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How to make an Olympic Weightlifting Platform

4/5/2022

2 Comments

 

So you're thinking about making our own platform :)

If you've lifted on a good platform you know nothing beats it. It's the best surface to lift on and once you have one you'll wish you had made one years ago. 

Things to consider:

Where will it go - inside or outside? 

Logistical concerns and available space will determine this for you. There are a lot of factors to consider. Inside is a lot easier logistically speaking. In the end I decided to have mine outside. Nothing is better than training in the sun. But this requires creating at least a relatively level surface to place it on (which may be quite a challenge depending on what you are working with) and it also requires water treating all the plywood. 

Do you have anyone to help? 

 Making a platform is definitely a 2 person job, especially if you plan to do the install outside. It can be done by yourself, as I did mine, but it is a bit harder that way. Time and weather concerns may also play a role in the ability to get aspects of the project done, such as treating the wood and letting it dry. Once the platform is assembled it is diffuclt to move as well so keep this in mind. 

What materials and tools are needed to make a decent platform?

4 sheets of 4 ft x 8 ft plywood - 1/2" thickness works well - these can be low grade - but find the straightest most level sheets you can. 
1 sheet of 4 x 8 plywood - 3/4" thickness (matches rubber mats) - find high grade for that appearance if you can - also find the most straight and level sheet.
3 sheets of 4 x 6 horse stall mats are needed. They are 3/4" thickness. These will need to be cut as well (like the mats pictured above)
A Box of a few hundred 1" Deck screws.

What tools are needed?

A Drill or Impact Driver
Measuring Tape
Straight Edge for tracing cut lines
A long and thin box cutter - it's the best way to make straight and clean cuts on the horse stall mats. * This is important because there appears to be no other easy way to make straight, clean cuts *

Things you might need:

Circular saw (if the top plywood sheet isn't cut to 3.5 feet at the store - as you should have them do)
a Rake, Hoe, or Tamper if placing platform outside.
Thompson's water seal or similar water treatment if outside.
A roller or brush to apply the water sealer.
Leveling string and material to create a level surface that measures 8x8ft is a good idea though not necessarily mandatory. 

Instructions:

Modify these directions as it makes sense for your application, whether indoors or outdoors and what materials are available.

1. Take 2 of your approx. 1/2" lower grade plywood sheets, orient them linearly and parallel to each other.
2. Take the other 2 approx. 1/2" low grade plywood sheets, orient them horizontally (perpendicular to the bottom sheets), and place them on top. 

Take your time and line up the edges as perfectly as you can. Orient the sheets so they lay as level and straight as possible. Once you've settled on the best orientation, this will create the base of your 8'x8' platform. 

3. Take your Impact Driver and 1" deck screws and screw the boards together. Go all around the edges in even spacing, and place some in the middle of the sheets as well. Make these as level and as flat as possible, you want the most sturdy foundation possible with no gaps. 
4. If your high grade 3/4" plywood sheet isn't cut to 3'6" x 8' instead of 4'x8', cut it so that it is 3'6". This will create some more space for the bumper plates to land without them crashing down on the plywood sheet. 

5. Place your nice plywood sheet running perpendicular to the top layer of boards on the base. Make sure it is perfectly center on each side. Do the math and measure and mark. Hint: there should be 27" of space on either side of the top sheet of the platform. Once you have it right, start screwing it down along the perimeter only, evenly spaced. Make sure it is as flat as possible against the foundation boards. 
6. Use a straight edge to mark your cuts on your horse stall mats. Use a straight edge to cut against. These mats come in 4'x6' rather than 4'x8'. So you can make a 27" cut in one horsestall mat to get one side. Then take another mat and make another 27" cut. Do this using a straight edge, and use your exacto knife or box cutter, making a perfectly straight slicing motion along the straight edge, over and over again until you have cut through. Now you have 2 different 27" strips that are 6' long. 

7. Now take one more mat, and then cut it so you end up with 2 different  27" x 2' pieces, which combined with the others you have will create your 27" x 8' long rubber strips on either side of the platform

8. Place the machine cuts against the center piece of the plywood for the most flush fit. Once you have it arranged, screw the mats down to the platform using your deck screws, go along the perimeter, don't screw in the middle so you aren't dropping your bumpers direectly on screw heads all the time. 

9. Hopefully this was constructed where you want it to end up, otherwise, you must move it to where you want it. This task is fun. :)
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The platform is sturdy enough to perform well even on an uneven surface with rocks present. It is noticable that it isn't perfect this way, but it's a huge improvement nonetheless. If I were to do this project again outside, I would spend more time leveling the surface first before assembling the platform. Once it is assembled it requires some help to move it. 

