Saturday, January 22, 2011

Exercises with just a barbell to fool around with

Okay. So this is the deal. You have a barbell and a few plates at home. That's about it. No bench. No squat stands. Nothing. Just the barbell. And most of the time you'll be training alone. So what kind of exercise/lifts could you do without the luxury of a spotter or a safety catch?

Off the top of my head, I can think of:


  1. the deadlift
  2. the overhead press (you need to look for something to prop the barbell near chest level. I just use a pair of dinner chairs)
  3. the side press (easier to do with a dumbbell. But if you could do it with a barbell - and it is possible - i salute you)
  4. barbell row
I don't know about you, but I think they're sufficient to be strong with these few exercises. Fine, so you can't bench. Do pushups instead. Don't be one of those clowns who bench but can't do a single pushup to save their lives. If you can't do pushups then stay the hell away from benching.
Just my two sen.

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