Someone on You Tube last week asked me why I like to use a lot of different types of strength training equipment with my own training and also with my one on one clients? They wanted to know if the reason for this was for variety and to keep it interesting so you don't get bored, or if there was a more specific reason I do this. Firstly, the equipment I use is not for variety and fun but because it aligns with the methods I use to improve movement efficiency, strength, and overall function. Some tools are better than others, and some only apply to certain individuals who may need them due to injury or a sporting requirement meaning I may only use them from time to time. This led me to the question, what type of equipment do I find is the best? This is a question that I am regularly asked by people looking to invest in equipment for a home gym. In today's article I will explain what my favourite types of equipment are and why.

The answer to the question of what is the best will vary a lot from person to person. I also must state that you can still complete a great workout with body-weight exercises which at times are highly under-rated so if you don't have access to any equipment you can still achieve great results. However, there is no doubt you can do a lot more with certain equipment but which is best? This depends on several factors such as how much money you are looking to spend, how much room you have, what type of exercises you like to do, and how often you plan on using it?

The answers to these questions will determine what equipment is the best investment and guide you on the best equipment selection.

Sometimes it may not be a home gym you are looking to set up but you are interested in joining up to a gym and you want to be sure it has everything you need. Whenever I go on holidays for a week and I look to join a gym to workout one of the first things I look at before I join up is what type of equipment they have.

Apart from the décor, the location, types of people working out, and the obvious look of the place, the main thing I look for is what type of equipment they have. I know they won't have everything I might want but the more of the things on my list they have the more likely I will be to sign up.

The equipment I am about to discuss is based upon what I need for myself and what I use most often with my clients. There are some awesome training tools like the Torsonator, weight vests, and sporting equipment like speed ladders and hurdles that don't make it on the list, for while they are great I don't use them as often and they can easily be replaced with something similar.

The most notable missing pieces of equipment are machine strength training exercises and cardio equipment. Cardio training can easily be replaced with activities outdoors like running, walking and cycling so that makes sense. Where equipment is essential is with strength training so you would think that machines should be included.

There is a good reason I do not include machine strength training such as leg extensions, leg press, machine chest press etc on my list. Even when I worked in a large gym that had over 100 different types of machines like these I very rarely used them mainly because they did very little in improving movement efficiency and function. The worst thing about these is they can lead to weakening of stabilizer muscles and the risk of pattern overload.

Pattern overload describes an injury to soft tissues resulting from repetitive movements used too often or from restricted freedom of movement when using certain machine based training. This is classic concern with sports like running and cycling that are extremely repetitive, people who do too much gym work and never change their program and occupations that are very repetitive with certain movements.

Pattern overload is caused mainly when there is these three things present.

1. An inability to correctly sequence a movement
2. Being isolated or restricted to a specific movement without freedom to use more planes of motion
3. Overuse of any particular pattern of movement

An example of pattern overload is seen with something like the Smith Machine bench press that does not allow any freedom of the shoulder or scapula to move versus a cable or even a dumbbell chest press that does. This means the person often has to sacrifice some stability in order to move around the load which is never a good idea. This is not always the case with every person but is very common to those with poor posture or previous injuries.

With almost every case of injury I work with there is a big problem with stabilizer muscles within joints working effectively, and machines completely ignore this problem. If anything they exacerbate it. Always remember you cannot create strength if you do not have stability obtained first and machine training skips this important step entirely.

You can read more about this in the articles below.

• Why the squat is superior to the leg press
• How to become stronger when you challenge the nervous system with movement
• What is stability training and why is it so important?
• How often should you change your workout?

The other factor to consider with specific machine equipment is it costs a lot of money, takes up a lot of space, and can only do one or two things. This means you need a lot of machines to ensure you cover all muscles of the body. Apart from being unnecessary it really is not a good investment for most people.

If I had an unlimited budget and plenty of room and wanted to set up a home gym the first thing I would get all of the equipment I am about to discuss in this article. Even if I was starting all over again with my business I would do that but unfortunately for many people this is not realistic.

