Equipment for Strength Training

Minimal Equipment, Maximum Results – What You Need to Strength Train

You read that right, MINIMAL. The smallest amount. The least quantity. The bare minimum.

I remember hearing my old teammates giving excuses left and right about why they couldn’t get work in outside of practice. They’d say, ‘I don’t have a tee’, ‘I don’t have anyone to throw with’, ‘I don’t have a catcher to pitch to’, ‘I don’t have anyone to hit me groundballs’.

That’s a lot of ‘I don’ts’ and not a lot of ‘I can’s’. I’d hear all those and then I’d hear literally every coach I’ve ever had say, ‘You can always do something as long as you have a ball and yourself.’

Those words have stuck with me all these years – you can do anything to better your skills, talents, and self as long as you have the drive and yourself.

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This is especially true when it comes to your fitness journey. There is a lot of misinformation surrounding the type and amount of equipment you need to get lean, strong, and healthy. I want to clear that up and give you a list of equipment you NEED to get the results you are wanting.

The good news is that strength training can be cheap and cost effective. I am going to bring you a good, better, best, and a better than best list of equipment and exercises. If you’re ready to see how you can get fit with a budget, keep reading!

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Good = Bodyweight

Bodyweight exercises are super effective! You can hit most, maybe all, of the major muscle groups with simple bodyweight movements. You can always do SOMETHING. You can do sit-ups, pushups, squats, hip thrusts, and glute bridges. You can also go to a park and find some equipment to use.

There are tons of people who are in great shape just doing bodyweight training, so don’t underestimate its power! It’s not my specialty because I have always had access to some type of equipment, but just know any training is better than no training.

The best part, it’s free! So if you are totally broke, there is no excuse, you can still strength train!

semi private training at Steel Strength Training Chelsea

Better = Kettlebell and Bands

If I had 100$ to spend, I would start by getting a kettlebell – more wouldn’t be a bad thing ‘wink’ ‘wink’. I would also get some bands.

There are LOTS of things you can do with a kettlebell and bands. If you travel a lot or are going to be on the road, a kettlebell and bands go a long way. I tell my clients all the time to take these things with them to the beach or on vacation.

You can do squats, kettlebell swings, glute bridges, RDLs, deadlifts, hip thrusts, rows, shoulder press, shrugs, curls, triceps extension, etc..

So, if you have 100$ you can REVOLUTIONIZE your strength training game with just a kettlebell and bands.

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Best = Bench and Dumbbells

Adding a bench and dumbbells to your setup opens the door to more opportunity. With a bench and dumbbells, you can add in bench press, pushups, and more!

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Better than Best = Squat Rack, Barbell, Bench, Plates, Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Bands, and a Mat

You can get these items at around 1000$ – 1500$ brand new or maybe 2000$ if you want to get fancy.

If you can get this equipment, this will be all you will ever need for the rest of your life! You can build an amazing home gym with this stuff.

This is what our gyms look like! All three of our locations have this exact equipment because it is what you need!

If you walk into a commercial gym, you’ll see a ton of machines. Some machines are super helpful, but they are expensive to invest in and they require lots of maintenance.

In terms of what you need, a simple setup can go such a long way. Other things like machines can be nice to add-on, but they are not necessary.

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Round Up

Using anything with the correct form is what’s going to get you results – so whether you use bodyweight, bands, kettlebells, or a rack, use it with correct form!

  • If you can’t invest 1$, God gave you all the equipment you need – your body! You can accomplish so much with bodyweight.
  • If you have 100$, get some kettlebells and bands. This will open the door to 2x, 3x, or 4x the exercises you can do with bodyweight.
  • If you have a few 100$, add onto that by getting dumbbells and a bench. That’s going to open more opportunities.
  • Lastly, the ultimate setup – get you a rack, a bar, some plates, dumbbells, bench, kettlebells, and bands. Using this equipment the CORRECT way will get you crazy awesome results!
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