Strength Weight Training: Anything and Everything II

390C2512-808F-4A14-9855-6BC029B8C608.jpeg

Made my own squat/bench racks
 
Is it just that my program is too s**t?

Could just be some bad days.

Dont put yourself down, this is a time of a pandemic crisis.

The fact that you are still working out, is a credit and a win. Those "gains" take time and will happen.

We could be bunkered down for 6 months inside. Be patient, those improvements will come around, it will take time, something which we will have in abundance.
 
There's a solid old school plant arch in the old Pipemakers park along the Maribyrnong. Anyone who is running or bike riding along there can take a break there and get a little chin up session in. I doubt many (if any) people would use it.

Every second day is a push up day too. 310 yesterday which I'm satisfied with while doing shoulder rehab. Definitely missing the gym though.
 
Dropped the ball today, lacked any motivation to move let alone to work out. Disappointing. I know where I went wrong, mindset really needs to be mentally strong during these times and focussed. Fortunately went the past three days straight working out and hard too.

Next three days from tomorrow onwards are important, push, pull, legs, run.
 
Sep 11, 2018
40,646
40,969
Victoria
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Storm|V/OzCricket|NBA-P|NHL-P|V8|F1
There's a solid old school plant arch in the old Pipemakers park along the Maribyrnong. Anyone who is running or bike riding along there can take a break there and get a little chin up session in. I doubt many (if any) people would use it.
the goals on soccer pitches around are decent enough for this, actually. It's right in between the fine line of "exercise" and "outdoor gym" :)
 
There's a solid old school plant arch in the old Pipemakers park along the Maribyrnong. Anyone who is running or bike riding along there can take a break there and get a little chin up session in. I doubt many (if any) people would use it.

Every second day is a push up day too. 310 yesterday which I'm satisfied with while doing shoulder rehab. Definitely missing the gym though.
the goals on soccer pitches around are decent enough for this, actually. It's right in between the fine line of "exercise" and "outdoor gym" :)

I have a found a quiet place where I can actually do some decent exercises there is bars in a small park where I have been able to do a few "useful" exercises. Hard to describe, as it isnt exercise bars per se, but Ive been been able to make it work. Probably will continue to do it regardless until others join in but I doubt that will happen.

Will be interesting if gyms remain closed for 6+ months. Motivation of "just" doing bodyweight exercises may weigh thin (pardon the pun) for some and Im sure many will just stop all together, how long this takes is unknown. I feel after 3 months, it will be those with basic equipment will continue to soldier on, with the vast majority probably letting exercise slide into the background.

My new workout with just dumbbells is sustainable for probably 3-4 months, months 5 and 6 will be difficult the way I see it. If I plan ahead I might be able to overcome that barrier.
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
Following on from my previous post

Getting into fitness dreamland a bit here

Portable squat/bench holders saves so much space too, just neatly place them in a quiet corner in the house/garage when you're done, readjust when you need to use them, I really rate them, but I guess if you read on you'll find out why I rate them very highly.

Kinda think if I ever were to go the whole hog with home weights in the future if I had a larger home/bigger garage etc, these bad boys would be right up there

As I'll be committing myself to getting a retractable bench to complement my dumbbells over the next few months

I think in my current scenario say 2-3 years on with the stuff I'd already have if i were to really up the ante I'd:

  • Get a pair of these racks (heavy duty of course that can withstand a good 150kg or so)
  • As I'm a big guy at 197cm, but I rate versatility with what I can do too, the pin loaded holes would need to be adjustable to come really low down so i can do bent over rows or some sort of deadlift comfortably without needing to place the barbell on the ground, but fairly high also so I can get under the bar to do squats comfortably, like maybe up to 170cm high or so? A 5 foot stand wouldn't be great for me at my height for example
  • Then I'd need a 20kg quality Olympic barbell (not a fan of the smaller, lighter ones), then something like, 2 × 2.5kg, 2 x 5kg, 2 x 10kg and 4 x 20kg plates, 135kg of weights there total would be more than enough as 100kg is my usual optimum bench/squat lifting rep/set range, though lately I've only hit bench in that range and stayed away from barbell squats due to back issues (doing BW/DB/plated squats instead)

Great thing is with an adjustable/retractable bench the list of exercises is broad with that type of set up
  • Bbell squats
  • Assorted bench presses (flat, incline, close grip etc)
  • Military presses
  • Bent over rows
  • Assorted deadlifts
  • Barbell curls
  • Potentially push presses and jerk presses too if done safely
More than enough there

A heavy duty cage would just about be the absolute ultimate gym apparatus though, something you can do chin ups, dips etc with pin loaded attachments, the freedom to set up band/cable attachments etc too, but obviously takes up way more space and is very costly, but it'd definitely be number 1 on my all time gym apparatus though, having seen the light around 2005-06 as a 17-18yo where certain unadjustable benches/machines were just giving me the shits due to their lack of flexibility/versatility as a big young up and comer.

