AA,
The Rogers Athletic reverse glute-ham is most likely the tip of the spear in glute training.
Interestingly, for the hips Rogers Athletic recommends 1 & 1/2’s repetitions on the squat pro followed by the hip press.
I do 1 & 1/2 reps on the Nautilus Leverage leg press with the seat position forward and a wider foot stance. The Fulcrumator follows this!
U can crack pecans with the glutes after this.
Which do you prefer between the 2ST and the Pendulum machine? How do the strength curves compare? Which allows for a stronger contraction of the glutes?
Both are good machines. I assume you’re talking pure function here. My opinion is the strength curve on the 2ST is a little better, more even throughout the range of motion(due to the Cam). That being said, it is not a big difference. Both offer a good, strong contraction in the finish position. You might have an easier time holding the contraction as you approach fatigue on the 2ST, as the Pendulum strength curve ramps up a bit more in the finish position. Bottom Line: not a big difference in function. The choice would come down to other factors for me (plate-load vs. selectorized, footprint size, price - provided you could find a 2ST, who’s using it?-2ST does have a 370lb stack if I’m not mistaken and easier entry/exit). If money or space is not an issue, I would go with the Pendulum. But, I’d be more than happy with a good used 2ST. Hope that helps.
Reply above:
any pictures of your version?
Sorry, but mine is still disassembled and in storage. I found a place where I can set it up so I hope to get it working this summer.
i would like to build my own but i am lacking in how to go about it.
I have some thoughts I’ll share but I won’t be able to until later, I have a really busy day today. I wish had taken pictures of the one I built a long time ago. I’ll try to send you some comments later.
I built a couple of them in the early 80’s. I was coaching basketball in a rural school with very little equipment so I had to improvise. My father owned a machine shop so we just built some equipment. The hip and back was basically a direct knock off of the Nautilus duo-poly with the following exceptions. Instead of a weight stack I made it plate loaded. I put 2 vertical pieces of pipe at the same place the guide rods would be on the real machine. I then made a platform for the plates that slid up and down those pipes out of piping that was slightly larger. I used cables and pulleys instead of chain and sprockets. I also made a fused movement arm instead of the independent ones. It was a little tough to get into but I didn’t worry about the extreme end of the range of motion. When I started using it there was way too much friction so I’d load it up with as much weight as I could lift and have my training partner climb onto the weights (about 175 more pounds) and I’d do a heavy negative. I was in my early 20’s and still played a lot of basketball. My jumping and quickness made phenomenal improvements. I’m about 6-3/4” tall and don’t have long arms or super large hands but I got to where I could dunk off of a 2 foot jump.
The modification I made to my Nautilus duo-poly hip and back was to simply clamp the chains together right above the weight stack and it essentially fused the movement arms. I also tried bolting 2x4’s to the movement arms with u-bolts so my training partner could help me hoist a very heavy weight for negatives. I didn’t just that consistently so I’m not sure how well it would have worked. When I get some time this summer I’d like to get that machine out off storage and set it back up. I’ll probably swap the bushings for bearings and I might fuse the movement arms again.
I’d look at the Hammer strength model if I was going to build one but when I tried one it seemed that the strength curve was way off. I’d try one first. That would be the easiest to build since they’re plate loaded. I’d like to try the Rogers to see if it’s any good. I’ve experimented with building some kind of contraption in which I could do timed static contraction for hip extension but nothing has worked very well.
As far as going about it you might do what I did to build a squat machine. I was working at a high school and the football coach gave me a key to the gym. I took pictures of theirs and measured it carefully. I had a machinist build it for me and it turned out well. I bought the steel and traded him an old lathe I had that I had no use for. Another thought is to find a local community college or vocational school with a welding program and see if you can get them to do it.
if i knew the dimensions of the nautilus cams im sure i can make two cams using wood even. however metal would be better. it’s those damn cams i need to make…it’s such a simple machine yet so genius. simple chain drive. it will have to be a project for the future… don’t even know where to start or have any idea on how to go about making my own version of it.
right now i train myself using a load on the belt squat which i cannot perform positive reps with but can perform negative squats and then pull myself up via a chin from the barbell attached to the tower rack. this is how i am able to overload the legs by completing the positive portion using both the strength of the legs and the upp body, and the negative portion using only the legs. and from then i get up on a ladder and perform negative chins, since the negative strength of my lats and biceps are still there, and then negative dips. simple 3 negative only sets and im seeing good results for my legs and biceps, im not too sure about for the back, chest, triceps. however im okay with those lagging.