To do a T Bar row at home is not too difficult. A 6 ft. barbell is really required here. Remove the collar and any weights from one end. Place an old jumper or small blanket on the floor in a corner of your workout room (to protect your walls from damage). Now place the end of the bar with no weights into the now cushioned corner. Add the required weight to the free end, tighten the collar.
There are two ways to go from here. The first is to bend over, knees slightly bent, back slightly arched and eyes looking forward. You can use a two handed grip, one in front of the other just behind the weights, pulling up to the chest, exhaling all the way as the weight approaches the chest. Lower the weight to arms length inhaling as you lower. Repeat.
The second way and by far the best is to invest in the "T" part of the T Bar. At your local hardware shop purchase a metal pipe approximately 3 ft. (91 cm.) to 3 ft. 6 ins. (105 cm.) long and approx. 1 to 1.25 inches (2.5 to 3 cm.) in diameter. Make sure that the actual metal thickness is at least 1 to 2 mm. Find the midpoint of the bar and mark it clearly.
Find a broom handle and remove the broom bit. You can also use a piece of scrap round wood the same thickness as a broom handle. Lay it on the ground (concrete or brick). Do this near a wall. Place your T Bar over the broom handle making sure that the mid point is exactly mid point of the broom handle.
Put one foot on one end of the T Bar and then for support place both hands on the wall. Now gently put your other foot on the other end of the T Bar. You should find yourself able to balance like a see-saw. Bend your knees slightly and with all your force push downwards equally on both ends of the T Bar. With good luck on your side you should find that your T Bar has a nice ever so slight "V" shape. In other words it should have bent in the middle.
You can now slide your T Bar under your barbell (as close to the plates as possible) until it reaches the middle of your slightly "V"ed T Bar. The barbell should now naturally stay in place during use. Grip your T Bar with knuckles facing forward. For comfortable width apart and stability I have my hands just touching the plates. Experiment to find your best grip spot. Perform the movement as described above for the first way, only difference is you now have a proper T Bar.
For weights above 200 lb (90 kg) you may consider a solid bar. For a solid bar obviously my bending technique will no longer work. Purchase a solid bar from a steel works and they will bend it for you.
Now for the workout. I've changed it a bit. The first four sets are warmup sets - perform only up to the required number of reps. The next three sets are to failure with the last set as a flushing set. Easy peasy.
T Bar Row.
50.0 kg (110 lb) x 10 reps (10)
55.0 kg (121 lb) x 9 reps (9)
60.0 kg (132 lb) x 8 reps (8)
65.0 kg (143 lb) x 7 reps (7)
70.0 kg (154 lb) x 4 reps (6)
75.0 kg (165 lb) x 3 reps (5)
80.0 kg (176 lb) x 2 reps (4)
50.0 kg (110 lb) x 10 reps (16)
Leg Extensions.
32.5 kg (71.7 lb) x 20 reps (20) *
30.0 kg (66.1 lb) x 15 reps (20)
30.0 kg (66.1 lb) x 11 reps (20)
"Necessity is the mother of invention, it is true - but it's father is creativity, and knowledge is the midwife." - Jonathan Schattke
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