Two years on and it still works

Back in June 2021 I wrote that long post about my training system. I'd been running it since January 2021, and after six months I was pretty confident I was onto something. Nothing earth-shattering, but something worth taking the time to formally set out, which i did here: http://meatheadmusing.blogspot.com/2021/03/depending-who-you-ask-best-way-to-train.html?m=1

I've been running that same system since January 2021, with some minor tweaks here and there to fit it better into the time I have available and to make it more efficient overall. What happened is that I had the opportunity to expose the system to reality over a couple of years and find out what parts of it work, what parts needed changing and what parts simply weren't necessary. 

Too many phases

The biggest thing that really came out over the last two years is that there is no need for the number of phases I originally set out. When I wrote it, I set out a post meet phase to rebuild GPP and address any issues arising from the previous meet cycle; a hypertrophy phase; an accumulation phase which changed slightly as peak got closer; and a peak. 

The post meet phase is massively important, but as long as your work capacity was good going into peak it will only take a couple of weeks to get back up to speed. So, the competition lifts can come back in week three or four rather than week five. 

The hypertrophy phase isn't necessary. At all. The competition lifts and their variations generally aren't really that great drivers for muscle growth anyway so spending one or two blocks trying to get them to build muscle isn't going to do much. Assistance work is what will really drive muscle growth, and that is a permanent fixture so a dedicated hypertrophy phase is kind of silly.

The accumulation phase became a lot more streamlined. No need to switch to the heavier AFSAP a block or so before peak. You can do it, but it isn't remotely necessary. All you really need is a block to rebuild GPP and let your joints recover a bit, and then go straight into the accumulation block with alternating weeks of a top triple and density 5x5 and a 4x2 followed by an AMRAP. 

Supplemental work isn't pivotal 

If you have the time and recovery capacity to do these, great. If you don't, it doesn't really matter. They aren't going to make or break your progress at all, and in some cases will even distract from the goal. 

The only supplemental exercise that really does matter is the exercise you pick for your main exercise on the second pressing day. There's nothing to stop you sticking with the original idea of using the military press but it will probably work better to pick a lift that directly addresses where your bench is weakest. That might be military press, but it often won't.

Simplified assistance work

You're probably going to do a lot better simply picking a few assistance exercises and hitting them for a total rep range rather than worrying about varying them and hitting specific sets x reps. Stick with those exercises for a full meet cycle unless they start hurting. It remains imperative to pick them based on how well you can feel the target muscle though. That hasn't changed at all. 

Absolutely hammer your assistance work

This was a real game changer. The last set or two of your assistance work should be taken close to or actually to failure. You'll get more out doing that rather than doing heaps of different exercises. It also means you won't need to do as many reps in total. You'll probably end up sitting between 25 and 50 total reps for almost everything. 

You can train three days a week

This was a big revelation in terms of how the system works. 

You can absolutely cut a day out and the system will work as well, if not better. It just takes a little thought. I will generally say that the way to go for most people is to leave the two upper days as is and combine squat and deadlift, at least initially. This is simply because most people lag way more on bench than squat or deadlift. If this isn't you and your bench is way ahead of your squat and pull, do the opposite and combine bench and secondary upper days while leaving squat and deadlift on separate days. 

If you're going to combine squat and deadlift, squat first and don't change anything with the squat. Deadlift then slots in to where the supplemental exercise would sit and is done for 5x3 starting at 60 per cent. The volume is low, but enough to maintain movement proficiency for a reasonable while. You have a time benchmark of five minutes to complete the 5x3 if you want to add weight, which will be 2.5 per cent as usual. Assistance work has to be picked to cover quads, hamstrings, hips, glutes and lower back so you'll need to pick the most impactful three exercises that cover those bases.

After a meet cycle or two you might need to change things a little and move deadlifts to the secondary upper day because it does eventually get quite challenging to deadlift productively after squatting. When you do that, you go back to deadlift getting the same treatment as squat and bench. The secondary pressing movement isn't treated as main any more, and just gets done for a total rep target like any other assistance work. The advantage to this setup is that deadlift volume is the same as the other main lifts. 

Density is the MVP of this system 

When I set the system up, using a 10 minute time benchmark to determine weight increase on the 5x5 was just a way to include some degree of autoregulation, along with the AMRAP after 4x2 needing to be 10 reps to add weight. Keeping time spent training to around 90 minutes was just way to maintain some degree of work capacity without the need for dedicated conditioning work. 

Those two ideas have evolved to become the real cornerstone of this system. Working to keep the 5x5 well under 10 minutes and working to keep pace between all sets and exercises fast means your work capacity increases as you go through the meet cycle. That work capacity means your overall recovery is better, and your cardiovascular health is at least reasonable. This is something missing from many, many powerlifting systems and it shouldn't be. 

