The big thing you’ll get is that the Ironmind bench is legit just pure welded steel. They include a VERY thin pad you can lay on top of it, but it provides just the barest of cushioning. This means no upkeep for upholstery/no rips or tears to deal with, which also means that you could very well pass this bench down to your stepson’s children. The thing is deceptively heavy. It looks like a cheapo garage sale ab bench until you go to pick it up and it ends up feeling like dark matter. My wife fell for that trick when we were moving one day.
That said, the bench is narrow, going by old school measurements, because Ironmind is all about that. I know larger dudes have complained about not being able to get their shoulders set up on the bench. Mark Rippetoe’s wooden bench is built to very similar stats and has had similar complaints. You’ll also want to stretch some resistance bands across it if you intend to do barbell benching on it, because you’ll otherwise slip and lose your arch. And, if you start moving heavy weights, I’m sure the lack of padding will suck, but I actually enjoy how “connected” I feel to the bench due to that.
I genuinely use it because it’s hardcore, rugged and cool, AND because I got it as part of a craigslist deal. I’m also a big Ironmind fanboy.
@T3hPwnisher Thanks for the detailed explanation. After a lot of thought I ended up going with the Rogue bench which is actually still USA-made but may contain some percentage of tainted Canadian steel. LTL freight pricing put a lot of incentives to buy it all from Rogue instead of multiple suppliers.
If I ever see that Ironmind bench as a garage sale or craigslist steal like you did I will definitely consider the upgrade. Full price is too much for me right now, especially since I just went full-send on the new plates. I’d have liked to build a set of mis-matched and rusty second-hand 45’s for half the cost of new, but they no longer seem to exist for purchase.
@raven78 My confirmed order of 4 pairs of 45lb deep-dish plates should help me give a proper middle-finger to 2020. I hope it arrives soon!
KB Swings - Sets with the double 35’s, 44’s, 53’s and a few heaves with the double 70’s.
I was supposed to bench today but my coworker bailed. I still could have benched by myself, but he swears he’s coming tomorrow and we’ll tackle bench at that point. He lives 30 minutes away so once I get a bit of wind in his sails and de-mystify the basic barbell movements I’ll be getting on my own lifting schedule. I’m certainly not tying myself to his whims. I’m glad to help anyone get moving with a barbell but that’s about it.
Even my new roommate/old lifting partner and I may not be able to have 100 percent overlap due to different work schedules. So it is.
Shipment 1 of 2 arrived at the docks today, and it contained assorted goodies for me and a few friends and co-workers who took advantage of LTL freight with me. A few gals got themselves a set of 25 lb plates and I got my new bench and bar collars.
My coworker and sometimes BJJ training partner got his 35lb kettlebell and we got to swinging that around during lunch. I actually gave him my old CAP 50lb-er a few months ago but its a little heavy for him on overhead work. 35 is a great weight to learn how to swing cannonballs with handles in most planes of motion and get the heart rate up while you’re at it.
We just swapped the bell on sets of 5 with each arm of cleans, snatches, and cleans+presses. 3 rounds total.
My other coworker may not be all that interested after all. Who knows? We’re all adults with busy lives. By the time I set up my new bench and disassembled my old Weider PRO squat/bench combo I had a dinner date to make and now it’s late and I’m tired.
I decided to pay things forward and give my squat/bench combo setup + barbell to the first people who made a cash offer on my post. I’m glad to give it to a really cool hippy couple who are some of the first people I befriended in Maine. They’re a few years older than I am but ready to try something new. I’m eager to reclaim the space and begin making my basement a great place to lift, as long as you aren’t strict pressing.
Next up, more horse stall mats, evacuating the Weider PRO from the basement on Sunday and then reclaiming from my kid’s mom’s basement the 50lb adjustable power block dumbbells and rather nice adjustable bench that have been on loan from my brother for many years now. Gee, I hope he doesn’t need them back anytime soon.
I also need to get a plate storage system for incoming 4 pairs of 45’s and a really loud stereo with Mega Bass.
@biker that’s always a solution, but I’m thinking a rolling rack of some kind will be ideal. I’ve got a tree for my 305lb rusty craigslist plates, my brand-new made-in-USA machined deep-dish plates should not be left out.
Monday 3/8/21
Squats
135x5
205x5
255x5
255x5
255x5
Lunchtime lifting FTW. This week’s goal is to hit the four main lifts and a bit more, but not much more. I am, in fact, older than I was the last time I was a “beginning lifter”. It brings to mind the story of two bulls on a hill.
Two bulls stand on top of a hill. Below them is a herd of cows. The younger bull says,
“Dad, let’s run down the hill and fuck one of those cows!”
The father bull replies,
“No son, let’s walk down there and fuck every one of them.”
I know I’m getting older because I do things like “tweak” my leg when I spring to my feet too explosively. I’m not quite sure at all what was wrong with it other than being painful to move in certain ways for about two days and then disappearing like the wind.
