When a trainee starts to lift weights for the first time, "iron fever' takes hold, and the would-be Tarzan buys every muscle mag on the newsstand, purchases every supplement he possibly can, and performs almost all the exercises he hears of for endless sets and very frequent workouts. Nightmare!
Then, by some miracle, the trainee discovers HARDGAINER. Common sense takes over from the muscle- mag madness. The supplements get confined to protein shakes and multi-vits; the workouts are now planned in advance for twice per week only; and only basic, multi-joint exercises are performed for one or two work sets each. The nightmare is over. Then the dream starts to come true.
The "success" boils down to one thing--simplicity! No complicated routines and exercises. No weird and wonderful training techniques. No expensive and mysterious "wonder" supplements. Instead, just "the basics." Basic exercises--squats, deadlifts, chins, dips, benches, etc. Basic training every four or five days. Basic food--sensible diet of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cereals, and pints of semi-skimmed milk and water. And a basic understanding of what "productive" training is all about--not rocket science, not astro physics, but just common sense.
And that's also the basis for any good home gym: simplicity. If you keep it simple, then you can't go far wrong.
But how simple? Can you still get good results from even the most basic of gyms?
Paul Anderson, arguably the strongest man of all time, would train using two tractor wheels with an axle connecting them, as his "over-size" barbell. Due to the very large diameter of the wheels, Paul was performing partial squats. He also overhead pressed the same axle. No machines. No power rack. No bench. A farmyard barn, an improvised barbell, and the will to lift. To be truthful, that's all you really need--a barbell, plates and the will to lift.
Read the early issues of HARDGAINER, namely the "Asking Dr. Ken" section. There, in his inspiring "Rise and Fall" stories, Doc Ken reveals how he trained in the deep winter, living in an isolated cabin, while employed cutting logs. Snow and little nourishment--he even resorted to eating cat food, and having rice flavored with toothpaste as his desert--and yet he still trained himself to a very high level of functional strength using only a barbell and 300 pounds of discs. This was the gear that he threw into the back of his pickup truck on his way to the cabin.
By training outdoors, performing high-rep squats and deadlifts, he gained the sort of strength and build that most readers seek. Was his a high-tech gym? I think not!
But for any home-gym devotee, only three things really matter. And they are:
1. Safety
2. Safety
3. Safety
Safety and simplicity. If you keep those two words high on your list of priorities, and repeat them like a mantra, then success will surely find you.
Here's what I have in my home gym. I used to have more gear, but since simplifying it my training has greatly improved. If you can't duplicate the equipment, substitute it with something very similar.
1. A straight bar. Choose 45-mm diameter (or 2 inches if you prefer), designed to take standard plates. This makes for a more economical setup than a bar for Olympic discs. If you can't make/obtain a large-diameter bar, then use a standard one and "upgrade" at a later date.
2. A trap bar (or shrug bar). This is probably the best bar for deadlifting unless you're a powerlifter. If you're a powerlifter, you must deadlift with a straight bar, as this is a very different lift to the trap/shrug bar one.
3. A flat bench. Get a sturdy, bomb-proof, flat bench from a reputable company. It should be welded, with not a bolt in sight. It can have an incline/decline facility, but this is not essential.
4. A weight tree. This will keep the discs together and the gym floor clutter free. Then there's less chance of accidents.
5. Two dumbbells. Spin-lock collars are safe and economical. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need the "extra long" 'bells with expensive "safety" collars. Unless you're a real monster, ordinary dumbbells will more than adequately fit the bill.
6. A cambered squatting bar. This isn't a "must have" but it will improve your desire for squatting by making the movement just a tad more "enjoyable," which is no bad thing.
7. A chinning bar. Weighted pullups and chins are far superior to any type of lat machine pulldown. But because a chinning bar is inexpensive, and chins are harder to perform than lat pulldowns, most trainees give this excellent piece of apparatus a body swerve. Buy a chinning bar, now!
8. A dipping station. This can be two bars placed inside a power rack, or a contraption made from wood or piping, or anything else constructed by yourself or a welder to enable you to perform dips safely. Most novices would rather perform triceps pushdowns on a lat machine, to the far harder, superior and results- producing dips.
9. A padded belt. A "hip belt" of some description, well padded and secure, will enable you to add resistance around your waist for weighted chins and dips. If you want a large and muscular upper body, forget about fancy chrome-plated, expensive, beautifully engineered machines. Just do chins and dips, chins and dips, chins and dips.
10. Heavy-duty hand grippers. Get good quality ones, not the inexpensive sports-shop type with plastic handles and the sort of spring power an invalid aunt could close on her death bed.
11. A power rack/safety squat racks. Both devices allow you to train alone in complete safety. No need for spotters for such exercises as the bench press or squat, and the movements can be trained as partials if so wished.
And that's it, equipment wise. Of course you need to know what to do with the gear, but if you follow what you read in HARDGAINER, you should be fine.
Make sure the gym is well lighted. Don't stumble around in poor light. Try to train in a place that can be well ventilated. Fresh air is good for you. Wooden floors/floorboards protected by rubber mats are the ideal, but not essential. You could use a few old carpets laid on top of each other to protect the flooring. You also need a clock, a training log, a mirror (to observe form), and perhaps some training photos for "inspiration." You get the picture.
As time goes by, what you need for your own home gym will slowly emerge. Just don't go crazy and buy everything you see in the magazines or sports shops. Forget about power belts/briefs/suits, lifting straps, knee wraps, fancy clothing, fancy boots or any of the other bull that makes up the mainstream training world.