But it is awesome lifting on a platform outside and it is well worth the money and the effort it takes. 
2 Comments

Gear Review: ForceUSA Walkthough Trap Bar Review and Install

3/14/2022

0 Comments

 

ForceUSA Walkthrough Trap Bar

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This bar ships in a box, so it arrived quickly and it requires assembly. Assembly is a 1 person job if you are mechanically inclined. This is a plus as most companies do not have an open trap bar design bar available at all, and if they sell one, it's either out of stock or it's waiting for a custom build with a lead time with shipping of many weeks. There are some downsides to this method though I'll mention later.

Upon first inspection, the trap bar itself feels sturdy, and it weighs 60 lbs. The welding on the corners is not up to the quality of what we expect from American Barbell or Rogue Fitness, there are imperfections and even certain corners that aren't fully closed. However the rigidity of the bar itself is not in question to me. 

The hardware is high grade and appears to be stainless steel. Though for some reason it's all in the hex key format. The brackets for the handles are strong and the handles are free floating as well, which creates an interesting feeling when lifting with this bar. The diameter is larger than my preference, seems like 32mm rather than 28mm though not positive. You have the option of lifting with 2 different height handles as well which is a convenient feature. The assembly of the handles is straightforward as well. You can see the basic components below.

One of the best features of this bar is the jack feature, where you can lift it up on its side, which makes it super easy to slide on and off all the weightplates. In practice it is fantastic. 


As you put the brackets for the handles together it starts looking like this.

Then you assemble the barbell sleeves and the trap bar handles on the brackets with the components below. The handles assemble nicely and feel very sturdy. See photo on bottom right. 

And that leads to the rub that I have with this product. These bolt on "sleeves." Also known as the down side of having this thing delivered in  a box. The compromise is the sleeves. The barbell sleeves are my least favorite part of this bar. I am not used to hollow, bolt on barbell sleeves. (bottom left photo) Not only are they hollow but also conspicuously short.
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​Even the bolts, while of decent girth are short IMO for their intended purpose. The sleeve diameter is not even standard, too much play with the weightplates, and normal OSO collars don't work, so you're forced to use spring collars. The components even when assembled do not feel as sturdy as I had expected. These are not real barbell sleeves if you know what I mean. I even had a little difficulty with the outside end of the sleeve and getting these torqued to my satisfaction with the tools and hardware provided. 

The bar is rated for up to 660 Lbs. I have no doubt that the limiting point is just the sleeves. The rest of the bar is probably good for much more. I am pleased with the balance and sturdiness of the product.

Despite not being a fan of the components and design of the sleeves, let me be clear though that once the sleeves were assembled, they seemed to perform adequately during my testing. It did not feel like the sleeves would break or struggled to support loading up to 150 lbs on each side, and I believe I could put another 100 on each sleeve without worry. That would be 250 + 250 + 60 which comes out to 560 and it's rated to 660. My impression is that it would start getting iffy around that point in my judgement. Most won't ever need to lift this much though so unless you're a hardcore competitor, this will work just fine. In other words, the performance of the sleeves in testing was better than I had anticipated and this calmed my hesitancy about the sleeves.

​The sleeves look like this when assembled, with another bolt coming in from the end of the sleeve. (not pictured here)
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Final product looks like this, and it is really fun to lift with. The hardware looks nice and it defintely gets attention when people see it as well. Overall I like it and I'm glad I got it and took a chance on this product. One day though I may upgrade to one that doesn't have bolt on sleeves like this. I am happy with it though. 
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Gear for COVID-19 Home Workouts

3/26/2020

2 Comments

 

Shelter in place - Quarantine... No Gym... Ok, I'll make a small investment in some home gym equipment for the time being... but what do I get?

