I enjoy the gym I train at, but 95% of it’s floor space is ruled by The Machines. It is the 5% of the floor space, “back in the corner” where I dwell and am grateful for that for it is there where the barbells, plates and squat racks are.

When I first started lifting years ago, my first introduction to a “real gym” was the Eagles Club in downtown Milwaukee on Wisconsin Avenue. My dad would take me there on Saturdays and sometimes I could go on my own, once I had my driver’s license. (It was on that busy street where Dad taught me to parallel park).

The large, landmark three story building had a large swimming pool reeking of too much chlorine and cloudy water with old-timers endlessly swimming laps in their birthday suits. Upstairs was a boxing gym, complete with an old, well-used ring, heavy bags speed bags, leather and wood jump ropes and a lot of barbells, dumbbells, chalk and bad lighting. It was there I learned to pick up a bar off the floor and put it over my head. I would leave that place covered in chalk and it was great. I was young and in awe of the place and had a sense of the history there. Famous boxers like Max Baer had fought there and other fighters looking to make it to the big time by way of the Golden Gloves got their start at the Eagles aerie. That was a man’s gym. (I should note that on the first floor there was a bar and a dance floor). Now THAT was a gym! But I wax nostalgic.

At my suburban high school our “weight room” was 14 x 14 space and in the center, a shiny new chrome Universal machine and little else. Gone were the barbells, dumbells and chalk. Those were from a bygone era, never known by most of the kids there. What I had in front of me was the future of weight training. As a young kid, the future is what is important, not the past and the multi-station machines were going to give me the big muscles I was after.

As the machines took hold and gyms switched to them, they advanced, grew and multiplied and a new industry was born. Gyms like Bally’s and 24 Hour Fitness sprouted up all over the country and barbells were largely forgotten or ignored. The dumbbells fared better, but it was the machines that ruled the day.

They rule at my gym today but in the 5% Corner, there are still bars and squat racks, and we can powerlift and even lift overhead with the Olympic lifts. In that corner, we are left alone, save for the occasional guy that wants to pick up a bar at a squat rack and do bicep curls. For most of the gymgoers, those who lift over there are at least a curiosity, some “hardcore” and a few freaks (strongmen lifters).

For me, the progression went from barbells to machines and now back to barbells. Which is better? Did the machines advance strength training? Without hesitation, the barbell has made the biggest difference in my strength training and it wasn’t until age 50 that I figured that out.

In “The Machines Aren’t Alright”, author and strength coach Matt Gary does a splendid job breaking down the difference between classic weightlifting equipment versus machines. Here is an excerpt:

Today’s gyms and training facilities are full of unnecessary items. Gyms are what society perceives they should be like…attractive, comfortable, and welcoming. How do those qualities equate to an atmosphere of physical achievement? I fail to see the connection. Gyms should be
entirely uncomfortable, unpleasant, and unwelcoming. Instead of appearing like a lounge, a support network of like-minded individuals should be present because an individual will push harder and risk more in the company of trustworthy peers. Instead of mirrors, there should be motivational thoughts, inspirational quotes, record boards, and photos of those who have
come before us and paved the highway of physical achievement.

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Before training, I had a pretty intense session with “Doc Jox”, my chiropractor. I have couple of nagging injuries, a “tennis elbow”, a C7 impingement on the left side causing tingling down the arm and scapular issues. Besides the adjustments, he performed ART and Trigger Point Therapy. Now that was painful and I believe would constitute “torture” these days. I asked if this was permisseable under the terms of the Geneva Convention.

My desire (and ability) to train hard was gone, so I went pretty light and basic.

Burgener warm-ups x 3.

5 x 3 snatches + overhead squats, 45/65/70/75/65/70.

5 x 3 Good Mornings. (Tapped the bar on the pins as my upper body was parallel to the floor and paused, negating the stretch reflex),

45/95/115/125/145.

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