Equipment Crew- Part II

[4MEandThem]

I scored 2 8' Tuff Stuff dumbell racks today for 70 bucks.
And if that wasn't enough.....

It turns out the guy I got them from is Alen Aerts.
He and his wife are both world class record holding powerlifters.
He is also the USPF chairman/judge/records chairman and the WPF
Vice Pres/record chairman.

What a experience to meet and talk with him.
He is a very successful businessman and seems to be very successful
in just about everything he does. He is quite the philanthropist too from what I read.

Seems to be a truly nice guy with a concience and one strong MOFO.
Over 50 and benching over 500 raw.

He has the best personal gym I have ever seen hands down! His wifes gym is in the same building as his but I didn't get to see hers.He has hundreds of trophys and photos lining the walls and some of the best equip I have ever seen. FREAKIN AWESOME.

He offered to let me come by and train with them for free.
I was totally floored but I don't really feel worthy.(really)
I may go check them out at their next meet though.

Tomorrow I have to totally rearrange my whole gym to fit the racks.
That should be a pretty good workout.

[Wildtim]

NOw Keetman, if you want to find Satan all you have to do is look fo the guy in red!

[yankeemarko1]

I always do some grip training at the end of back day on Tuesday. I have been doing my COC grippers. Tonight, I decided to break out my wrist roller. I haven't used it in awhile.

My forearms are fried. I forgot how well this simple piece of equipment works. It wore my ass out.

[buffbrown21]

I scored 2 8' Tuff Stuff dumbell racks today for 70 bucks.
And if that wasn't enough.....

It turns out the guy I got them from is Alen Aerts.
He and his wife are both world class record holding powerlifters.
He is also the USPF chairman/judge/records chairman and the WPF
Vice Pres/record chairman.

What a experience to meet and talk with him.
He is a very successful businessman and seems to be very successful
in just about everything he does. He is quite the philanthropist too from what I read.

Seems to be a truly nice guy with a concience and one strong MOFO.
Over 50 and benching over 500 raw.

He has the best personal gym I have ever seen hands down! His wifes gym is in the same building as his but I didn't get to see hers.He has hundreds of trophys and photos lining the walls and some of the best equip I have ever seen. FREAKIN AWESOME.

He offered to let me come by and train with them for free.
I was totally floored but I don't really feel worthy.(really)
I may go check them out at their next meet though.

Tomorrow I have to totally rearrange my whole gym to fit the racks.
That should be a pretty good workout.

Thats awesome man. You really ought to go by there for some training. He could probably give you lots of pointers and the experience alone would be priceless.

[Jimbo.]

lol, buff, that cracked me up, man.

Keet called it though, I proudly wear the burnt orange and have all my life. Keet the 05 game you are referring to was very freaking close, but your guys exacted revenge on us the following year. I don't think anyone handed the title to us though, unless you mean Vince Young. I'm glad we don't play Ohio every year. I remember being in Austin during the 06 game and it was like a huge sea of red walking towards the stadium. Ohio fans came down in the droves.

What happened to Texas in this years championship game, well, I wouldn't wish that on any team. Watching your starting QB leave the field and not return is a horrible feeling, especially in that important of a game. It will be interesting to see what this season brings, I couldn't believe how well Gilbert held his own in the second half (we will forget the first half). I love football, especially college level ball, I can't wait for this season.

[animalfan]

sorry guys- i'm in baseball mode right now. i'll let you guys fight it out for now

yesterdays workout:

seated row: 95x12, 125x10, 155x10, 185x10, 215x10, 245x6, 215x5, 185x5, 155x5
deadlift: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x2, 405x3, 425x1, 435x1, 315x3x3, 225x14

i used straps on the heavier sets, the gym at work only has one bar and it's smooth and a little bigger. i wanted to go heavier, but 435 as a struggle so i figured i should stop. after a day at work, i'll take it.

i've got video of a couple sets, but for some reason when i try to embed a youtube video it just shows up as a white box?

edit: here are the videos

[Keetman]

lol, buff, that cracked me up, man.

Keet called it though, I proudly wear the burnt orange and have all my life. Keet the 05 game you are referring to was very freaking close, but your guys exacted revenge on us the following year. I don't think anyone handed the title to us though, unless you mean Vince Young. I'm glad we don't play Ohio every year. I remember being in Austin during the 06 game and it was like a huge sea of red walking towards the stadium. Ohio fans came down in the droves.

