WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR GYM TO GET STRONGER

Lifters are often looking around for the fanciest, newest equipment or gimmick to get stronger. Many ‘lifter friendly’ pieces of equipment have been developed over the years but nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat a barbell. The barbell is one of the most underappreciated tools in the world. There is nothing better for strength and athletic development than heavy, compound movements while holding a barbell. Every important plane of motion and joint range can be significantly strengthened by barbell movements. A simple power rack, barbell, and healthy supply of plates are all a person needs to achieve phenomenal success. Over my athletic and lifting career, I can say with certainty that the more time and more percentage of training time spent with a barbell increased my strength more than anything else. I used to just hit my compound movement (heavy, multi-joint lift such as squat, bench press, deadlift, power clean), then move onto machines for accessory work. A typical squat day may have looked like: Squat, Leg Press, Glute Ham Raise (GHR), Reverse Hyper, Calves. When I started simply doing more and more squats and staying with the barbell, my strength and efficiency greatly increased. The best thing you can do for the main powerlifts are to perform squats, bench presses, deadlifts, and very close variations of each.

With that being said, other tools in the gym certainly have their place. I find that auxiliary equipment is best used for training while injured. Certain specialized equipment can allow you to work lifts similar to the competition movements. By removing certain variables utilizing other equipment you can find something that allows you to practice the movement with reduced pain. An example would be when I tore my hip labrum and was unable to perform raw squats. I experimented with different bars, squat styles, and equipment until I figured out a recipe that could maintain my strength without performing raw squats and aggravating my injury. I found that even though I could not perform raw squats in my style, I could still do front squats, belt squats, GHR, Reverse Hyper, and squats in supportive squat briefs with very limited pain. Working these different movements allowed me to train around my injury while not losing very much strength until I could return to training raw squats. This is just one example of how auxiliary equipment can be used to work around an injury.

95% of my time spent training is in this room with nothing but a rack, barbell, and plates

Another note on assistance work and using machines is that the more novice the athlete is, the easier it is for them to gain strength in the competition movements by training with less specific movements. If you take an athlete who has never performed a squat before, their squat would see great improvement by performing nothing but good mornings and leg extensions. Conversely, if you took an elite powerlifter and had them perform exclusively the same movements, their squat would go down. In summary, a novice athlete will see strength gains from much less specific programming and by the use of non-specific machines and equipment.

The more advanced a lifter is, the more specific their exercises and programming needs to be.

Many of the strongest, most physically freaky athletes in the world are football players. Their priority is being a football player and athlete. Becoming stronger and faster in the weight room is secondary. But even with strength training being secondary for them, these are some of the strongest men in the world. If you take a look at a college or NFL training facility, what will stand out the most is the huge number of power racks and platforms stretching as far as the eye can see. Other equipment and machines are used, but only as a very small fraction of the total work put in. These athletes are built in the racks and on the platforms using squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead presses, and cleans. Just like world class powerlifters in Russia, Ukraine, and Norway, they spend their time with practically nothing but a rack, bar, and platform. Looking at NFL players and the strongest powerlifters in the world, the common denominator in their strength regime is the simplistic use of this basic equipment. Below is my list of the most important items needed for a well-equipped gym. Even if you stopped reading after #4, you would still have all you need to become a world class strength athlete.

1. Barbell: The pinnacle of all things strength 2. Weights: Because all barbells need friends

3. Rack: Something that can accommodate squats and bench presses with adjustable safety pins

4. Platform: For deadlifts and Olympic movements and a general place to drop stuff

5. Bench: Adjustable is ideal to do incline and overhead presses

6. Specialty bar: Safety, cambered, Swiss, and other specialty bars are great for very specific purposes such as working around injuries

7. Blocks: Variable heights for deadlifts

8. Bands/chains: Accommodating resistance is still great, folks

9. Dumbbells: A wide range of weights good for light rehab/prehab and heavy work

10. Reverse Hyper/GHR: Not as good as good mornings, but still a great tool, especially for rehab

THINGS I WISH I KNEW