Compared to the average and perhaps expensive-to-join gym, yours should be bare, basic and best.
Then, by some miracle, the trainee discovers HARDGAINER. Common sense takes over from the muscle- mag madness. The supplements get confined to protein shakes and multi-vits; the workouts are now planned in advance for twice per week only; and only basic, multi-joint exercises are performed for one or two work sets each. The nightmare is over. Then the dream starts to come true.
The "success" boils down to one thing--simplicity! No complicated routines and exercises. No weird and wonderful training techniques. No expensive and mysterious "wonder" supplements. Instead, just "the basics." Basic exercises--squats, deadlifts, chins, dips, benches, etc. Basic training every four or five days. Basic food--sensible diet of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cereals, and pints of semi-skimmed milk and water. And a basic understanding of what "productive" training is all about--not rocket science, not astro physics, but just common sense.
And that's also the basis for any good home gym: simplicity. If you keep it simple, then you can't go far wrong.
But how simple? Can you still get good results from even the most basic of gyms?
Paul Anderson, arguably the strongest man of all time, would train using two tractor wheels with an axle connecting them, as his "over-size" barbell. Due to the very large diameter of the wheels, Paul was performing partial squats. He also overhead pressed the same axle. No machines. No power rack. No bench. A farmyard barn, an improvised barbell, and the will to lift. To be truthful, that's all you really need--a barbell, plates and the will to lift.
Read the early issues of HARDGAINER, namely the "Asking Dr. Ken" section. There, in his inspiring "Rise and Fall" stories, Doc Ken reveals how he trained in the deep winter, living in an isolated cabin, while employed cutting logs. Snow and little nourishment--he even resorted to eating cat food, and having rice flavored with toothpaste as his desert--and yet he still trained himself to a very high level of functional strength using only a barbell and 300 pounds of discs. This was the gear that he threw into the back of his pickup truck on his way to the cabin.
By training outdoors, performing high-rep squats and deadlifts, he gained the sort of strength and build that most readers seek. Was his a high-tech gym? I think not!
But for any home-gym devotee, only three things really matter. And they are:
1. Safety
2. Safety
3. Safety
Safety and simplicity. If you keep those two words high on your list of priorities, and repeat them like a mantra, then success will surely find you.
Here's what I have in my home gym. I used to have more gear, but since simplifying it my training has greatly improved. If you can't duplicate the equipment, substitute it with something very similar.
1. A straight bar. Choose 45-mm diameter (or 2 inches if you prefer), designed to take standard plates. This makes for a more economical setup than a bar for Olympic discs. If you can't make/obtain a large-diameter bar, then use a standard one and "upgrade" at a later date.
2. A trap bar (or shrug bar). This is probably the best bar for deadlifting unless you're a powerlifter. If you're a powerlifter, you must deadlift with a straight bar, as this is a very different lift to the trap/shrug bar one.
3. A flat bench. Get a sturdy, bomb-proof, flat bench from a reputable company. It should be welded, with not a bolt in sight. It can have an incline/decline facility, but this is not essential.
4. A weight tree. This will keep the discs together and the gym floor clutter free. Then there's less chance of accidents.
5. Two dumbbells. Spin-lock collars are safe and economical. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need the "extra long" 'bells with expensive "safety" collars. Unless you're a real monster, ordinary dumbbells will more than adequately fit the bill.
6. A cambered squatting bar. This isn't a "must have" but it will improve your desire for squatting by making the movement just a tad more "enjoyable," which is no bad thing.
7. A chinning bar. Weighted pullups and chins are far superior to any type of lat machine pulldown. But because a chinning bar is inexpensive, and chins are harder to perform than lat pulldowns, most trainees give this excellent piece of apparatus a body swerve. Buy a chinning bar, now!
8. A dipping station. This can be two bars placed inside a power rack, or a contraption made from wood or piping, or anything else constructed by yourself or a welder to enable you to perform dips safely. Most novices would rather perform triceps pushdowns on a lat machine, to the far harder, superior and results- producing dips.
9. A padded belt. A "hip belt" of some description, well padded and secure, will enable you to add resistance around your waist for weighted chins and dips. If you want a large and muscular upper body, forget about fancy chrome-plated, expensive, beautifully engineered machines. Just do chins and dips, chins and dips, chins and dips.
10. Heavy-duty hand grippers. Get good quality ones, not the inexpensive sports-shop type with plastic handles and the sort of spring power an invalid aunt could close on her death bed.
11. A power rack/safety squat racks. Both devices allow you to train alone in complete safety. No need for spotters for such exercises as the bench press or squat, and the movements can be trained as partials if so wished.
And that's it, equipment wise. Of course you need to know what to do with the gear, but if you follow what you read in HARDGAINER, you should be fine.
Make sure the gym is well lighted. Don't stumble around in poor light. Try to train in a place that can be well ventilated. Fresh air is good for you. Wooden floors/floorboards protected by rubber mats are the ideal, but not essential. You could use a few old carpets laid on top of each other to protect the flooring. You also need a clock, a training log, a mirror (to observe form), and perhaps some training photos for "inspiration." You get the picture.
As time goes by, what you need for your own home gym will slowly emerge. Just don't go crazy and buy everything you see in the magazines or sports shops. Forget about power belts/briefs/suits, lifting straps, knee wraps, fancy clothing, fancy boots or any of the other bull that makes up the mainstream training world.
Compared to the average and perhaps expensive-to-join gym, yours should be bare, basic and best.