Quick bench workout this AM, 3/12/21
95x5
135x5
205x5
205x5
205x5
Buncha rows with the old spinlock barbell and some curls with it too.
My shoulder tells me I need more frequent band work and lightweight bottoms-up kettlebell presses. And a massage with jackhammer pressure. All things considered it’s not too bad compared to when I first stopped lifting and started jiu jitsu. I don’t foresee myself ever hitting my last un-fulfilled lifetime lifting goal of a 405 bench, but I also haven’t ruled out steroids in the future so who knows? 405 is not really even on the radar now.
Also, for anyone curious, my Rogue ES1 squat stand and one-piece flat bench are performing as expected and as sturdy of equipment I’m ever likely to need. I’d give a slight edge to the Elite FTS equipment I grew spoiled with at the powerlifting gym, but this isn’t far behind in quality and comfort/confidence while under the bar.
If I move it will be somewhere with a better space for a gym, i.e. a foot higher ceilings. I’d probably look to upgrade to a full power cage at that point. For now the squat stand is a steal for a good-as-new find on Craigslist.
My old lifting partner is now my roommate after getting moved in this weekend. Man I miss lifting with that guy. We’re both equally weak right now. I got one more on bench for 225 than he did. I’ll take it.
Full body Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday is the plan for now. Those are the days we can both lift together around lunchtime. A Wendler-ish squat/push/pull and deadlift/press/pull setup with one top set each week on each main lift.
After fondling my friend’s plates from the last delivery, I decided to go ahead and get a set of the 35 and 25 lbs made-in-USA deep dish plates. They are, simply stated, really fucking nice. I love good metal work and I love collecting things that I like. I had to talk myself out of 2x100’s.
8x45, 2x35 and 2x25 opens up fun progression schemes, especially if I sell my rusty but complete 45-2.5 set and don’t tell my lifting partner that we have 35’s. I’ve always liked the idea of owning a weight before you move ahead, and I just like keeping 45’s and at most one set of 25’s on the bar. Personal preference. Even with a set of 8x45’s, 2x35’s and 2x25’s you’ve got most of the important weights between zero and 525 lbs covered. Sorry about that, 495.
Of course, I can always get more 10’s, 5’s and 2.5’s. Hopefully Rogue makes some to match the existing USA-made deep-dish line, but we can opt out of employing such minor increments in the meantime.
If I ever get back to the point of repping out 525 I’ll gift myself a set of the Deep-dish100’s to round it all out, and perhaps some calibrated plates in the 10-.025lb range to really optimize my progress.
A flat tire arrived today and more weight arrives tomorrow so we postponed deads/press/pull until tomorrow evening.
Lots of stretching today. I’m stiff as a board in my torso. That’s what I get for stopping lifting weights. Rotator cuff band work and easy kettlebell work today. Bottom’s up presses with the 9 and 13’s. Halo’s with the 35. Bent presses with the 26’s.
Man this makes me jealous. I haven’t really had a lifting partner since I moved back to this area. Whenever my old one is back in town we always hit the gym together.
We’ve both had kids (well the wives did to be fair) and are far bigger pussies in the gym than we used to be but when we’re together we do way too much to try and pretend we still got it.
It really is nice and quite rare to have a lifting partner that matches up so well. Partner or no, I’m committed to lifting again. Especially after dumping a few years’ worth of gym memberships into my basement setup.
Strength-wise I’m about where I’d expect to be after essentially not lifting for three years. Way ahead of where I was before I touched a barbell but nowhere near where I was at my strongest. Same with my partner. He’s a few years younger than me but no spring chicken either, so we’re just hitting the big basics for a week or two before we really start layering much else on top of it.
For me, that extra stuff will mostly boil down to lightweight stuff for arms and shoulders, lots of pulling and lots of kettlebell conditioning work to get the heart rate up. I’m on the prowl for a nice fish-and-ski aluminum boat for the summer too, so I’ll do a lot more swimming and watersports than I did in 2020. The market for used boats is bonkers but I suppose that’s the cost of getting on the water in 2021.
Not at the moment, no. The bars are only open until 11 and they technically aren’t “bars” anymore, they’re “restaurants” now. There also hasn’t been a single real fight at the dive restaurant since the pandemic hit, plus the kid they’ve got bouncing there now needs the money more than I do.
Should a wave of violence wash over my neighborhood dive restaurant, I might come out of retirement for a little bit of old-fashioned hired goon work. For now I’m enjoying my evenings and early bed time.
My right shoulder barked pretty loudly at me, so I shut it down. I think I flared my elbow out too much. I also think I need to warm my shoulders up more before benching, unlike in my 30’s.
Either way I’m not pushing through pain on that lift, or probably any lift from here on out.
I also need the adjustable dumbbells back! I’m supposed to get them this week. I’ll give light benching another try later this week. Baby steps on that lift will be needed I think.
At least my other big lifts feel good. Can’t wait to put 405 on my back and take if for a ride again soon.