It makes a significant difference when it comes time to peak, because a few heavy singles suddenly aren't hard. You don't need to sit there for 15 minutes to recover because you're accustomed to working through whatever intraset fatigue has accumulated. It also makes big difference on meet day, because you aren't reliant on having a minimum amount of time between warmups or attempts. You're unlikely to ever find a meet anywhere that moves faster than you're used to moving yourself. 

Building my gym part 4

I said I wouldn't write this part until I had at least sorted out the bow bar, acquired an improved back raise and gotten new J hooks, possibly even until I had received the Loaded Lifting plates. I have done two of those things. The Loaded Lifting plates are scheduled to arrive mid to late November and since it's mid November now, I'm going to go ahead and say I won't be getting them till the end of the month at the earliest. The J hooks are still out of stock. 

The bow bar issue was a bit of a trial. I ended up getting a refund from Catch Fitness through PayPal after Catch tried some things that reflected very poorly on that business. I was lucky enough to be able to buy a used one from a friend. It's an Aussie Strength one, and so far I'm very happy with it. I've had just over 200 kilos on it and there were absolutely no issues. It's not quite as nice as the Goliath bow bar I've used before, but given the price difference of around 500 dollars that's no surprise. I would also say that the Goliath bar is not 500 dollars worth nicer. If I happened to be regularly loading the bar up over 300 kilos I would definitely want the Goliath, but it's going to be a while before I do that. 

While I was sorting out the bow bar issue I did buy the Spud Inc safety squat strap, which is meant to turn any barbell into a safety bar. At 120 dollars or so, it's a lot cheaper than an actual safety bar and it absolutely works. Somehow it makes a power bar as soul crushing as a safety bar. Currently it's on loan to the same friend I bought the bow bar off, but I'm glad I bought it as effectively it gives me three bars. 

I ended up opting to build my own back raise instead of buying one. Firstly, space is an issue. A back raise would take up room I don't really have at this time. Secondly, the back raise I want is not cheap at around 500 dollars and I can't justify that expense for doing just one exercise even though it's one that is pivotal to my training. My original setup used a saw stool in my rack for me to bend over with my feet hooked under a safety bar, and it actually produces a phenomal contraction and pump in my lower back, glutes and hamstrings. The only problem is that saw stools are generally around 750 mm high, and I have a long torso so I couldn't quite go all the way down without hitting my head. So I built a sturdier, taller saw stool at just over 900 mm high and presto! Problem solved. Serendipitously, I can also use it to do seal rows if I pack the barbell up on 10 kilo bumpers. It isn't particularly comfortable on my sternum, but I can fix that quite easily. That works out as a major win for me, because otherwise I'm a bit limited in row options that don't place any strain on my lower back. 

A quick note on the plate situation, I will definitely be phasing out the bumper plates simply because I need the room on the barbell. Both the bow bar and power bar let me load up to 227.5 kilos with what I have (currently all I have) but that's about it. I'll get a little more room once the Loaded Lifting steel plates get here, but over the next few months I will absolutely phase out the bumpers completely with Rogue steel plates. I'm going with Rogue because the shipping is around one third of what it costs from Loaded Lifting and their plates are very nice. No matter which way I do it, Loaded are just that far away that shipping makes anything heavier from them not worth it now their pricing is back to normal. 

The Loaded Lifting bar continues to impress for the price. It's now had a little over 200 kilos on it a couple of times and it definitely is as stiff as a Rogue power bar and very close to a Texas or Eleiko. The knurling is fine so far. I got as close as I ever have to pulling 180 kilos double overhand on it than I ever have on a power bar, so I'm extremely hesitant to say that the knurling could in any way be an issue with heavier weights at least for lower reps. Once I get to the point where I load it up with closer to 250 kilos I'll get an even better idea. 

The squat squat box worked great which I expected. Height adjustment is obviously harder, until I get a floor mat and cut it into quarters but I'm hesitant to bother because I think I'm going to be better served by box squatting low exclusively for the time being anyway. I also ended up building a barbell holder out of scrap plywood and it's good apart from a design flaw in that I built it too tall so unless I tilt it to load and upload the barbells I damage the ceiling. Not a huge deal, but if I were to remake it something to remedy. 

