[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Ah, I can see how the equipment limitations may present an issue. You can create a slightly inclined bench by elevating the front end with some risers. It wouldn’t be a dramatic incline, but maybe enough of a difference to create the desired response and get some variety.
Alternatively, do you have a power rack? You can make a defacto dip rack by putting 2 barbells on the safety pins and doing dips between them. If you don’t have 2 barbells, you could get some plumbing pipe for cheap to fit the bill. It’s not the best for super heavy weighed dips due to the barbells being able to roll, but works well for bodyweight. You could also help keep the barbells in place by taking one of those foam pool noodles, putting it on the safety pins, and then cutting out ridges in it for the barbell to rest on.
As you can tell, I’ve done a lot of home gym MacGyvering, haha.
But yeah, my experience has taught me that the bench LOVES assistance work and variety. I set my best bench ever in competition when I was following DoggCrapp, and a lot of top bodybuilders might be lacking in the squat and dead compared to top powerlifters, but they can still hold their own in the bench. I’m discovering the same thing with the press.
In regards to lowerback training, this isn’t actually the same at all, but still not a bad idea: some sort of swing. Kettlebell, dumbbell, Hungarian core blaster, just something to train the hip hinge. You can actually use these like band pull aparts, and just do a set of sub-maximal reps in between sets of everything on your lower body days to accumulate some volume and training without getting too burnt out. If you do these correctly, they actually WON’T train your lower back, but they’ll do the next best thing in that they’ll teach you how to use your hips in place of your lower back for locking out squats and deads.
You could always do floor supermans, but those look goofy, haha. Alternatively though, in place of a loaded carry, you could do some sandbag shouldering as a conditioning exercise, which does a decent job hammering the lower back as well.
This is pretty much just spitballing at this point, so don’t take any of it as gospel.
EDIT: Wrote this before I saw your most recent post, so don’t consider it a reaction to that post, haha.[/quote]
I don’t have a power rack, which is potentially one reason for my low squat compared to my deadlift. I push harder with my deadlift because if I fail, I drop it and no-one cares. If I fail squatting out of a stand, I’m not too clear what happens but I would imagine it’s a painful experience.
I have enough “stuff” to put under my bench to make something of an incline, it’s just a pain in the arse. Guess I need to learn to suck it up and do it though. I have rings that can be lowered far enough to do dips on, which was something else I was considering as a bench assistance.
As for the swings, I have done a lot of these in the past for conditioning work as I’ve always found them a great “low impact” exercise that is great for conditioning but has minimal impact on my recovery from lifting. I’ve done them less recently because I don’t have a kettlebells heavy enough to be fun. I think I will invest in a heavier one shortly, since I’ve been wanting one for ages. I especially like the idea of using them as “lower body pull-aparts”, I will definitely be using that one.