This sissy squat was part of an earlier iteration of my gym. It's marketed as performing the dual functions of the sissy squat and the hyperextension. With regard to the latter, I never felt safe doing hyperextensions on it. With regard to the former, the design of the foot roller impedes the performance of a good sissy squat. As one tightens the foot roller, it squeezes the top of one's feet, which feels uncomfortable during the actual sissy squat movement. I ultimately ended up upgrading to a more quality equipment made by Body-Solid.

Prior to these straps, I had the regular straps without the numbering, and they made changing the heights of my rings a chore. I did my best to eyeball their evenness, etc. These straps are numbered so they take the guesswork out of it, and make adjusting the height of the rings quick and easy. They are also pretty sturdy. I've had these for about two years and they are holding up great. There is hardly any signs of wear even though I use them several times weekly. For anyone seeking to include gymnastic rings in their gym, I'd recommend pairing them with these straps.

These wooden rings perform very well for their price point. I got the thicker version (1.25 inch) and they feel better in my hands during both pushing and pulling movements than the thinner (1 inch) rings I had before. These days, I use my rings for inverted rows and ring dips.

These bumper plates were part of a previous iteration of my gym. If I recall correctly, the 45 lb plates actually weighed 45 lbs. They were pretty dense so had a low bounce (though I only dropped them from knee height during deadlifts). Despite these positive features, I ultimately ended up selling them as a matter of principle when Vulcan Strength sued Gluck's Gym for giving his honest review of their allegedly shitty all-in-one rack.

This is a beefier version of Cap's regular hex bar that boasts a 32mm diameter grip, a loading sleeve length of 13 inches, and weighs a whopping 75 lbs empty. It lives up to the "mega" in its title. Its stated weight capacity is 1000 lbs and I can believe it seeing how robust it is. The knurling is a bit inconsistent, with the low handles being noticeably more aggressive than the high handles on my bar. Value-wise, people these days might opt for an open trap bar at a comparable price, but if you're looking for a basic "closed" trap bar that will get the job done and can take quite a bit of abuse, this is a good option.

Nothing fancy. Just old school cast iron plates that get the job done, but can be a hit or miss with regard to their stated weight. My 2.5 lb plates weigh 2.8 lbs each, for example.

I have a 10 lb pair of these plates which I picked up from Play it Again Sports. I got it for the "nostalgia factor" surrounding the Gold's Gym name - which has only intensified since I bought them, given that most of their southern California branches (save the original one in Venice) have been sold to EoS Fitness. Weight tolerance is pretty decent on my pair (they each weigh 10.5 lb) and they make a satisfying "clang" sound during lifting. I'll probably pick up more of these when I see them around in the used market.

I have this equipment in my gym only because I found it listed for free on Facebook Marketplace. When I went to pick it up, I discovered that the person who listed it was not its owner, but a mover who had found it abandoned outside near the patio area. It was abandoned along with an A-frame weight tree holding couple of hundred pounds of standard (1" hole) plates. From the rust and wear it was clear that the machine was part of an "outside gym." The mover who tried to save this from the scrap heaps was gracious enough to help me load it - and the weight tree and its weights - into my SUV. After I took it home, I looked for a brand name and found it on its rubber feet cap: Parabody. I hadn't heard of the name so I consulted ChatGPT. I found that it was bought out in 1998 and rebranded under the dual heads of Life Fitness and Hammer Strength. Inspecting the machine, it has several hallmarks of being manufactured during the "proper country" era of America. There is no UHMW to be found anywhere. Back then, people expected gym equipment to undergo metal-to-metal contact. Its vertical column, along which the weighted guide rails run, show clear marks of metal-on-metal scrapes. Its plastic pulleys render irrelevant the current "plastic vs. aluminum pulley" debate by having lasted all these years while being used outdoors (Californian outdoors, to be sure, but outdoors nonetheless). Its cables also look like originals. It is a relic of the distant past, but for those who care only for performance in their lat pulldown/low row machine, it will still get the job done. I got it for free, so I don't care to do any maintenance on it. I'll just use it until it breaks down - some day.