Considerations: Size, Convenience, Versatility, Cost, Durability
Sand Bag -
The sand bag is extremely versatile, convenient, and relatively inexpensive for gym equipment. It also is relatively small, easy to store, and extremely durable. You can do anything with it, and you can get a great workout very easily. Whether you are going to do Carries, Power Cleans, Thrusters, Drags, Throws, Swings, the activities are only limited by your creativity. The instability of the load creates interesting demands on core stability and makes for fun workouts. During this shelter in place, I've found myself gravitating to my BruteForce SandBag every day.  Recommended manufacture BruteForce Training. (Don't go cheap, you don't want ripping bags and sand spilling everywhere.)
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AirDyne -
Specifically, the Assault AirBike or the Rogue Echo Bike. These are versatile, but not as versatile as a Sand Bag or DB's or KB's. These are also relatively large machines so they require more storage space. They are extremely convenient because you just hop on and go. These are relatively expensive, although they are "cheap" compared to many other cardio machines. They last forever if you take a little care of them. I use one or the other every day, and I find myself on the bikes much more often than on the Concept 2 rower. It's such a great conditioning tool and it is so fast to just hop on and go and it's easy to integrate into WOD's, and you can build anaerobic power, glycolytic power, and aerobic power all on the AirBike by adjusting intensity, duration, and rest. ​
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Resistance Bands -
Probably the least expensive, very versatile, convenient, and durable (but less durable than the other gear listed), but limiting for max strength development on their own. These are great for warm ups, bodybuilding style training, rehab/prehab, rotational exercises and helping build range of motion. You can also use them in conjunction with others weights you might have like DB's to add resistance, which is one thing I love to do with these. These are also great for helping build range of motion for difficult movements such as Overhead Squats. Cook Bands are particularly great for corrective exercise. 
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DumbBells -
A staple in any gym. Relatively inexpensive for 1 or 2 pairs, but building a solid collection gets expensive. Also, DB's can present a bit of a challenge to store neatly. The convenience factor and durability of DB's are very high. The size is small which is great, but if you build a large collection the space requirements grow quickly. I use DB's often, particularly for bodybuilding style training as well as in WOD's. ​They can be a great alternative in workouts that use a barbell.
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KettleBells-
Another gym staple. Space/storage requirement is about the same as DB's, convenience is just as high, durability is extremely high, and cost is a little expensive when compared to DB's, particularly when you get a quality bell (a must). I love using these right now, as they create more of a challenge than DB's do and you have some more freedom of movement and more complexity in what you can do with them. I gravitate to the bells more so than the DB when looking for a quick way to build strength and especially when looking for a weight to use in WODs. These are great tools and will last forever. Quality comes into play with KB's, so try a reputable manufacturer, such as KB Kings,  Rogue, or Vulcan. 
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Sliders-
The ultimate core training tool - whether you get the cheap plastic furniture sliders or some of the best like the Havak Sliders, you get a ton of versatility, and easy storage as these are small. They range from super cheap to a medium price. This is another tool where you are only limited by your imagination. Great calisthenics and core strengthening options with the sliders. 
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Any of these additions to your gym at home will be great add-ons that will enhance your ability to maintain or improve your fitness when you don't have time or access to a commercial gym. The best, most convenient way to build and maintain fitness over your lifetime is to remove as many barriers to training as possible. It doesn't get any better than having instant access to maintain or build fitness right in your garage or a room in your house. You've got instant access to food and to showers. You've got instant access to all your own music. You have to create a space in your house where you can work on your health and fitness for the sake of yourself and for your family in the future. 
You don't have to do it all at once, just pick something that works for you and start from there. 
2 Comments

Do you have a plan going into this Holiday Season?

10/21/2019

4 Comments

 
Did you know that the statistics say that the average American adult gains over 1 - 3 lbs of fat tissue every year.
A smaller percentage gains up to 5 lbs.
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Add this up over 20 - 40 years, and you can see where that road goes.
​Dwindling muscle strength and bone density and increasing burden of carrying extra fat tissue weight and decreased metabolic function / or increased metabolic disease is not a recipe that produces a good outcome. 
But here is the TRICKY part. Almost 100% of this weight gain occurs from Halloween to January. That means that most Americans manage to stay about the same for almost the entire year. Save for Oct 31 - Jan. So, a great plan to avoid a decline in health is to address what you're doing during the holiday season! 
Also: the most active people gain the least weight during the holidays, and the people that are already overweight, gain the most weight over the holidays. Yikes. Even the most fit and active individuals need to have a plan to address their health and food intake during the holidays, that's how they stay fit and active in the first place. If you aren't fit or active, it's all the more reason to come up with a plan right now to avoid that negative turn this holiday season. 
Strategies: 
  1. ​Continue or create a new workout plan and stick with it through the holiday season! Engage in both strength activities and conditioning activities. 

  2. Limit the frequency with which you intake highly caloric holiday foods, and limit the amount of consumption when you do participate.

  3. One of my favorite strategies, is to eat a medium to large very healthy meal, with lots of vegetables, before I attend holiday parties. This way I do not arrive hungry, which is the WORST thing you can do. And even if I do decide to grab something, I end up only eating a small helping because I'm already full, and I can enjoy that small portion without guilt and without significant consequence. The veggies from the meal before contain fiber, which helps reduce the blood sugar and insulin spike that results from eating party foods, as well, which helps to a degree.

  4. My other strategy is to make sure and do something physical the day of the party, whether it is before or after the party, a workout or some type of manual work/walking, anything that gets my metabolism elevated to help restore a proper energy intake/output balance. I try very hard to do this.