I don't think there will be any point to do a part five in this series, because right now I can't think of any item that I need to get to round out my gym. I would like a gym banner, but that's vanity. I have absolutely given up on the idea of adjustable dumbbells or a cable system like the one Spud Inc makes. There is nothing they would let me do I can't somehow do with what I already have that would justify the expense. A squat and deadlift bar would only make sense if I were to peak at home, and currently that's not on the radar. I took my Spud Inc band set back from the gym I was training at, so I now have a pair of mini, light and medium bands that let me replicate a large number of cable exercises which is the main reason I won't be getting a cable setup. I also managed to rig up a way to use plates for things like lateral raises using lifting straps and cable handles, which largely negates my need for dumbbells. 

So that's it. How I built my gym. Welcome to K-O's Gym. 

Building my gym part 3

I was going to wait until the bow bar and cast iron plates from Loaded Lifting arrive but the there were some developments. 

The plates won't be here till mid November due to container delays, so I went and got myself a pair of 25 kilo cast iron plates from Rogue Australia. That was a good decision. They weren't too expensive, coming in at just under four AUD per kilo, shipping was very reasonable and they got here very fast. They're gorgeous plates, and I'm impressed at how fast Rogue got them to me. I'm very strongly considering phasing out the bumper plates with cast irons from Rogue over time. The idea is that periodically I'll get a pair of 20 or 25 kilo plates and as soon as they arrive sell a pair of the bumpers to pay for them. I probably won't completely cover the cost, but should be able to manage a good 75 per cent or so. There's no practical reason for me to do this, but I much prefer the cast iron plates and I can justify the transition because I should be able to cover most of the cost by selling the bumpers. 

The bow bar isn't here, and Catch Fitness and their courier aren't doing anything to make me think remotely positively about them. According to the courier service, they lost the barbell. Catch hasn't been very responsive, so I'm anticipating that I'll need to go through PayPal to get my money back although I suspect that it will take a while simply because of the process. It is what it is. I still want a bow bar even though I can squat with the power bar, and I'm most probably going to get the Verve bow bar. Their safety squat bar is excellent, which gives me great confidence about the bow bar, assuming it's still in stock when I pull the trigger on it. I don't want to do that until I get refunded for the other bar that got lost. That may change though, depending how things go. 

The incline bench set up has been great, which is good news. The bench sits perfectly well on the squat box and while the setup looks unsafe it is actually very stable. 

I'm still happy with the Loaded Lifting power bar. It hasn't had over 170 kilos on it at this stage but has held up well with that I've asked of it so far. The knurling really is quite passive but not to the point that it is an issue. How that will change when I get to the heavier loads of my training remains to be seen but I'm reasonably confident it'll hold up well enough. 

What I'm currently starting to wonder is whether I want to make the investment in an adjustable dumbbell set at all. On the one hand, it would let me train various exercises I have found useful: dumbbell bench, chest supported dumbbell rows, lateral raises, tricep extensions and rear delt flys being the primary ones that spring to mind. On the other hand, I can replicate most of those without dumbbells apart from the dumbbell bench using either bands, plates or a barbell. As it stands, I'm hesitant to shell out 300 AUD or so for something I'm not sure I really need.  

I definitely need new J hooks, but they aren't in stock. They're also not a huge expense, so require less thought. I'll also be drawing up a new piece for my back raises that's nothing more than a taller saw horse with modified top to make lying on it more comfortable. 

The next part, which may possibly be the final part of the series, will come when I have a bow bar, the new back raise and J hooks. Possibly the Loaded Lifting cast iron plates too, depending when they arrive. 

Building my gym part 2

By now I have the barbell and plates, the jack, plate rack and squat box. The bow bar is (apparently) with the courier and has been for over a week. Hopefully it arrives soon. According to Catch Fitness shipping takes anywhere from five to 10 working days so I'll wait until that time has passed to start pestering the courier company. These days most are experiencing significant delays anyway. 

The ply for the box and rack ended up costing double what I expected, but that's still much less than what a plate rack and squat box would have cost. The rack works well so far, but it hasn't really been that long so there's that. I took care in construction to make the rack as strong as possible but it also relies on sitting in a corner of the wall. I think it would work quite well free standing too, though but if it was going to be used that way I would probably reinforce it somewhat with some 50x50x3 mm steel angle over the joins on the ends. The box is fine as far as I can tell but I haven't done any box squats. It's low, so whenever I do them they will be hard and I'm definitely going to get another floor mat to cut up to get various box heights. That will be in a couple of months, by which time the cast iron plates should have arrived. 

How I configured the gym works well so far in terms of moving around and loading the bar. One small concern I had was how well the bench would sit in the rack in terms of placement. It works great, I can sit it hard against the bottom bracing bar and as long as I centre it correctly it is identical to benching out of a dedicated bench setup. That's a win, but I will mark the rack for even quicker setup. The bench itself is also quite nice to use,  plenty grippy and also spongy enough to push my traps down into. How long the pad lasts is something I'll only find out over time, and most likely what I'll do is replace it with a Fatpad once it wears out. My idea of using the squat box to sit one end of the bench on to make an incline bench works to a point, but the box will need a stop fixed to it or the bench slides on it when I use it which is far from safe. That's an easy fix though, a 25 mm high strip fixed to one side of the box will work fine. 

