Chaos & Confusion

[Bren]

Greetings All.

First, apologies for what is likely a somewhat crazy first post. As briefly as possible...

I tried the SS NLP at the beginning of this year but quit after a few weeks due to fatigue, especially from the deadlift. Since then I've continued lifting in a type of Mentzer high intensity low volume bodybuilding style. I am 49, 6ft, 15.5 stone (around 210 lbs). I am thinking of trying the NLP once again.

Now, the crazy part: when I was doing NLP I was using Zercher squats as I train at home and don't have squat rack for safety. I was using dumbbells (again for safety reasons) that go up in 2.5KG increments for bench and press, therefore I was increasing reps from 5 to 12 before I increased weight, and I was smoking cigarettes' daily ( I have the world record for quitting I reckon, man vaping, patches, etc), I have quit and returned to smoking many many times throughout my life course. I am now 4 months cigarettes' free, but I am on the nicotine gum. So far so good.

I'm a widower with young kids, time, energy and finances are limited. Its difficult train at a gym: I literally have no one to mind the kids on a regular basis (no other family). On the other hand, if there was an SS gym here in Dublin (Ireland) I would find a way.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud here. I am dissatisfied with how I train. I wish to make real progress. I want to get strong. Its unlikely that I can run NLP with dumbbells and Zerchers. My concern is that, if I join a gym, I will miss sessions due to childminders not being available (or not being able to afford one that particular day/week), or a whole host of other chaotic crap that comes with being a single parent to young kids.

Anyway, I don't expect any real answers here, maybe just a comment on the suitability of Zerchers would be great, or anything else that comes to mind.

Many thanks

Bren

[Mark Rippetoe]

Zerchers are not squats. Dumbbells are not part of this program. There are hurdles here that you cannot clear, so the only logical thing to tell you is that you cannot do the program in your current situation. Sorry, but that's just the truth. Good luck with getting all this shit straightened out.

[Bren]

Yup, agreed, I guess that's what I needed to hear. I hope to be able to afford a power rack in the new year (fucking mortgage is killing me), and then I can squat and bench with barbell. I will report back then. Thanks Mark.

[Maybach]

Honestly, man, a squat rack is not that expensive. You can get yourself a relatively small footprint squat stand for a couple hundred bucks that will do all the things you need it to. The blue book has a blueprint to make a rack yourself if you're reasonably handy. The bulk of the cost of a home setup is the plates and the bar, which you appear to have already settled. This is a trivial problem.

[Bren]

Maybach, my friend, thanks for your comment. A small power rack with the safety measures needed is 700 euros, not so trivial in the run up to Xmas as a single parent with 4 kids to feed and a mortgage to pay. But yeah, it's not insurmountable either. I hope to pick one up in January sales. Guess I was just trying to figure out how to make it work without further expenditure. Yeah I'm a writer for a living, I can barely build lego, ha. It's all good, I will get it sorted. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Maybach]

A small power rack with the safety measures needed is 700 euros

I admit I'm not familiar with the EU situation, which appears to be more dire than I imagined. But the damn thing is not really an engineering feat. I have to believe there is way for you to get two metal poles bolted to the ground for less than seven hundred dollars.

[Peter Bex]

I admit I'm not familiar with the EU situation, which appears to be more dire than I imagined. But the damn thing is not really an engineering feat. I have to believe there is way for you to get two metal poles bolted to the ground for less than seven hundred dollars.

It really isn't bad. There are plenty of places you can get cheaper racks in Europe. For example the Strength Shop and Strong Gear have racks for around 400 euros. If you're just getting started, a simple squat stand with safety arms can be gotten for even less. You can upgrade later when the weights get heavier.

[WCSteppe]

I won't say it's a good alternative to the program, but a potentially better option than zercher squats is cleaning the bar and doing front squats.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I won't say it's a good alternative to the program, but a potentially better option than zercher squats is cleaning the bar and doing front squats.

Front squats are not an option.

[Maybach]

It really isn't bad. There are plenty of places you can get cheaper racks in Europe. For example the Strength Shop and Strong Gear have racks for around 400 euros. If you're just getting started, a simple squat stand with safety arms can be gotten for even less. You can upgrade later when the weights get heavier.

Yeah this is what I was thinking. The Olympic lifters in my gym regularly squat 400+ pounds off of floating rogue stands that aren't more than a couple hundred bucks and no one's died yet. It's not the best choice but if it's between that and Zerchers at weights you aren't taking your life into your hands with I know what I'm picking