Welcome — However You Found Your Way Here
Life Outside of the Gym Setting
Most people go to the gym for more than just equipment. It’s the energy, the people, the buzz — the sense that you’re part of something. I get that. I used to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and felt that same rush — sparring, learning, getting my face shoved into the mat, and still getting back up. There’s a kind of community there that makes you feel like you belong.
But life doesn’t always let you belong.
Pain, exhaustion, work, debt, and the kind of schedule that doesn’t give a damn if you’re sore or soul-tired — those are real. So instead of wishing for a better time or waiting for a perfect gym, I’ve built a home setup that fits my life as it is — not the life I wish I had.
This is strength — to me, it’s not the numbers I lift, but the fact that I still show up, even when my lower back flares up with acute and electric pain shooting up and down my left leg.
My Apartment Friendly Home Gym
No, I don’t have a power rack or squat bar. I’m not looking for “absolute strength.” Anymore at least. What I want is to feel good in my body again — powerful, capable, like I’m a character out of the games I love:
- The Tarnished from Elden Ring.
- Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.
- The Hunter from Bloodborne.
- Wolf from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Characters who don’t just survive — they move, they fight, they climb, they persist, they endure and thrive, even starting out as faceless nobodies at the ending of a life changing event or in the middle of it.
I train to feel like I can handle whatever the world throws at me — physically and mentally, even with my current limitations because life tends to beat you until you’re within an inch of your life, no matter what you do and don’t do.
Here’s What I Have For My Set Up
- 25–35 lb sandbag – For squats, rows, carries, and controlled chaos
- Kettlebells (10–30 lbs) – Versatile and easy to grip for swings, squats, and more
- High dip bars – Bodyweight rows, dips, and pushups with range
- Resistance bands – Mobility, control, and variety without weights
- 8 lb weighted vest – Makes everything harder and humbles you fast
- 2.5 lb ankle/wrist weights – Subtle burn, especially for rehab-style days
- Foam roller – For recovery and mobility sessions Mindset – The 2nd most important thing in the room
- Myself — the MOST important thing in the room.
Since I also live above people, I have to make adjustments and choose appropriate workouts, so ballistic movements (like jumps) are out — but likely anyone can still get strong no matter their circumstances and restrictions.
A Glimpse into My “Routine” — If You Can Call It That
Today, after a long shift and traffic that tested my last nerve, I came home and:
- Washed dishes
- Threw tomorrow’s steak in the fridge to defrost
- Picked up my sandbag and knocked out: 2 sets of sandbag squats 2 sets of sandbag rows
Was it a “full workout?” Maybe not. But it was something. My journal has been filled with “rest days” lately, but today I reminded myself that I don’t need to be perfect — I just need to keep going.
Some days, it’s:
Pushups and bodyweight squats Sandbag carries or deadlifts Follow-along yoga (especially on flare-up days)
I’m doing what I can until I can do more — boxing, parkour, rock climbing — and anything else I’ve been eyeing from a distance to compliment my wrestling and BJJ experience.
This Regime Isn’t About Aesthetic or Approval
I don’t train to look pretty. I never cared for makeup or the kind of attention I didn’t ask for. I train to earn the respect I don’t get just for existing. I train to feel comfortable in this body that’s carried pain, loss, anger, and fire for years.
I don’t believe strength has to mean lifting more weight and just building absolute strength. There’s more to life than that. Sometimes, it’s lifting again — even after days, weeks, months, hell even years, that tried to kill your spirit, body, and break your mind.
In Conclusion
You don’t need a gym to be strong.
You need a reason — even if that reason is rage, pride, spite, or the quiet belief that maybe, just maybe, you’re not done yet.
For my recurring and quiet readers:
What’s does strength look like, feel like, to you?
Not the strength people keep shoving into your face when you don’t agree with it or what people say it is — what it actually means to you.
You don’t have to comment. But if you’re reading this in silence, still breathing, still getting up, still moving — I see you.
And if you’re building your own training setup, small or scrappy or silent — tell me about it. Or don’t. Just keep going. That’s enough.
If this spoke to you, leave a comment — I actually read them. They remind me I’m not alone in this either.” Sharing helps others find this space too. That matters more than you know.
— The Stratagem’s Archive
More Than Muscle: What Real Strength Looks Like to Me.
It’s All Perspective: On Writing, Struggle, and Using the Tools That Keep Me Going
