NROL4W Substitutions?

lizard053

Hey folks! I was wondering what you all think I should do. My gym has very limited lifting equipment, and home is even worse. I don't have a choice of any olympic barbells. So I use a smith machine. Dumbbells are extremely limited in number, as are the cable weight machines. It's nuts. I don't get what I'm paying $20 a month for most of the time...

Any who, the biggest problem I have is no box to lift from and no swiss balls at all. Instead of the prone jackknife, what to do? I did reverse crunches the first workout. I figure a regular crunch on the floor is my best bet for the swiss ball crunch. I'm just wondering what others think on this!

Thanks!

meshashesha2012

now that lifting is becoming an important to you, you'll know what to look for when it's time to shop for a new gym.

my advice is to not use the smith machine for squats, at all. the smith machine is not going to be any help to you when you do get access to a oly bar because the smith machine 1) forces you into unnatural positions and 2) doesnt let you develop your stabilizing muscles.. substitutions you can do are goblet squats and DB squats where you hold the DBs up to your shoulder

for the box does your gym have a weight bench?

n8na

Thanks for the advice.
I also have problems to find the right substitutions. My gym is not well equipped so I have to find alternative for some exercises. My trainer suggested to use the smith machine but I wasn't comfortable with it because I read a lot it's not recommendable.

krenwren

I think you need a new gym too! All gyms should have olympic sets and curl bars and an extensive library of DBS. I bought my own exercise ball on AMAZON and have been able to Phase one at home with what I have. All exercises except as you point out for the prone jackknife can be done with out machines in phase one with variations. I will need to get to the gym for phase two as I think it will be easier to set up my intervals there. GOOD LUCK!

CharleneExtreme

I have another question about substitutions - is it okay to use squat stands instead of a squat rack? Some of us are poor and can only afford a 5 foot bar!! :-s

krenwren

You can use whatever you need to hold the weight. Squat stands are fine as long as you can get under the weight. My hubbie wants to buy a weight cage?!! That should be interesting. Keep at it!

blynnblair

So I just realized I did my first workout, well just my squats, on a smith machine. So I should be doing squats with the dumbells instead?