Even to this day I'll happily take a bench over to a squat rack and do chest in there if all the other benche presses are taken in peak hour or whatever. Flogs at my gym will always go to the smith machine or do hammerstrength presses if they can't get on a bench, kinda wonder where their imagination is.

Anyways, I'm excited tbf about starting some sort of home gym, be it only baby steps, it's something I've always wanted as a decent alternative/back up to gym if I couldn't get down there for whatever reason be it motivation, time restraints etc. Alas it was something my parents never really committed to as a teenager, a 10kg a dumbbell adjustable dumbell set was the best they could manage when I was about 15, after a few months I had to do many a one arm exercise and get upto like 18kg on just the one dumbell as the 10s just werent cutting the mustard anymore (1 arm shoulder presses and dumbell rows the main culprits here). I'd even take them on holidays sometimes like if i went up to Phillip Island or my Dads joint for a week or two if i knew i had no gym access, good times.
 
****** awesome

As long as the base is sturdy enough and can hold a decent amount of weight, such a great idea in these times
I’ve had 150kg across it without a drama, still super sturdy. Probably wouldn’t trust it after 200kgish!
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
My brother who's a trainer gave me his pair of 8s to start off in the meantime while waiting for my order to come in (he was able to take home a few heavy pairs too from his gym and a retractable bench when they shut so it seems he's set)

Now as I'm also a keen pub poker flog, i gotta say, a pair of 8s is easily my most hated starting hand, can never remember winning a hand outright with 8s (only ever chop pots from 2 higher pairs or made draws on the board), though it is a typical hand that beats me whenever I'm well ahead too, so is my nemesis that's for sure (kinda weird cos I was born in 88, so it should be a good omen, alas it's not)

Hopefully this pair of 8s can buck the trend and do me proud

20200404_192346.jpg


It will be a good complementary weight I feel once I get the 25s and 30s, good weight for shoulder raises/holds, kickbacks etc
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
Alrighty, day 8 and a much better weights routine completed compared to the last week or two

Just smashed upper body, hit back and shoulders in particular as I hadn't really been hitting them much lately

Did

Warm up
Hip thrusts x 30 and a quad stretch for a bit of core mobility

Did a few squats too in between push ups for the same reason to loosen the hips up

  • 5 sets of incline push ups to fatigue, started at 12 reps then got down to 6-7 by the end, 12-10-9-7-6 I think, did it out back on the sturdy small brick stand next to the laundry door, worms everywhere due to recent rain :$ took a few minutes to sweep them away
  • Standing resistance tube rows 4×12, wrapped the tube around the stair pole on the porch which is the most sturdy pole on the property, felt ok just needed more resistance, I think I'll do them towards the end of my workout once I start using the 25s/30s I ordered to do bent over rows/1 arm rows as a major strength component for back
  • Standing crossover presses 3x15, wrapped the tube around my back around under my armpits so it'd be pretty sturdy then made sure to cross wrists over for extra chest contraction, I really want to do flys instead with the 8s, but got nowhere to do them properly, this seemed to hit front delts alot, but eh gotta work with what I've got
  • Bent over rows with the tube 3×12, wasn't much difference to the standing rows, even though I wrapped the tube around the bottom of the heavy outdoor table leg, think next time I'll need to do 1 of these row movements seated as they're pretty similar
  • Then I went back inside and grabbed the 8s, did 3x8 of shoulder presses super setting with max front raises due to lighter weight
  • Then finished off with 3x10 of upright rows into max lateral raises
Tin of Aldi tuna for post workout


Big W apparently have yoga mats still but selling quick, will need to go there in the morning, I absolutely hateeee my carpet, if I do find one I'll probably use it on the porch too to do a few more things, like core stuff with the sturdy pole or some floor presses if I can manage it with the tube, some sort of laying lat row squeeze could maybe be done too? Would be the closest thing to a vertical back movement potentially if I could make it work

Cons of training on the porch: at least 8 other houses on the street can see me training plus I live on a frequently used bypass street, so I think I'll prefer training early mornings if I can out there, but it's the only real area I can train my back at my joint :(

On Tuesday I'll do a leg routine and probably do some arms with the 8s, kickbacks in particular I'm looking forward to doing, then Thursday I'll work out if I do chest only and go big on the push ups, or go the whole upper body hog again :think:
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
Oh boy


Just saw a great idea on YouTube mowing through home workout videos

Backpack training for resistance purposes

Now initially I've only ever seen backpack training in shows like the biggest loser where trainers will chuck 20-30-40kg backpacks on contestants backs towards the end of the series, the weight in the backpacks is the weight representing what contestants have lost during the show and will make them go on an incline walk in a national park or something as a "challenge"


Buttttt....

It seems backpacks (sturdy ones in particular) are great when you don't have things like kettlebells or zbars, fill them up with heavy textbooks, yellow pages etc and go nuts

Will try it out tomorrow doing bicep curls I think, will chuck the pair of 8s in and a few textbooks and see how it goes, if all goes well then I should be able to smash upright rows out with it and maybe bent over/1 armers too
 
I have a found a quiet place where I can actually do some decent exercises there is bars in a small park where I have been able to do a few "useful" exercises. Hard to describe, as it isnt exercise bars per se, but Ive been been able to make it work. Probably will continue to do it regardless until others join in but I doubt that will happen.

Will be interesting if gyms remain closed for 6+ months. Motivation of "just" doing bodyweight exercises may weigh thin (pardon the pun) for some and Im sure many will just stop all together, how long this takes is unknown. I feel after 3 months, it will be those with basic equipment will continue to soldier on, with the vast majority probably letting exercise slide into the background.

My new workout with just dumbbells is sustainable for probably 3-4 months, months 5 and 6 will be difficult the way I see it. If I plan ahead I might be able to overcome that barrier.
I have a football oval near me with metal fence I can use for pulls in the middle of a circuit. Mostly BW leg day stuff a couple of times per week. Every second day working from home is a push up day during the work day, which along with lightweight lat raises is actually helping a shoulder injury heal pretty well.

Definitely missing the gym but for a few months it's doable.
 
I have a football oval near me with metal fence I can use for pulls in the middle of a circuit. Mostly BW leg day stuff a couple of times per week. Every second day working from home is a push up day during the work day, which along with lightweight lat raises is actually helping a shoulder injury heal pretty well.

Definitely missing the gym but for a few months it's doable.

Probably 6 months and we are not even in the first month completed yet it either.

If you do have any injuries, now is the perfect time to take it easy and be gentle with yourself. Heal and get better and stronger over the next 3-6 months.

With the program I have in place, it should hold up for a solid 3-4 months, its after this period that I am worried about, but I have purchased resistance bands as well recently so there is variety coming up for me.

I dont do outdoors running, its just been treadmill running. Huge difference, but I will say my treadmill training has held me in good stead. Ive always used the incline on the treadmill which a lot of runners I see on the treadmills rarely ever do. You need a treadmill to be at least 1.5% incline to simulate partially outdoor conditions. The fact that the treadmill I used was in front of an open window has actually helped me run outside a lot too.
 
Probably 6 months and we are not even in the first month completed yet it either.

If you do have any injuries, now is the perfect time to take it easy and be gentle with yourself. Heal and get better and stronger over the next 3-6 months.

With the program I have in place, it should hold up for a solid 3-4 months, its after this period that I am worried about, but I have purchased resistance bands as well recently so there is variety coming up for me.

I dont do outdoors running, its just been treadmill running. Huge difference, but I will say my treadmill training has held me in good stead. Ive always used the incline on the treadmill which a lot of runners I see on the treadmills rarely ever do. You need a treadmill to be at least 1.5% incline to simulate partially outdoor conditions. The fact that the treadmill I used was in front of an open window has actually helped me run outside a lot too.
Unfortunately I have a calf niggle which is stopping me from running right now. Still ok on the bike though.

I have 5kg handweights at home that I can use for shoulder rehab work and a resistance band I actually bought for squats (to push knees outward, form correction tool). That's enough to put together some BW programs.

FWIW Jump squats can be surprisingly taxing as part of a circuit.
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
It's been fine so far. I'm only going straight up and down. Just worried I might injure myself if I over do it. Using it as a power exercise.
Just focus on good quality reps I think then, but yeah, stay safe

I'm just doing volume for legs, BW squats, 1 legged squats, dbell squats etc
 
I thought I would post this useful video, of the many many many youtube and insta and FB videos out there, I felt this probably summarizes home workouts properly.

The biggest problem for those like myself who use gyms, is that we have no idea really of how long or how short the shutdown will be. If we knew, we could probably plan better and more accurately. The gym hiatus is going to be 3+ months with potentially 6+ months likely. This video is worth viewing. If our shutdown was less than 2 months, probably anything you did meaningful at home would help.

 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
I thought I would post this useful video, of the many many many youtube and insta and FB videos out there, I felt this probably summarizes home workouts properly.

The biggest problem for those like myself who use gyms, is that we have no idea really of how long or how short the shutdown will be. If we knew, we could probably plan better and more accurately. The gym hiatus is going to be 3+ months with potentially 6+ months likely. This video is worth viewing. If our shutdown was less than 2 months, probably anything you did meaningful at home would help.


Good to see Virat Kohli helping everyone out
 
Back