Blonde will make you STRONG

[StuartHopkin]

Great first session on the home made rack.

It feels really solid and managed to handle 170kg on the squat supports comfortably. With the bar being high up it was a bit wobbly but zero chance of collapse or failure of any kind so I'm really pleased with it. My mate is happy at 170kg, he normally goes up to 220kg but he's just going to do doubles and be thankful that he's even squatting at all.

Bench felt really tough which I think was because of the different set up to the benches at the gym. Slightly narrower bar takes some getting used to but also my bench is quite low which means you can't get your knees below your hips. This make any kind of arch almost impossible and also leg drive is cut to nothing. We're just going to see it as a different bit of training which will work other muscles and help bench overall when we get back.

I managed to get up to 110kg for comfortable sets of 4. As we're benching every night I don't want to go stupid so I'll be keeping at least one rep in reserve.

Squat was very interesting to say the least. My mate is a bit of a squat expert so he coached me on a few technique points that made a huge difference immediately.

My squat has always been terrible so there's a good chance this next few weeks could really help me out. I just did 3 working sets at 70kg with a very slow descent, 2 second pause and explosive push.

It'll be interesting to see how doing this every night with perfect form develops things.

The fans want pictures!

[EvilPie]

Any idea how to put pictures on here?

[StuartHopkin]

Any idea how to put pictures on here?

Click to see full-size image.

[Marky147]

Nice work Matt, looks a lot better than my training area at home does at the moment

[Ledders]

That setup looks legit!

[EvilPie]

That setup looks legit!

I'm quite proud of myself for putting it all together. It's good enough to leave there even after the gym re-opens just for some extra work every now and then.

Legs are aching today but it's a really good ache. Got my 3 x 3 squats at 70kg slow descent and 2 second pause. Felt better than Monday so I'm taking that as a positive.

I'm doing loads of stretching and foam rolling to try to avoid any injuries that may put me out. I'm determined to make the most of this opportunity to sort my squat out so that I can keep doing them without getting injured.

[the sicilian]

Looking good Matt..

The private Gym i go to.. the police turned up..its on an industrial estate and i think they dont get on one of the neighbours  and the police said they had received a call.. it was one on one as well... so thats now gone for a burton..

back to home workouts.. lots of cardio based stuff but no real weight.. have a set of 15kg dbells and a proper medicine/wall ball

was going to order some kettle bells but surprise surprise prices have sky rocketed

so gonna be really fit but lose strength to a degree looool

[EvilPie]

Looking good Matt..

The private Gym i go to.. the police turned up..its on an industrial estate and i think they dont get on one of the neighbours  and the police said they had received a call.. it was one on one as well... so thats now gone for a burton..

back to home workouts.. lots of cardio based stuff but no real weight.. have a set of 15kg dbells and a proper medicine/wall ball

was going to order some kettle bells but surprise surprise prices have sky rocketed

so gonna be really fit but lose strength to a degree looool

I wouldn't worry about the strength at all mate. After the first 5 month lockdown my mate and I were back in PR territory within 8 weeks of starting back.

[BangBang]

Great set up Matt

This lockdown doesn’t seem like a lockdown at all apart from the gyms and some shops being closed.

So I’m doing the same thing everyday. 5k run, then 15 sets of 5 pull ups plus 10 sets of 20 dips at the park. I’m also doing around 100 to 200 push ups a day when I wake up.
I do have access to a gym but I’ve haven’t had the inclination to go because of work commitments.

I signed up to Mindfit yoga and haven’t logged on once to do a session.

On a side note working from home is really doing my head in. I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything.  I’m forgetting to eat a lot and because I’m working from home not moving as much either. I really need to go swimming and stretch out.

Hope you’re all doing well..

[EvilPie]

Some nice bench progression going up to 3 x 4 at 110kg and a final set of 6 still with one in reserve. Will be going up to 115 or maybe even 120 next week now that I'm used to the bench.

This current routine could really pay dividends when I get back to the gym. It's such a different set up that you could class it as a variation of my normal bench press rather than being the same. It's a much more difficult position to press from so it'll be working a lot of muscles that didn't come in to play before.

Squatting is coming along steadily. Went up to 80kg for my final set and felt good at that. Everything feels really well locked in and I'm definitely getting better at the movement. Really happy with progression there.

There's always the temptation to go a bit heavier but I'm determined to focus on perfect technique to build a solid foundation. That 2 second pause is a killer as well but it's really good for ensuring I'm balanced before driving up.

[EvilPie]

Been a reasonable couple of weeks for me since getting my rack set up.

Squats are progressing nicely up to 88kg from 68kg at the start. Still sticking to very slow descent, pause and explosive stand which is working well so far. Definitely feeling a lot stronger with these especially around the hips which is where my form has always broken down in the past.

Bench is also coming along up to 121.5kg for my sets of 4 now. It's a very compromised and weak position compared to the benches at the gym so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it translates when I start back.

Had an email from my gym this morning confirming that they're re-opening on the 2nd so it'll be great to get back. I love my home gym set up but it isn't quite the same.

Anyone else manage to get much done?

[Ledders]

I've missed a few days but done ~1500 pressups this month now. I bought an ab wheel which is proving to be a good purchase so far

Very pleased to see gyms are going to be able to reopen in all tiers.

[EvilPie]

I've missed a few days but done ~1500 pressups this month now. I bought an ab wheel which is proving to be a good purchase so far

Very pleased to see gyms are going to be able to reopen in all tiers.

Great stuff Ledders. I've recently got hold of an ab wheel as well and I really like it. Wish I'd bought one years ago.

[EvilPie]

Hit a couple of triples at 128kg on my bench yesterday which would be very much PR territory on the normal bench at the gym. I've hit 130kg for 4 once but it's a much better set up so I think I'm pretty much at that same level.

I haven't been above 120kg since the first lockdown so this is great progress that I'm really pleased with.

Squats are up to 97kg but that was just a couple of singles. I managed the slow descent and full 2 second pause so they're coming along brilliantly.

Looking forward to the gym re-opening on Wednesday but I've got to find a way of keeping going with the regular squats until I have the form really well drilled in. I might just add squats in at the gym on my two leg days then do a couple of very short squat only sessions at home.

Everyone else back on Wednesday?

[Marky147]

Thursday for me, I think.

Going to weigh myself on Weds night and see what the damage is