Barbells, Dumbbells, and Life's Journey

[mstatefan91]

3/10/2019

Squat
45x8, 4, 2
135x4
225x2
275x1
295x1
315x1
325x4x4 Beltless.. Very easy reps.. Legs starting to feel stronger

Bench
45x15
135x4
185x2
200x8x4 @6 Could have repped these indefinitely.. probably for 12-15

Deadlift
135x4
225x2
275x1
315x1
365x3x5 Belted.. These continue to suck but they sucked less than last week


So, not sure what the schedule is going to be like this week. I'll try to get in the gym tomorrow and Wednesday but Thursday and Friday are toss ups. The wife is having surgery Thursday to remove her gallbladder. Just take it as it comes.. Hopefully, it isn't a bad/long recovery.

[KenshinH]

Hope the surgery and recovery go well for your wife!

Nice SBD workout! Sounds like you're adapting to the volume already

[mstatefan91]

Hope the surgery and recovery go well for your wife!

Nice SBD workout! Sounds like you're adapting to the volume already

The hardest part is going to be getting to the hospital at 5:30 am since we are two hours away

Yeah, the deadlift remains the hardest part.. I don't feel like I'm getting much power out of the power deads.. maybe that will change in a few weeks.. If not, I'll lower the weight.

[jshaw5]

Ugh that sucks. You don't have a hospital closer than that? My wife had her gallbladder out, but it was so long ago I can't remember what her recovery was like.

[mstatefan91]

Ugh that sucks. You don't have a hospital closer than that? My wife had her gallbladder out, but it was so long ago I can't remember what her recovery was like.

We do but I would not recommend using it unless there was zero choice..

[mstatefan91]

3/12/2019

Bench
45x15
135x4
185x2
205x1
225x3x5 Paused.. Very easy. Was supposed to be 220.. oops

Deadlift
135x5
225x2
275x1
315x1
330x5x5 Beltless.. Deadlifts are starting to feel solid


That was it. Don't think I'll be in the gym today or tomorrow. May not be in there until Saturday or Sunday. Wife's mother is driving up today to help her with recovery. The inzer charge finally went through so just waiting on that to get shipped.

[jshaw5]

We do but I would not recommend using it unless there was zero choice..

Yeah I know what you mean. We have one in the town we just moved to, but I wouldn't go there. Fortunately the hospital we prefer is still only like 35 minutes away.

That's weird about the belt on Amazon. I just searched and it says it's sold by Inzer. If you ordered it in black, it should get there pretty quick.

I done messed up when I ordered my latest belt. My old belt is an Inzer size L. At my fattest, I've still had a few more holes to work with. At my leanest, I've been on the very last hole. Even though I'm 99% sure I would never need to go any smaller than that, I did want a smaller belt because I didn't like all the extra length when I was at my leanest. I ordered my Pioneer belt with a custom length. Since then I have gained about 30 lbs (still not at my fattest though) and can no longer use it lol.

[mstatefan91]

Yeah I know what you mean. We have one in the town we just moved to, but I wouldn't go there. Fortunately the hospital we prefer is still only like 35 minutes away.

That's weird about the belt on Amazon. I just searched and it says it's sold by Inzer. If you ordered it in black, it should get there pretty quick.

I done messed up when I ordered my latest belt. My old belt is an Inzer size L. At my fattest, I've still had a few more holes to work with. At my leanest, I've been on the very last hole. Even though I'm 99% sure I would never need to go any smaller than that, I did want a smaller belt because I didn't like all the extra length when I was at my leanest. I ordered my Pioneer belt with a custom length. Since then I have gained about 30 lbs (still not at my fattest though) and can no longer use it lol.

Yeah we had a hospital closer than that (30 or so minutes) but they wouldn't/couldn't do the tests so we kind of got locked into this other hospital/surgeon and decided to stay with him through the whole process.

I'm not sure on the amazon deal.. It does say by Inzer but Inzer isn't selling the belt, so I don't know. Some people said they got the forever warranty with it and others are saying they didn't.
My policy with Inzer products is patience. They are in zero hurry and will slow down even more if you push them. lol

I'm currently at my fattest and on my last notch on that medium belt.. I struggled to put it on last Saturday and got some nice bruises for it.

