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Creative Exercises At Home - Quarantine Edition
- Thread starter mikeynov
- Start date
I appended this to the original post but also wanted to update this thread in case anyone misses it...
A couple of other notes I wanted to add after having used this movement for a while.
1) This leverage belt squat motion doesn't work quite like a normal squat, the weight you're lifting goes down and forward, so this draws your balance somewhat forward. In normal squat movements, I like the "midfoot" cue in terms of where to have your balance, i.e. right in the middle of the foot with both heel and forefoot in solid contact, and in principle the bar when viewed from the side would go straight down and up. However, in this movement, because your balance is more forward at the bottom than the top, STARTING at midfoot balance tends to make you shift a bit onto your toes at the bottom. So instead, walk your feet more forward at the top than you think such that you feel your weight solidly on your heels. This has the effect of making you more midfoot at the bottom, and if you had to pick your poison, having your weight slightly towards the heel is probably significantly safer than towards the front of the foot. So walk the feet forward such that you're more on your heels at the top of the motion.
2) The height of the safety on the opposite side of what you're lifting should be high enough such that the bar is straight at most when you stand up, if not tipped down towards you, so as to prevent the weight from shifting towards that end of the rack. If you cinch your squat belt tight and have the opposite side too low, you can get an annoying effect where the bar starts to slide away from you as you do this. So make sure the opposite side is high enough such that, at most, the bar is level at the top, and if anything, still slightly pointing down towards your end.
A couple of other notes I wanted to add after having used this movement for a while.
1) This leverage belt squat motion doesn't work quite like a normal squat, the weight you're lifting goes down and forward, so this draws your balance somewhat forward. In normal squat movements, I like the "midfoot" cue in terms of where to have your balance, i.e. right in the middle of the foot with both heel and forefoot in solid contact, and in principle the bar when viewed from the side would go straight down and up. However, in this movement, because your balance is more forward at the bottom than the top, STARTING at midfoot balance tends to make you shift a bit onto your toes at the bottom. So instead, walk your feet more forward at the top than you think such that you feel your weight solidly on your heels. This has the effect of making you more midfoot at the bottom, and if you had to pick your poison, having your weight slightly towards the heel is probably significantly safer than towards the front of the foot. So walk the feet forward such that you're more on your heels at the top of the motion.
2) The height of the safety on the opposite side of what you're lifting should be high enough such that the bar is straight at most when you stand up, if not tipped down towards you, so as to prevent the weight from shifting towards that end of the rack. If you cinch your squat belt tight and have the opposite side too low, you can get an annoying effect where the bar starts to slide away from you as you do this. So make sure the opposite side is high enough such that, at most, the bar is level at the top, and if anything, still slightly pointing down towards your end.
I feel like the best option in terms of stability would probably be to build them, no?
I’m a bit concerned about how much load a wooden box (pair) can take. Welding not being in my skill set.
So as a little update there's a straightforward solution to the weighted pushups problem if you're willing to shell out the money.
https://kensuifitness.com/products/kensui-ez-vest
The primary feature here is that you can actually load the vest with olympic (or even standard with an adapter) plates, which makes it wildly more versatile than most vests. It's loaded such that the weight rests on the thoracic spine and should remove any concern about lower back issues. I wound up buying one of these after a long string of coming up with my own solutions using dip handles and climbing vests - I may even write something up at some point as it was kind of a fun journey.
But yah, as an easy solution, this is it. All you really need is a pair of pushup handles and something to elevate your feet on that are close in height to the handles and the dimensions of the vest are such that you get a full ROM with a consistent depth. Here's a video of me using it:
As a note the dip belt version is a little easier, likely because the load is further away from the shoulders, whereas this is noticeably a bit harder. In a pinch I'd still try the dip belt version to see if you like the movement, and if you have a lot of disposable income to throw around, the Kensui EZ Vest really is a pretty solid solution. The vest should work well for other stuff, off the top of my head including hands-free bulgarian split squats, inverted rows as well as the usual weighted chins and dips.