What happened to Texas in this years championship game, well, I wouldn't wish that on any team. Watching your starting QB leave the field and not return is a horrible feeling, especially in that important of a game. It will be interesting to see what this season brings, I couldn't believe how well Gilbert held his own in the second half (we will forget the first half). I love football, especially college level ball, I can't wait for this season.

I was kidding about the '05 game, well kind of. I do believe that the OSU coaches handed you that game. That's not taking anything away from the '05 Texas team, they won and then they won out....earning their title. What I believe is that at that moment in time they were very evenly matched teams. Tressel and company played about 2 quarters of great football, got a minimal lead, then decided to entrench and play not to lose (which is one of the tenants of "Tressel Ball"). Against the caliber of team that Texas was that year, what that translated into is that you will end up giving the ball to a talented team vrs a fantastic (but exhausted) defense one time too many. The OSU also won out the rest of that year, and had they beat Texas.....they may very well have won another Championship themselves. Again, Texas earned theirs......I'm still just bitter about how the game ended (and, imo, the coaching misstep).

They also did the very same thing against Texas in the '09 Bowl game and again against USC last year. Tressel has like a 90% winning record, a championship, a bunch of B10 Championships, a bunch of wins over UofM, a bunch of BCS Bowl appearances (winning half of them), and just a bunch of good (regardless of what the haters spout off about). Unfortunately, he lives and dies by the defense and his teams are unable to open up when they get in a jamb (almost like they don't know how to score when there is 1:30 on the clock).

Its just frustrating to be so torn with the love/hate for the program. Plus, LLLLLLLLoyd Carr left Michigan, so who knows what the future holds.




I have a great respect for the Texas program though and was absolutely rooting for them against 'Bama.

[4MEandThem]

Thats awesome man. You really ought to go by there for some training. He could probably give you lots of pointers and the experience alone would be priceless.

I have decided to go.
If a world class lifter/trainer will give me free training and advice, I
would be a world class idiot to refuse it.

[buffbrown21]

I have decided to go.
If a world class lifter/trainer will give me free training and advice, I
would be a world class idiot to refuse it.

Good call. Knowledge is power.

[jfindon]

sorry guys- i'm in baseball mode right now. i'll let you guys fight it out for now

yesterdays workout:

seated row: 95x12, 125x10, 155x10, 185x10, 215x10, 245x6, 215x5, 185x5, 155x5
deadlift: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x2, 405x3, 425x1, 435x1, 315x3x3, 225x14

i used straps on the heavier sets, the gym at work only has one bar and it's smooth and a little bigger. i wanted to go heavier, but 435 as a struggle so i figured i should stop. after a day at work, i'll take it.

i've got video of a couple sets, but for some reason when i try to embed a youtube video it just shows up as a white box?

edit: here are the videos

Nice job on the deadlifts animal. You too on the PR eb, I keep wanting to try 530lbs, I'm due for new maxes all over the place.

Shoulders tonight.

Shoulder Press
135x5
135x5

205x5
205x5
205x5
205x5
205x5

Side laterals SS with front laterals

45x8
45x8
45x8

And guess who's getting new plates

[FatGymRat]

I have decided to go.
If a world class lifter/trainer will give me free training and advice, I
would be a world class idiot to refuse it.

Bingo. I was literally shouting at my laptop screen when I read yesterday that you were going to blow off the invite.

Good for you, and remember to share with your pals.
Maye grab a pic or two or even a digital camera movie if they allow.

[animalfan]

Nice job on the deadlifts animal. You too on the PR eb, I keep wanting to try 530lbs, I'm due for new maxes all over the place.

thanks- it wasn't a pr, but i felt pretty good about it after working all night. you've got 530 for sure, if not, it's in your head.

And guess who's getting new plates

what kind are you getting? congrats, i know you've been wanting them for a while!

[yankeemarko1]

sorry guys- i'm in baseball mode right now. i'll let you guys fight it out for now

I'm with you. Your Tigers look good. I think the wildcard will be Tampa so your boys better win that division. Either way, there will be some combo of Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Texas or Anaheim missing the playoffs. All good teams. Three will go home.

And guess who's getting new plates

Buying those Cemcos? Hmmm?

