Free weights alone -- that's dangerous.

But if you insist, pullups (put up a bar somewhere), dumbell rows (left knee and left hand on bench, dumbell in right hand, back approx. parallel to ground).

On second thought, weights at home is too dangerous.

Get the book "Getting Stronger" by Bill Pearl. It's a classic in it's umpteenth edition but still a very good source on how to use free weights.

strech cordz

I got inspired by Marc Evans Triathletes edge, where he describes an exersice in wich you lay with a stability ball between your shoulders arcing a barbell over your head. But it doesn't seem to work the muscles in the right way you almost would need to hang upside down to get the proper effect.

I dont like cords cause I like to have exact control over resistance

Pull ups? Not sure what you would do to simulate rowing though.

"Free Weights alone -- that's dangerous."



I say bullshit. Sure, probably squating alone without a power cage or barbell benching w/o a spotter can be quite dangerous, but virtually all other excercises should be OK if the lifter has a half-clue of what he or she is doing.



I love to see all the people at my gym spend hours at the gym on the various machines when they could get 3x the results by doing squats and deadlifts instead. Sure they are tough, but most things that are worthwhile are.

I've had weights at my home for along time, and unfortunately, the only thing that would simulate lat pulldowns would be chinups/pullups, and you would need some sort of tree or often times, if you have an unfinished basement, you can do chinups from the metal support beams on the ceiling.



As for seated rows, do one arm dumbell rows Put your left knee on the bench, and then your left hand in front of that knee on the bench. Reach down with the DB in your right hand and pull it up. Repeat with the left hand.

As far as chin/pull ups, depending on how high your doorways are or whether you have hallways with solid walls, you can get a pullup bar that basically extends and locks into place between two walls or a door way. If you have a convenient place to put one, they work great.

Also, you don't really need a spotter for pull ups or rows.

a standing lat pull substitute is a pullover . On your back, on bench, weight held with both hands like a tricep extension except keep your arms almost straight and use your lats to bring the weight up. Start with weight behind your head or above it and finish with it over your chest. You can use a plate or a db just don't drop it on your face. A better substitute is cordz. You just forget about weight and go on time or reps. 1 min on, 30 sec off, etc.

I've been working out at home with free weights for the past 17 years. The only issue with working alone is you don't have a spotter to help you get a couple of more reps in. As a result, you might not be able to get the gains you would with a spotter. You'll learn some tricks to help get the weights off you if you can't return them to the bench. Get a good bench, so stability isn't an issue. Wate-man makes good ones.

For lat pulls, I bought a Deltech Fitness lat pull machine last year. It can also do seated rows. Prior to that, I used a closet rod fastened to my floor joists, and bent over rows.

tri-this, lay on your bed with your head at the foot of the bed and get 2 dumbells, very light and hold them straight up then without bending your elbows let your arms go back and then up, you can also tri it with one dumbell in the same postition with both hands holding the dumbell, its a great excersize and I do them all the time in my back workout.

Hope this helps

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I have horrible back problems but I have zero problems staying in an aero position for 180k. Why? Because I ride steep and because I train regularly in that position. Simple as that.....Gerard

You can easily attach a metal bar for pullups in a basement using a handful of u shaped brackets to hold the bar against the floor joices. I used the metal bar from an old cement weight set I had, and it has worked fine. As much as I've tried, I haven't pulled the house down yet.

You can also do rows just picking a bar off the floor. Basically you start in the dead lift position and just use your arms. Another option is to do bench pulls (rowers love them). put the bar under an elevated bench, lie face down on the bench and pull the bar up until it hits the bottom of the bench.

I've lifted for years on my own and never had a problem...and that includes bench press and squats without a cage. It's only dangerous if you are doing a lot of heavy lifting to failure. You just have to know your limits...ie know when you don't have another full rep on bench press in you. Lifting at home is only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing...or maybe if your a skinny little girly man ;)

Aforementioned pullups. For the rows, get a pair of JumpStretch cords(www.elitefts.com is a good source). You'll have to decide on the resistance, but err on the light side. Wrap the cord around a table leg or something else sturdy and have at it.