All of the equipment I use now in my gym I have acquired over a long time (19 years) and it was not something I bought straight away. I had to prioritise by getting the most useful equipment that gave me and my clients the best results and work my way down the list. Some equipment costs much more than others and some take up a lot of space so you have to factor this in as well.

In my opinion, the worst investments for the home gym is a treadmill. The money spent on this could be much better invested on other equipment that does so much more for your health. When you consider that you can easily do this exercise for free outside it makes even less sense. If you live in Alaska or in a mountainous area covered in snow then this makes sense but for most people this is not the case.

Also walking and running on treadmills all the time is not great for the function of the body for it is an unnatural way to use gait and constant use can lead to weakness of the glutes and feet muscles as the legs are pulled through instead of creating propulsion.

Lastly, if I am looking to join a gym then I really want to find a place that has the most effective training tools to complete the exercises that provide the greatest benefit. The more of these tools they have the better. Once again you still need to consider other factors like cost, location, types of people they attract and so on. But in terms of equipment they have the more boxes they tick the better.

Okay let’s take a look at what I rate the most important gym equipment.

1. Cable Machines

This should come as no surprise to many of you who have followed me for some time with this newsletter or on You Tube as you will regularly see me use cable machines for everything from complex strength exercises that I have shared a lot recently to highly specific injury and rehabilitation exercises for people with chronic pain.

The variations of exercises I can do with this one machine is incredible! I can think of thousands of exercises I could do with this which makes it a significantly more valuable investment than a strength machine or cardio machine that does only one thing. I can do everything from pushing, pulling, rotation, and integrated leg exercises with squat, lunge, single leg and bending to incorporate every muscle of the body.

Considering it would take up only a slightly larger space and maybe cost a little bit more it is superior in many ways. While it is technically called a machine and appears to contradict my eariler point about machine training it really is a free weight that requires the body to stabilize and control as nothing is supported or fixed.

The two best things about this type of equipment and why I rate it above free weights like dumbbells is firstly to do with its ability to manipulate angles of load and target areas that are often hard to replicate with anything else. An example would be how easily you can target the core muscles with horizontal and diagonal angles but also specific patterns of movement like rotation with the woodchop or hip loaded leg exercises.

Secondly, the fact it applies load without compression on joints which is vital for working with injury and rehabilitation. With dumbbells and barbells gravity compressing downwards on the body is how it creates load which is okay if you are able to control it but terrible if you have an existing injury. Even body-weight exercises like squats and lunges with the knees or push-ups for the shoulder can cause problems from the downward pressure of gravity compressing the joints.

Cable machines allow you to strengthen a weakened area without compressing the joint and enable weak muscles to restore their full capacity.

Click here to see a quick video explanation.

Dumbbells, Kettlebells and Barbells

This is an obvious selection as number two on the list and once again there are so many exercises you can use free weights with. While I have classified the dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells all together in one category they are slightly different with their benefits. If I had to choose only one of these I would rate dumbbells as the most useful as they are the easiest to control and can be more easily adopted to more exercises.

The kettlebells are great but can be difficult to use at times with certain exercises which may be a good thing if that is what you want, but can be a problem if you are having trouble with certain movements.

Barbells can limit your ability to be used with other exercises and you will also need a squat rack or specific racking for use with squats and bench press etc which takes up a bit  more room and costs more. Not to mention the weight plates as well. Pattern overload and excessive compression can also be a problem with these at times where dumbbells will avoid this.

I can easily replicate barbell exercises with the dumbbells, perhaps not to the same extent with heavy loads for deadlifts and squats, but to be honest I will get more out of unilateral and lunge based exercises anyway.

Read this article to see more - Why unilateral exercises provide the biggest strength gains

The biggest advantage these have over a cable machine is they do not take up as much space and do not cost as much (at first that is). Once you start adding a lot of dumbbell or kettlebell variations the cost very quickly adds up and you will find having a full rack of 1-40kg will cost twice as much as one cable machine! For most people at home they may only need an adjustable set or a few variations that will not blow the budget.

Overall a great investment for improving strength.

