Hercules Gym

Clorox wipes, toilet paper, and weights. The three hardest things to find in 2020. #herculesgymsyracuse #42yearsstrong #fancyhardcore

Last night was electric with the Utica boys from @upstateempirefitness in town. The lifters at Upstate are as humble and cool as they are strong. And they are strong as hell! I don't know what they put in those chicken riggies, but Utica has been, and is now, one strong ass city. The owners @devsbrian and @alyssadevins are top notch too. In a world of a zillion gyms, these guys standout from a crowd and make it feel like there's something special happening over there. I marve...l at the way they handle and grow their business. To many more nights with the Uticuse powerlifting squad! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #fancyhardcore #herculespowerlifting #uticusepowerlifting

RPE 11. Matt was asking what RPE was before this workout. I might as well have been talking a foreign language to him. Some people only know all-out. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #herculespowerlifting #teamobeast

It's a Christmas miracle! We'll be open at 4pm today. Tell your friends. #herulesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #openforbusiness

People hear 'power gym' and they assume a little closet space. Even at our busiest times, gym equipment outnumbers members by about 3 to 1. We have nearly 80 sets of DBs. Tons of plates, attachments, and specialty bars. We have cardio equipment for those who like to dabble. We have turf, sleds, and strongman equipment. We believe philosophically that variety is king. And that if you can't get a good workout here, you can't get one anywhere! Many thanks to longtime member @noeggcraig for his camera skills. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds

540lbs Bench PR. We're all proud of this little guy for trying so hard even though God didn't bless him with a lot of natural talent...Oh wait. Wrong person. Shane is a freak. I believe 600lbs+ is his manifest destiny. I think Shane would like me to thank @jason_weaver_. It is truly heart warming to see the two of them interact - like the father whose son can never be good enough. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #fancyhardcore #herculespowerlifting

A 765lbs squat and an 1830lbs total by @pat_mcnamara1. He wouldn't describe himself as overly competitive, but you can clearly see the fire burning in his belly when he gets under heavy weights. I'm very proud of this young man. He heads the new generation of powerlifters at the gym who are as humble as they are hungry. The future is looking strong! Long live Hercules! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #herculespowerlifting #Repost @pat_mcnam...ara1 Pretty sick meet yesterday. 765 squat (+15lbs pr), 405 bench (missed 3rd attempt), and a 660 pull (+15lbs pr) for an 1830 total. 120lbs away from a pro total and I’ll be bringing it home to @hercules_gym_syracuse, once I figure out how to bench that is. @chau.a.cha made sure my #meat was in good hands and for that I am thankful. See more

765lbs against red bands Deadlift PR! Not only is the lift extremely impressive, this is a very rare sighting caught on camera. Notice how no one else is around. You see, @traps_and_tolstoy (Alex) is a nocturnal predator who stalks his weights at nighttime. Catching him on film is akin to getting a few frames of a snow leopard in the wild. Magnificent indeed! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #herculespowerliting #herculesaverage #nocturnalpredator

Hercules is in the orange zone. If we were literally on the other side of the street we'd be allowed to be open.

Hercules's next 800lbs squatter, @pat_mcnamara1, mercilessly crushes 745lbs. We have a bright crop of 20 year old talent that is flourishing right before our eyes. Pat is one of the leaders of that pack. When he does squat 800lbs, it will really feel like a passing of the torch to all the young bucks to lead the pack of Hercules powerlifting into 2020 and beyond. I am thrilled to get a front row viewing of their journey into this crazy, addictive, and unforgiving sport. Long ...live Hercules! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #herculespowerlifting

NEW EQUIPMENT - Rogers Pendulum Power Squat Pro. You ever see a machine and you're convinced it will be a game changer? This machine is more like a back squat than any other leg machine I've seen. Watch how the hips go back and down, and the knees don't travel forward at all. As an accessory movement, this should transfer over well to the back squat. Or it will be a great movement to do if you're too messed up to do barbell back squat all the time (like me). We will never stop upgrading and improving. This place is like a playground for exercise enthusiasts. If you can't get a good workout here, you can't get one anywhere. Long live Hercules! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #gymplayground

715lbs PR @dumbbells_n_durags - This is one of the prettiest conventional deadlifts I've ever seen. In the age where sumo reigns supreme, Adam proves that a taller guy with a great build for deadlifting still thrives with a conventional pull. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #fancyhardcore #herculespowerlifting

REOPENING INFORMATION - August 24th seems to be the date! That's next Monday. Memberships that were paid for will be completely credited the 5 months and a week that we were closed. Masks are being mandated to be worn at all times (this sucks, I know).... We can't wait to be open and have the gym available to anyone who wants/ needs it. #herculesgymsyracuse #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds

This is all I know so far. But if it holds true, we'll be open soon. The guidelines come Monday.

