Michael Boyle's Strengthcoach.com Blog

I’ve been getting this question a lot lately.

“I want to set up a home gym or a small studio space, what do I need?

What most people do when they first get the urge to work out is go out and buy a few sets of dumbbells at a local sporting goods store. This a really short-sighted idea. If you continue to work out, you must continue to buy dumbbells as you get stronger. Eventually you have mismatched dumbbells all over the place. The answer? Powerblock adjustable dumbbells. PS-I don’t work for Powerblock.

After you get your Powerblocks, get a good quality adjustable bench. The PB Extreme equipment from Perform Better is excellent and reasonable. Don’t go cheap. Consider it an investment.

Last thing you need is some type of equipment to pull on. Even the most inexpensive pulley system can be a huge investment so think this one through. If it’s a small studio you might also want to consider a PB Extreme Half Rack. This will let you do chin-ups and mount a TRX or a set of rings. Consider some sort of mounting system for a TRX to save money.

Bottom line, you only need dumbbells, a bench and a TRX or rings to do everything you need to do.

PS- if you are a bit bigger with more strength potential, consider the 85 lb Powerblocks.

If you are a personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach, you need to read this.

Big Brother is Watching You Squat

John O’Sullivan at Changing the Game Project puts out some great stuff and this piece is no exception. If you are a parent, please read this. If you are involved in youth sports please read this. If you are an administrator of a youth sports program, please share this with your parents.

The 3 Myths That Are Destroying the Youth Sports Experience for Our Kids

This came to me courtesy of James Leath  (@jamesleath www.jamesleath.com ) but, the text is from the Hall of Fame induction speech of John Smoltz . Imagine how important John Smoltz thinks this is if he included it in the limited amount of time available to him at Cooperstown.

“Before I hand it over to the next inductee, I’d be remiss if I did not talk about Tommy John. I’ve been given an opportunity as one of the only players, the only one right now, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with Tommy John surgery. It’s an epidemic. It’s something that is affecting our game. It’s something that I thought would cost me my career, but thanks to Dr. James Andrews and all those before him, performing the surgery with such precision has caused it to be almost a false read, like a Band‑Aid you put on your arm.

I want to encourage the families and parents that are out there to understand that this is not normal to have a surgery at 14 and 15 years old, that you have time, that baseball’s not a year‑round sport, that you have an opportunity to be athletic and play other sports.

Don’t let the institutions that are out there running before you guaranteeing scholarship dollars and signing bonuses (tell you) that this is the way. We have such great, dynamic arms in our game that it’s a shame that we’re having one and two and three Tommy John recipients. So I want to encourage you if nothing else, know that your children’s passion and desire to play baseball is something that they can do without a competitive pitch. Every throw a kid makes today is a competitive pitch. They don’t go outside; they don’t have fun; they don’t throw enough. But they’re competing and maxing out too hard, too early, and that’s why we’re having these problems. So please, take care of those great future arms.”