First time using a Yoke

[Stubborn]

Yesterday I made my own Yoke because none of the gyms around here have one. Mahaneys has a freakin Conans wheel but no Yoke?!


So, I had an old Oly bar that I had bent a bit and dont use, some truss lumber, and I bought a few iron fittings and made my own. I have to get more experience on this thing before Nationals. Heres how it went:


Sets/Dist/#'s
2 x 40 x 260
2 x 40 x 405
2 x 80 x 405
2 x 20 x 525 <<<It started raining hard so I didnt go out of my driveway.
4 x 10 x 605 <<<Used a belt on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sets.


It felt good but I am sore this morning! From my ass to my mid back is real stiff. The weight at Nats will be 805lbs for 80', fastest time wins. Im not very fast with this thing but it IS homemade and swings all over the place so I have to stop and start in the middle of a run. Anyone got any advice for increasing core stability (other than the normal stuff)?

[thewickedtruth]

Yesterday I made my own Yoke because none of the gyms around here have one. Mahaneys has a freakin Conans wheel but no Yoke?!


So, I had an old Oly bar that I had bent a bit and dont use, some truss lumber, and I bought a few iron fittings and made my own. I have to get more experience on this thing before Nationals. Heres how it went:


Sets/Dist/#'s
2 x 40 x 260
2 x 40 x 405
2 x 80 x 405
2 x 20 x 525 <<<It started raining hard so I didnt go out of my driveway.
4 x 10 x 605 <<<Used a belt on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sets.


It felt good but I am sore this morning! From my ass to my mid back is real stiff. The weight at Nats will be 805lbs for 80', fastest time wins. Im not very fast with this thing but it IS homemade and swings all over the place so I have to stop and start in the middle of a run. Anyone got any advice for increasing core stability (other than the normal stuff)?
PICS OF THAT THING MAN!

HAHAHA..and I'd do what you'd tell ME to do and what alot of other guys have told me for this shit. Just do it..and you'll get better at it. I can't wait to be cut loose! ONE MORE WEEK!
 

[Stubborn]

I took a couple with my phone, I'll get them on here soon.


Yeah, I know how to get better at it but always appreciate new advice! I'm smart enough to know that I dont know it all, haha.


One more week, eh? I suggest these events for your first time:

Never more than 3 events a day, unless in competition of course.
***WARM UP! Use a barbell and do a full body warm up, you'll need it.
1. FARMERS - You need to find out where your grip and core strength are at and this is the best way.
2. STONES or TIRE - You dont have to use tacky but get a feel for them and watch some vids of others doing them before you go.
3. YOKE - Talk about core strength, hahah! Do this last because your core will be good and warm by now.

So it goes grip/core, DL/cardio, and core/cardio. Its a good order of things and a great  first training session. With max weight I would only do 1-2 sets on each of these but warm up the way you do in PL.

Good Luck!

[Stubborn]

Heres the BEAST, haha!



Wrapped a towel on that shit cause walking with a 600lboly bar starts to hurt a bit. The chain at the top is to keep the posts from bending inward too much and adds 20+lbs with the crank. Im going to get a SOLID 2" bar to use in place of the Oly bar. Then I will ditch the chain and just screw a 2x6 on top to stabilize instead.

[BFP]

If youve got a cambered bar at your gym you could load it up and use it for all of your major lifts.  It is a pretty humbling bar to use, and could simulate a yoke pretty well.  A SSB will also do wonders for your core stability as well.

Jason

[thewickedtruth]

hahah that's so fucking awesome! 

[Stubborn]

hahah that's so fucking awesome! 

Thanks! BWAHAHAHA!

[The Squadfather]

do you ever do Zercher squats, Lift?

[Stubborn]

Here are my tires. I chain them together to make it heavier and take them apart to do cardio with one. One is ~300 and the other ~550.

[Stubborn]

do you ever do Zercher squats, Lift?

Sometimes I do. Every few weeks or so. I do lots of front squats though. I am going to put more holes in the Yoke so I can move the bar around and do things like Zurchers and front carry Conans simulations.

[The Squadfather]

Sometimes I do. Every few weeks or so. I do lots of front squats though. I am going to put more holes in the Yoke so I can move the bar around and do things like Zurchers and front carry Conans simulations.

we did a shitload of Zerchers when we were training strongman, we would put the bar at about lower chest level in the power rack and use towels on our arms at anything above 315 on those, normally did sets of 5 and a lot of 3's, very good movement for just about everything you do in strongman.

[Stubborn]

My farmers. They need to be cut down but thats all they had at Home Depot that day. I need to enlarge the handle width from 1" to 2". 2" is actually easier for me anyway.

[BFP]

we did a shitload of Zerchers when we were training strongman, we would put the bar at about lower chest level in the power rack and use towels on our arms at anything above 315 on those, normally did sets of 5 and a lot of 3's, very good movement for just about everything you do in strongman.

Its easier on the arms with a 2x6 or a fatbar.  Was it lots of towels?  Ive never tried em.

Jason

[Stubborn]

we did a shitload of Zerchers when we were training strongman, we would put the bar at about lower chest level in the power rack and use towels on our arms at anything above 315 on those, normally did sets of 5 and a lot of 3's, very good movement for just about everything you do in strongman.