Our max occupancy was lowered from 250 to 160 because the fire inspector did not anticipate there to be so much gym equipment in our 12,500 square foot room. Hercules is an ideal facility for social distancing. If we were operating at 25% capacity we would be allowed to have 40 people in here. The only time we ever came close to 40 people is on Mondays, at peak hours, when all the stars align. Connecticut gyms have been allowed to open and operate at 50% capacity. Equipment a...lways heavily outnumbers members in here. We have just about 100 pieces of lifting equipment (not including cardio), over 200 45lbs plates, and 148 dumbbells in total (5-200lbs). Unlike the way gyms are being depicted, we are not the type of place where people are packed into a little room breathing and spitting on each other (thanks a lot crossfit). We have lots of room to spread out. Home depot on the other hand... #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #liftitdontsprayit

New addition: Strive plate loaded arm curl. If gyms are destined to just fade away, then fuck it, we'll go out with style. This is the best plate loaded bicep curl to date, made by another great gym equipment company that is now defunct. Strive, Flex, and Nebula are my top 3 gym equipment companies and they've all either closed or been sold and redesigned. The companies thrived until the early 2000s when gyms were aimed towards bodybuilding. Crossfit changed the fitness ind...ustry model towards group classes and Planet Fitness demonized serious heavy lifters. These companies didn't fit the industry model so they didn't make it or were changed. But they fit our gym model - serious lifters. That will never change as long as we last! Many thanks to Tim Walton for leading me onto this rare find. He's been determined to locate one for Hercules, and he did! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds @ Hercules Gym

Look at that fancy ass garbage can! We can't control when the gym will open, but we can keep making improvements so that it's better than ever when everyone is back. We miss all of you. Long live Hercules! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds

People call up Hercules all the time and ask if we have a pool, basketball court, racquetball court, etc. We do not. Our 12,500 square foot facility is 100% gym/weight room. Our members are gym rats and strength athletes who want to put their heads down and work some shit out with the weights. We have nearly 100 pieces of plate loaded and selectorized gym equipment. If there were room for a basketball court, it would have been filled up long ago with more training equipment. Don't be surprised if a bicep curl machine ends up in the locker room someday. We updated our website with a detailed list and pictures of all the equipment in the gym. Check it out if you want to see what and how much we got. Our website link is in our bio. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #liftersparadise #longlivehercules

NEW ADDITION - Nebula multi grip row. Nebula is the best gym equipment company that ever existed. I love Nebula. If they had ever made a shake weight or one of those machines that electrocute your abs, you'd see me proudly strutting around shaking weights while being electrocuted. Luckily for my rep (and for everyone else) they never made either. This machine is great for pumping up the upper back because it has a surprisngly long range of motion for a row machine. When you t...ry and get that bar to the belly you're really pulling the elbows back behind you and squeezing the life out of your lats. I like using it towards the end of my workout for a back finishing movement. I'm dying to get everyone back in the gym to play with all the new toys! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #longlivehercules #bestofallworlds #nebula @ Hercules Gym

NEW addition: It's gonna be damn near impossible to social distance with everyone gathering around to use this classic, rare Cybex plate loaded shoulder press. Have you ever wondered why all the plate loaded shoulder presses seem to lay you down on an incline when you just want to sit vertical like a military press? Are you ever hesitant to do seated barbell or dumbbell military presses because you don't want to rip your shoulders off unracking the weight or getting the first... rep of the dumbbells up? Well friends, this classic Cybex machine is the solution to all your shoulder needs. It works unilaterally (each arm is independent like a dumbbell) and it is humbling. I don't think 500lbs benchers will be able to do more than 2 plates and a 25 per side. I'm in love with the thing and I think you will be too. Long live Hercules! #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #fancyhardcore #bestofallworlds #cybex #shoulderpressmachine @ Hercules Gym

NEW addition: Icarian hack squat - this is a super popular and sought after machine. There is an easy explanation why - because it works tremendously for building bigger and stronger legs! The angle of the machine and the big footplate allows you to comfortably place your feet so that tension is felt in the hamstrings, butt, upper quad, and adductors. And NOT in the low back or knees, like you feel with other hack squats. This is a 1A accessory movement, falling only behind b...arbell squats in efficacy. It will help strengthen imbalances that are built in the legs from squatting. A word of advice to any aspiring gym owner - Don't get a gym on the second floor unless the elevator is big enough to move gym equipment! We had to get this 530lbs beast down two flights of stairs. At the landing of the first flight I was certain it was stuck. I think it would still be in the stairwell if not for @jwclark117. He's been through many of these heavy moving excursions (This one may have burnt him out). The gym is so great because we have members that treat the gym like it's their own. We're very lucky to have such great friends. #herculesgymsyracuse #41yearsstrong #bestofallworlds #fancyhardcore #icarian #hacksquat @ Hercules Gym