Equipment is simply a tool for training and like any tool, each has a use it is best suited for. Of course, it’s important to know how to properly use of a tool, but we’ll cover that in our exercise videos and many other lessons.
The majority of our training programs require equipment for the best results. To reiterate, it’s because equipment can provide a greater stimulus, speed up results, and make it easier to learn new skills. Although having more equipment gives you a bigger toolbox, a more fun playground, and a larger variety of exercises, the purpose behind the training remains the same.
If you have one dumbbell, you can train. If you have no equipment, you can train. What equipment you need depends on your goal. If your goal was to get shredded or strong simply by doing bodyweight exercises, unless you are a gymnast or doing advanced calisthenics (e.g. handstands, pull-ups, planches), you’re going to run into more challenges and limitations. We still utilize bodyweight exercises in every workout.
We suggest you try out a lot of different equipment because you may enjoy certain tools more than others or some tools may feel more comfortable to you for certain exercises. Yes, some exercises can only be done with certain equipment, but there is always other options for training the same thing. Try calisthenics too, you may love it and never need a piece of equipment besides your own body.
All of our workouts and programs can be categorized by the equipment they use. We want our training to be available to you regardless of what you equipment you have access to. You can use these our equipment levels to scale up your equipment options as you develop your fitness.
A lot of exercises can be done with a variety of equipment, after all, weight is weight. A 20-pound dumbbell vs. a 20-pound kettlebell is still 20 pounds. Like we covered in the lesson on training Movements Over Muscles, as long as you perform the movement, the equipment is just a way of adding resistance or increasing the challenge of any exercise.
If you’re doing a squat, you could easily swap out a dumbbell for a kettlebell or barbell and achieve the same or very similar effects. Sometimes just the shape of equipment has its benefits too (e.g. the barbell is sturdy and provides the leverage for heavy weights; a sandbag shifts its shape as the sand or water moves around making you have to adapt to it; a kettlebell rests on the body better and doesn’t spin as wildly as a dumbbell).
Learn more about the variety of equipment available, what we use, how to use it, or how to upgrade your your home gym in our Equipment Guide.