I tried explaining to my wife that moving my 125-pound adjustable bench around the garage is “part of the workout.”

She didn’t buy it. 🤨

Apparently “functional fitness” doesn’t count when her car is blocked and she’s late for work.

That bench, heavy as it is, has been one of the best investments I’ve made for my home gym.

It’s unlocked dozens of exercises, helped me preserve muscle through a cross-country move, and will probably outlive me.

This week, I want to share two things:

1. Why your equipment matters more than you think.
2. Why understanding trade-offs is the key to making progress without losing your mind.

Let’s dive in. 🚀

🏋️‍♂️ Training: Stop Losing Gains to Tonal's Tiny Bench

Most people don't realize they're wasting reps on Tonal...

The original Tonal bench is built like it's designed for a 5th grader. If you're an adult with normal-length arms (or long arms like me), you're getting screwed on range-of-motion.

That's it, I'm demanding a refund... wait, I didn't actually buy my Tonal. They gave it to me for free. Never-mind. 😒

Here's the problem: On exercises like the Seated Bicep Curl and Single Arm Bent Over Row, the bench is so low that the cable fully retracts before you reach a full stretch.

You lose tension at the bottom of the movement, which is exactly where it matters most for building muscle.

Translation: You're leaving gains on the table. Every. Single. Rep. 🤦🏼‍♂️

The fix...

Buy an aftermarket flat bench. It'll give you a couple extra inches of range, which is enough to keep tension where it counts.

The better fix...

Grab an adjustable bench. Not only does it solve the range of motion issue, but it also unlocks a ton of other exercises including:

• Incline Chest Press
• Incline Seated Bicep Curls
• Chest Supported Rows
• Seated Overhead Press (with way more stability).

Plus about a dozen more variations.

I've been using an adjustable bench for 4+ years now, and it's one of the best investments I've made for my home gym.

​

Here are 3 options for an adjustable bench:

👉🏻 I have no affiliation to any of these companies and these not affiliate links.

​Rogue Adjustable 3.0

This is the Rolls-Royce of adjustable benches. It’s also priced like one.

This is the bench I own. It’s built like a tank, will absolutely outlive me, and could probably survive World War III.

My son is definitely getting this as part of his inheritance. My wife, however, hates it because it weighs 125 lbs and is a nightmare to move.

I tried explaining to her that moving it is just part of the workout. She wasn't buying it. 🤨

​Prime Shorty Adjustable Bench​

Full disclosure: I don’t own this one (yet), but several clients swear by it.

I’ve watched every review video known to man and fully plan to buy it. It looks incredible, especially with all the attachments.

The only thing stopping me is storage… and the fact that once I start adding attachments, this thing will probably cost double the base price.

At $725 and 94 lbs, it’s also not exactly a modest impulse buy.

With all the house projects happening right now, I’m pretty sure this bench would put me on my wife’s “financial watch list.”

Then again, she's earned a permanent spot on mine so... 🤷🏼‍♂️

​Titan Performance Adjustable Bench

This is the option I recommend to most clients. It’s the 80% solution, which is what most people need.

It’s very affordable at $229, weighs only 52 lbs, and is easy to move while still feeling solid and supportive.

It won't outlive you...

So, if you’re planning to include your bench in your estate plan like I apparently am - this may not be the one.

But for 90% of people, it’s the best buy.

🧠 Mindset: Everything in Life Is a Trade-Off

Years ago, I hired a professional coach to teach me how to trade options.

And I kept asking him the same questions, over and over:

“What’s the best trade?”
“What's the best adjustment?”

He’d always stop me and say, “There is no best trade or adjustment. With options, as in life, there are only trade-offs.”

At first, that drove me crazy. I wanted the answer, the right strategy, and the perfect move...

But the longer I worked with him, the more it clicked.

📉 If you want a trade with a high probability of success, you usually get limited upside and large downside risk exposure.

📈 If you want massive upside with minimal risk, you’re almost always looking at a low-probability trade.

🙅🏼‍♂️ There is no trade that’s highly probable and offers huge upside with little downside.

That’s not a strategy, it's a Ponzi scheme.

And if your broker is pitching one of those, congratulations — you’ve met the next Bernie Madoff, and you should probably call the SEC.

This framework, which I learned in options trading, completely changed how I think about decision-making in all areas of life.

Economist Thomas Sowell said it best:

And this applies to everything, especially fitness and nutrition.

🔥 Want to lose weight?

You have to eat in a calorie deficit. That’s the trade.

💪🏻 Want to gain strength?

You have to move heavy weights. That’s the trade.

🎲 Want to go to Vegas for the weekend?

You’ll come back more tired, the scale may be up a couple pounds, and your progress photos won’t look as sharp. That’s the trade.

None of this is good or bad. It just is.

The real problem isn’t the trade-off itself. It's when people aren’t clear about what trade they're making.

Here’s what happens when expectations aren’t clear:

• You eat dessert, then get pissed at the scale.
• You skip workouts, then wonder why your strength stalls.
• You go out for drinks, then get mad when you look bloated.

That frustration doesn’t come from the decision. It comes from pretending there wouldn’t be a consequence.

Last weekend, I went to the Bears game with my dad.

The night before, I took my dad for a steak and invited my cousin and her husband.

We ate. We drank. We laughed.

I also knew the trade-off. I was completely aware that I was borrowing energy from tomorrow to enjoy tonight.

The next day, I didn't workout. I needed a coffee. Then I needed an energy drink before the game. That was the trade.

And I’m not upset about it, because I made the choice knowingly.

Same thing when my wife and I moved from California to Texas. We traded great weather and proximity to the beach for lower taxes, easier business operations, and a bigger house.

So when it’s 61 degrees one day and 15 degrees with snow the next, I’m not shocked.

I knew the trade going in.

And this is where I see a lot of people get stuck with fitness.

I’ll often hear:

“I want to be able to eat and drink like everyone else.”

What people usually mean is:

“I want to do what everyone else is doing, but I want different results.”

In other words, I want to make decisions with zero consequences. I want a solution, without any trade-offs.

And that unrealistic disconnect is where most frustration comes from.

If you eat, drink, train, and recover the same way as everyone else, you should expect similar outcomes.

Different results require different trade-offs.

That doesn’t mean you can’t eat out. It doesn’t mean you can’t drink. It just means you have to be honest about the trade you’re making.

So before you make a decision about food, training, or lifestyle, ask yourself:

🤔 “What’s the trade I’m making here, and am I okay with the outcome?”

If yes, make the choice and move on.
If no, make a different one.

Either way, you’re in control.

No guilt, no surprise, and no frustration.

Just clear expectations and intentional decisions.