  5. Another great strategy is to drink a lot of water during these parties, which will help keep you feeling full and can help you avoid drinking a ton of sugar and calories, and if you do decide to indulge in a caloric drink, you won't need 5 of them because you already had so much water.
Following this line of logic allows the best of both worlds. You enjoy your parties, although in a moderate and tempered fashion, and you maintain your health and wellness, which is better for you and better for your family. And it prevents you from being a statistic, which is awesome. 
Create that plan now. And have the discipline to stick with your plan! 
​If you need help, contact me and I will be glad to help with this :) 
4 Comments

So I'm Back from Basic Training

8/15/2019

3 Comments

 
"So how was it?" seems to be the thing that everybody wants to know :)
I was pretty brief answering that question when I got back. So many things happened that it's hard to choose what to talk about. I'll share some of the photos I have and some highlights and things that stick out in my mind for now.

Basic Training is its own little universe with its own set of rules. The difference between civilian life and basic training life is like the difference between night and day. They are just very different.

Resilience, adaptability, and attention to detail are qualities that serve you well in that environment, both mentally and physically. Patience, and influencing the group to work together, are also important skills. The smallest mistakes, missed details, or tardiness come with immediate consequences, and not only for the offending individual. 

There are NO PHONES, NO COMPUTERS, NO INTERNET, NO NEWS, NO SPORTS, NO NOTHING. All you have are your Drill SGT's and battle buddies. 

The days feel extremely long, but the weeks feel very short. There were some days where I had never been so miserable in my entire life :) The Field Training Exercises like "The Forge" were very challenging. 

Wake up at 0500 +/- almost everyday, and lights out 2130 almost every night.  That's a very long day. 
Every single place you go, there are Drill SGT's present, and you don't go anywhere alone. 
All 50+ people in your platoon needed to be down in the correct uniform fully accounted for in formation by 0530, showered, shaved, etc.  For many this proved a struggle in the beginning and we paid for it. 

There are a lot of classroom briefs and there is a lot of memorization. 

You train, you learn, you clean, you get tested, you get put in leadership roles, you do training events that are graduation requirements that you MUST pass to escape basic training... Obstacle Courses, Shooting Ranges (marksmanship), Grenade Range, Victory Tower / Ropes Course, Ruck Marches, Land Navigation, Field Training Exercises, Squad Tactics, Combatives, Drill and Ceremony, Combat Casualty Care, Radio communications, and the like are the things we practiced and learned. You went everywhere with your m4, you even went to the DFAC (cafeteria) with it slung and ate that way. 

There are moments you have out in the field in basic training where you will question everything. And you think about how you could be back home chillin at the coffee shop with your wife with not a thing to worry about. In those moments, a strong sense of purpose, will, camaraderie, and never quitting are the things that will carry you through.

​I missed my family, friends, and my clients a lot. But I knew the fastest way to get back to those things was to do the best I could and graduate Basic Training - so I put all my effort into that. When I wasn't working, I spent the little time that I did have available to either organize and clean gear or write to my wife/family.
Some of the main takeaways that stick with me are  "I always take care of my arms, my equipment, and myself." 
The other one is that no matter how unbelievably miserable things can get, YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN NEVER QUIT. You can push yourself much farther than you currently realize - whether you were well trained going in or not.  If you think a lot about those things, you realize how much they can set you up for success and separate you from the rest of the population. 

My Strength and Conditioning system prepared me extremely well for what was expected of me. I came in performing in the top 10% on the initial PT test. If there was a weightlifting test, and a well rounded crossfit style fitness test, I'd have destroyed. 

My strength, and in particular my core, hip, glute, and back strength, did serve me extremely well though.  There nothing that they threw at me that my body wasn't capable of withstanding. Some folks who were under-trained suffered fractured hips under the constant stress. 

The only change I would go back and make is to do a lot more Ruck Marching. No matter how fit you are, when you are on mile 20 and it's completely dark and you're bleeding and you can't feel your arms, you've got skin floating about in your boots, and can't form cohesive thoughts or movements, you can't overcome that with fitness. You can only overcome that with will. More physical and mental exposure to difficult ruck marching circumstances would have helped though.

Fitness and strength do not overcome technique in combatives. You can't rely on it to defeat a well-trained opponent. You must be very familiar with BJJ and striking to perform well. 

When you train functional movement patterns, the lunge, deadlift, and squat, and you train them unilaterally, you win.
When you train your core and you cover rotation, anti-rotation, flexion, extension, anti-flexion, anti-extension, in different stances and positions, you win.
When you train upper body with full range of motion in all planes of motion, and you've got shoulder stability and strong lats, you win.

All you have to do is take it one day at a time and pass all your graduation requirements, and not do anything monumentally stupid, and you will graduate and you will get to leave :)
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What's a good snack?

3/19/2019

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What should I eat for a snack?

