Hercules Gym

NEW TOY - Icarian Camber Curl - I fall in and out of love with biceps. During the times we're good, I'll work every curl machine in the building - all eight of them - and stop only when my elbows beg me, no more. Those are the good times. In our down days, nothing seems more boring and tedious than lifting my arm up and down, over and over again. In the dark times, I'd rather do forearms, for God's sake, because at least the burn makes me feel alive. We've been on the outs lately. A real rough patch. But I'm happy to announce that we're back, and better than ever - all thanks to the arrival of our new bundle of joy: the Icarian camber curl. It's reinvigorated my passion for training arms and shot straight to the top of my rankings of best bicep machine. That's the magic of fresh equipment. One new machine can awaken your passion for a movement - make you excited to train it, think about it, look forward to it. We're creatures of habit, us lifters, but we love a new toy as much as a five-year-old on Christmas morning. And when your goal is to keep lifting for a lifetime, that spark matters. You have to find ways to keep the embers of the romance burning. Because when the fire dies, so does your progress. Great gyms fan those flames. The rest smother them.

NEW TOY - Icarian Standing Calf - Do you wear pants to the gym in the summertime? Have you ever complained that calf size is all genetics? Or told yourself that if you were just a bit fatter, you too might have calves like upside-down bowling pins? If so, you may be suffering from a debilitating psychological condition called Small Calf Syndrome (SCS, for short). SCS sufferers often feel hopeless. Like they've been forced to carry this immense mental burden atop two toothpick-like legs that clearly were not designed to shoulder such a weighty load. Well, SCS friends, rejoice! There is finally hope: the Icarian Angled Calf. It's the most iconic calf machine in the long, storied history of gym equipment. It can whip the most stubborn and uncooperative lower legs into shape - genetics be damned! Perhaps this summer you'll finally experience the overwhelming joy of having golden sunlight radiating off your freshly bare legs. And as the warm breeze whooshes past your shapely calves, you'll look to the sky with a newfound contentment and feel lucky (perhaps for the first time) to be alive.

NEW TOY - Freemotion Chest - I probably shouldn't tell you this, but most gym owners are lazy people. There are definitely exceptions to the rule, I'm just not one of them. Throughout my life, I've been told some version of: "if you go any slower, you'll be going in reverse." How is it then, moving at the pace of a 100 year old Galápagos tortoise, with a staff numbered less than you can count on one hand, Hercules seems to be running circles around everyone else? Simple, the competition isn't just slow, they're comatose. Our one redeeming quality is that we're sort of obsessed with making the gym better and delighting our people. As Hercules makes money, we put large chunks of it back into the gym to buy the best equipment we can find. When we buy a machine the people love, it makes us happy. We're people pleasers, and I'm not too proud to say that we're more than willing to buy your love. They say in business, it's good to fish where no else is fishing. In our case, our pond is jammed packed with lots of other fishermen. The difference is, they're all fishing with crappy, old, broken poles and terrible, rusty lures. And even if by some miracle of nature, a fish actually bit, they may not even bother reeling it in. In short, they just don't care like we do.

NEW TOY - Prime Rear Delt/Pec Fly - Do you want 76 new gym members in 32 minutes? These are the outrageous proposals we receive daily. Even if these overblown claims were possible, the answer would still be a resounding, no. Why? Because we don't want just any old person. We want the people who need to workout as much as they need to breathe air. Saying we're motivated to workout is like saying a fat kid is motivayed to eat cake. It isn't really motivation, as much as an innate calling. When you fill a gym full of people all doing what they love, you get a driven atmosphere. The truth is, workout junkies are a small percentage of the population. That's why most gyms chase after the majority who don't really like working out but feel guilty about not going. Kind of like how I feel guilty about not going to the dentist in over 20 years (sorry, Mom). So they pay a guilt tax in the form of a cheap membership at a no-frills facility where they attend about once every lunar eclipse. If working out to you, feels like going to the dentist does to me, then we probably aren't a good match. Swipe left. We're the spot for the true believers that everyone else thinks is a bit extreme. If this applies to you, we understand you, and we're your sanctuary. So if you have a borderline, to full-blown exercise addiction, we're a match made in heaven. These are the members we want.

