As we can’t go to the gym I will do it at home. I will make a circuit out of:
Dead bugs (the best bang for buck core exercise IMO)
Squats (I will use a band around the knees to work hip stabilisers a bit further)
Press ups
Glute bridges (mixing these up by doing them one legged, raised feet, raised torso)
Bulgarian Squats
Plank (there’s loads of progressions so it isn’t static, such as ‘swimming’ or moving weight)
Romanian deadlifts
sit up variants like crunches, etc.
Side plank (again with variants like lateral leg raise, reaching down underneath torso)
Pull ups (I’ve one of those door pull up bar)
If you have bands you could add in some row variants
Calf raise variants like those earlier in the thread
I have some small weights but might see if I can get some more to add load. I like those Sufferfest exercises as they challenge the balance and therefore are core work. To warm up I would do some marching on the spot, monster & crab walks with a band around ankles/feet. I would throw in some explosive stuff too like burpees, lateral jumps, star jumps, all the old favourites but you can land on one leg to add stability and control. I think having bands is much better than not having them and they are cheap and another cheap but really good piece of kit are sliders. You really add some load with them.
Good resources for exercises IMO are the prehab guys youtube channel, and this site ExRX although it is er… in need of an update, it is really informative. A good book for this stuff is Core Performance (& Core Performance endurance). It is very American in the early section but Verstegen is a knowledgeable guy and the content is very good. I imagine most of you know the stuff before the actual exercises but once you get there they are good. The core is a poorly defined thing but every part of it, apart from the pelvic floor, is covered in the book(s). If I was choosing one, I would buy the Endurance one as the other has a load of exercises you wouldn’t do to be a better triathlete.
Yeah and if you used to using Olympic stuff, then the home stuff seems crap in comparison. Of course you can buy olympic stuff also but that is mega expensive.
I’m hoping some says “nonsense! There a sub£200 deal over here!”
Actually thinking about the bar, the rack might fit in my garage but the loaded bar might be tricky.
If I cancel our gym membership I lose access to treadmill, pool and weights, only my youngest is swimming once per week and that class is cancelled. Maybe the saving justify a rack and treadmill.
Thought about it some more - outside is imperfect, but possible. Same equipment with a tarpaulin over it @pacha. There’s people who have built them out of treated timber
The cheaper racks at Argos can’t hold the weight (men’s health squat rack is rated for only 50kg) and the cheaper bars are too light so you need to buy more weights.
So, the best I can see at the moment is;
Rack (squat or power) £199 Argos or Amazon
Bar (15kg) £55 - Amazon
Weight plates ~£250 Amazon (2x 20, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25) although that doesn’t get me to 100kg
Bench - £65 Argos
I guess some kind of mat is required in case weight are dropped.
I too was looking again. Also thought about outside. Rust/corrosion might be an issue on cheap stuff if the coating peels off.
The biggest problem as you have said is the max loading capacity. When I was into strength training proper squatting at 1.2+ BW means I need capacity well over 100kg
Suppose now is not a great time to be looking for 2nd hand kit
I can reduce the costs if I just do the same load - I was at my 5x5 limit for overhead press, and “strong enough” squatting body weight and maybe drop deadlift from 100 to 80?
If I could find a 20kg bar that cost similar, I’d need only 2x20, 2x10,
Thinking about getting this. Could probably clear enough space in the garage. 200kg max weight. Not completely convinced by that but I wont get anywhere near that much.
Would need a decent bar though and plates. I already have a bench
Can be bolted down for extra security. Thinking I might need to go down this route. Looks like gyms are going to be no go areas for a number of months.
I think I could get away with their even cheaper squat rack at £129, but still the total with bars etc - cost is making me hesitate.
I’ll milk it over the weekend. I cancelled the gym but they’re making me pay for another 30days. I went their for 30mins today, all good hygiene/social distancing, but it was just stressful thinking about covid the whole time.
Yeah, the racks aren’t the problem. Going Olympic the bars are £100+ but its the plates that kill you. Although they can be added slowly as I progress, like you say though I like to have a variety of plates so I can progress and add more each week, even if that’s a couple of kilos.
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