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A lot of people who have been going to the gym and working out for awhile have gotten into the mindset that it is all about using the fancy exercise equipment. One thing that you have to consider is that people have gotten very large, very strong and extremely capable of doing whatever they have needed to do, with nothing more than objects which can be found in almost any environment in the world. With those simple objects plus their own body weights, almost any kind of fitness goals can be achieved, if you want to achieve them badly enough. All of the exercise equipment which stuffs most modern gyms is primarily for people who want to get alternative angles that are tricky to do otherwise, or for people who are working their way up to the point where they can do advanced calisthenic maneuvers.
After all, much of the modern exercise equipment that you will see in a modern gym was invented by (or was based on the inventions of) Jack Lalanne, who is well known to be a fond proponent of bodyweight exercises. After all, bodyweight exercises are a great form of conditioning, and they do not require anything that you do not already have, even if you are dirt poor and own nothing to speak of. You can not get any easier than bodyweight calisthenics, if you want to become more fit.
But of course, there are a lot of people in this world who simply can not do a lot of the different types of bodyweight exercises. Consider things such as pullups. The pull down machine is great for those who want to build up their level of strength, so that they can do that exercise once they get to a certain point in their training. And a great way to condition yourself for handstand pushups is to use the military press machine. Grow your strength, but do not become dependent.