This is another question I get all the time. I mean, it is a good question on its' face. We both know most commonly available snack foods are just a bunch of junk. So it can feel difficult; but with some planning you can have some healthy snacks that help you AND taste pretty good.
  1. Ask yourself, what's wrong with most snack foods?
    Most snack foods are processed junk. Full of sugars and all kinds of chemicals, preservatives, fats, and they have little to no nutritional value in terms of micronutrients or protein.  Precisely the kind of thing that sabotages your entire day in terms of getting fitter. You wreak havoc on your hormones, digestive system, and gut bacteria. And you suffer from increased cravings and insulin spikes and crashes. Long term, it makes you mentally and physically weak, and it makes you gain bad weight. Don't do this. Avoid this at all costs. It's the worst saboteur imaginable. 

  2. How do I avoid this problem?
    Find and/or prepare REAL food to eat.. Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, Healthy Fats, Proteins... 

  3. Examples that qualify as decent snacks:
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Nuts and Seeds - trail mixes - walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, almonds, etc. Great mineral content, some fiber, some protein, and generally healthy fats as well. These pack a quick punch though, as the fat content makes the calorie content high relative to the amount of food you eat, so watch for overconsumption! Also, none of the fake crap, like the ones with a bunch of reeses cups and M&M's and all that junk. REAL nuts and seeds..

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Greens - Salads - one of the best ways to feel full without consuming a ton of calories. The trick here is to eat it with things you like and get greens that are good quality and fresh.. Personally I love to use olive oil and some blue cheese on salads - fantastic. Olive Oil, as long as it isn't cooked at high heat, also has a lot of the type of fats that are really good for you, another bonus. Tons of fiber and some mineral content - as well as a ton of water content. 



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Fruits - Low Glycemic and lower carb options are great snacks for when you don't have to do any high energy outputs, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. If you have some high intensity or long duration cardio coming up, you may be better off with something that has higher carb content such as an apple or a banana. Either way, fruits can make for a great snack that is healthy with fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that help fight the stress of working out.  Just avoid overconsumption.. carbs are still carbs, regardless of the source. 



Smoked Salmon - one of the holy grails of the snack world as far as I'm concerned. Anti-inflammatory Omega 3's by the bushel and a ton of high quality protein? And no carbs? Sign me up. 


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Paleo Frozen Meals - I used to wish for these daily when I was first introduced to Paleo and followed the nutrition program. I had great results with this program. I am mostly paleo now, and I love these Paleo frozen meals during the day when I have limited or no time to cook / eat. Life savers. It feels great to know you're eating something convenient that is also extremely clean, natural, and healthy. ​
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Protein Bars - as a rule, most of these are crap. Full of junk - artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives, carbs of all sources, questionable protein sources.. But there are some decent ones! One of the best and commonly available protein bars out there is the Clif Builder bar and the Clif Whey protein bar. Yes the builder bar uses soy protein, (less than ideal), but it's about as close as it is going to get to a good protein bar when examining the ingredients list. 

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​The other option is Epic Bars, they are actual bars made of real protein, such as salmon, chicken, or beef, venison, bison, mixed with fruits or spices. Definitely paleo and some taste good - I love the chicken sriracha. 
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Avocado/Guac- filling - nutritious - healthy fats - so tasty. ​It goes with almost anything. Can't lose. 
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Nitrite/Nitrate free grass fed meats: If you're going to have snack / lunch meat - make sure it's nitrate and nitrite free, and grass fed. That's where all the negative consequences come from ​
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Salsa: Think about it. What's in Salsa?? VEGGIES. Just get a natural one, none of the corn starch thickened sugar added processed crap.. Can't really go wrong with a natural salsa, not to mention the spice has capcaisin, this raises your metabolism :)​
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Birdseye frozen veggies. One of my go to's both as a snack and as the veggies for dinner. I throw some Olive oil and a little sea salt on there and it's delicious, and you get a ton of fiber and water and very low carb, and you feel full. The fiber slows down the absorption of sugars and fats as well which is generally helpful for your body comp and health. 
Try to eat veggies every time you eat a protein and your gut and intestines will thank you.


Smaller Servings of your prior meals - Homemade meals offer the best option when trying to find healthy snacks. Left-overs are fast, and if you made a healthy meal, such as veggies and a lean and natural protein, you just heat it up as a snack and you can't beat it. 
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Gear for the Warm Up