3. Swissballs

This may be quite surprising to many people especially those who believe strength training is all about how heavy the load is. They are a very versatile piece of equipment for at times I can use it to assist with stability and movement and at other times use it to challenge stability and movement. A lot of people do not realize these have been around for a very long time and were predominately used in rehabilitation with physical therapists before they made their way into gyms in the late 80's and early 90's.

In spite of its original name, the "Swiss Ball" was invented in Italy in 1963 as a toy called the Gymnastik by an engineer Aquilino Cosani.  Using the Bobath method of stroke/neuro-developmental rehabilitation, Dr. Elseth Kong and Mary Quinton, an English physical therapist developed pediatric neurological rehab programs using the Swiss Ball.  Dr. Susan Klein-Vogelbach (a Swiss Physical Therapist) incorporated its use into orthopaedic and other medical areas, postural re-education and back rehabilitation.

You can read more about this in the article - Why Swissballs are great home equipment tools

One massive advantage that Swiss ball exercises possess over more traditional exercises is that they allow movement in all three planes: the sagital, transverse and frontal. Think of the many exercises that are found in typical training programs – bench press, shoulder press, lat pulldown, bicep curls, planks etc. These are all sagital-plane dominant, (meaning they are moving in a straight line). Yet how many sports or daily activities are performed without twisting, side bending or rotation? None!

In addition, Swiss ball exercises require a constant recruitment of your core muscles, which does not occur with machine training or many of the overused exercises like crunches or planks. Using a ball also improves balance, which in turn improves agility. Put simply these exercises enhance both your spine and also your stability through your joints in your arms and legs, which helps to prevent injury.

Swiss ball training strengthens postural muscles, which are generally weak from an over-exposure to a sitting or lack of correct movement and are not conditioned by most traditional weight training exercises.

Watch the video below to see some good examples of this.

Finally, Swiss ball exercises provide high levels of nervous system activation, challenging the nervous system, and therefore, allow people to better transfer their strength and power to the sporting or occupational environment. Now you can begin to see the amazing benefits of using a Swiss ball in your exercise program and how it make a massive difference to your health and athletic performance.

Lastly, the cost and space they take up is very minimal making it a perfect choice for anyone.

4. Resistance Bands & TRX

If you are unable to buy a cable machine or join a gym that does not have one the resistance bands can be a good alternative.

Resistance bands are elastic rubber ropes that come in different shapes, sizes, and resistance levels. Most brands offer light, medium and heavy bands that are easy to adjust allowing you to be creative with your exercises and workouts. They can be used by people of all ages and abilities as there are exercise we use with older adults and some with professional sporting athletes. The versatility of this equipment is amazing.

Most people really underestimate how much resistance they can provide and in some cases I would argue it is actually more difficult than the load coming from a dumbbell or barbell. Once you stretch the bands, they can make you work against more resistance, particularly at the end of your range of motion where strength is rising or already at its peak. This causes the muscles to be targeted differently and assists in developing functional muscle movements.

Resistance bands significantly increase the demands on joint stability during movement as there is a massive increase in velocity that acts like a slingshot effect on the joints. This trains the muscles to adapt to these rapid changes, unlike dumbbells or barbells that are more predictable and partly rely on momentum, making a portion of free weight exercises actually weightless!

These training tools also are one of those rare pieces of equipment that let you train multiple muscles in your body at the same time and focus very closely on the CORE. Very much like cable machines in a gym environment they allow you to alter the direction the load comes from.

I use these a lot with people suffering injuries as I can use them to enhance joint stability by adopting what is called reactive neuromuscular training. This is where a small amount of resistance is applied to a faulty movement that “feed the mistake” and therefor forces the body to make a correction.

As with Swissballs the cost of this equipment is very small and they take up very little space making them a great choice for the home gym.

You can read more about bands and see several ways to use them in this article - How to use resistance bands in your home workout

5. BOSU & Balance Boards

I remember the first time I stood on the flat side of a BOSU and started to do a squat and my whole body and my legs starting shaking violently. I just couldn’t stop the shaking it was incredible. My arms were swinging everywhere and I was all over the place. After a few attempts at this I seemed to work it out quite quickly and no longer found it difficult. Anyone who has trained people before will have seen this first hand too.

