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The only tool that matters is you
A year-by-year timeline of every tool we've added to the gym since 2014 — the list is past fifty now and still climbing, but the most important one has never changed. It's you.
Published
by Adarsh Gopal
Why does the tool matter? Here is a timeline of when we first introduced different tools in our gym.
2014 — barbells, rings, kettlebells, resistance bands, bumper plates, pull-up bars.
2015 — trap bars, dumbbells, sleds.
2016 — squat racks, benches, push-up handles, ab wheel.
2017 — centre-mass bells, landmines, Swiss bars, split-squat stands.
2018 — peg board, lat pull-down handle, open-back trap bars, pulleys.
2019 — plyoboxes and stools, dip stands, t-bells, cushions, stirrup handles, compact flange plates, belt-squat stand.
2020 — training bars, glute-ham rigs, pivot-arm attachment.
2021 — farmers-carry handles, slide board.
2022 — weight vests, push/pull rigs, squat slant board.
2023 — landmine and pulley row attachments, belt squat, lever squat, back-extension rigs, neutral-grip deadlift bars, safety squat bars, air bikes, quad extension.
2024 — push-pull rig, back extension, squat ladder, helix pull-up, single-frame trap bar, Indian clubs, deviated-grip carry handles.
2025 — 45-degree back extension, levermines.
2026 — levermine v2, lat pulldown, cable row.
When I first counted, there were 44 different objects in our gym that let clients interact with something external to get stronger — and I said the 45th was you. The list has kept growing since. It’s past fifty now, and it’ll keep climbing.
Every one of those tools may come and go. We build them, retire them, redesign them. But one tool never appears on any equipment list and never goes out of date. The constant tool.
You — the client. Every other tool comes and goes. You’re the one that stays.
The most interesting thing about training is how you learn to use your body — to pick things up, jump, land, crawl, lift, throw, and just move efficiently. You do this because your body can do these things. The decline of physical capacity is not inevitable. Physical decline is a self-inflicted wound, born of an unwillingness to do inconvenient things.
So why do we have so many objects in our gym? Great results have been achieved with far less. But as our client base grows, and as we spend more time in the coaching trenches, having more tools makes it simpler for coaches and clients to get more value for their time, effort and energy.
Every tool is comfortable in its own way. It can help you work around constraints, injury and fatigue, and it lets you load a movement more effectively for your limb and torso proportions.
Constraints. Dodgy back, sore tendons, a sensitive wrist or shoulder? There’s a tool that can help you start moving without pain and build up tolerance and capacity. Often, racking a dumbbell or kettlebell is the limiting factor in building a better squat — so change the tool. Obsessing over the versatility of a tool is the enemy of doing a movement well.
Comfort. Some people prefer how a Swiss bar feels compared to a barbell. Others squat better with a safety squat bar. Folks with back problems are more comfortable with a belt squat or a glute-ham raise. More tools means the ability to chart the smoothest course for a client just starting out.
Leverages. There are no fewer than 20 ways to squat. Throw in different stances, bars, slide or slant boards, and you have at least a hundred, each subtly different from the next. I’m not arguing you need all the tools — squatting is squatting; you sit down with your feet firmly planted and stand back up. But sometimes being in a big playground with many toys is a lot of fun.