[animalfan]

I'm with you. Your Tigers look good. I think the wildcard will be Tampa so your boys better win that division. Either way, there will be some combo of Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Texas or Anaheim missing the playoffs. All good teams. Three will go home.

honestly, i don't know that they have played as well as they should. we got lucky a couple weeks ago and the twins slumped when we did- but the white sox are on fire. hopefully (for the tigers, anyway), they cool off.

as far as the tigers, the bottom of the batting order needs to pick it up, or at least hit as well as they have for the last couple weeks. it's good to see some production out of inge and the catcher's spot.

the pitching is what scares me, really. inconstistant starts and some spotty bullpen pitching, along with losing zumaya (again) makes me nervous. i'm glad that i was wrong about valverde, i knew he was good, but after he blew that save in kansas city early in the season, i really missed rodney. i'll admit, though, that i enjoyed rodney's pitching. kept me on the edge of my seat but got the job done. i was happy to see him fill in successfully for the angels, but not when he saved those games against the tigers.

but yea, i agree that tampa will most likely grab the wild card. as much as i dislike the yankees, they are a fun team to watch, and i don't see anyone catching up this season.

i'm also sorry to see "the boss" has passed on, he did whatever it took to make new york win, and was very good at it. he also turned that whole franchise around and definately made it into a dynasty.

[jfindon]

Yep, buying some Cemcos, found a great deal on brand new ones finally. Only thing is he only has 45s, so I'll need to keep an eye out for the smaller sizes. I won't need any 45s for awhile though, picking 14 of them up. It's a good start though.

[Wildtim]

Guess whos pulling 675 next week just to use his new plates

[Jimbo.]

Yep, buying some Cemcos, found a great deal on brand new ones finally. Only thing is he only has 45s, so I'll need to keep an eye out for the smaller sizes. I won't need any 45s for awhile though, picking 14 of them up. It's a good start though.

sweet, those are gonna be nice to have, I wish I could find someone local who sold better plates. I know of one place that sells Troy, but their prices aren't that great.

Last nights WO

Bench: 135x8, 185x5, 265x2x3, 285x1, 295x1(new pr ), 225x8
DB Flys: 50x8x3
BW Dips: 8x3

10 minute kettlebell circuit

Felt good, thats two nights in a row of hitting new PRs. Now I have a question about how you guys post your workouts, I type it like WEIGHT X REPS X SETS... or should sets come before reps? I just want to make sure I'm on the same page as everyone else.

Oh and congrats to Eb0!

[animalfan]

i write weight x reps x sets.

[Keetman]

Speaking of workouts......


Here's Yesterday:


Triple Superset #1

Wide Grip
Pullups- BW x 5

TBar
Rows- 105# x 5

Rear DB
Shoulder Raises- 20# x 6


REPEATED TWO MORE TIMES




Triple Superset #2

Wide Grip
Incline Bench- 115# x 8

Neutral Grip
DB Bench- 55# x 8

DB Flys- 25# x 8


REPEATED TWO MORE TIMES

(The weight is low, but this is pretty painful by the third set).




Triple Superset #3

Incline Reverse Crunch- BW x 12

HI Lo
Woodchopper- 80# x 15

BB Rollouts- BW x 12


REPEATED TWO MORE TIMES



Concept 2 Row:

1000m in 3:56.8 minutes (I was beat)



Total time- 48 minutes

[Mitrovski]

Looking good on the workouts everyone.

Started a new program, basically a modified 5/3/1. Not too far from what I was doing, but now it's set out what weights I'm supposed to do as opposed to just winging it. Think I understated my max though, cause I knocked out 2 sets of 2 for my 1+ set.

7/14
Deadlift
225 x 8
275 x 6
305 x 5
345 x 3
385 x 2
385 x 2

GHR
BW x 10 x 4 (Jimbo - I do weight x reps x sets as well)

GHD Situps
BW x 12 x 4

[jfindon]

Holy **** I'm dead. I am never rushing around to wash my car before squats again, easily the most challenging night since I started. When I went down to squat I was literally soaked with sweat and out of breath. Not to mention my left knee is still giving me issues. I really need to deload.