If anyone is actually interested in buying the thing let me know and I can show you some tips to knock some money off that I discovered poking around the website. Basically if you hang out on the website it'll pop up a little survey which gives you like 5% off with a code (mine was just "SURVEY" which maybe is universal?), and then they have the option of getting some accessories for a discount if you order the base vest (I got the longer bumper plate pegs so I have as much space as possible, particularly for the rear-loaded weight). I got the max (loadable up to 225 lbs), which I think is the way to go if you're going to shell out this much money so you can use it for as many things as possible.
https://kensuifitness.com/products/kensui-ez-vest
The primary feature here is that you can actually load the vest with olympic (or even standard with an adapter) plates, which makes it wildly more versatile than most vests. It's loaded such that the weight rests on the thoracic spine and should remove any concern about lower back issues. I wound up buying one of these after a long string of coming up with my own solutions using dip handles and climbing vests - I may even write something up at some point as it was kind of a fun journey.
But yah, as an easy solution, this is it. All you really need is a pair of pushup handles and something to elevate your feet on that are close in height to the handles and the dimensions of the vest are such that you get a full ROM with a consistent depth. Here's a video of me using it:
As a note the dip belt version is a little easier, likely because the load is further away from the shoulders, whereas this is noticeably a bit harder. In a pinch I'd still try the dip belt version to see if you like the movement, and if you have a lot of disposable income to throw around, the Kensui EZ Vest really is a pretty solid solution. The vest should work well for other stuff, off the top of my head including hands-free bulgarian split squats, inverted rows as well as the usual weighted chins and dips.
If anyone is actually interested in buying the thing let me know and I can show you some tips to knock some money off that I discovered poking around the website. Basically if you hang out on the website it'll pop up a little survey which gives you like 5% off with a code (mine was just "SURVEY" which maybe is universal?), and then they have the option of getting some accessories for a discount if you order the base vest (I got the longer bumper plate pegs so I have as much space as possible, particularly for the rear-loaded weight). I got the max (loadable up to 225 lbs), which I think is the way to go if you're going to shell out this much money so you can use it for as many things as possible.
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So as a little update there's a straightforward solution to the weighted pushups problem if you're willing to shell out the money.
https://kensuifitness.com/products/kensui-ez-vest
The primary feature here is that you can actually load the vest with olympic (or even standard with an adapter) plates, which makes it wildly more versatile than most vests. It's loaded such that the weight rests on the thoracic spine and should remove any concern about lower back issues. I wound up buying one of these after a long string of coming up with my own solutions using dip handles and climbing vests - I may even write something up at some point as it was kind of a fun journey.
But yah, as an easy solution, this is it. All you really need is a pair of pushup handles and something to elevate your feet on that are close in height to the handles and the dimensions of the vest are such that you get a full ROM with a consistent depth. Here's a video of me using it:
As a note the dip belt version is a little easier, likely because the load is further away from the shoulders, whereas this is noticeably a bit harder. In a pinch I'd still try the dip belt version to see if you like the movement, and if you have a lot of disposable income to throw around, the Kensui EZ Vest really is a pretty solid solution. The vest should work well for other stuff, off the top of my head including hands-free bulgarian split squats, inverted rows as well as the usual weighted chins and dips.
If anyone is actually interested in buying the thing let me know and I can show you some tips to knock some money off that I discovered poking around the website. Basically if you hang out on the website it'll pop up a little survey which gives you like 5% off with a code (mine was just "SURVEY" which maybe is universal?), and then they have the option of getting some accessories for a discount if you order the base vest (I got the longer bumper plate pegs so I have as much space as possible, particularly for the rear-loaded weight). I got the max (loadable up to 225 lbs), which I think is the way to go if you're going to shell out this much money so you can use it for as many things as possible.
/10?
I’ve been contemplating it, shitty shipping to Oz though.
/10?
And yah, I can imagine shipping outside the US might be harsh. The basic design here seems really solid and I hope more companies copy it going forward as it seems vastly superior to conventional weight vests.
I've Macgyver'd by Reverse Hyper to also be a flat hyper/roman chair, leg extension (unilateral is best), leg curl (standing, unilateral), rows (applying a horizontal band across the lever arm) and for pull throughs on occasion as well.
Most people won't have a reverse hyper, but you can easily and cheaply set up the flat platform by using the safety pins in a power rack and some piping fixed to a moderately thick plywood panel. You can then use bands for RH, leg extension or leg curl, and/or go 'next level budget' and use more piping for the lever arm.