NEW TOY - Body Master Pec Dec - Do you like naked old guys? If so, DON'T come to Hercules. Yes, saunas are great recovery tools. But they also attract naked old guys like fly to stink. There are some things that are best done behind closed doors, or in the privacy of one's own home. And we believe that sauna is one of those activities. That's why we'll never have one. If I sound overly harsh, it's because a lot of my childhood was spent in just such a locker room. My family owned a gym and the men's locker room had dry sauna, steam sauna, communal showers, the whole nine. Let me just say, I didn't look forward to crossing that threshold and entering the land of pasty bare skin, wrinkles, and hair in all the wrong places. I've spent many years repressing those memories. And now that I'm in charge, I'll be damned if I'm the one afflicting that scene on our untainted youth. Sorry for the rant. I just felt like I had to share my truth. Thank you for listening...And screw saunas.

NEW TOY - Panatta Circular Incline Chest Press - Hercules falls into the category of 'fancy-hardcore' gym. Let's break down what that means. 'Old-school' hardcore gyms are great because they've always attracted those truly dedicated to lifting. The downside is that some of these facilities feel ancient and like you might contract tuberculosis there. Commercial gyms offer a cleaner alternative, but that sterility spills over into the workout experience. The equipment and the crowd can feel generic and uninspired.

Fancy-hardcore means that we cater to the dedicated - those who live to lift - while staying clean and cutting-edge. It's the highest tier of hardcore. That’s why we bring in far more top-tier machines than anyone around — all while mopping and vacuuming daily. You get all the benefits of a modern, elite hardcore gym, without the infectious diseases. Fancy-hardcore is the premier hardcore experience. That's what we strive to provide everyday.

NEW TOY - Gymleco Triceps Extension - Equipment is the lifeblood of a gym built around lifting. Our amenities include an overwhelming abundance of great machines and powerlifitng equipment. To us, the gym is about the workout — creating the stimulus. Many amenities at other facilities focus more on recovery, like a gym spa. People who choose gym spas usually aren’t there primarily to lift, so they probably won’t appreciate great equipment the way we do. And that’s okay — there’s a gym for every type. For those who truly love lifting weights, we’re your spot. Jam-packed with the amenities that matter to us.

NEW TOY - Flex Dorsiflexor Row - How does Hercules improve and evolve as a gym? We follow a Darwinian “survival of the fittest” approach to equipment (there’s a method to the madness). We bring in a machine we think is dope, put it on the floor, and watch how members use it. If it’s love at first sight, it earns a permanent spot. If the response is lukewarm, then it’s on the chopping block. As new, good-looking machines arrive, the old duds rotate into storage and the young bucks step up for observation. If they perform, they stay. If not, the experiment begins anew.

It’s a nonstop cycle of natural selection driven by what our members actually love — and that’s how Hercules gets stronger and better over time.

NEW TOY - Hammer Strength MTS Shoulder Press - This isn't a rare or fancy machine. It's simply the best pin loaded shoulder press I've had the pleasure of using. One of the misconceptions in the high-end gym equipment game is that machines have to be super rare and expensive in order to be great. They don't. That raises the question, what makes a machine great? At Hercules, the answer is that a machine is great when it's highly used and loved by the members. Our storage unit is littered with rare machines that collectors might chop off their pinky toe for. (Don't do it). The reason it's in storage is because our members didn't use it. Therefore, it's not deserving of a spot on the gym floor. We're forever on a quest for the next great machine at Hercules. We won't be satisfied until they're all loved and constantly used.

NEW TOY - Atlantis Decline/Flat Adjustable Chest Press - "It's easier to strive for perfection when you're never bored." When boredom sets in we have to run off will power to keep pushing forward. The problem with will power as a fuel source is that it's finite and can be exhausted. While we all want to believe that we're David Goggins and that we're driven purely by our tenacious will, the reality just isn't so. And when that tank runs out, that's when we fall off, switch goals, or experiment with Jui-Jitsu.

So in a very real sense gyms are in the entertainment business. But most gyms don't think of themselves as Disney World for lifters like we do. Many are intentionally designed for people who aren't going to use their memberships at all. It's no wonder that most gym experiences are listless, lifeless, and sterile. Almost like they're designed for maximum boredom. But not Hercules. One of our primary goals is to never allow our member's routines to get stale or mundane. The gym needs to be kept fresh. That's why we're always getting in new equipment and rotating things around. We will do all we can to make the gym alive and full of energy. We want to provide the rocket fuel for your motivation and prevent the dreaded boredom from creeping in and causing harm.

*The quote is from Nobel winning psychologist, Daniel Kahneman.