Farmer1906 said:

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Fine. New PR… basically. 470 on Trap DL. I thought I had done 470 before but it turns out my bar was 5 pounds lighter than I thought.

After feeling like a ***** thanks for SOMEONE I decided to bench to feel better about myself. I hadn't flat benched in idk how long because incline is my chest lift of choice. But I hit 315 twice and 245 x 10 to empty the tank.

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Hell yeah! Good job, sir!

Farmer1906 said:

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Fine. New PR… basically. 470 on Trap DL. I thought I had done 470 before but it turns out my bar was 5 pounds lighter than I thought.

After feeling like a ***** thanks for SOMEONE I decided to bench to feel better about myself. I hadn't flat benched in idk how long because incline is my chest lift of choice. But I hit 315 twice and 245 x 10 to empty the tank.

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Wtf is "bench"?

Jk, well done!!

Makes getting horizontal and watching sports all day afterward so much more satisfying.

Yea but farmer and beau probably run 12 minute miles

On a good day.

"Run"?

I got the plate loaded cable machine from Bells of Steel and man it's nice.

I'd been doing some EZ bar bicep and tricep isolation work, but the burn is nothing like the cable machine provides. Did some tricep pull downs and haven't get a burn like that in my triceps in a long time.

Bonus, it's much more user friendly than a barbell so my wife and kids I think are more apt to work out with that as an option.

This has been on my short list as I get my garage set up. Wondering if I should grab one of these before I snag a pair of adjustable dumbbells, which would run me close to 2x what this costs. What would you do? Also, did you attach to wall?

I did mount it to the wall. I think the only concern is that the weight gets high up and it gets top heavy. I wasn't as worried about it as I was about the plate storage on my wall that is holding hundreds of pounds.

That is a tough call. I like my adjustable dumbbells. Running 5/3/1, with the amount of barbell work I do, I think I'll get more use out of the cable machine than dumbbells for this phase of my training. Things like rows, lateral raises, face pulls, etc., I think I am able to better target with the cable machine. My back is an area I really want to work on, and I'm hoping the cable machine helps me with that - I definitely feel the contractions more and make sure to move the weight way slower than when I am doing DB or barbell rows.

So far I have done rows, lat pulls, chest flies, tricep pulldowns, curls, face pulls, Y raises...I just think there's so many more things I can do with the cable machine that I don't have access to with a barbell and dumbbells. And then of course I mix in dips, pull ups, and chin ups.

TLDR version, I think the cable machine is probably better to assist you with targeting specific areas you'd like to work on, whereas dumbbells are a better investment if you're looking to replace barbell lifts or supplement those.

Thanks for that! I am in a similar boat, as I do mostly 5/3/1 programming and also trying to get my wife more interested in lifting weights once the garage is up and running. I think if I can find a good place to anchor it, I'll likely jump on it before investing in a good adjustable dumbbell set. I will eventually have both, but I think this convinced me it will be a good item to add as soon as I can.

Couple other questions - did you upgrade to aluminum pulleys? Curious if that upgrade is worth it.
Could you grab a quick measurement and let me know how high the the bolts are that anchor it up top and bottom? Appreciate it!

I did not get the aluminum - for the price, I wanted to see how it ran without them first. So far it's pretty smooth but the most I've pulled on it is 100 pounds. In the event I want to upgrade, switching it out should be relatively simple.

I'll try to grab the measurements when I get home this evening.

There's a rack and some weights for sale in classifieds fyi

Yea, but there was that one guy at his gym that used being strong as an excuse to be fat.

If you can't derive your opinions from one personal anecdote in your life, really what is the point of living?

Hoosegow said:

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Let me guess, comparatively long arms and legs? Like wingspan is greater than your height?

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Wing span is about proportionate to my height, but I have long legs and a tall pelvis. Simply, my levers are just not set up for easy squatting. Its taken me 8 months to be able to hit depth consistently with tweaking my form.

That said, finally, closing in on 315 for reps (just did 305 for a 3x3 last night). I know thats not alot of weight, but Im proud of it as each pound was grinded and earned. Absolutely nothing came easy on that.

