Biceps & Benches

Gray Matter Lifting

It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks. Allergies are kicking my butt, which always destroys my recovery in the gym. But on the bright side we got some cool new equipment, our new rack should be shipping very soon, and I’ve got a new video for ya.

Biceps Cable Attachments

This might have been the most intense one of the bunch so far. Mostly because I covered close to a dozen attachments. Biceps are a weak point for me, as a dude primarily focused on the Big 3, and I’ve been eyeing down fixing that. So some good anatomy, tips and tricks, and specifically selected cable attachments make up this video.

REP Nighthawk Bench

I have started acquiring benches for the upcoming Adjustable Bench Showdown scheduled for August. I’ll be reviewing a half dozen benches, and then battling them out in a video like I did for the Nordic Benches back in 2024. The key note, is that I am ONLY looking at benches that take attachments.

The Prime Shorty Bench article just got an update, and we just received the REP Nighthawk Bench as well. This is my FIRST REP bench, since they have never had attachments available. But now, their flagship Blackwing and new Nighthawk have an attachment receiver post, meaning they can accept their upcoming Leg Developer.

I just got confirmation this weekend that another bench is on the way, this is a pre-release version from a company who you all helped with the bench color voting survey a few weeks back. So I’ll be tinkering with that, side by side a few other benches, and providing feedback.

Goal is to have a stupid amount of benches in the gym at once, that all take attachments. If you have one in mind, let me know.

What Is Up Next?

I recorded the Triceps Cable Attachment video, just need to edit it. I’m hoping it’ll be ready by the weekend, but Audrey is on Spring Break. Which always means more play time and less work time. So we will see!

Speaking Of Video Editing

Anybody here do Video Editing? My world of home gym stuff is growing enough that I am considering outsourcing the video editing portion of my YouTube process. I don’t NEED to… yet… but it would certainly be the right move to get in front of before I get too far behind schedule.

I’d still tackle the filming, scripting, recording, B-Roll, etc. But the editing of that Biceps Video took me a full 2 days of work. If I was able to send that off to someone, I could spend that 2 days on the next video and actually get caught up on my schedule. Then eventually keep that rolling and drop consistent videos every other week.

Idea would be a part time, but consistent, side-gig. I need someone who can do basic video editing, manage transitions, titles, b-roll, etc. As well as things like Color Grading, and handling some of my fancy-smancy product intros.

End result would be a Long Form YouTube Video every other week (ish) which you would also cut into Short Form clips for social. I have no clue on budget, so I won’t even put that here. Lets just say that I prefer to pay people what they are worth, so I’m not looking to nickle and dime anyone. If your price point can fit into my budget, we’ll make it happen.

If you are interested, just reply back to this email and we can chat.

Other Stuff

I’ve been ordering and receiving a number of new items for when my new Power Rack arrives. Goal is to do a few DIY customization pieces as well, and be ready for when it shows up so I can be off and running.

Oh… and I’ve got a fancy toy coming from Prime Fitness… another pre-release item. I’m excited for this one.

Whats New In The Community?

I haven’t seen any new releases since the last newsletter that have tickled my fancy. Bulletproof is toying with rotating handles for their VTS, which seems VERY Bulletproof to introduce new craziness before actually making their product better in the first place. Rogue launched some new cable attachments, but I’m far from impressed.

I think with the Tariffs we might see a lot of companies sit for a bit, see what is happening, how other industries handle them, and then adjust before announcing anything. Last thing you want to do is announce a $400 product, have rates go up, and have to charge $500 for it. Looks like others, like REP, are full steam ahead.

Home Gym Tour

My dude Coach Carp did a walk through of a home gym from one of the Home Gym Discord members. What caught my eye originally was the color scheme… black rack with white accessories. My MAN! This dude has the VOLTRAs, and a number of similar accessories that I do. Definitely a packed gym.

Garage Gym Competition

We are just FOUR weeks out from the Spring GGC. My JuggernautAI peak has started as of Monday, and my Squat is kind of exactly what I thought it would be. I’ve found over the last year or so, as I keep my bike rides, cardio, and other things in play, my Squat looks like it has stagnated without a serious deload. I managed a 485lb single with a little room to spare, so we’ll see if a deload (and getting on the other side of the pollen season) helps me out there.

I managed to tweak my left pec insertion during my deload, which is very frustrating. But this past Monday managed to bench without any pain.

Deadlift is the lift that was locked and loaded during prep, so I’m hoping it shows up big. I’d love to check off a 650lb pull from the list.

Sponsor Highlight

REP Fitness is here for the 2025 GGC. If you own a Home Gym and don’t know REP Fitness, let me give you a quick overview. REP began in the CrossFit community, starting small with a couple bars and plates. I actually remember interacting with Ryan, one of the co-founders, on the old BodyBuilding.com Equipment Forums. Their Equalizer plates came from a forum post where he wanted community feedback on the design.

That has been REP since the beginning. They are the most involved major home gym manufacturer in the community itself. Ryan is a regular on Reddit and in other groups. The team takes feedback, ideas, and connects and partners with other companies in the space.

When other companies keeping doing things the wrong way, REP seems to be doing them correctly.

Prize Announcement

REP and I went back and forth on their prize for this year. Eventually landing on “a product they had coming”. I didn’t know what it was until the launch. The prize up for grabs is the REP Nighthawk! This is going to be fun addition for someone in the Spring GGC (and Fall)!

Coach Spotlight

Our GGC Coaches are all pretty unique. But one of the coolest additions to the team is Josh Max. He is a Pediatrician, NASM certified personal trainer, and home gym design specialist. Dad, garage gym owner, GGC participant, and proud member of the 999lb Club.

Josh, the last several years, has handled the Under 18 crowd for lifting feedback. A tough task as kids can be difficult to judge. But Josh, with his pediatric background, has managed to help a number of parents get theirs kids lifting better and better.

Training Tip

We talked about Calf Training for powerlifters a few weeks back. Today we have a full article on why YOU should be training your calves, and how to do it.

r/HomeGym

There we two posts this week of people with creative solutions for their VOLTRA Is. First was how to get a reverse hyper for the Hyper Pro, with a VOLTRA.

And second was a dude who managed to rig DUAL VOLTRAs for some very heavy pulldowns.

I’m a little focused on VOLTRA posts lately, mostly because I’ve been using them so much. I’m thinking through a lot of accessories and set-ups for them for my new rack, so these posts have got me going!

Upcoming AMA

By the time this email arrives, Tim from GymCrafter will be done with his AMA. I’m going to be recording an AMA Warm-Up with David Dennis from Gorilla Strength, and currently setting up an AMA with Concept 2.

One Last Thing…

We just finished watching a show called The Joe Schmo Show. It was hilarious in how stupid it was. The premise is that they have a reality game show, but only 1 person is actually playing. Everyone else are actors, all in on it, to create a storyline they’ve pre-written.

If you have some free time, this was worth a watch. Don’t expect to change the way you live, end it wanting to watch it again, or anything like that. Just a decent show worth a shot.