3/4/2019

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In my last post about building a home gym, I didn't mention anything specifically for the warm up. First of all, you really don't "need" any gear to do a good warm up, but gear can help with some specific things and definitely make certain aspects of a warm up more effective. Some of my favorite tools for the warm up are:
  • The Hip Circle 
    There is no better warm up tool that I have found to warm up the entire posterior chain and the hips in general. Your glutes, glute medius, all those deep external rotators in the hip, your hamstrings and hip flexors will all be functioning at a high level after doing some exercises with this band around your legs. If you workout at all on your own, whether that is running, weightlifting at a commercial gym, a home gym, or any other activity, consider it part of your general orders to have the Hip Circle to use as part of your warm up and injury prevention routine. It is particularly important to use before high intensity running and/or weightlifting. I consider it an indispensable tool. If you've trained with me before it's extremely likely you've used or seen these :) You can check out this video for some basic warm up instruction using the Hip Circle here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=if_MbHiy87w
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  • Resistance Bands (also called pull-up assistance bands)
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    This refers specifically to the type of band that is a loop; there are no handles. These bands are extremely versatile and also very durable. You can select bands of different thickness to provide various levels of resistance. There is a lat stretch that is absolutely fantastic, assuming the band provides a high enough resistance. The low resistance bands provide great shoulder mobility and overhead position warm ups. These tools provide great ways to improve the strength and reduce dysfunction and tightness in both the shoulders and the hips/low back area. Fantastic stuff. I haven't found the brand to be super important with these, although I will say I've had my EliteFTS bands for years now and they are still good. They are all made of latex. Check out this video that's full of great shoulder warm ups using this type of band by a great strength coach here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=235RWW0Ih9Y
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  • ​The Jump Rope
    The jump rope has been used extensively by professional boxers and martial artists as a warm up and a conditioning tool. It can be used to work on timing, footwork, and coordination as well. It's a great tool for a warm up and it's definitely one of the basics for the home gym. Quality is actually quite important for jump ropes, as the really cheap ones break often and do not spin or rotate well. Ropes that spin really well, preferably with bearings, are my preference. Heavy and high drag ropes also provide a great workout.  It's important to buy your rope at a custom length and gauge to best suit your build and training needs.  I've had a few RX Ropes for several years and they've never broken. They have great handles, the bearings are excellent, and the custom colors, length, and gauge steel cables are excellent. The steel cables are cheap and easy to replace in case they were ever to wear out. I have not had to buy a replacement set of handles ever. Check out the sizing guide and custom color options at www.rxsmartgear.com - the lighter the gauge wire the faster it will spin, and the heavier the gauge, the slower it will spin. Light ropes are great for double unders and triple unders. You have full customization here with RX. Check out a quick video showing some of the RX ropes in action here, some of you may recognize the Hades rope with the 3/4 lb steel cable line :)  www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbdGaSJa904 
    Another option for a great rope are Thai Boxing style heavy ropes - these are thick and heavy ropes and provide a great upper body stimulus as well as aerobic.

You can do a great warm up without these tools, but these are great lightweight and portable tools that would be a great part of your home gym. They also double as an addition to your gym bag to carry with you when you workout elsewhere. Most commercial gyms do not have these available, so consider acquiring this gear and learning how to use it whether you plan to use it at home, a commercial facility, or any public place.
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How do you make a garage gym?

2/24/2019

3 Comments

 

The Garage Gym... Where do I start?

The space in the garage is the most limiting factor when making your gym. Naturally then one should try to maximize the utility of the space that you have. This means being efficient with the layout and storage systems. This also means stay way from giant, heavy, bulky, non-versatile machines that you can't move! That means you Bowflex.. In this post I'm just going to focus on the BASICS of what gear you might want to get first, and I'll address it by category. 

What are the basics of a sound strength and conditioning program? 

Calisthenics:
What gear can you use for Calisthenics? The most helpful gear for Calisthenics are Olympic Rings and a STURDY PULL UP BAR, not the cheap door hanging plastic crap. You can make very serious strength gains with just these 2 tools. ​

Calisthenics:
- Olympic Rings
​- Sturdy Pull Up Bar 

Weightlifting: 
What gear can you use for Weightlifting? There are a lot of options here, Kettlebells, Dumbbells, Barbells, and Sandbags are my favorites. For many I would suggest investing in a decent barbell and bumper plates, but you can't go wrong with any of the aforementioned gear.  QUALITY of the KB is important. QUALITY of barbell and bumpers are important as well. Same with the sandbags, can you imagine a leaky one?? If you want to get in to the back squat, front squat, overhead squat, or jerk or overhead pressing variations, you might want to invest in some squat stands or a squat rack. 

What else might you want for weightlifting? 
In order to be able to protect your floor against dropped weights and metal objects, you'd want to consider some type of flooring, such as horse stall matts from Tractor Supply on the cheap end, to some interlocking rubber matting at the home improvement store, to some high end flooring from PLAE that will be the most awesome flooring you've ever seen. ​

Weightlifting:
- Barbell and Bumpers
- Kettlebells
- Dumbbells
​- SandBags
- Flooring

Core: 
All you really need for this is are sliders, either the plastic furniture slider variety or the hardcore Havyk gear variety :) Cook Bands, and an AbMat. ​

Core:
- Sliders
- Cook Bands
​- AbMats 

Conditioning: 
What can I use for conditioning at home? 
Bar none the best conditioning gear for a home gym is an AirDyne or a Rowing Machine. Specifically, an AirDyne from Assault Fitness, Rogue Fitness, Schwinn, or Concept 2. The rowing machine MUST be from Concept 2 don't waste your $ on anything less. Jump Ropes work for this purpose. Treadmill? Running outside is always an option, and treadmills are quite expensive and have a lot of moving parts that can break, so in general I'd say this is one of the last things you would need to acquire.

