2924: The Best Machine for Every Body Part (Including Some You've Never Seen)

August 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Best Machine for Every Body Part (Including Some You've Never Seen)

The hosts of Mind Pump devoted a long opening segment to a conversation that will feel like a treasure hunt for anyone who has ever walked into a commercial gym and wondered where all the interesting equipment went. They ran through their personal favorite machines for each body part—some so rare that only 400 units were ever manufactured, others that have nearly vanished from modern fitness centers because the average gym-goer has no idea how to use them.

The Rare and the Ridiculous

The conversation opened with what might be the most legendary piece of gym equipment ever made: the Hammer Strength H-Squat, otherwise known as the "Legosaurus." Only 400 were ever produced, and they are enormous—you literally have to climb stairs to get on top of it. It is a lever-based squat machine that gives a range of motion most leg machines cannot match, with a deep squat feel that bodybuilders still talk about decades later. The hosts noted that the machine takes up so much floor space and looks so intimidating that most gyms never bought one. "Only three people have died," one host said dryly, acknowledging the machine's almost mythological status.

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What you'll learn

1 Timestamped Outline
2 (03:33) **Best Machines for Each Body Part** - The hosts introduce the topic of the best gym machines for isolating specific muscles, focusing on rare or underappreciated equipment.
3 (04:48) **Legs: The Legendary "Legosaurus" (H-Squat)** - Sal describes the rare Hammer Strength H-Squat, also known as the Legosaurus, a massive machine only 400 were made of.
4 (06:55) **Back: The Old School Nautilus Pullover** - Sal and Adam discuss the chain-driven Nautilus pullover machine, which is hard to find but produces an unmatched back pump.
5 (09:22) **Back Honorable Mention: Standing T-Bar Row** - The hosts praise the standing T-bar row with a chest support platform, noting how rare and effective it is.
6 (11:14) **Shoulders: Smith Machine Upright Row vs. Viking Press** - Sal picks the Smith machine upright row for its ability to target the lateral head, but Justin pushes back hard.
7 (13:44) **Chest: Free Motion Multi-Plane Machine** - Sal picks the Free Motion chest machine from the early 2000s, which has cables for presses and flies while seated with back support.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

In this episode the guys break down the best machines for every body part — the legendary Hammer Strength H Squat for legs, the old school Nautilus pullover for back, the Smith machine upright row and Viking press for shoulders, the FreeMotion multi-plane chest fly, the high elbow seated curl machine for biceps, the seated skull crusher machine for triceps, and the hip thrust machine for glutes. They also tell the wild true story of a Soviet doctor who performed his own appendectomy in Antarctica in 1961, get into the trainer-client event they hosted and why it was their most emotional one yet, discuss the science and health benefits of forgiveness and what the data shows about holding grudges, share the story from Les Miserables about grace and how it transforms a person, talk PDE5 inhibitors and their anti-cancer properties, and go deep on probiotics as the next major performance supplement. Then they coach live callers submitted through mplivecaller.com.

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0:00 - Intro

2:10 - Best machines for every body part — the ones worth using if you see them

3:52 - Legs: Hammer Strength H Squat (leg-a-saurus) — why bodybuilders still talk about it

5:42 - Back: Nautilus pullover — why Joe DeFranco still raves about it

10:13 - Shoulders: Smith machine upright row, Viking press and standing lateral machine

12:36 - Chest: FreeMotion multi-plane fly — best range of motion of any chest machine

13:47 - Biceps: High elbow seated curl machine — the position you can't replicate with free weights

14:41 - Triceps: Seated skull crusher machine — go light and feel everything

16:05 - Glutes: Hi