This week we’re sharing our coach’s favorite gym equipment over on Instagram, so I wanted to share about what is most important for a new lifter starting out. If you are brand new, I suggest no new equipment. You can lift in comfy clothes, and a decent pair of sneakers, or possibly just socks for a while. Build up some strength and familiarity with the movements before adding a bunch of equipment. I hate creating additional obstacles for folks to start lifting, and the truth is all you really need is your body and some weight. Don’t delay getting started because you think you’ll need to sink a bunch of money into equipment or because you think you need a loaded up gym bag.
For most people, the first purchase that makes sense is going to be some type of footwear. If you’re struggling with depth in your squat, a pair of weightlifting shoes can help. They offer a very stable base with a bit of lift that helps put your ankles at a more favorable position for squatting. You won’t know this until you have been at it for a little bit, and see what your squat positioning and mobility looks like, so it’s great to spend some time just working on getting stronger.
After shoes, knee sleeves or wrist wraps can be a solid addition to your gym bag, particularly if you struggle with knee/wrist pain or instability. That said, we don’t just want to slap wraps on top of weak areas, so you still want to do the accessory work that will support your overall movement patterns.
One of the last pieces of equipment I typically recommend to a new lifter is a belt. It’s important to learn to brace well without a belt before you add one. We’ve written before about belting and different types of belts, but in general, a soft belt is a good place to start, then you can invest in a leather belt if you need to later. While research supports that most people can lift more with a belt on a one rep max than they can without it, a belt isn’t going to magically fix a poor bracing technique. Develop a strong core and a good brace, and then the belt is a supplement to it.
For most folks, these basics will cover the majority of the lifting you’ll ever do. If you continue in strongman or powerlifting, you might find that you end up wanting additional equipment, and sometimes adding some fun new gizmos to your gym bag can be motivating. When you’re starting out though, it’s fine to show up as you are! In the beginning, don’t overcomplicate things. Just get in the gym and lift some stuff up!