ATG Squats
135x10
225x5

390x5
390x5
390x5
390x5
390x5

First set I didn't think I'd make it through the session. Second set got a little better. Third set was going well and I thought, "Man this isn't too bad" during the 4th set, and as soon as I finished the thought my legs gave out at the bottom. I sat there for about 3-5 seconds with the weight on the spotters, then forced it up again somehow. That really took its toll and I probably shouldn't have done that, held my breath and felt the blood rush to my head. By the time I started the 5th set I could feel my legs seizing up and almost cramping so I quickly got it in, 5th rep was brutal.

Then I got stuck in the basement again to finish the night, couldn't make it up the steps.

[animalfan]

Speaking of workouts......

--snip--

Total time- 48 minutes

damn man, that made me tired just reading it.

Started a new program, basically a modified 5/3/1. Not too far from what I was doing, but now it's set out what weights I'm supposed to do as opposed to just winging it. Think I understated my max though, cause I knocked out 2 sets of 2 for my 1+ set.

what percentage of your max did you use to figure the weights? with 5/3/1, at least for the first few cycles, you should get more than the required reps on the last set most of the time. i don't know exactly what you are doing, since you said "modified 5/3/1", but if you are using that program as the backbone of yours, you should set it up with the same percentages.

Then I got stuck in the basement again to finish the night, couldn't make it up the steps.

nice job sticking with it. that's the dedication i wish i had all the time. i don't skip many workouts, but do move them back a day sometimes. i say it's being smart, but in reality i could just stop whining and get at it.

edit: here's mine for thursday.

bench: 135x8, 185x5, 225x3, 235x3x3
inverted row: bodyweight x10x6, bw+25x10x5
dips: 10x3, 8, 4
rope pressdown: 140x15x5
band pull apart: blue band x15x5


i'm not going to work tomorrow, my truck needs some work. water pump is leaking, cheap part, lots of work to change it. i'm going to try to get some squats in before the kids go to bed if it doesn't take too long. working saturday, gotta make the money. all the overtime my wife and i are stuck working has a positive to it- i'm paying off debt fast. the negative is i never get to see her, and don't get to spend as much time around the house and playing with the kids as i'd like.

[Wildtim]

Chevy Right? If you had a Ford it would be the alternator

Take some time to day for a good game of run though the sprinklers or something, Good luck.

It's actually been a week since I was in my gym. My church needed voluntiers to do a bunch of reapairs we've been putting off because we are pretty much broke. We got a big donation earmarked to fix stuff up before VBS so I've actually put in almost a full work week on the building and grounds. Half the guys working are retired and it seems like the other half are all ex-construction workers.

[yankeemarko1]

Anyone here besides me watching the Tour de France? Epic. These guys are machines. They ride 130 miles every day and don't even look tired at the end of the stage. 70 mph down the mountains on roads 15 feet wide with no guardrails. Crazy.

Because of the time difference it is on from 5:30am to 8:30am. I don't leave for work till about 8:45am so I get to watch every morning. Good stuff.

Time to start saving for that $10,000 bike!!!

[animalfan]

Chevy Right? If you had a Ford it would be the alternator

Take some time to day for a good game of run though the sprinklers or something, Good luck.

It's actually been a week since I was in my gym. My church needed voluntiers to do a bunch of reapairs we've been putting off because we are pretty much broke. We got a big donation earmarked to fix stuff up before VBS so I've actually put in almost a full work week on the building and grounds. Half the guys working are retired and it seems like the other half are all ex-construction workers.

yes, it's a chevy. i can't complain, i guess, it's got 149,000 miles on it and i haven't had to do much to it. besides brakes/tires/oil changes, i had to replace a resistor for the blower fan and charge the air conditioning. i think that's all i've done so far.

we just finished playing in the kiddie pool and on the swingset. good for you for working on the church.

Anyone here besides me watching the Tour de France? Epic. These guys are machines. They ride 130 miles every day and don't even look tired at the end of the stage. 70 mph down the mountains on roads 15 feet wide with no guardrails. Crazy.

Because of the time difference it is on from 5:30am to 8:30am. I don't leave for work till about 8:45am so I get to watch every morning. Good stuff.

Time to start saving for that $10,000 bike!!!

i haven't ever watched it, but i pay attention to sportscenter when they talk about it. it's on when i get to sleep- usually 3-4am until about 9.

do you remember when lance armstrong used to race mountain bikes? he was one of my favorite riders then, i used to love mountain biking. kinda funny since i'm from michigan, right?

