Fitness Training Equipment

What One Piece of Fitness Equipment Would I Get if I Could Only Have One?

Since I couldn’t just choose one, I chose a piece of equipment for strength, functional, bodyweight, cardio, flexibility, and mobility.

Photo by Heidi Erickson on Unsplash

Whenever I step into a place that sells fitness equipment, I’m like a kid in a candy store with a sweet tooth.

I could use just about any piece of fitness equipment to satisfy my workout craving.

So, when my son asked me if I could only have one piece of fitness equipment, what would it be?

Since I couldn’t just choose one, I decided to choose one piece of equipment I would recommend for strength, functional, body weight, cardio, flexibility, and mobility.

Strength

For strength gains, nothing beats kettlebells. Yes, while it’s nice to have an entire set of dumbbells, barbells, and Olympic-style bumper plates, I’d always go for kettlebells. They are the most “bang for the buck” piece of functional fitness equipment. It can be used for just about any movement. They are easy to store on the floor. Require minimal maintenance. Scratches, dents, chipped paint, and rust all add to its character over time. I still have and use my first pair of kettlebells I’ve had for almost two decades. I use them for deadlifts, squats, rows, overhead presses, and swings — covering all of the fundamental strength movements with just a few kettlebells.

Functional

I fell in love with the Free Motion machine at the gym where I first started personal training. Why? It reminded me of an Erector Set. It had adjustable arms with a center-based column to adjust each side’s stacks of weights. I could build out toy parts using lego pieces to work out. It was one of the most diverse coolest things I used at the gym. The irony is that many people didn’t know how to use it. That’s the beauty of it. You can create so many functional movements your mind can think of your body trying to do. A pair of rubber-based ribbed handles made it easy to grip and move the cables independently, essential for doing functional movements in various positions.