The first exposure to an unstable surface typically causes these large gross movements throughout the body that are initiated to compensate for the change in stability and try to restore your centre of gravity. However these large movements often cause the body to be even more unstable and hence a greater degree of shaking and instability continues.

The reason your body reacts like this when subjected to unstable training for the first time is that the feeling of instability generates a massive increase in muscle activation in both prime mover and stabilizing muscles to assist. The nervous system responds with a non-specific spinal reaction to attempt to bring the centre of mass back within the supporting surface.

Once you have exposed the body to multiple attempts at training in unstable environments, it is able to both respond quicker to the fast reflex movements with more precise, timing and adjustments, activating only the muscles needed. This is when you find it much easier and no longer swing your arms and can maintain a steady trunk position.

While there are stacks of benefits to using this type of equipment there are also a few risks and many people label this type of equipment as useless and just a circus stunt or gimmick. When it comes to balance training there are times when it is great and other times when it is detrimental. The key is to know when and who you are using it with and there must be an intelligent approach to how it is applied. The benefits can be astounding however, if used poorly there is definitely a point where the risk outweighs the reward.

If used wisely it can be a great addition to your training but obviously not the first thing you should be looking for.

 

You can read more about BOSU and balance boards in this article and see several examples of exercises I might use - Balance and unstable surface training - useful tool or dangerous gimmick?

6. Foam Rollers & Trigger Point Tools

Self massage tools are something I use a lot working with many people suffering injury or stiffness that is robbing their body of stability and strength.

Weakness and instability can develop in several areas of the body from poor movement that causes a joint to lose its integrity and stability. When that happens and you do nothing to rectify it the body has not choice but to use severe tightness known as trigger points to stabilize the joint.

And while stretching & mobility drills are great for helping to improve a muscle range of motion, they do not help much in the initial stages of releasing these nasty hot spots. A much more aggressive approach using massage or small tools that get into the trigger point are what is needed.

A foam roller is a great way to begin releasing these hot spots. The foam roller can be very effective at releasing fascia type muscles that do not respond well to stretching. However it is limited to doing an effective job when it comes to small muscles around the scapula that will require a much smaller and more compact tool. I use tools like the pocket physio and posture pro from Lockeroom sports to do this.

Click here to see the video where I use these various tools and explain their purpose.

7. Sole Mate & Sensa Mat

This could arguably be placed higher on the list for the amount of people I see with weak feet is increasing every year. Click here to see a quick video of these tools.

One of the most overlooked and misunderstood areas of the body is the muscles of the feet. The feet are the only contact point between the body and serve critical role in providing a solid foundation for us to move in a standing position. While most people easily recognize the need for strengthening the feet with any foot related problems like plantar fasciitis, Achilles injuries, bunions and various other foot injuries, many struggle to link weak feet to problems like knee pain, hip pain and back pain.

Anyone with injuries to their knees, hips or back will know how important the glutes are to correcting problems in these joints, but did you know the glutes are heavily reliant on what the feet are doing?

For a long time I have been giving people tedious exercises for the feet and especially the big toe as we know it is linked to so many different kinds of lower limb injuries, instability, and weakness. Unfortunately, a lot of people find these exercises very boring and difficult to master. This is where I use tools like the Sole Mate from Foot Collective and the Sensa Mat to enhance foot stability and strength.

The best part is these exercises can be easily done at home and take little space or technical know-how to complete.

The sensa mat in particular was a game changer with many severely limited clients when I first used it 10 years ago. You can read more about these tools and several examples in the articles below.

• How to use the Sensa Mat to improve foot stability
• How weak feet create weak glutes and potential for injury

8. Decline Board

I first started using this equipment way back in 2006 when working with some clients trying to rehab after an ACL reconstruction. There was no possible way they could squat correctly, or with much range as there was significant stiffness in almost all joints greatly reducing their ability to achieve the optimal depth needed to develop strength. I found the ankle was playing a huge role in preventing the optimal squat technique, and in many cases was the cause of the knee injury, and I needed to find a way to take the ankle out of the equation temporarily so we could improve strength into other areas.

