Getting More With Less

What if I were to tell you that you need to have minimal equipment and should only do 7 movements for the rest of your life? Not only that, but by doing so you will be as strong as you ever have been, move better than you ever have, and never get bored with all of the above?

You, like me, would most likely be skeptical and think that it sounds too good to be true! However, that is the beauty of the DVRT system we incorporate at Fitness Lying Down. You don’t need every piece of equipment to reach your fitness goals…less can be more. I find that clutter in the gym (whether at home or at a brick & mortar business) can easily distract and take away from the efficiency and effectiveness of a workout. Plus, let’s not forget that it’s expensive to get all the shiny objects to play with and like children who play with their new toys for a few days and then leave them alone for the rest of eternity, so goes FOMO (fear of missing out) fitness equipment.

Of course, everything I just stated in the last paragraph is counterintuitive because we believe that we need all the things so we don’t get bored and fail reaching our fitness goals, and the more stuff we have the better we will be as a result!

What 2020 taught us is those who were able to quickly transition to their “home gyms” with little equipment were able to stay consistent and stay on track and keep strength training as a way to keep their bodies strong and their minds healthy. Those that relied on all the big, shiny pieces of equipment struggled to keep consistent with their workouts and lost steam.

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How much impact can a few sandbags make in your fitness journey?

Well our training model at Fitness Lying Down has never been about obtaining all the shiny objects to keep our clients from getting bored. It has been about using the best tools, the ones that will give us a large ROI (return on investment). Our training model is understanding the science of human movement with precision coaching to provide our sandbaggers with efficient and effective training sessions that will keep them coming back for more!

This is why the Ultimate Sandbag (USB) is a perfect tool for us at FLD! There are up to 11 ways tohold this piece of equipment. How many ways can you hold a barbell, dumbbell, weight machine? Changing the holding position will increase and decrease the intensity of any given exercise without having to change the weight of the USB. Do you know what this means? You really only need 1-3 USBs to have an effective training session (but some of us are addicted to getting more Ultimate Sandbags). If you’re training from home, this means your home gym will take up less space to store and use. What are you doing with that treadmill or elliptical at home now? Great places to hang laundry on, right? And don’t even get me started on the price of those pieces of equipment versus a few USBs.

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You can see that these are all the same movements,
but different ways to use our functional training tools!

And as this lesson on fitness economics is applied to a home gym, think what it means for a brick & mortar gym like Fitness Lying Down. We don’t have to deal with a bunch of large, expensive and redundant pieces of equipment that serves as a one-trick pony and that takes up so much space; keeping the cost low for our sandbaggers. And all this room we’re saving with all our multi-purposed equipment we can really capitalize on the space and be very movement friendly to build better and stronger people!

Okay, okay you might be saying to yourself…I understand the minimal equipment a little better now, but what about only SEVEN movements for the rest of my life? Where’s that in this blog?

I’m glad you asked!

When it comes to the human experience, there are seven movement patterns we rely on for daily function: squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, rotation, and locomotion. I didn’t say 7 exercises, but 7 movements. Tricky, tricky! Now going through these 7 movement patterns and changing the holding position offers many variables to your training that won’t keep you guessing, but adapting because that is what strength training is all about! Too many people believe strength training is all about the amount of weight you can lift, but it’s actually about the ability to adapt to certain demands brought about by load. Overcoming these obstacles will improve your performance inside and outside of the four walls of your training space, building resilience in your body as you continue to adapt to various circumstances.

I would love to give you an example of how this applies to our training. Imagine standing on both feet pressing a beautiful bag over your head. This will be the most stable and strong position you can be in for this exercise. Now imagine if I brought you down on both knees performing the same overhead press. Because I have limited your contact with the ground, this places you in a more vulnerable position and you will really have to learn how to use your core muscles to press – making the same size bag feel heavier. And now going from both knees to a half kneeling position. Now I have introduced you to more forces that need to be overcome as your body will now be tempted to twist and turn as you press, giving your body more opportunities to build a stronger core and making the same size bag even that much more heavier!

Whew! And we didn’t even touch changing the holding positions of the USB. Using all these variables in the training stimuli has made our sandbaggers at FLD movement strong, not just gym strong, so they can be confident in their bodies outside our gym and move so much better because of the strength they have reclaimed which makes a huge impact on how they live their lives!

You’re welcome.