[Mitrovski]

what percentage of your max did you use to figure the weights? with 5/3/1, at least for the first few cycles, you should get more than the required reps on the last set most of the time. i don't know exactly what you are doing, since you said "modified 5/3/1", but if you are using that program as the backbone of yours, you should set it up with the same percentages.

Ya, I am using the same percentages I got from an article on 5/3/1, but I can't seem to find it now. NM, I actually think it was this post on the forums:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=112382761

Hopefully that is good info. Regardless I'm doing it a little different then he has laid out.

Basically I'm going to do a longer cycle then the 4 waves on that page, and a dedicated Substitution week (namely band work and box/front squats):

Heavy (75%, 85%, 95%)
Light (75%, 80%, 85%)
Substitution for main exercise
Heavy
Light
Substitution
Deload (60%, 65%, 70%)
Max or repeat above with new numbers

***I may also throw a deload week in after the first sub week depending on how I'm feeling. Plan to decide when I get to that point


On a side note, I was planning on purchasing some wrist wraps from APT, my wrists scare me at times on bench. They'd come into play on my heaviest sets for the most part. I had it narrowed down to the ZRV Pro (20-24") and Black Mamaba (12", or longer but a lot of stuff over there is OOS). Since I'm only benching in the high 200's low 300's, any recommendations on style and/or length.

Also, I've heard good things about knee wraps, any pair from apt pretty much good? They have some on sale I was considering throwing in with my wrist wraps. 2m ok?

[yankeemarko1]

i haven't ever watched it, but i pay attention to sportscenter when they talk about it. it's on when i get to sleep- usually 3-4am until about 9.

do you remember when lance armstrong used to race mountain bikes? he was one of my favorite riders then, i used to love mountain biking. kinda funny since i'm from michigan, right?

Lance is pretty much out of this year. He had a flat tire in one stage and lost about 3 minutes. Then he got caught up in a couple crashes and is now about 17 minutes behind. Also, it doesn't help that he is in his late 30's. That is a young mans game. Those guys ride up those mountains faster than I can ride on flat ground.

[Jimbo.]

Lance is pretty much out of this year. He had a flat tire in one stage and lost about 3 minutes. Then he got caught up in a couple crashes and is now about 17 minutes behind. Also, it doesn't help that he is in his late 30's. That is a young mans game. Those guys ride up those mountains faster than I can ride on flat ground.

Yeah he said so himself that he is done this year, it's first place or bust for him. Gotta have a lot of respect for the guy though, dude is a beast. Also he is a fellow garage gym brother.





Squats tonight... I had a few too many brews last night with some buddies and it definitely showed. Oh well, its worth it, you gotta cut loose every now and again... and again.

Squats: 135x8, 225x5, 310x5x2, 310x3x3
SL Deads: 80x8x3

After that did some arm work, nothing worth posting though.

[jfindon]

Pretty much the same as last week again. Guess I should up the weight a bit.

Hammer curls SS with overhead tri extensions

50x8x30
50x8x30
50x8x30
50x10x30

Hammer curls SS with overhead tri extensions SS with regular curls

50x8x30x6

[animalfan]

Basically I'm going to do a longer cycle then the 4 waves on that page, and a dedicated Substitution week (namely band work and box/front squats):

Heavy (75%, 85%, 95%)
Light (75%, 80%, 85%)
Substitution for main exercise
Heavy
Light
Substitution
Deload (60%, 65%, 70%)
Max or repeat above with new numbers

***I may also throw a deload week in after the first sub week depending on how I'm feeling. Plan to decide when I get to that point

hang on- what part of 5/3/1 are you using? i've got the ebook and read it at least a dozen times, and i followed the program for almost a year. that isn't 5/3/1- unless that's your target reps for the main exercise. other than that, you made up a program and called it "modified".

that's not really a problem, though, i'm just confused as to what you are doing? you could use bands/etc for your assistance work after the main exercise. it's a very simple program that deserves a solid try (a few cycles) as it is written before it is modified. just my opinion, and i am not an expert.

On a side note, I was planning on purchasing some wrist wraps from APT, my wrists scare me at times on bench. They'd come into play on my heaviest sets for the most part. I had it narrowed down to the ZRV Pro (20-24") and Black Mamaba (12", or longer but a lot of stuff over there is OOS). