Home gym ?s

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miyatarama
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Post by miyatarama »

Hey everyone, a little background, I have a neighbor with a power rack and I have a pullup system I made with some rope and pvc pipe hanging from my carport. In the past I've done the stronglifts routine (stronglifts.com) and I'm looking to spice things up a little. After reading Jacob's related posts, I'm thinking of getting some kettlebells and/or clubbells. I found the following exercises:

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/05/07/be ... l-workout/

Does anyone else have some ideas or routines that they like? Should I start with kettlebells since they seem more versatile? And with the lifeline cables, does anyone have a good routine/advice for which to buy/try first?


jacob
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Post by jacob »

Kettlebells are more versatile than clubbells. If you're mainly looking for arm strength over core strength, CBs are better.
I prefer simple workouts. With KBs, I'd do something like
single KB workout:

8 sets of 8L/R snatches in 8 minutes.
double KB workout:

10 sets of 5C&PP in 10 minutes.
double CB workout:

10 sets of 10 swipes in 10 minutes.
That's it. These focus on power. I weigh 175lbs and I use 53lbs KBs and 25lbs CBs.


Matthew
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Post by Matthew »

I personally think pullups and dips cover just about all the upper body strength one needs.


miyatarama
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Post by miyatarama »

So it looks like the l/r snatch is the same as the "Clean and Press" from my link (sorry, I need pictures!). Is the double c&pp like the snatch only with both hands on independent kettlebells? I belong to a gym currently, so I want to try it out with their equipment and then try to find something like this on craigslist. Thanks for the info!


jacob
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Post by jacob »

It's probably easiest just to find some videos on youtube.
snatch, clean&press, and clean&push press are three different lifts.
Clean moves from the ground or hang to the shoulder. Press moves it from the shoulder to top without leg assist. Push press moves it from shoulder to top with a leg jumpstart. Jerk is the same thing but you dip your knees at the top to catch it. A snatch is from the ground to the top and is driven almost exclusively from the legs.
Doubles are simply one KB in each hand.


miyatarama
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Post by miyatarama »

Got it, thanks!


Concojones
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Post by Concojones »

@Jacob: what do you do if your strength increases? Get a heavier KB? How many different weights would you recommend? I used to do barbell exercises in a gym (same routine as miyatarama) but I'm looking for a home-based routine and KB seem interesting (I'm living out of a suitcase).


jacob
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Post by jacob »

You get a heavier weight, but one way to avoid that is simply to start working on more difficult lifts instead or do more reps. KB weight were (at least originally) spaced 8kg apart, i.e. 16, 24 (standard), 32, 40, and 48. Due to the concept, you should really only need one KB or a pair.
In principle :)
I have 2x24 and 2x32, because at one point I got into more strength oriented lifts. It would be a really hard choice if I had to go for one set. I like doing doubles. Alternatively, one of each.
Consider that this takes up FAR LESS floor space than any kind of regular gym equipment. It's even smaller than dumbbells.


Matt
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Post by Matt »

@Jacob: do you ever do compound sets with KBs? It makes for quite a workout even with lower weight. It's geared more for muscle growth, but I rotate between hypertrophy and strength training. It may be easier with barbells and dumbbells, though.


jacob
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Post by jacob »

That's all I ever do. It's what KBs were intended for.


dpmorel
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Post by dpmorel »

I found kbs eventually aren't heavy enough. If you eat well and workout hard it is pretty easy to foresee doing deadlifts, squats, etc at 200+ lbs in the near-ish future.
I prefer just starting with a bar and some plates. You can get plates with hand grips slotted into them so you can use them like kettlebells/dumbbells. 45lb plates with handgrips not only get you through most "kb" type exercises but also can be used on the barbell for heavier lifting.


dpmorel
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Post by dpmorel »

http://www.intekstrength.com/prod_plates.htm - these are the kinds of plates I am talking about as a note when I mean hand grips slotted out of them


jacob
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Post by jacob »

Using KBs for deadlifts, squats, or benchpressing would be missing the point of the KB though. For those exercises, barbells are better.
But to compare ... grab a pair of 80 pound dumbbells and then do a set of 10 Clean and jerks---this should take 45 seconds to 1 minute to complete. I bet even big guys will find some use for this exercise. This would be a good challenge for someone who weighs 185. Scale accordingly.


dpmorel
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Post by dpmorel »

I think benchpressing misses the point of any exercise :)
I guess it depends on your goals. If say you are a cyclist you are looking for raw power from your legs and looking to build enough strength so that some 65 year old guy with a fixed-gear bike doesn't blow by you on your brand new ride while going up a very steep & long incline (sigh... yes, this embarassingly happened to me on the weekend). In that case I'd advocate a heavy diet of squat & deadlifts variants, more so than say clean and jerks.
Personally though, I don't do weights for "fitness", "core", etc. I prefer sports and activity for that (soccer, biking, etc). I like weights for adding strength and power. My favourite workouts mix "heavy" and "high-reps" with big compound exercises like rows, squats, deadlifts, military press. For me that means barbell and weights. Kettlebell routines tend to be too functionally difficult to lift heavy to add real power, and they tend to be too "aerobically" difficult to do for high-reps.
Also, when I get up in weight on kb-style olympic lifts, I tend to injure myself (hammies on cleans, rotator cuff on snatches).


jacob
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Post by jacob »

"Kettlebell routines tend to be too functionally difficult to lift heavy to add real power, and they tend to be too "aerobically" difficult to do for high-reps."
Once you master them, you get both aerobic and strength benefits though. It's the middle ground. In football terms, KBs are for linebackers. They make you fast but also strong, strong but also fast. As I like to say "If you can beat me up, you can't catch me. If you can catch me, I can beat you up"---I think KBs deliver very well on that premise.
For ERE purposes, the best thing is that you pay $200; this will cover all future gym costs and not take up more floor space than a pair of shoes.


dpmorel
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Post by dpmorel »

Another good ERE home gym idea at $0 might be adding plyometrics + intervals to the fold. Maybe toss a skipping rope into the mix for $5.
One of other my favourite "home gym" tactics is to never use power tools. Hand digging fence post holes for 4 hours and pole-sanding your deck for 3 days will beat most "core" workouts any day of the week. I always think its ironic that people pay money to go to a gym to do "wood-chop" exercises. Why not just chop-wood?


jacob
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Post by jacob »

Maybe they're practicing just in case they do have to chop wood some time in the future :-D
This picture is a classic.


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