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New Addition to the home gym. Swiss bar

macgyver

macgyver

TID Board Of Directors
Nov 24, 2011
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1,672
I have messed up shoulders as do many my age (40+). I am still able to bench heavy, but it is always a fine line for me. Once irritated, it take them a while to get back to normal again.

To relieve some stress on them, I started experimenting with "swiss bar' training. It is fantastic! Everything from flat bench, cgbp, incline, OHP, front raises...etc. My shoulders feel great when I use it and there is zero stress on them.

I gave in and ordered a bar for my home gym. I ordered from Black Widow. Quality is very nice. Good welds and good penetration. A nice textured coating on the bar. Weight is 33lbs and they have vids of it on their site holding 900+lbs. Very happy to say that I got it in 3 days from order. I look forward to using it in training to rest my shoulders and even possibly recruit some new development with the slightly different hand positions.

2014-08-21121944_zpsfe4140f3.jpg


2014-08-21122000_zps2cc7e75c.jpg
 
monsoon

monsoon

Senior Bacon VIP
Nov 1, 2010
5,007
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Nice, I got one from rogue a few months ago
 
inhuman88

inhuman88

VIP Member
Aug 11, 2014
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Nice! I've been wanting to get one of those, have you tried doing bent over rows with it?
 
Lizard King

Lizard King

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Staff Member
Sep 9, 2010
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Only issue I see is the bb.com shirt ;)

Nice little setup there bro.
 
5.0

5.0

VIP Member
Nov 3, 2012
5,245
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Very nice setup, I'm jealous for sure
 
N.O.V.

N.O.V.

MuscleHead
Jan 24, 2014
309
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Swiss bars are great, solid addition bro.
 
R

rawdeal

TID Board Of Directors
Nov 29, 2013
4,313
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dammit, macgyver, you had me reaching for my wallet with your OP, but you didn't mention all the variations the website has, the bar you have, or a similar bar with 15 degree angled handles, regular grips, fat grips, damn. Then there's those other things that you get a pair of with different grips and use with 2 BB's and 2 landmines, damn. Gotta figure out how to explain this to the wife.
 
macgyver

macgyver

TID Board Of Directors
Nov 24, 2011
1,996
1,672
Nice! I've been wanting to get one of those, have you tried doing bent over rows with it?

I have not tried BOR yet....but I will now! ;)
I am really looking forward to this in the arsenal of things to use. Having got to use one for a few weeks at my gym I often go to (when I am not working out at home), really made me see how useful it can be!

Only issue I see is the bb.com shirt ;)

Nice little setup there bro.

It is a towel....not that that is any better! I got all kinds of BB.com swag. Hell....I have spent enough cash there over the years might as well take the free t-shirts, towels and water bottles! I really cant argue with their service. I usually get stuff in 2 days. Prices are not always the best, but there is usually a 10% off coupon floating around.

As for supps, it is just staples for me....bulk creatine mono, beta alanine, fish oil and whey. I will order pre-wo's every once in a while, but I mostly make my own with caffeine powder, 1,3 caps, maybe even some ephedrine thrown in the mix.

Very nice setup, I'm jealous for sure

I have a pretty full setup at home.

About 1000+lbs of weight
main rack which I can do about anything in. (as well as no worries for a spotter)
Leg press / hack squat combo
Preacher bench
Lat pulldn with high and low pull
Cable cross with high and low pulls
Ironmaster dumbbells up to 120lbs
adjustable bench made by ironmaster which is rock solid.
Concept II rower


Now that school is back in, I have to workout at home more. My schedule centers around our family dinner at night which is earlier with the kids in school. I got into the habit of going out to a 'real' gym this summer. Met a lot of cool guys and really enjoyed finding a place where the guys all have some common goals. I will try to sneak out to the other gym maybe on Fridays or something, but the majority of my stuff will be at home again. I cant really deadlift anymore at home since my gym is on the second floor. I will only go up to 500 at home(and I have a small platform I lift on to spread the load out)

dammit, macgyver, you had me reaching for my wallet with your OP, but you didn't mention all the variations the website has, the bar you have, or a similar bar with 15 degree angled handles, regular grips, fat grips, damn. Then there's those other things that you get a pair of with different grips and use with 2 BB's and 2 landmines, damn. Gotta figure out how to explain this to the wife.

Yea, they have lots of options. After having used one, I think I like the straight handle option rather then the angled one. I have a pair of 'fat gripz' if I want the bar bigger, but I maintain pretty good forearm strength (and size) even without direct work. I can hold a lot more then I can deadlift.

One thing I might eventually add is a safety squat bar. I have no issues with conventional squats, but love how I can hit my quads with the SS bar. I am pretty glute/hip dominant and my goals are a balance of strength and aesthetics so that might be a good addition.
 
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Turbolag

Turbolag

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Oct 14, 2012
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Nice setup man!

Are you able to use as much weight on bench and ohp? Or do you have to drop the weight a little?
 
macgyver

macgyver

TID Board Of Directors
Nov 24, 2011
1,996
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Nice setup man!

Are you able to use as much weight on bench and ohp? Or do you have to drop the weight a little?

This may be different for different people, but for me the weight I use is WAY less. EG, on flat bench I normally will do 10-12 rep work with 315. With the swiss bar, I am only using 215 for same rep range. (2 45's on each side and the bar is 10lbs less).

It seems to take my shoulders out of the lift quite a bit and (for me transfers a lot more to the chest). It feels like weighted dips in a way with the chest activation. The grip retracts your elbows inward and takes the stress on the shoulders out. Even with a "wide" grip, your elbows track your torso. That is why I say it feels like dips in a way.

If I go over 215, the weight gets a little shaky as your pressing on a handle that may or may not be directly through the center of mass of the barbell. ANY wrist movement will cause a large weight shift. This is tough at the bottom of the press as it seems my wrists want to rotate slightly. If they do you can begin a series of over corrections as the weight drifts back and fourth. I am sure over time, I will get better at controlling that. Regardless, 215 is all I need for now.

I did flat work and then went to inclines (which are AWESOME!). I only used 125 (45 on each side). It is amazing how well these hit me. Normally inclines tend to not feel good on my shoulders but these felt great! The angle of the 'cage' of the bar works perfect on an incline as you lower to your chest. It basically lays flat, where I was describing earlier how on flat bench, it is slightly angled.

Needless to say....this is a keeper. I will of course still bench heavy but this will rotate in. I may even take a few months off here and there with flat bench just to really let my shoulders get a break.
 
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