So the rack is fine to bench out of. Squatting is also fine, but takes a little more getting used to. For starters, the rack is only about 50 mm narrower than the 1310 distance between sleeves on the barbell. What I hadn't considered was the probability that every time I walk out, I clip the rack with the plates. I'll be able to refine my walkout to get around that, but it's something to adjust to. Realistically that's probably something I'd be dealing with in any power rack using a power bar though. I haven't squatted out of a rack using a power bar in over five years so this was something that simply didn't occur to me might happen. I'm not sure how the bow bar will go, but I'm anticipating a similar situation because I'm fairly sure the bow bar isn't much longer sleeve to sleeve than the power bar. The J-hooks work perfectly well to hold the bar, but because of how they are made and how I grip the bar they dig into my palms when I set up. This isn't a huge deal, but isn't comfortable. I can grip inside the rack, but then I end up crushing my fingers when I rack so on balance a little dig into my palms is fine. I'm going to look into getting replacement J hooks though, as a long term solution. The one issue I foresee in that respect is the fact that my rack uprights are angle instead of square tube. I'll ask around and see if that is a problem. There's also the hole spacing in the uprights but that may be less of a problem because the holes are around 25 mm in diameter so there's quite a lot of slop which I suspect will work in my favour. In terms of stability, the rack is absolutely fine. Racking, because of how I grip, is slower and more cautious than I like (although what I Iike is slamming back into the rack with gay abandon). This is to maintain the integrity of my fingers. 

The barbell jack is actually rather good on first impressions. I like the design and it seems pretty solid. I would say the design is better than the standard single jack you usually see shaped more like a triangle. It'll take some time to determine how well it stands up to heavier loads because it isn't steel but initial indications are encouraging. It came with a booty band which I have zero use for, which I'm considering taking to a clothes alterations shop to get made into some elbow cuffs. 

The plates from Loaded Lifting are perfectly adequate. They fit well on the sleeve, and don't rattle much if at all. I haven't weighed them, but Loaded Lifting state they are accurate within 0.3% and I have no reason to disbelieve them. The collars that came with the bar and plates are good. They're in the style of the Rogue lockjaw collars with an aluminium body, and fit snugly. I'm quite impressed with them so far, but the real test is going to be when I deadlift which is at the end of next week. I did use them doing Pendlay rows and they didn't budge so that's a positive indication. 

I wanted to leave the barbell till last because of all the items making up my gym it was the one I had the most potential concerns with. I was confident Loaded Lifting wouldn't sell a bad barbell, but I also was always going to be measuring it against the barbells I've used that I consider acceptable, because when I decided to make the investment in a gym it was with the understanding that I wouldn't get anything but a barbell that would compare favourably with what I was using at the various gyms I have trained at. This meant that the Loaded Lifting barbell was going to be compared with the Rogue power bar, Australian Barbell Company power bar, Goliath power bar and Valhalla Strength power bar. I drew the line at making a comparison with the Texas and Eleiko power bars because that would be very, very unfair. For starters, those are argubaly among the best power bars you can get (for the record, my favourite is the Texas); and they are so much more expensive than any of the other bars I have used. 

Now, I haven't had the bar long enough nor used it enough to review it properly but I've done enough to give a first impression of it. Aesthetically, it's a nice bar. The chrome finish and thin collars means it looks quite a bit like the Eleiko bar. Out of the packaging the whole bar was covered in a thin layer of oil, which I'm guessing is standard and protects the bar from rusting and corrosion. It was easy to clean off with a cloth. The sleeves rotate reasonably well, and on a power bar that's all you need. The bar seems well put together, with no noticeable slop where the sleeves and collars join the shaft. Initially I did have a couple of concerns about the knurling. It is very far from aggressive, and I was worried that it wouldn't be enough. However, having now held the bar a few times albeit with light weights those concerns have reduced significantly. While the knurling isn't sharp by any definition, it is also seems very, very easy to grip without chalk. Next week when I deadlift I'll get a much better idea, but initial indications are that despite being not aggressive the knurling works perfectly well. In terms of stiffness the bar definitely seems to be up there, although I haven't had more than three plates on it yet. Certainly squatting with three plates felt very steady and devoid of any kind of whip. How it feels deadlifting I'll find out next week. I won't be able to load it up with more than 177.5 kilos until the cast iron plates arrive and I won't be needing to until then either simply because my training won't call for those loads for a couple of months. 

