You don’t need much to get started on the Path to fitness

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2022 (827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Once you make a commitment to yourself, you just need a dedicated space, a few key pieces of equipment and a little know-how.

Just ask Joe Shay, personal trainer and owner of Acceleration Performance West.

Joe wasn’t always an athlete; in fact, his fitness journey started with a concern that he was too scrawny for the Oak Park football team. He began studying human performance, lifting weights and strength training. His peers and teammates took notice of his progress and were soon coming to him for advice.

After completing certification courses both locally and with the International Sports Sciences Association, Shay took on his first personal training clients in his parents’ basement and then garage. In those early days, Shay trained clients with limited equipment that he acquired over time: a barbell, a few sets of weight plates and some dumbbells.

Speaking from experience, Shay has some great advice for those looking to set up a fitness space of their own.

“If they are looking into strength training and are going to be utilizing barbell movements, I would suggest either the basement or the garage,” he says, explaining that weights can be hard on your floors, even if you place them down carefully. Shay suggests adding rubber mats or heavy-duty flooring as a base. He also recommends a weight rack, preferably one with a chin-up bar and safety pins, an adjustable bench, a barbell and a few sets of dumbbells that are heavy enough to challenge you.

Once you’ve set up your space, perhaps even before investing in equipment, Shay recommends visiting a personal trainer to help establish your strength and endurance baselines, teach you basic movements and patterns to build off of and help you find the exercises and weight increments that will get you to your goal.

“Learn the compound lifts,” he says. “There are three basic full-body lifts that you can do in the weight room: squat pattern movements, pressing movements and pulling from the floor, or otherwise known as deadlift movements. These are the foundations for all strength and fitness training programs.”

Shay’s training credits include local CFL standout Nic Demski and CFL hopeful Zach Esau. When you’re ready to take your training to the next level or are simply looking to diversify your routine, check out Acceleration Performance West on YouTube.