Back after a little hiatus- new toy - ISO Lever Arms

[Shock6050]

Haven’t added much to my garage gym but finally pulled the trigger on some adjustable lever arms. In no way do I think they are essential but rather more of a “luxury” piece that will supplement your staple barbell/dumbbell work. However doing unilateral movements and essentially being able to reproduce those plate loaded Hammer Strength machines is a nice variation to have since as most know I only lift in my garage gym and have so for over 2+ years since cutting the commercial gym cord…mainly due to all the crazy covid shutdowns.

Here’s a few pics of the arms. They slide up and down the front post. They are heavy so I use a band on each end to more easily slide it to position. Then use spotter arms, leg rollers, or even removable plate holders to set the starting position. They also store in a position up high so they are completely out of the way when not using them.

Also handles come off so can put a jcup on and essentially use them as a monolift for easier lift offs.

There is a small company called Vendetta that makes an awesome bracket though almost the same cost of the lever arms that allows you the ability to set starting position at almost any position. For now happy with being creative with what I have.

 

[Shock6050]

Here they are stored up top out of the way.

 

[Poppy]

Nice!!!

You can use them for a jammer type movement too it looks like.

 

[Shock6050]

. I feel like a Best Buy ad, but “The possibilities are endless!” Haha

 

[Poppy]

Did you ever get a belt squat?

 

[Shock6050]

Yeah about a year ago. It works great! I think I posted it on here awhile ago. It’s compact and made by REP. With some modifications I was able to use a hook and chain to allow me to start at the top of the movement. I still do traditional back and front squats but alternate them out to give my back a little break. It also is good for other movements like donkey calf raises and even bent over rows.

 

[Shock6050]

Have a better system where I use a chain up top (couldn’t find a current pic), but this is basically how it works. Connect to carabiner with belt squat, stand up, unhook the top chain and move it off to the side…then squat.

Don’t need to use an actual belt at top as I found a better way to connect it using a suspension (kind of like TRX) strap that wraps around the pull-up bar with a carabiner ate the end.

 

[Shock6050]

There are eyelets at the end of the jammer arms so could use them to do belt squats but don’t think the lever arm is as good as using the actual belt squat attachment where the pulley comes directly up from where you are standing. However I could use those eyelets to attach chains to modify the starting point for lever arm movements.

 

[Shock6050]

Today is leg day (hit legs twice a week) and belt squats are on the agenda. Gradually increase weight each set while sticking in rep ranges from 6-15)

Legs #2

1. Belt Squats - 6-7 sets (includes warmup)
2. Bulgarian split squats with dumbbells - 3 sets each leg
3. Kettle Bell Swing - 3 sets
4. Single Leg Extension - 3 sets each leg
5. Leg Curl - 3 sets
6. Donkey Calf Raise with Belt Squat - 4 sets

 

[Poppy]

Yeah I remember now… you have to be gentle on old guys memories. Hahaha

You’ve got a deluxe home gym!!!

 

[Shock6050]

Haha all good. My oldest is about to start high school so got a tour of the gym. Came back to me and said he can do way more stuff in my half 2 car garage when he saw all the fluff equipment they have there. Just have to be creative. All the machine equipment in gyms that really just do one thing just take up so much space, though I suppose when you have a ton of members using the gym at the same time that is beneficial. Since at most I’ll have 2-3 actively lifting I can get away with just being creative with what I have to mimic most of what commercial gyms have.

Lots of thought went into my own goals and what equipment best suits me (and also my kids as they are getting into the age of wanting to do some basic lifts), while keeping in mind I promised the wife the other half of garage will still allow parking of a car!

 

[Dirtnasty]

Those look tight as the kids used to say

 

[Shock6050]

I think tight is still used but “cool” has been phased out. I’ve had to learn so many abbreviations from my son texting. Also emojis mean various things. This emoji took me a bit to get it means dying laughing.

 

[Poppy]

I’m so far removed from todays lingo….we have a bunch of new college grads working in our building every summer and i need an interpreter!

 

[TG1]

That looks sick bro! I wish I had a setup like that at home. Today is one of those days I won’t get to the gym till maybe 3am and home at 5am.

 

[Dirtnasty]

Or just dead as they say

 

[Shock6050]

Yeah been messing around with the lever arms a lot and really can mimic almost any hammer strength machine now which I usually use for accessory work after main barbell or dumbbell lifts, but sometimes will switch it up and do 4-5 heavy sets at the beginning. Just have to be creative using spotter arms, leg toilers, and adjustable removable plate holders to set the starting point. Took some time figuring out the best set up but now it’s pretty quick. There is a bracket I mentioned from another company but it costs almost the same as the actual iso arms, so can’t justify it now though it’s be a really sweet addition.

Quick hack I found is to attach a resistance band to the back of the adjustment handle to more easily move it up and down. So far (though I care about function more than aesthetics) I see no scratching on my uprights as the entire system is lined with UHMD protection.

 

[Poppy]

Pics!

 

[Poppy]

Never mind. I scrolled up! Haha

 

[Shock6050]

Here’s a few setups I’ve done thus far. Didn’t have a pic but an overheating standing shoulder press works great. The challenge with presses directly out or slightly above is I need to put a couple 100lb plates behind the bench or it will move. One work around is attaching the crossmember for my belt squat as that will definitely keep it in place but takes a bit of time to set up.