bad thing when people become overly reliant on the environment to make it happen.

If you don't go to the gym, what do you do?

You better have a backup plan.

The best mindset I've seen around this are the calisthenics people. They get pretty strong with their own bodies. Beyond what exercises, reps and sets they do is the mindset. It's all about taking responsibility for your own health, and the best place to start is with what you've got: yourself.

I say all that because I want you to take that mindset with what we've talked about so far. Don't think of working out as "I need these pieces of equipment and this setting before I start." Take it into your own hands. Ask yourself: "What can I start with now and what can I build later?" That applies to your workouts and your equipment.

The modern age can trap you with too many options. How many "garage gym gear review" videos are out there? Tons. That can overwhelm you and make you think that your garage has to look like something from a competitive CrossFit athlete's house.

Start smaller.

Start today (or tomorrow) with yourself and walking. If you want to plan on adding more, then add more, but you better not let that turn into a 3 month long research fest before you put in a single ounce of sweat.

Build the habit with simplicity.

Add complexity only when necessary.

Thanks for reading!

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