I had recently completed a training course on rehab and the physio taking the course had shown me how to use the decline board to help with this particular problem and also teach the client how to maintain optimal spinal and trunk position during the squat. Not only was this important for retraining the movement pattern of squats as they improved, but it also taught them how to recruit the posterior muscles of glutes and hamstrings more effectively by shifting their body into a more centred position. The ankle we could then treat separately with the eventual goal of integrating it all back together to improve the movement without compensation and add strength to muscles that had already wasted due to the injury.

While this equipment I do not use with everyone as it is not necessary, the amount of people with knee problems, quadriceps weakness, or poor squat form is extremely high making this tool a valuable resource. Using this simple tool can help you address all of these problems making it into my top 10 list.

Read this article to see more about this - How to use the decline squat to improve quadricep strength after a knee injury

9. Body Blade and Flex Bar

If you are not sure what a Body Blade or a Flex bar is watch the video above as I show you the interesting things you can do with these tools. Once again these are training tools used in rehabilitation for injuries to the shoulder and also the elbow which can be a really difficult joint to restore function too. Click here to see a video of how I might use these tools.

I myself have used these tools for a long time and many people used to think I was sucked into some crazy fitness craze, when in reality I had read a lot of research indicating the use of vibration tools can be a great way to improve strength in people with injury with minimal risk to joints.

The best part of these tools if you have never used them before is just how tiring they can be to your stabilizers and your core. The exercises do not look difficult when you watch someone doing them but when you try it yourself you realize they are very hard. While they are a great tool to use, on their own they will do little. You still need to learn how to move correctly and improve function of multiple areas as well. This just can be a nice tool to complement your other methods and exercises.

In Vladimir Janda's book "Assessment and Treatment of Muscle Imbalance" he goes into great detail about the use of the flex bar and in his research he found that the activation of phasic muscles like serratus anterior was much higher than the tonic muscles like pec minor when oscillation training was used. He noted that this technique may be very useful and have great potential for correcting muscle imbalance with people who had shoulder and scapula instability.

I find these tools are very useful for elbow injuries which you can read more about in this article - Getting rid of elbow pain is all about scapula stability

10. Battle Ropes

Lucky last on the list is battling ropes or power ropes as they are sometimes called. While many of the other pieces of equipment focus on stability of joints and trying to rehabilitate injuries this is all about cardiovascular fitness, power, and strength.

They are a very simple and versatile piece of equipment to that are suitable for all levels of fitness and experience.  They can be used in an infinite number of ways only limited by your imagination and can provide that edge in your training that may be missing. Battle ropes are thick, heavy ropes with one end of the rope wrapped around an anchor at its midpoint so that 2 evenly lengthened ends can be held in each hand.  The ropes are usually waved, slammed, or pulled and there are a seemingly endless amount of different exercises and variations to choose from.

They can improve everything from grip strength, to power development and fast twitch fibres, to core strength, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness. This can be a great way to improve fitness if you struggle to do leg based cardio activities like running and cycling and have a profound effect in a very short amount of time.

Quite a unique training tool and one that many people enjoy, well not really. You can read more about this and see several examples in this article - 7 Reasons why you should use battling ropes in your workout

Do You Need More Help?

While I have provided you with a ton of exercise ideas it can be hard trying to put all the pieces together. The good news is I have put a lot of this together for you already and you can download some great reports that show you everything you need to know. The Little Black Book of Training secrets provides you with 101 different workouts to make sure you keep your body guessing and continually improving.

Summary

There are so many ways to get in great shape these days and the evolution of effective and unique training tools has made it so much easier. Whether you need to improve strength, stability, rehabilitate an injury or improve fitness there is something out there that can really help you. I hope this article gives you some great ideas and shows you how important it can be to have tools like this at your disposal.

For more ideas and information on specific topics I may not have covered in detail be sure to check out our INDEX PAGE on the website that has over 300 of our best articles. These are all sorted into categories for quick reference so you can find what you are after more easily. You can also subscribe to our FREE fortnightly newsletter by clicking here.

If you do need specific help with your exercise program please feel free to reach out to me for help and we can set you up with your individualised program.