At this stage, I would say the Loaded Lifting bar compares very favourably to the Rogue, Australian Barbell Company, Valhalla Strength and Goliath power bars. As expected, the Texas and Eleiko are in a different class but to be honest, that still doesn't justify how much more they cost. The fact that the Loaded Lifting bar comes with a lifetime warranty says a lot about the confidence Loaded Lifting have in its quality and durability, and it gives me a lot of confidence in how it is going to last me. I'll probably revisit this after I've used the bar more; and after I've had over 200 kilos on it squatting and deadlifting. 

Outside of what equipment I have, I'm beginning to think that I may end up investing in a back raise. Most have a relatively small footprint and out of the back raise, GHR and reverse hyper are also the cheapest option to train my lower back, hamstrings and glutes that I have always used in training. I can cobble together something to do back raises on, but it's awkward and I don't quite get the ROM I can on a proper back raise. Balance is also enough of an issue that I can't really use any weight. So I'll start looking around at back raises, and J hooks. 

Part 3 will take a bit longer to put together because I don't want to write it until I've got the bow bar, the cast iron plates and have loaded both bars up with a bit more weight and have used the box to squat and played around with incline benching. 

Building my gym part 1

As if once wasn't enough to teach me, when the Australian Capital Territory locked down for a second time I found myself gym-less. This time, it really was my fault. It's not like I wasn't aware it could happen again, or that it wasn't likely. So I reaped what I sowed. Apparently getting caught out once wasn't enough to teach me, which is somewhat ironic because in my training and competition preparation I prioritise independence to a significant degree.

I'm actually still gym-less seven weeks into lockdown, but that's due to shipping and delivery delays. I bought the equipment within 14 days of lockdown starting. 

Let me make this clear though: I'm in a position to be able to build a modest gym for myself. Not everyone is, and I know that I'm very fortunate in that and many other more important respects. If you're not in a position to build your own gym, you can't help but get caught out if for whatever reason gyms around you stop being accessible. It is what it is. 

So what did I need? That's where it gets interesting. What I need is competing with what space I have and what I can afford. You need to strike a balance. I have about 7.5 square metres of space on a concrete slab. What's even better is that 7.5 square metres is made up of a 2.5 metre by three metre area. It doesn't sound like much put like that, but it's really a decent amount of room while also not so big that I will be unreasonably tempted to fill it up. No matter how much equipment I may want or be able to afford, there simply isn't room for all of it. 

Let's start with the bare basics, a barbell and plates. The barbell is easy enough. Unless you're super picky, a decent power bar will set you back between 350 AUD and 700 AUD and that top end is getting awfully close to picky. You can definitely get a bar for less, but it may only be rated to around 300 kilos and won't have particularly good knurling or markings. It'll also more likely be a combination bar, with Olympic and powerlifting marking and probably whip a fair bit. I got a Loaded Lifting power bar on sale for 349 AUD. They're a reputable company, so I was comfortable paying a lower price. One thing I noticed when picking the bar was that these days a lot of the time you pay more for the finish. If that's affordable, great, but personally I don't care too much what my bar looks like providing it performs and if there are multiple finish options I'll pick the cheapest one. That left the plates. 

The plates are actually the killer, by the way. Way, way back when I would fantasise about my own gym reality would hit me every time it came to plates. I'm no elite powerlifter, but even for me if I want to have a setup that lets me train productively we're talking 220 kilos of plates as a pretty bare minimum. I'm not big noting myself, I'm simply at the stage where I squat around 215-225 kilos and deadlift 225-240 kilos in training. Not peaking, just training. That's a number that's only going to go up, too. 

Now, what I also realised is that you need to think of how to get that 240 kilos on the bar. Bumper plates might only just squeeze on if that's all you have. Twenty and 25 kilo bumpers are going to vary between 55 and 80 mm in thickness, and your barbell sleeve is going to be around 400-450 mm. If you do the maths, fat bumpers might not be that great. Calibrated plates are the thinnest, which is also what your wallet will be if you get them. Bumpers are generally cheaper, between 3.5 AUD and six AUD per kilo depending where you look. But they're fat. Basic old cast iron plates are a good option and look cool. They come in between 33 and 35 mm in width for 20 and 25 kilos generally, which lets you get plenty on your barbell. They're also in the 3.5 to six AUD range. None of that includes shipping costs, which are also messed up for plates simply because they're the heaviest stuff you're getting. 

