Assembled my new power cage

[Arch0wl]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

the heavier you're lifting, the more you will have to compensate with gloves.

it could create a muscular imbalance eventually re: deadlifts and other lifts involving grip. it might also impede your bench, since a stronger grip gives you a bit of extra force and control.

as of this post (i.e. july 2014) my deadlift is bad. 'bad' to me is somewhere in the 300s, but I have no idea where in the 300s this is because my grip strength isn't good enough to hold on to the bar for long enough. currently I am training grip strength a lot to overcome this, but I attribute my grip strength inadequacy to using gloves for a while.

as someone who also has soft hands, I seriously encourage you to avoid making the same mistake I did.

[SCWolf]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Any recs for such plates?

How about lifting gloves? (My hands suck)

No recs on the plates. You can get some from Rogue Fitness though, those are fine.

Your hands will adjust.

[Reach]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Holy shit that is a nice setup. If you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost and where did you get to the equipment?

I might have to move outside the city in another year or so for work and building one of these might be a lot more efficient than going to a gym.


Keep us up to date with your progress!

As for plates, any plate will work for squat and bench press. If you are not on the bottom floor of wherever you are working out / would like to minimize noise, you might want to invest in a few rubber plates for deadlifting.

And don't use gloves. Particularly when deadlifting. It will improve your grip tremendously over time if you don't use them.

[SCWolf]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

If I were to analogize gloves it would be the Judge 1 of lifting.

[Reincarnate]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Holy shit that is a nice setup. If you don't mind me asking, how much did that cost and where did you get to the equipment?

Power Cage:
RML-390F Flat-Foot Monster Lite Rack ($795): http://www.roguefitness.com/rml-390f...ster-lite-rack

Bench:
Rogue Flat Utility Bench ($185): http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-flat-utility-bench (Version 1, though. Version 2 came out after I purchased everything)

Total from Rogue was $980 before shipping (which was a touch over $250 for me)

Bar:
CAP Barbell Olympic Bar ($127.66, I didn't have to pay shipping on this one): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001K4OPY2/...332200_TE_item

Rubber:
3/4"-thick TSC Horse Stall Mat ($40): http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...at-4-ft-x-6-ft (I cut this in half for the platform)

Wood:
Four sheets of 3/4"-thick oak plywood from Home Depot, about $50 per board or something like that ($200 total)

Grand total: About $1600 even

Of course, I haven't bought a weight set yet, but I figure that'll probably bring the total up closer to 2 grand, depending.

I could have probably gotten by with a MUCH cheaper setup since I am a n00b (i.e. settle for used equipment from Craigslist), but in my case, I consider this an investment and I want it to last me as long as humanly possible.

Assembling the power cage was a bitch and a half, though (I needed three other people to help out and hold stuff in place while I bolted stuff together).

Keep us up to date with your progress!

Apparently I have something messed up in my left elbow area where the triceps connect to the elbow, which means I may have to lay off the bench press (etc) until I figure out if I need surgery or whatever.

Seems like I should still be able to squat and stuff, though. Right now just planning on doing some stretch routines until I can actually start DOING stuff:

http://phraktured.net/starting-stretching.html

http://phraktured.net/molding-mobility.html

As for plates, any plate will work for squat and bench press. If you are not on the bottom floor of wherever you are working out / would like to minimize noise, you might want to invest in a few rubber plates for deadlifting.

And don't use gloves. Particularly when deadlifting. It will improve your grip tremendously over time if you don't use them.

Yeah, will definitely stick to rubber plates / bumpers, and have also decided to avoid using gloves.

[Reach]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Yeah that is expensive, but it looks like it's worth it. Those are all top grade pieces of equipment. Very nice. Spared no expense! :P


Have you tried moving your grip around / adjusting the way you bench? Sometimes those types of things are bad in one movement pattern but not another. e.g. I never do skullcrushers because they feel so bad for my elbows, but I don't have problems with much else.

Sorry to hear that though. Can't overhead press either? Pushups?

[Reincarnate]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Had my X-ray and MRI done... and now we wait. :X

Sorry to hear that though. Can't overhead press either? Pushups?

Pushups hurt a bit, yeah. I haven't tried OHP or much else. I worry too much about damaging things until I know for sure what's wrong.

[Reincarnate]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Just discussed my results with the doctor...


...and apparently everything looks 100% normal in every scan. :<

Most likely the damage was applied directly to the nerve, which wouldn't show up on an X-Ray or MRI. Only thing I can really do is not lean on it all the time or strike it.

[Reach]

Re: Assembled my new power cage

Honestly, if there was nothing medically wrong you probably want to work it, at least light until it recovers, because doing nothing will not make it better.

I had a similarly mysterious shoulder problem 3 years ago. Numerous doctor visits. Several specialists. Physio referal. Rehab. Nothing.

Pain was like a 7-8 out of 10. Drove me nuts on a regular basis. If I exacerbated it it would almost bring me to tears.

It literally only went away after I lifted o_o Light, mind you, and it took a few months, but it went away, and it has never came back.


Worth a shot I think if the scans were clean.