[mstatefan91]

Surgery went well. Back home resting. Gym tomorrow maybe. Maybe Saturday

[KenshinH]

Surgery went well. Back home resting. Gym tomorrow maybe. Maybe Saturday

That's good news dude! Wishing your wife a speedy recovery!

[mstatefan91]

3/16/2019

Deadlift
375x4x4 Belted the last two sets.. Got better as the sets went

Squat
285x5x5 Very easy.. Got some blood moving

Machine OHP
110x8x3

VGrip Cable Row
120x8x3


3/17/2019

Bench Press
230x4x4 Bench has been the fastest movement to come back

Squat
315x3x5 These felt very solid. Weight was moving well

BB OHP
95x5
115x5
125x5
130x5

That's good news dude! Wishing your wife a speedy recovery!

She is doing a lot better than I thought she would be. Trying to keep her from doing things is now the challenge.

[KenshinH]

Good job squeezing in two solid workouts there!

[mstatefan91]

Good job squeezing in two solid workouts there!

And now I haven't worked out all week.. oh well weekend starts tomorrow and i should be able to get started back. The wife has been very limited at home so I've been doing a lot of things that are normally shared.. on top of work.

[KenshinH]

And now I haven't worked out all week.. oh well weekend starts tomorrow and i should be able to get started back. The wife has been very limited at home so I've been doing a lot of things that are normally shared.. on top of work.

I know how you feel. It's been the same with my household, except my wife's just been sick instead of recovering from surgery.

[mstatefan91]

3/23/2019

Squat
315x3x5

Bench
225x4x4

The 5 days off didn't seem to affect me too much. Just decided to restart the program but changed it up a bit

3/24/2019

Squat
365x3x3 This is a bit of the change. Strength will now be a 3x3 and I've decided to move closer to a weight that will challenge me but that I won't fail.

Bench
190x8x4

Deadlift
335x3x5 Power for deadlift and squat will now be around 70% instead of 80%


So basically I took some of Tuan's suggestions while keeping some of the program the same. Strength for bench will still be a 4x4 because extra reps on bench is best for me. Squat and deadlift strength will be a 3x3 but with heavier loads to challenge me a bit more..

I know how you feel. It's been the same with my household, except my wife's just been sick instead of recovering from surgery.

She's doing a lot better now. Follow up with the doc tomorrow and then back to normal later this week hopefully. Fingers crossed lol



Oh yeah got my inzer lever-belt in. Kinda shocked that it got here this quickly. Anyway it is the quality that I expected. The biggest difference to me so far is the obvious one. It tightens to the same level no matter what.. That means sometimes it feels a little loose and sometimes it feels a little tight depending on how fat I am. lol

[KenshinH]

Hope the changes work out for you!

Glad to hear your wife's better. Mine as well, which means I'll be going back to a more normal work and workout schedule.

With the notch belts, my weight can fluctuate

[mstatefan91]

Hope the changes work out for you!

Glad to hear your wife's better. Mine as well, which means I'll be going back to a more normal work and workout schedule.

With the notch belts, my weight can fluctuate

That is true on the prong belts. If I can commit myself to losing 10-15 pounds then I can use my lever for everyday training and my prong to get that extra tightness on PR days

[mstatefan91]

3/26/2019

Bench Press
45x15
135x4
185x2
205x1
215x3x5 Paused

Deadlift
135x5
225x2
275x1
315x1
335x5x4 deads starting to feel good again. Breezed through these

Pendlay Row
135x5
155x5x3

45 minutes total.

[mstatefan91]

So I've been given the go ahead to start making my own home gym by the wife. We have a storage room that I am going to utilize as best I can.

It's dimensions are 120"x65" (WxL). Height is not an issue. Ceililngs look to be 12' if not a little taller.

Really digging the T-3 Series squat rack v-2. It's the best of both worlds for me. It is from a company that I trust and I can accessorize it.

I can't do a full power rack because it would be very ridiculous trying to walk in and out of the door. You'd literally be walking into the power rack. i'd have to walk between the rack and the wall (about 16 inches of total space) to get to weight plates and other things.. So that is likely just out.

A squat rack that can later be converted into a half rack at a later date seems to be the best option for me currently.

Here is an image of it



It's $308 currently before shipping and tax. Very doable

The conversion kit is pretty reasonable too and it would look like this after being converted



I can get J-hooks and spotter bars from them/replace them as necessary.