I did end up getting a bunch of bumpers,  because Loaded Lifting had a package deal with a power bar and 150 kilos of economy bumper plates for 799 AUD. Considering the bar cost 349 AUD, that's three AUD per kilo for the plates, and comes with collars too. It was hard to beat that pricing and if you look around you'll find I'm not exaggerating. I did, however, within a couple of weeks also pre-order four 20 kilo cast iron plates. Those came in at 3.5 AUD per kilo, and I won't talk about shipping costs because it hurts too much. 

You also are going to want change plates. I overlooked them initially, and then realised without them the smallest jump you get is 10 kilos. Now, calibrated change plates will cause drastic thinning of your wallet but basic cast iron ones are quite slim themselves and not overly expensive. I paid 49 AUD for a pair of 2.5 kilo and 1.25 kilo Hammertone cast iron tri-grip change plates from Flex Fitness Equipment. 

Realistically, you're going to be looking at 350 to 500 AUD for a power bar and depending on your strength level anywhere between 500 and 1000 AUD for plates. If you budget 1500 AUD for barbell and plates, you shouldn't have any issues unless you're very unlucky, very picky or very strong. Bear in mind though, this is assuming you're building a gym to replace any commercial gym, and one you can use for everything except possibly a peak. 

Before I move on from bars and plates, there also comes the question of speciality bars. I initially figured I'd just somehow squeeze under a power bar to squat and hope like hell my elbows don't explode. I have managed this previously but in a combo rack with the uprights tilted in. My ability to get under a power bar is contingent on me being able to grip right at the sleeves. So, this could be a significant problem unless I opt for a comp spec squat rack. They aren't cheap, and also are a bit limited in what you get out of them. A comp spec combo rack is lovely, and Valhalla Strength make an excellent one. Except, it costs around 3300 AUD the last time I looked and I can get a reasonable power rack and flat bench for less than that. So I um'd and ah'd and bought a cheap bow bar, 199 AUD marked down from 299 AUD from Catch Fitness. I'm almost certain it's an Ali Baba special, but the load rating is reasonable at 400 kilos and I'll only be using it for one thing. What encouraged me is that most other bow bars are in the 300 AUD to 500 AUD range so if the regular price was 299 AUD it shouldn't be too bad. It's also completely unnecessary unless you can't squat with a power bar. Realistically, I could probably find a way to squat with a power bar but I can afford the extra barbell. A bow bar can also be used for extra ROM bench and rows, so there's that too. 

Now, it so happens I already have a power rack. I was very lucky to be gifted one some time ago. It's old and not a commercially made unit. Someone had it built out of a combination of 40x40x7 steel angle and 40x40 steel square tube (I'm guessing the tube is anywhere between two and seven mm thick). It's solid, and as best as I can tell for something equivalent I would be up for around 1500 AUD at the very least (you can absolutely get a rack for less, but won't be rated for much weight at all). It might be old and simple, but it has trustworthy safeties and even has some J-hooks which are likewise trustworthy. Not pretty, but functional. 

It's the cornerstone of my build, not only because it saves me a large sum of money but because a power rack gives you a lot more than a combo rack or standalone squat rack. For starters, you have somewhere to do pullups providing your ceiling is high enough and top the rack is low enough. My rack is around 2.1 metres tall, and the ceiling is around 2.4 metres high so I'm in luck. No exercise is essential, but pullups come about as close as any. You also have the option of anchoring bands at almost any point you need, which lets you recreate a good chunk of cable machine exercises. 

So that's the rack sorted. Which means squats. Next comes bench. Realistically you can train perfectly well without a bench unless you're a powerlifter. So I needed a bench. The first question was whether I get a fixed or adjustable one. Looking around, it seemed like a reasonable fixed flat bench would set me back between 250 and 350 AUD depending on stock availability and shipping costs. An adjustable bench would start at 350 AUD and go up from there, and frankly none of the adjustable benches under 500 AUD seemed that great. So I went flat, and bought a reasonably nice one for 350 AUD. No shipping, because it was local. The frame is good, the pad is decent but I may replace it eventually. It's no Elite FTS or Valhalla Strength bench, but it's better than some I've used in commercial gyms for sure, and it's very close to competition height and width which is quite important. If I want to incline bench, I can always go old school and prop it up. Getting to 45 degrees might be a stretch, but 15 to 30 degrees won't be too hard. 

The floor is a concrete slab, but I don't want to damage it or my plates. Gym flooring mats aren't hard to come by, and usually cost between 30 AUD and 40 AUD for a single 1000x1000x15 square. I got three from Bunnings. I may get a fourth and cut it into quarters so I have a deficit to pull from, small blocks to pull from (although I rarely do) and a way to change box height for box squats. 

