Despite the piles of crap that have a tendency to accumulate there, I still like reading articles on T-Nation. The only ones that I truly value to any degree are usually written by Dave Tate, Jim Wendler, and Dan John. In other words, if they have to post an abbreviation-ridden description of who they are, chances are pretty good that I don't find a whole lot noteworthy in what they're saying.
That rule still held solid when some guy named Martin Rooney posted an article that popped up on my Facebook wall telling me how to train like a man... for the 7th time. Apparently, training like a man involved using a shitload of furniture and machinery that was only good for one or two lifts and, of course, these are going extinct because of ellipticals, kettlebells, ropes, and spinning classes.
Okay, I like the Roman Chair. That one should stay put in every gym, as far as I (a blogger who pollutes the whole gym scene) am concerned. The rest of the real estate-wasting stuff, well, why is anyone surprised that some machine that was the latest fitness trend 40 years ago got moved out in favor of yet another trendy pile of shiny new junk?
Call me crazy but anything designed to be used for only one or two exercises isn't going to last very long. Exercises do come and go. Too many people are going to follow what the latest strength hero who bursts onto the scene does to get his strength. When someone engineers a gym toy around today's muscle idol, don't be surprised when it fades away with that lunk. It's a never ending cycle.
Something that can be used for lots of different exercises justifiably both has a better chance and deserves to survive. Call my crazy but that's the stuff worth populating a gym space with. Were I to spend my money, my time and my effort on equipment I'd much rather have ropes, kettlebells and suspension straps in my place of muscle and mind. It worked so well for building big, strong bodies many years before we were convinced that powerful bodies were built like cheap cars with machinery.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
My Thoughts on Lance Armstrong
It must be both rewarding and annoying at the same time that after so many years, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) finally skewered Lance Armstrong for doping in his Tour De France. After rising above all of the dirty athletes to become the most dominant dirty athlete the TDF has ever known, they still couldn't seem to produce the magical positive test to prove that he was a drug users all along. Still, they can use their odd power to say that he was. It seems to me like such a hollow victory.
Yes, I firmly believe that Lance Armstrong used drugs to produce his record seven straight Tour De France victories. I have less evidence than the USADA has but since I'm just a puke with a computer and a blog address, I'm not burdened with any particular requirements to prove what I think. I just have the ability to connect the dots. Ironically, this isn't too far away from what the USADA has.
We can all agree that the Tour is a bike race, the most prestigious bike race in the world. There are other titles it has. One might be the most obvious example of a doped-to-the-gills sports events there is. Another title could also be a voluntary foray into a chronic wasting disease without dying...unless you used performance enhancing drugs. The simple truth about the TDF is that the speed of which the competitors race over such a distance and for the period of time they do it in would kill even the best non-chemically enhanced endurance athletes from muscle destruction alone. These competitors couldn't possibly do it without drugs. Their bodies would give out like a cancer or HIV patient. So, a seven-time winner would have to be doing something to rise above and take the title.
Another oddity about Lance Armstrong is his height and weight. When we read that he was 5'9 and 160 lbs at his peak, we don't think anything of it because it's so extra-average for an American Man. By professional cylists' standards, he might as well be Lou Ferrigno. Most of these guys on bikes are mighty midgets, most being 5'3"-5'5" and barely over 130 lbs. The extra size should put him at a disadvantage since most smaller people with less muscle mass to deliver oxygen to should render him in the bottom of the pack rather than a record-breaking run as king. Something odd was going on...
Going back to alternative titles to give to the Tour, a third title would be the longest-running, doped-up sporting event ever. Indeed, people have been cheating by taking things to win this race almost as long as the race has existed. To my knowledge, the earliest use of arsenic as a performance enhancer in sports was used in the Tour back in the early 1900's. Apparently, before it kills you, it gives your much-beloved, muscle-moving ATP quite a kick into overdrive.
So, taken into account that Lance Armstrong produced unheard of dominance in a race ridden with PED's for nearly as long as the race has existed, it's hard not to reason that he wasn't dirty as the rest of them were. Perhaps the flagrancy of his dominance and the fact that he couldn't be caught after all of the blood n' piss samples were in after the race was just too much for the powers-that-be to tolerate. Something had to be done.
What we can take away from this is that in the world of professional sports, there are few clean miracles left out there. We shouldn't burden ourselves with dreams of being just like these people unless we're ready to scour the Earth for the best in muscle-enhancing drugs to do get there. This is just another reminder that these people take bodies that most of us don't done have and fill them with substances we probably (and hopefully) don't want to take. That's not a path worth going down.
Yes, I firmly believe that Lance Armstrong used drugs to produce his record seven straight Tour De France victories. I have less evidence than the USADA has but since I'm just a puke with a computer and a blog address, I'm not burdened with any particular requirements to prove what I think. I just have the ability to connect the dots. Ironically, this isn't too far away from what the USADA has.
We can all agree that the Tour is a bike race, the most prestigious bike race in the world. There are other titles it has. One might be the most obvious example of a doped-to-the-gills sports events there is. Another title could also be a voluntary foray into a chronic wasting disease without dying...unless you used performance enhancing drugs. The simple truth about the TDF is that the speed of which the competitors race over such a distance and for the period of time they do it in would kill even the best non-chemically enhanced endurance athletes from muscle destruction alone. These competitors couldn't possibly do it without drugs. Their bodies would give out like a cancer or HIV patient. So, a seven-time winner would have to be doing something to rise above and take the title.