I had considered a hulkfit squat rack but.. I don't know the company and I'm skeptical of the quality.

https://www.amazon.com/HulkFit-Multi...gateway&sr=8-2

It looks like this







What do you guys think?

[Farley1324]

Not sure how aware you are with Titan's reputation, but...they are highly controversial at best. I can't remember if you are in the equipment section regularly or not...I float in and out, mostly out, to help avoid buying **** i don't need.

I bought one thing from them one time and they ****ed it up, it was out of spec and I had to convince them in back and forth emails complete with photos of my micrometer to get them to admit it was out of spec and send a replacement

I bought a pair of j-cups for a 2"x2" rack and one of them was bent (no way this possibly happened in transit, it was made that way...one of them was like 1.92" inside diameter so it didn't fit, they gave me a runaround asking what rack I was using it on and acted like they weren't going to replace it because I wasn't using it on a Titan brand rack...despite it being made for a 2x2 rack and I was using it on a 2x2 rack if I had the 2x2 Titan brand rack it was theoretically made for there is no way it would work.

So my conclusion on my N=1 experience is that their quality control is exactly as many say, terrible. Customer Service gets a begrudged "I guess that's good enough but should be better"

[mstatefan91]

Not sure how aware you are with Titan's reputation, but...they are highly controversial at best. I can't remember if you are in the equipment section regularly or not...I float in and out, mostly out, to help avoid buying **** i don't need.

I bought one thing from them one time and they ****ed it up, it was out of spec and I had to convince them in back and forth emails complete with photos of my micrometer to get them to admit it was out of spec and send a replacement

I bought a pair of j-cups for a 2"x2" rack and one of them was bent (no way this possibly happened in transit, it was made that way...one of them was like 1.7x" inside diameter so it didn't fit

Well crap. I had just about decided that was the way to go.. I do not frequent the workout equipment section very often at all.. Any other suggestions for something like that? I can do my own digging but if you know anything, I appreciate it.

[Farley1324]

Well crap. I had just about decided that was the way to go.. I do not frequent the workout equipment section very often at all.. Any other suggestions for something like that? I can do my own digging but if you know anything, I appreciate it.

No, sorry, I never paid attention to stands or even half racks or limited space, I always had room for a full size (deep/oversize) power rack

Poke around the equipment section here and wherever else before buying from them, and be sure to find reviews of hte exact product you are looking at as there is some significant variance even within their range between different products

This guy is reputable and one of the more positive on Titan

[mstatefan91]

No, sorry, I never paid attention to stands or even half racks or limited space, I always had room for a full size (deep/oversize) power rack

Poke around the equipment section here and wherever else before buying from them, and be sure to find reviews of hte exact product you are looking at as there is some significant variance even within their range between different products

This guy is reputable and one of the more positive on Titan

[youtube]_WCC1ZA26Gs[/yotube]

Thanks will watch it later. Will also be looking into Rogue as squat stands/half racks may be more up their alley.

[KenshinH]

Putting together a home gym is cool.

Unfortunately, I'm of no help there.. but poking around the equipment section and asking questions sound like a good start.

[mstatefan91]

Thanks will watch it later. Will also be looking into Rogue as squat stands/half racks may be more up their alley.

So, it looks like Rogue is the more reputable company for squat racks/half racks.

[mstatefan91]

Ok now I'm leaning toward this squat rack since it also has the option to be converted to a half rack at any time.



At any rate, I need to clean out the storage room and get some stall mats laid down. This is going to be an effective home gym and less on the flashy side. If/when we move into a bigger house with a closed in garage or extra room then it will start to get real..

The amount of times I've failed on a squat/bench in the past 3 years makes me fear it very little.. I still want the self-spot bars but they just aren't a priority at the early part of this programming. Even then, I rarely fail reps because I try not to lift with the ego too often but if I do, within reason...

