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Some People Just Don’t Get It

To those who get it, building strength equipment is a fun and rewarding activity. For best results, a project should begin with a conceptual drawing. Building details can then be added and evaluated. Here, a proposed “lat machine” is shown – still in the infant stages of design. Eventually, this machine will be built as part of Operation Home Gym Overhaul, a series coming to MOI this spring.

Recently, I received an email from a fellow who asked me, “Why would anybody want to build his own strength equipment?” And after asking this leading question, he proceeded to tell me a zillion reasons why hand-built training gear couldn’t possibly be as good or as safe as the store-bought stuff. But, his main complaint was that making something from scratch requires time and effort. And, besides, he pointed out, “Who has the tools needed to build something?”

The saddest part is that this negative email did not stand unique in my inbox. I regularly receive feedback from people who seem to go out of their way to tell me what an idiot I am for recommending that something be built rather than bought. I am informed that the type of hand-made structures that I promote are “time wasters”, “dangerous”, “stupid looking”, “inferior”, “weird”, “nothing so great”, “nothing to brag about”, “garbage”, “impractical”, “unstable”, “a piece of junk”, and — my favorite — “okay for amateurs.” I also receive plenty of criticism colored with some rather choice words, but I’ll spare you from the boring details.

Speaking of criticism, let’s divert for a second to talk about this so often hated judgment of merit. I’ll then get back to the main purpose of this post. It is not bad to be criticized; in fact, criticism should be desired. Why? Because, criticism and success go hand and hand. Success requires fresh ideas and unorthodox solutions to “unsolvable” problems, both factors which are guaranteed to draw criticism and tons of negative remarks from traditionalists and jealous distractors. This is why you should always check your criticism barometer. If it is reading high, this is a good indication that you are doing things right. But, if it is reading low, you may want to question if you are living up to your true potential as a creative force.

So why build anything, strength equipment or otherwise? This is a good question; but, if you don’t already know the answer chances are that you just don’t get it and never will. Nevertheless, I provide 10 good reasons to build your own strength equipment below just in case you are one of those rare individuals who have a mind open enough to consider something outside of the norm. Here they are:

10 Good Reasons to Build Something

  1. It is fun;
  2. It stimulates and preserves your intellectual capacity;
  3. It provides you with new knowledge and skills;
  4. You end up with something that you can be proud of;
  5. It allows you to express and develop your creative and artistic abilities;
  6. It is challenging and mentally rewarding;
  7. It captures your unique personality into the final product;
  8. It gives you something unique, something which only you possess;
  9. Only hand-crafted work can be tailored to meet your unique and specific needs;
  10. It adds variety and new spice to your life.

Rob Drucker