My first suggestion would be to get a Woodway or an AirRunner from Assault Fitness, which are non-motorized, curved deck treadmills that encourage proper running technique, have no top speed limit, and don't depend on a motor. They last forever and still have a console that measures everything you do. These are by far the best treadmills, and are the best for high performance runners and athletes. 

My second suggestion then is to be wary of the cheap home models, they are total junk, so don't be tempted. Instead, go with higher end motorized home treadmill. There is nothing worse in a garage gym than having some giant broken treadmill taking up space collecting dust. 

Conditioning:
- AirDyne
- Rowing Machine
- Treadmill (Like AirRunner) 
​

3 Comments

The YOLO Excuse

2/11/2019

1 Comment

 

"You Only Live Once"

​One of the #1 "reasons" given to abandon strength and give in to weakness.... I've been hearing this one ALL THE TIME lately, particularly from folks around my age. 


*When deciding, after that monster dinner out, whether or not to order that giant dessert... "YOLO" and they order it.
*When evaluating whether to go on a run and get fitter or binge Netflix... "YOLO" and they Netflix and chill.
*When deciding whether to pursue a goal or to give up and fall back on a more secure, easier path... "YOLO" why make life hard?
*When deciding whether or not to buy those cookies or some veggies... "YOLO" and they buy the damn cookies. 

The theme here is to use YOLO as an excuse to engage in behaviors that result in "short term" gratification at the expense of "long term" gratification. 


*If you follow this line of logic too far, this is a path that guarantees failure. One will never reach long term goals because that attitude results in the welcome acceptance of procrastination and excuses in order to have some fleeting and meaningless short term benefit. You could have all the potential in the world and accomplish next to nothing in life with this mindset. 



Let me offer a different take on this YOLO...



*If you only live once, shouldn't you try as hard as you can to accomplish your goals and dreams?

​- I'm going to work as hard as I god damn can to accomplish what I want in life because I only have one chance. I'm not going to squander it sleeping in every day, being addicted to social media, eating donuts, and slacking off. I'll be damned if I just waste it all. I want to operate at high-capacity in all things that I do. I'm not willing to accept mediocrity.

*If you only have one life, and one body from which to physically live life, don't you want to take care of it? 

- I'm going to be physically trained and fit. For my entire life. Because being physically capable provides FREEDOM. You can do all the activities. You have higher chance of success in any physical endeavor, accident, or dangerous situation. It keeps you healthy and mentally sharp. It gives you a competitive advantage over others. It sets a good example for the kids. In every way it is better, in any given situation, to be physically capable than it is to be physically incapable. Everyone has the power to improve their physical capacity. Building physical strength and endurance also builds strength of the mind and will. Do you really want to operate at 5 - 10% of your physical capacity for your entire life and never know what you could have done and accomplished? If you aren't physically capable, you lose the ability to make decisions. You lose freedom. 

*If you have only one life, don't you want to live with good health for the duration? 

- I'm going to work hard at being healthy for my entire life. I don't want to live 4 decades of my life suffering from preventable metabolic disease or other preventable body dysfunction. I want to live as much of my life as possible with good health. Why spend all your health acquiring wealth only to spend all your wealth trying to buy back your health? I don't want to lose the freedom that physical capacity and good health provide. I want to spend as little time as possible battling preventable health problems.. I'll take preventing them in the first place. 


*If you only live once, do you really want to waste it on self indulgence? 

- When you're old and you look back on your life, will you be proud you never took risks to go after your goals? Will you be proud that you just ate a bunch of donuts and got diabetes and got 1st in the Fortnight video game tournament? Will you be proud of chasing short term rewards instead of long term rewards? Does physical inactivity and binge eating and compulsive unhealthy behavior really make you feel good about yourself? Or is it when you do productive things that make you better, that you feel the most happy with yourself? In life, you feel more satisfied and you are more successful when you choose long term gratification behaviors over short term gratification behaviors. 



"Am I going to hit snooze and sleep in or get the hell out of bed?"
Get the hell out of bed, because YOLO
"Am I going to workout today?"
Yes, because YOLO
"Am I going to eat junk or eat healthy today?"
​Healthy, because YOLO
"Am I going to spend all day doing nothing, or am I going to hustle and get after it?" Hustle, because YOLO


1 Comment

How to choose a whey protein powder?

