Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Several readers have asked about putting
together a home gym.
It's pretty simple, but it varies depending
on your primary training method.
BODYWEIGHT TRAINING
You need a place to do floor exercises (buy
half of an old wrestling mat).
You need a pull-up bar.
Add ropes and rings if possible, to do the
rope and ring exercises in DINOSAUR BODYWEIGHT
TRAINING. I bought my ropes from John Wood --
in fact, I think I was his very first customer
for climbing ropes:
http://www.functionalhandstrength.com/rope_training_dinosaur_style.html
Push-up handles are a good tool.
A flat bench helps.
A hyperextension bench is an excellent tool
for bodyweight training.
BODYWEIGHT AND BARBELL WORK
Here's a thought -- buy a Trap Bar and plates
and do Trap Bar deadlifts for your legs, hips
and lower back.
Hit your upper body with bodyweight
exercises.
That gives you a great one-two punch for some
serious muscle growth without breaking the bank.
If you decide to go with a Trap Bar, go
with the original Gerard Trap Bar. You can
find them here:
http://www.trapbartraining.com/
BARBELL TRAINING
You need a good, high quality barbell and
enough plates to train heavy. You do NOT need
rubber bumper plates unless you are going to
do Olympic lifting.
You need squat stands -- or better yet, a
power rack.
You need a flat bench.
If you don't have a power rack and you plan
to do barbell bench presses, you need some
sort of safety catch racks to catch the bar
at the bottom if you get stuck.
Stay away from the adjustable flat bench/
incline bench combos -- they're just not
strong enough.
A Trap Bar is a great addition to your home
gym. So is a pull-up bar. And those ropes and
rings I mentioned are worth their weight in
gold.
If you don't have squat stands or a power rack,
use a Trap Bar for leg, hip and lower back
training. It's a very effective alternative
to the squat.
Over time, add thick bars, grippers and other
grip blasters, Indian clubs, cables, a good
headstrap for neck work, and anything else
that sounds like fun. You can find lots
of fun stuff at John Wood's Functional
Hand Strength site:
http://www.functionalhandstrength.com/
If you want to try heavy awkward objects, go
for them. Sandbags, barrels, lifting logs,
pulling sleds, tires -- the sky's the limit.
See DINOSAUR TRAINING and STRENGTH, MUSCLE
AND POWER for ideas.
Special plate loading bars for doing the
farmer's walk (a/k/a "farmer's) are great
for home gyms. Nothing freaks the neighbors
like a nice, heavy walk around the block
with some serious iron.
Dumbbells are a great addition to a home gym.
The best ones for home gym use are adjustable
plate loading dumbbells (the kind that take
exercise plates, not Olympic plates). Use the
Bulldog collars that IronMind sells. Don't
skimp here -- cheap dumbbells and cheap
collars can cause big problems when the plates
slide off.
And, of course, there are kettlebells -- which
are a favorite tool of many trainees the world
over.
NOTE: Dumbbells or kettlebells work great with
Trap Bar deadlifts. Ditto with squats and front
squats.
As far as where to buy stuff, you need to shop
around. Go for heavy duty equipment. You want
your bench, squat stands and power rack to be
(1) heavy, and (2) strong. And you really, really
REALLY want to get a good, high quality bar. The
majority of bars on the market today are worthless
junk.
OLYMPIC LIFTING
You need a platform -- which is easy to make out
of plywood.
You need a good high quality Olympic lifting bar.
You need rubber bumper plates.
You need lifting shoes.
You need squat stands that you can move on and off
the platform.
Pretty much what you see me using in my new dvd,
GOING STRONG AT 54:
http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html
FINAL THOUGHTS
One thing to keep in mind is this -- you can always
start small and build from there. No one says you
have to start out with a fully equipped home gym.
Build it up over time.
And remember this -- the hours you spend in your
home gym are going to be some of the very best
hours of your entire life. So be ready for some
really good times -- and for some great workouts!
I hope that helps, and if it does, be sure to send
photos of your home gym.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Be sure to reserve your copy of DINOSAUR
BODYWEIGHT TRAINING during our big pre-publication
special:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. 2. You can grab my other books, courses and
DVD's right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