Another oddity about Lance Armstrong is his height and weight. When we read that he was 5'9 and 160 lbs at his peak, we don't think anything of it because it's so extra-average for an American Man. By professional cylists' standards, he might as well be Lou Ferrigno. Most of these guys on bikes are mighty midgets, most being 5'3"-5'5" and barely over 130 lbs. The extra size should put him at a disadvantage since most smaller people with less muscle mass to deliver oxygen to should render him in the bottom of the pack rather than a record-breaking run as king. Something odd was going on...
Going back to alternative titles to give to the Tour, a third title would be the longest-running, doped-up sporting event ever. Indeed, people have been cheating by taking things to win this race almost as long as the race has existed. To my knowledge, the earliest use of arsenic as a performance enhancer in sports was used in the Tour back in the early 1900's. Apparently, before it kills you, it gives your much-beloved, muscle-moving ATP quite a kick into overdrive.
So, taken into account that Lance Armstrong produced unheard of dominance in a race ridden with PED's for nearly as long as the race has existed, it's hard not to reason that he wasn't dirty as the rest of them were. Perhaps the flagrancy of his dominance and the fact that he couldn't be caught after all of the blood n' piss samples were in after the race was just too much for the powers-that-be to tolerate. Something had to be done.
What we can take away from this is that in the world of professional sports, there are few clean miracles left out there. We shouldn't burden ourselves with dreams of being just like these people unless we're ready to scour the Earth for the best in muscle-enhancing drugs to do get there. This is just another reminder that these people take bodies that most of us don't done have and fill them with substances we probably (and hopefully) don't want to take. That's not a path worth going down.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Homemade Weights Cable Exercise Machine
This is a great little build for those wanting to make your own pulley exercise machine.
Featured on Instructables.com this is an easy to build cable weights machine.
Check out the link for full details including a downloadable PDF with all the plans including dimensions
If you like the look of this you may also like to take a look at a previous homemade weights pulley machine featured here on DIYStrengthGear
Cable Exercise Machine
Featured on Instructables.com this is an easy to build cable weights machine.
If you like the look of this you may also like to take a look at a previous homemade weights pulley machine featured here on DIYStrengthGear
Cable Exercise Machine
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
How to Make Your Own Atlas Stone Mould
Atlas stones are superb for strength and conditioning training and feature in almost all strongman events. They are in fact a true strength of manliness and have been used for centuries to test this.
I have found this superb resource for making your own atlas stone mould
Check out the full article on Ontario Strongman where Grant Buhr runs through everything from stone sizes and weight, form construction to mould set up and fibreglassing
Although this process is certainly not a simple one, it would be very rewarding to make an atlas stone mould and atlas stone from scratch using this information
If you like stones and stone lifting you may be interested in making the next best thing to an atlas stone - the stone roller, this requires less gear and is great for training and strength testing
You may also like these atlas stone videos
I have found this superb resource for making your own atlas stone mould
Check out the full article on Ontario Strongman where Grant Buhr runs through everything from stone sizes and weight, form construction to mould set up and fibreglassing
Although this process is certainly not a simple one, it would be very rewarding to make an atlas stone mould and atlas stone from scratch using this information
If you like stones and stone lifting you may be interested in making the next best thing to an atlas stone - the stone roller, this requires less gear and is great for training and strength testing
You may also like these atlas stone videos
Saturday, October 6, 2012
My Pull Up Bar
Cost: $15
Project time: a few minutes
Difficulty: You can get the store to cut the pipe if you need to, so all you really have to do is drill out a hole in the wood and screw them into the wall. Very easy.
Tools Needed:
- Drill
- Hack saw (optional)
- Wood boring bit (the size of your pipe, probably 1 inch)
- Two 2x4 studs
- Long deck screws (probably 3 inch long)
- length of 1 inch (outer diameter) pipe (how long depends on where you're mounting it).
One thing I forgot to mention in the video is to make sure there is enough room between the wall (above the door) and the bar. If you mount it right in the corner like I did, and the bar is above the door there is not a lot of room. This isn't a big deal for PULL UPS, but if you intend to do CHIN UPS it can create a problem. My hands are small enough to do chin ups too but I can't put my homemade Fat Grips on there and do chin ups with those.
If this is a concern you should consider mounting it back away from the door a bit so you have plenty of room. I can't do that in this case because it's under the stairs so the cealing is angled and the farther away from the door the lower it gets. I have no desire to do fat bar chin ups so it's not an issue for me, but it's something to condise.
Remember this is just an idea. This is showing you what I did. Mounting a Pull Up bar is not a one size fits all project. Take these ideas and custom fit them into your space if you are interested.
- Carl
If this is a concern you should consider mounting it back away from the door a bit so you have plenty of room. I can't do that in this case because it's under the stairs so the cealing is angled and the farther away from the door the lower it gets. I have no desire to do fat bar chin ups so it's not an issue for me, but it's something to condise.
Remember this is just an idea. This is showing you what I did. Mounting a Pull Up bar is not a one size fits all project. Take these ideas and custom fit them into your space if you are interested.
- Carl
Friday, October 5, 2012
DIY Neck Harness
Cost: $10
Project time: depends on if you use a machine or sew by hand
Difficulty: You have sew. If you don't know how it's easy to learn.
Tools Needed:
- Sewing Needle or Sewing Machine
- Lashing Straps or Towing Straps
- Strong Thread like Upholstry thread
- Duct Tape (optional)
- 2 Carabiners
- Velcro hook and loop
- Carl
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