Unlock the secrets of my home gym cable system journey in this jaw-dropping video! Prepare to be amazed as I reveal the unconventional ways I used this versatile fitness tool in my workout routines.You won't believe the creativity that went into maximizing gains with my cable setup!
Over here on this shelf, we have what you probably know is my favorite piece of equipment in my home gym, this cable pulley system. But what you probably don't know is how I used to use this originally when I bought it is very different to how I use it now. I'm going to show you my current setup so you can see what I think is ideal for my home gym and home gyms that are similar to mine, that way you can see whether this cable pulley system is worth buying, even if you don't have the ideal home gym set up. Let's do it.
The Ideal Setup
This is what I think is the ideal DIY cable pulley system for my home gym and similar home gyms as well. I've got the first pulley secured up high onto the pull up bar. I’ve then used a short cable which stops here. I’ve then extend that cable, and that cable is going through a second pulley, which is secured in the door with a training band anchor. And then I've taken that extended cable and put my attachment on. So with this setup, I can do, for example, cable curls.
Let's say I want to switch over to the high angle. I just disconnect this, disconnect this, put the attachment onto this shorter cable here, and then we can do things like tricep push downs.
I think this is a really useful, really smart way of doing a DIY cable pulley system in a very small home gym. But like I said, I didn't used to use it this way when I first bought this cable pulley system, the original starting pieces anyway, I didn't have the pull up bar. This is a key component to my current cable pulley system.
So what did I do? Let's have a look. I'm going to set it up. You can see how I first used to use it, and that way you can decide whether that's useful for you while you're still trying to sort out something high, like a pull up bar.
My Original Setup Without a Pullup Bar
When I first used this cable pulley system, I secured the pulley, just the one pulley, to this quarter rack. I had the rack set as high as possible. Next, I put the barbell on, attacahed the strap to the barbell, and attached the pulley to the strap.
Next, I just used light weights, mostly doing single arm exercises, high rep exercises. But also I wasn't as strong as I am now, so the weight was much lighter. We can go half of the weight I use now. And just to show an example of a single arm exercise, let's get the handles on. I would do things like tricep kickbacks and also things like cable crossovers.
So you can see it is still usable. And I actually did use it like this for a bit of time, but this was the main trigger for me wanting to get a pull up bar and bolt that into the wall. With that, it was much better. If you're doing this, it is worth considering. You can do it, especially if you have enough room to move away from the rack.
Summary
If you've got a half rack, using light weights, I think it should be okay. I don't think it'll tip forward when you pull it. Let me know, though. Keep in mind that with that, the weight is up higher and it's not as stable as this one with the lower center of gravity, or perhaps a full rack which has the support on the front and the back, which is not going to tip over. Let me know if you do use a cable pulley system on a half rack like that. I'd love to know whether it is successful or not.
If you have a quarterback like me and eventually you will get a pull up button. Absolutely. I do think you can consider doing your own DIY cable system and doing it like this to begin with, just while you're waiting to get the pull up bar installed. But if you're not going to eventually get the pull up bar, then I would strongly recommend getting a bunch of bands instead of a cable pulley system. Bands are just as effective. They provide a slightly different stimulus to cables, but you can do much more exercises with a band set than you can with a cable pulley system with this kind of setup.
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