1/23/2019

1 Comment

 

**Walks into the store** - "How the hell do I choose which protein, and what the hell is the difference??" 

These are likely thoughts that might cross your mind the first time you seriously consider trying to buy a protein powder from a store or online. There are actually several important factors to consider in choosing your protein, and there are actually many differences between them. In this post I'll cover the basics of what you're looking for in a protein powder supp.

1. Look for "Informed Choice" or "NSF safe for sport" logo's on the bottle.

If you can't find either one of these, just put it back. The best, cleanest, and safest proteins all have this. These get tested thoroughly, and if you ever end up getting drug tested for a sport, nothing that is in the product will result in a positive test.  

2. Look at the Ingredients List: (Very Important)

Ingredients are listed in order from greatest amount to the least. So if your protein has anything else other than "protein" listed as the first ingredient, you know that there is a problem with this product. This is where you will check for what type of protein they use, or blend of proteins, if they use any creamers or fillers (don't want that), if they use artificial flavors or colors (don't want that), and if they put in other weird things, you would be surprised. You want the ingredients list to be as short as possible. 5 or 6 ingredients is a great product. A product with 30 ingredients is full of crap.

You typically want the first ingredient to be one of the following: (Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate) 
Avoid proteins that start with: (Whey Protein Concentrate, Calcium Caseinate) - lower quality proteins)

3. Look at Nutrition Facts Box: 

This also tells you very important information. Look at the serving size, which is listed in grams. Say the serving size is 50 Grams of powder. Next, look at Grams of Fat per serving, the Grams of Carbs per serving, and the Grams of Protein per serving. If your protein powder has a  50 gram serving size, and within that 50 gram serving, only 25 grams is actually protein, well what the hell is the rest?? Fats and carbs are extremely easy to find and eat on their own, so why buy a bottle of "protein" when only half of it is actually protein? Find a bottle that is 80 - 90+ % high quality protein. You want the carbs and the fat grams low, so that when you a buying a "protein", that's what you are actually buying. 

​Once you've gotten that far, you've evaluated your choice to a much higher degree than the average consumer. This is good. Those things by themselves are enough to make a good choice, but there are still a few more things I like to check...

4. Where is this companies headquarters, and where was this product manufactured?

I love it when a company is an American company and the product is manufactured at a GMP certified facility. This, when paired with NSF or Informed Choice, gives you the highest level of confidence in the quality of the product - that what is in the bottle is what is listed on the ingredients list. If you can not find where the company is headquartered, or there is no mention of where the product is manufactured, put it back. They are hiding something. There are some very clean products I am aware of coming out of Canada and certain European countries right now but my general suggestion is to look for American Made stuff that fits all the prior criteria. 

5. What is the Amino Acid Profile?

If the bottle you are holding posts the typical amino acid profile of a serving of the protein, go ahead and take a look at it and compare it to other amino acid profiles. You want to look for the ones with high levels of Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine, Glutamine, Arginine. If all other things are equal, and one bottle has 3,000 grams of leucine per serving and the other has 1,658 grams of leucine per serving, go with the one that has 3,000 grams of leucine! 

I always prefer when manufacturers list the amino acid profile on the bottle, but the majority of manufacturers do not provide the entire list. They may only say it has a certain level of BCAAs or a certain level of Leucine or Glutamine, which is the most important information you are looking for anyway. 

6. What manufacturing process was used? 

There are more and more ways Whey Protein is made. The main things you need to know is that liquid whey is essentially a byproduct of cheese manufacturing. Now some companies have made processes that extract the whey directly from the milk, which theoretically results in the highest quality because that extraction process is the most gentle and easy, so the protein is less "denatured" than what happens when it is derived as a byproduct of cheese manufacturing. 

So "Native" manufacturing processes, along with doing this with milk that is from cows that are grass fed and happy, is a great thing. This is also the most expensive method.

The next best method, is cross flow microfiltration. So if you see a product that says "cross flow microfiltration whey protein isolate" you can make the judgement that the quality of that protein is better than most. It is better than the one that says "whey protein isolate" without declaring the manufacturing process, and the one that says "ion exchange whey protein isolate / concentrate." 

​Ion exchange process is the cheapest and done at the highest temperature, which denatures the protein the most. 
Cold temp cross flow microfiltration is more expensive but results in a higher quality protein. 

Specific suggestions:
Dymatize Iso100 (no artifical colors or flavors version) (HQ in Dallas TX, Manufactured in GMP Faclities, Informed Choice Certified - Hydrolyzed Whey Isolate - (fastest absorbing whey protein there is) 

RivalUs Native Pro 100 (no artificial colors or flavors version) (HQ originally Halifax Nova Scotia, now Aurora Illinois since acquired by Nutrivo) (manufacturing done in U.S. in GMP Facilities) (Informed choice and NSF) (Native Whey protein Isolate)

1 Comment
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