Also...Gawd, I love running. It comes naturally. Im built as a runner, not some unit of a human. But, I've put that on hold to try and get stronger. Now that Im coming to the end of my NLP, Im going to start searching for the balance of running/cardio and weightlifting. (And, leaning out a bit on my gut...Its not crazy, but more soft than I prefer).

10andBOUNCE said:

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Tex117 said:

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Hoosegow said:

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Let me guess, comparatively long arms and legs? Like wingspan is greater than your height?

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Also...Gawd, I love running.

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Try some strongman type exercises. It will make that heart race, plus give you some resistance training.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Could you grab a quick measurement and let me know how high the the bolts are that anchor it up top and bottom? Appreciate it!

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Rough measurement from between sets, but the bottom one is about 4.5" to 8.5" off the ground from bottom to top of the hole and the top one is about 70.5 to 74.5". I put two wood screws in at the top and bottom of each and haven't noticed any movement.

I got 3/8" and put a washer but they were small; a 5/8 would probably work but I'd still add a washer.

Perfect, thanks. Gives me a good idea.

I had to cut out a portion of the baseboard in the garage to get it flush on the wall. But other than that it was pretty simple.

Way easier than drilling into the concrete to anchor my squat rack haha

Good deal.

I'm trying to make sure there are no space saving alternatives since I'm pretty limited but I'll find a way.

I did stumble across this and am pretty intrigued after seeing a good review of it by Gluck.
https://dialedmotion.com/products/sidewinder-system

Nice work!

I was about 8 months in when I realized my noobie gains were slowing down. This thread gave me a lot of ideas and information to seek out to figure out where to go next and what programs to pursue.

Jumping in without reading all 35 pages, so don't run me off if this has been addressed.

I've lost 30 lbs and I've been lifting 2-4 days per week depending on work schedule. I like my upper body stuff, seeing results, etc.

Here's my issue, I have degenerative lumbar discs so lower body is an issue. I love deadlifts, but I had to quit those.

So I also love/hate squats. I have a belt.

My back revolts after any lower body work. I do free weight squats, or machine squats, or leg presses. I try to do 1-2 days/week lower body work, but I know it'll be rough for a couple days after.

Any tips for leg/lower body stuff with bad discs?

Maybe try belt squats?

I've seen a lot of relatively cheap attachments for squat racks that will let you do belt squats. Like this: Revolt Belt Squat Rack Attachment Revolt Fitness

Everything I have read indicates that leg press and other machines are actually more dangerous for the back even though they appear/feel safer. Do your own research, but I believe free weights with lighter loads are better and safer than machines with heavier loads.

Appreciate that. I've had conflicting advice from trainers, doctors, and PT folks so I'm trying to figure it out.

bam02 said:

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Everything I have read indicates that leg press and other machines are actually more dangerous for the back even though they appear/feel safer. Do your own research, but I believe free weights with lighter loads are better and safer than machines with heavier loads.

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I love the leg press. I'm not very strong on it (I can do 400# for a few reps), but I never feel anything in my back on it. In fact, the reason I love it so much is that - for me- it allows me to get really deep in the range of motion and get closer to failure without worrying about my back giving out prematurely

Have you tried modifying traditional squats?

I'd try squatting with elevated heels or squatting onto a bench. Both of these ease tension on your lower back.

dahouse said:

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Jumping in without reading all 35 pages, so don't run me off if this has been addressed.

I've lost 30 lbs and I've been lifting 2-4 days per week depending on work schedule. I like my upper body stuff, seeing results, etc.

Here's my issue, I have degenerative lumbar discs so lower body is an issue. I love deadlifts, but I had to quit those.

So I also love/hate squats. I have a belt.

My back revolts after any lower body work. I do free weight squats, or machine squats, or leg presses. I try to do 1-2 days/week lower body work, but I know it'll be rough for a couple days after.

Any tips for leg/lower body stuff with bad discs?

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Great work on the weight loss!

I would do your own research about deadlifts. You may find that very slowly building up to some moderate weight may very well help your back. But obviously know your limitations and check with your physician.