So, box squats. They aren't by any means essential at all but I find them very effective so I need a box. An adjustable box will set you back anywhere between 150 AUD and 300 AUD depending where you look. I work in a joinery shop, and a 2400x1200 sheet of 19 mm CD ply will cost me around 40 AUD. An hour or so of work will give me a 300 mm high box, and around 35 AUD will give me a 1000x1000x15 square of flooring that, cut into quarters, will give me box heights of 315, 330, 345 and 360 mm. That pretty much covers my box squat height range. The box will also let me prop my bench up for incline pressing.

I thought that was pretty much it, until I figured plate storage would be a good idea. That's an area that is a bit trickier than you would think. Broadly, your options are a rack or a tree. Trees can be as cheap as 100 AUD, but most come in around 150 AUD to 200 AUD. Except, many of them only let you fit 20 and 25 kilo plates on the bottom pin. That means if you have bumpers, or a lot of cast iron plates, or even a mix you might not be able to keep them all on the tree. Which makes a weight tree a less attractive option even though it takes up very little space. A rack takes up more room, although they usually aren't over 1500 mm long. They also give you more flexibility in what you put in them, but they're more expensive. Most I found were around the 200 AUD mark or higher. So I came back to my sheet of CD ply, which after the box gives me ample material to make my own horizontal rack. What it won't give me is the vertical barbell storage many trees and racks do, but because I'll only have a couple bars that isn't an issue. 

I thought I was done but I still wasn't. For 69 AUD I bought a barbell jack from The Barbell Jack. You can get a single jack for 70 AUD to 90 AUD quite easily from a number of suppliers, and it'll make a difference loading for deadlifts while taking up virtually no room unlike a double jack.

I'm almost done, and I've reached the end of what I've bought and am waiting on delivery of. My last item will be a pair of adjustable dumbbells. I considered the Spud Inc econo pulley, but to do anything like flyes I would need two (I find the strap that attaches to a single pulley ineffective), and that would come in around 300 AUD plus shipping from Rogue Australia. I can get two 40 kilo adjustable dumbbells for 305 AUD including shipping from Gym Direct and that gives me a lot more options than the pulley. Almost anything the pulley can do, I can do with the bands I already have (which are coincidentally mostly Spud Inc bands, and very good they are too), while the dumbbells let me do some of the exercises I find most effective like lateral raises, bent over rows, bench press, incline bench, press and chest supported rows. I'll get them in a while, for the moment I'm giving my wallet a chance to recover and they aren't in stock anyway. 

A quick recap of what this setup cost me (including shipping this time) just in case anyone finds it useful:

- power bar and collars, Loaded Lifting 349 AUD 

- plates 230 kilos, Loaded Lifting combination bumper and cast iron 1050 AUD give or take, covering shipping for bar as well and bearing in mind cast iron plates are shipped separately because I ordered them later

- change plates, Flex Fitness Equipment 75 AUD

- bow bar, Catch Fitness 235 AUD 

- power rack free, but would cost at least 1500 AUD 

- bench, Gymquip 350 AUD 

- flooring, Bunnings 100 AUD 

- barbell jack, The Barbell Jack 85 AUD 

- ply for box and plate storage 40 AUD plus two hours work (bought from retail combined would cost 350 AUD to 500 AUD)

 

That's a grand total of around 2300 AUD, and if you include the dumbbells I'm planning to get takes the setup to 2600 AUD for something that will let me train independently for a number of years before I would need to add any major items. 

Part 2 will cover what it's actually like having all this stuff as well as anything I realise I might need to add as well as how I work around not having certain items of equipment. 

You're too small, and so am I

It took me a while to figure this out. I'm not that smart. By the looks of it, neither are lots of other people, so maybe this'll help. 

Go to any low to mid level powerlifting meet and look at the people who win their weight class (assuming there is more than one person in it...) and win best overall lifter. You'll notice that they almost always look like they lift weights. Then look at all the other lifters. You'll notice that a lot of them don't look like they lift weights. 

Here's why. I'm so smart it took me around five years to figure out, despite the fact that it was staring me in the face the whole time: more muscular people are better at powerlifting. No shit genius, you may well say. That's a fair comment, because pointing out the obvious isn't always that helpful. This one's a biggie, though, because it's hiding in plain sight. Powerlifting training sucks for building muscle. Don't come at me with a rebuttal either, because you and I both know it's true. Even the best powerlifting systems won't pack on muscle like a bodybuilding system. 

So what's my point? It's simple: until you're actually big and muscular, don't train like a powerlifter. Powerlifting training evolved into what it is because the people who formed it came into the sport with a solid base of muscle mass. They were footballers, wrestlers, meatheads to a person. All they needed was to practice the squat, bench press and deadlift and maintain what muscle mass they already had while filling in a few little gaps here and there.