[jshaw5]

My experience with Titan is mixed but mostly positive. The quality and consistency is not going to be on the same level as I would expect from Rogue, though I don't own any of their equipment. My rack is not made by Titan, but most of the accessories I've bought for it are. I have 2 sets of j-cups, the mono hooks, landmine, and plate holders that I use for handles for hatfield squats. One of the pins on one of the j-cups is angled slightly which makes it a real tight fit in some parts of my rack, but I can still get it on so I'm not worried about it. The second set of holes on the mono hooks don't quite line up, but I just drilled it out to make it work. I never measured to see if it was my rack or the mono hook where the hole spacing is off. The landmine plate holders fit perfect. I also have their angled swiss bar, which I had to file off some tiny imperfections at the end of the sleeves, but otherwise the bar is awesome. The viking press attachment for the landmine is great. The gun rack style bar holder is great. The adjustable hyperextension is pretty solid. It was missing a piece when I got it, but all it took was an email and they sent it out right away. My brother has the T3 yoke, which is nearly the same as the rack you're looking at, as well as the j-cups and spotter arms and has had no issues with any of them.

Titan is a gamble. You probably save 30+%, but at the risk of possibly getting something that's not aesthetically perfect but functions the way it should, or possibly having to fight with customer service about replacement. My only experience with customer service went just fine, but at least if you encountered a similar situation as Farley, since you would be using all Titan stuff, you wouldn't have to worry about convincing them that the problem is with their product and not compatibility with another manufacturer's product.

If you don't want to take that gamble and the peace of mind is worth an extra 30% or so, then definitely go with Rogue.

[mstatefan91]

My experience with Titan is mixed but mostly positive. The quality and consistency is not going to be on the same level as I would expect from Rogue, though I don't own any of their equipment. My rack is not made by Titan, but most of the accessories I've bought for it are. I have 2 sets of j-cups, the mono hooks, landmine, and plate holders that I use for handles for hatfield squats. One of the pins on one of the j-cups is angled slightly which makes it a real tight fit in some parts of my rack, but I can still get it on so I'm not worried about it. The second set of holes on the mono hooks don't quite line up, but I just drilled it out to make it work. I never measured to see if it was my rack or the mono hook where the hole spacing is off. The landmine plate holders fit perfect. I also have their angled swiss bar, which I had to file off some tiny imperfections at the end of the sleeves, but otherwise the bar is awesome. The viking press attachment for the landmine is great. The gun rack style bar holder is great. The adjustable hyperextension is pretty solid. It was missing a piece when I got it, but all it took was an email and they sent it out right away. My brother has the T3 yoke, which is nearly the same as the rack you're looking at, as well as the j-cups and spotter arms and has had no issues with any of them.

Titan is a gamble. You probably save 30+%, but at the risk of possibly getting something that's not aesthetically perfect but functions the way it should, or possibly having to fight with customer service about replacement. My only experience with customer service went just fine, but at least if you encountered a similar situation as Farley, since you would be using all Titan stuff, you wouldn't have to worry about convincing them that the problem is with their product and not compatibility with another manufacturer's product.

If you don't want to take that gamble and the peace of mind is worth an extra 30% or so, then definitely go with Rogue.

Thanks for the info. The complaint with Titan does seem to be the quality which is surprising to me but I guess I shouldn't be.

I think I will go with Rogue after everything I've seen here. I can get a Rogue S2 for $345 and it can be converted into a half rack at any time with the conversion kit. The only thing annoying about rogue is that it doesn't come with the safety spotter arms and those seem to be pretty pricey with Rogue.. I do wonder if another brand will fit in a rogue squat stand. Don't need them just yet but would prefer to have them for obvious reasons.


What did you guys do for mats? They look to be fairly cheap on Amazon and I only need about 4'x8' of coverage.


Correction: The S1 is $345 and probably all I would need for now but then the conversion kit to get it to an S2 is $210 and then the conversion kit to the half rack is like $235.. Whereas if I spend the $425 upfront for the S2 then I'm ahead already.

[mstatefan91]

Think I've gone full circle after talking to the wife. She's ok with the full power rack in the carport and taking a chance on it wearing out over a few years (doubtful, cause I don't see us staying in this house more than a couple).

So, carport gym it is with a power rack. I was looking at the numbers and it just doesn't make sense to spend the amount I was about to spend on a squat rack to try to trick it out to a quasi power rack

[mstatefan91]

Ok so far I have ordered:

1.) Rep Fitness PR-1100 power rack (pictured below)
2.) FB 3000 flat bench (pictured below)
3.) A pair of 45lb bumper plates
4.) 6 Cap 45lb plates cause I'm cheap lol

I need:

1.) Stall mats (going to Tractor Supply this weekend to get them)
2.) Barbell (will order soonish)
3.) 25s, 10s, 5s, and 2.5s










Suggestions on barbells Farley or anyone?