You're right! They are perfect for strongman. I will probably do some this week, thanks for the reminder.

[thewickedtruth]

what is a zercher's squat? that conan's wheel kinda pick up stuff?! 

[Vet]

My farmers. They need to be cut down but thats all they had at Home Depot that day. I need to enlarge the handle width from 1" to 2". 2" is actually easier for me anyway.

If you haven't, put a solid bar in the center of each of those long bars.    I used to make dumbell handles, bars, pulldown handles and farmers walk type equipment (I used it for shrugs) using piping like that when I was a kid and there wasn't a gym around---about 90% of the gym equipment I first worked out with from the time I was 15 until I was 18 was homemade.   The homemade equipment is great, but water pipe like that will bend suddenly without warning and can crack, seriously messing up your hands.   I know from personal experience.  If you put a piece of thick rebar inside of the waterpipe (wrap it with pipe foam or tape if its not a tight fit) it'll add a bit of weight to the bar but it'll also keep i from bending suddenly. 

[The Squadfather]

Its easier on the arms with a 2x6 or a fatbar.  Was it lots of towels?  Ive never tried em.

Jason

no just one or two most of the time, just enough to take the pressure off the lower biceps/inside of elbows, Zerchers build the shit out of your deadlift even more than front squats.

[BFP]

no just one or two most of the time, just enough to take the pressure off the lower biceps/inside of elbows.

I see.  Try it witha 2x6 sometime.  You will be amazed how much easier it makes the lift to perform.

Jason

[The Squadfather]

what is a zercher's squat? that conan's wheel kinda pick up stuff?! 

it's a squat with the weight held in your arms like your holding a baby, in the crook of your elbows, it forces you to keep you core extremely tight to squat with a weight like that.

[Stubborn]

If you haven't, put a solid bar in the center of each of those long bars.    I used to make dumbell handles, bars, pulldown handles and farmers walk type equipment (I used it for shrugs) using piping like that when I was a kid and there wasn't a gym around---about 90% of the gym equipment I first worked out with from the time I was 15 until I was 18 was homemade.   The homemade equipment is great, but water pipe like that will bend suddenly without warning and can crack, seriously messing up your hands.   I know from personal experience.  If you put a piece of thick rebar inside of the waterpipe (wrap it with pipe foam or tape if its not a tight fit) it'll add a bit of weight to the bar but it'll also keep i from bending suddenly. 

Yeah, the 1" is probably a bit weak. I will probably be making my own full steel farmers and yoke soon enough. Im gonna buy a bunch of steel and get my buddy with a welder over to make it.

[Overload]

That's some very good looking home training equipment.

Good work.

i've never been able to do Zercher's squats for too long, they kill my elbows. i can do heavy front squats all the time with no problems. i used to cycle back and forth between the two and made some impressive strength gains that way.

[Stubborn]

That's some very good looking home training equipment.

Good work.

i've never been able to do Zercher's squats for too long, they kill my elbows. i can do heavy front squats all the time with no problems. i used to cycle back and forth between the two and made some impressive strength gains that way.

Hahaha, thanks man! I will be making better stuff soon enough. I just tend to make it as I NEED it and not a second before.

[Overload]

Hahaha, thanks man! I will be making better stuff soon enough. I just tend to make it as I NEED it and not a second before.

Sometimes you have to make due. i like the home made equipment.

When i trained for strongman a few years back we made all our own stuff at my friends scrap yard. we found a big chunk of concrete and broke it with a sledge until it "resembled" the Africa stone in some past WSM events. we filled kegs with sand, made an overhead pressing machine that was like the fixed overhead pressing machine for old events.

the training was brutal but i really enjoyed it. i learned you need ALOT of rest days in between strongman training days. i was getting some impressive numbers after a while. we even made some fingal fingers out of old power poles we took from old job sites. we made steel hinges for them and they worked quite well.

the shipping company next door thought we were crazy. we used to carry his boat and trailer by the trailer tongue up and down his driveway...ahhh good times!

[Stubborn]

Why dont I have any friends with scrap yards


Its always fun lifting things that people think you have no business even trying to lift. Trailers, cars, pallets of concrete.


Little while ago there was this cabinet makers trailer parked across two spot in front of the store so I got out and liftet the tongue and moved it so I could park. He came out and had that WTF look on his face and then he saw me laughing. Gotta be one of the best parts of strongman!

[thewickedtruth]

Why dont I have any friends with scrap yards


Its always fun lifting things that people think you have no business even trying to lift. Trailers, cars, pallets of concrete.


Little while ago there was this cabinet makers trailer parked across two spot in front of the store so I got out and liftet the tongue and moved it so I could park. He came out and had that WTF look on his face and then he saw me laughing. Gotta be one of the best parts of strongman!

HAHAH SPEAKING OF WHICH..my weird ass grandfather who loves old pioneer shit and cowboy/indian stuff bought an old iron and wood wagon that is used for hauling cargo that takes two mules...grown ass mules to pull it around!!! I looked at it and grab'd the tongue and started pulling that bitch across hte yard dragging it. Granted it's on wheels so getting it started was hard but the look on his face was priceless.


but I didnt' get it more than a few feet! HAHAHAHA! still...he dind't think a person could ever do that let alone even get it rolling when it takes something the size of two horses to move!