People like me (and a fair few of you) came into the sport with none of that time under the iron. Hell, I'm part of the new generation of powerlifters that started around when raw powerlifting took off in the mid 2010s. We're basically a bunch of pencilnecks who decided they'd have a go. Fast forward a few years you've got even more people entering the sport who've barely touched a barbell prior to that. They start training like powerlifters. Big mistake. Yes, for sure you're going to need to hit the competition lifts because you need to get good at them. But for the love of iron, do as little of that as you can get away with and train like a bodybuilder for the most part. Yes, you can do high reps on the squat, bench press and deadlift. No, that won't build muscle as well as other lifts. Especially the deadlift and bench press. 

Four things

A sense of urgency 

I think this goes unaddressed a lot of the time, and I'm convinced it's one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve the quality of your training. It doesn't mean rushing. Rushing is bullshit. A sense of urgency means you get into the gym and the moment you start training, you're working. Not chatting, not dicking around. Working. You got an eye on the clock, because you've got shit to do. Same way as when you're at work you know you've got to get a certain amount of shit done before knock-off, when you're in the gym you got work. Bottom line is, outside of peak most people don't need to be in the gym any longer than 90 minutes or so, and usually 60 to 85 is plenty. If that seems like it's too short, maybe you need to look at how you're spending your training time and how much discomfort you're prepared to tolerate. 

When you train with a sense of urgency, you focus. When you focus, you work better. You perform better. You think better. You practice your focus so on meet day when it matters most, you don't need to switch on because you've never switched off. 

Indicators

That's another one that can get overlooked, but is useful AF. It also takes more time to find what they are. After a few years, if you train halfway consistently you'll notice that your max correlates pretty well with reps you can do at a given weight as well as your performance  on some accessory lifts. 

Just for some examples, what I can hit for a hard but clean wrapped squat set of eight relates pretty accurately to my fatigued max wrapped squat. I know that my max standing overhead press is around 65% of my fatigued bench max,  and that 65% relationship also applies pretty consistently across the board for my bench and standing overhead press. I also know that what I can bench for a clean 10 reps with at most one rep left in the tank gives me a very close idea of what I can hit for a fatigued max single. What I can deadlift for a set of five with one or two reps in the tank gives me a good idea of what my fatigued deadlift max is. 

If I do the maths, the estimated max formula of Emax = (weight × reps × 0.033) + weight actually works pretty well for me within five kilos or so across the competition lifts. What it doesn't do is relate to my peaked performance. Which is fine. 

This helps a ton because it means at any given point during training, you'll have a pretty good idea of how you're going. It won't be gospel, but it's a very decent yardstick. The only drawback is that it's one of few very individual aspects of training and indicators take a few years to become apparent. Keep track. You'll be glad you did. 

Take emotion out of your training - until you have total control over it

Show me a good powerlifter and I'll show you someone who has learned how to use and manipulate their emotional state. That takes time. It also takes effort. Being able to switch on and off is a huge advantage when you're looking at a max. Here's the thing though: you likely won't get good at it by getting fired up every session. You need to learn when it's needed, and when it isn't; what the difference is between focus and arousal. 

Focus? That's a sense of urgency, you need that shit every damn day and it's more about discipline than anything else. Arousal is opening that little door at the back of your head and letting the adrenaline flow when and only when you decide it's time. You need to be able to shut it off too, just as easily as you can turn it on. You need to be able to take the fight or flight response and direct it so it works for you, not against you. 

Don't be the powerlifter who yells and screams and works themselves up into such a state that they get to the bar and can't execute the lift because they're so fraught technique goes out the window. Be the one who calmly walks to the bar with a storm boiling inside that they have total control of.

Love the process

I get it, there are plenty of people who train because they like training. They find it fun. That's fine, until it's not. After a while, powerlifting training stops being fun. You've done it all, really, so it becomes monotonous. You won't be getting that rush from maxing out because you don't max outside of a peak. Or you shouldn't. Not if your performance in meet is what you're focused on, and I'm sorry but if you're not focused on your meet performance you're not a powerlifter. You're a tourist and I don't give a shit about you. 

So what happens when it isn't fun? You got to fall in love with the process, marry it and build a loving relationship. Seriously, you got to love the process, because the individual sessions are mostly boring and shitty. You've got to enjoy showing up for every shitty, boring session because it takes you one step closer to being better. 

If you can't let go of needing enjoying the actual training you might be in trouble, because you'll need to keep seeking new stimuli. That means constantly changing methods, changing exercises and that means usually screwing your progress. You're not gifted and not a freak, so you can't get away with what they can. 

Love the process. Forget everything else.