New Machines!

Building muscle is more important than ever.

Building muscle is more important than ever.

Building muscle optimally...

Building muscle optimally...

Now, in 2025, women over thirty are contacting us because they are learning how important building muscle is for hormonal health and healthy ageing. The same is true for men.

This is also the reason behind our investment in new equipment. To build muscle optimally, it is important to train as close as possible to muscular failure. During a back squat, you almost always reach technical failure before muscular failure. That failure often occurs in the trunk because the core is not strong enough, while the legs and glutes could still handle more weight or repetitions. We have invested in new equipment so we can get even more from a session: more functional strength and now optimal muscle development too.

Hack squat

Hack squat

The hack squat machine positions you at an angle to perform a squat movement. With your body supported safely, you can squat through a full range of motion and keep pushing until your legs can do no more. Your trainer can even assist a little during the concentric, upward phase of the last repetition to help you give your maximum effort. Because you are supported, your legs and glutes drive the exercise rather than your trunk. It is a good addition to back squat or deadlift training, and can also serve as your A1 exercise if muscle growth is your main focus. Happy gains!

Chest-supported row

Chest-supported row

The pull-up is an outstanding back builder and a fundamental exercise, but unfortunately it is not accessible to everyone. You can train towards it, of course, and I would encourage everyone to do so. Research on shoulder health suggests prioritising horizontal rows over vertical rows. Adding a chest-supported machine allows you to pursue a full range of motion in both your lats and traps and focus more on growing your target muscles. In an inverted row, your forearms and biceps often give out while your back muscles could continue. With this new machine, that is a thing of the past.

Another extremely important reason for me, as a trainer and gym owner, to invest in this machine is the option to perform wide rows. Many current and potential clients work at computers, and we see plenty of forward-positioned shoulders and necks. Upper-back complaints are more common than not. Programming wide rows addresses this directly: alongside improving your desk posture, you can work towards a healthy back position in the gym.

Functional station

Functional station

Cable stations are more popular than ever. That makes sense, because cables maintain constant tension on your muscles. It also means these stations are often busy. Expanding them reduces congestion and creates more training options across our two rooms. A particularly useful feature of this functional trainer is the ability to perform bilateral exercises, such as cable chest presses—feel the burn!—or two-arm Bayesian curls to target the long head of the biceps.

Glute drive machine with weight stack

Glute drive machine with weight stack

Anyone looking to build bigger glutes knows they need to hip thrust. Getting stronger means loading more weight onto the barbell. That is no problem, but it takes time. Having 140 kg resting on your hips can also be uncomfortable. A little challenge in the gym is fine, but a machine that lets you simply move a pin, use a sturdy cushion and feel even more of a glute burn makes the experience much better. Alongside this hip thrust, which mainly trains your glutes in a shortened position, keep doing your Bulgarian split squats and Romanian deadlifts. This machine simply makes building glutes more convenient.

The pec/reverse fly machine

The pec/reverse fly machine

Alongside compound exercises such as rows and presses, you also want to train muscles in isolation. The difference is the number of joints involved in the movement. In a bench press, your elbows and shoulders move. Although it is a full-body movement, its focus is strengthening the pectoralis major. The isolation equivalent is a fly movement, using cables or dumbbells. All these variations are good. Cables have an advantage because of their constant tension, whereas the tension from dumbbells varies with gravity. This machine also provides constant tension, giving both gym rooms a setup for effective chest development.

The pectoralis major is a large muscle, and therefore important to train. For men, a well-developed chest looks good aesthetically. It also matters for women, for example when aiming to lose body fat. Larger muscles play a crucial role in metabolism, so do not forget your chest.

In the section on chest-supported rows, I mentioned trapezius development as an important need among clients with increasingly rounded shoulders and backs, and the resulting neck and shoulder pain. You can turn around on this machine to perform an isolated reverse fly. It is ideal for strong shoulders, rear deltoids and trapezius muscles, supporting a strong, healthy upper back.

Would you like to train at Fundamentals, or has this article inspired you to broaden your knowledge? You can always book a Kickstart with one of our coaches.

Thank you for reading. See you in the gym soon.

Best wishes,

Thijs Avezaat

Kickstart your healthy lifestyle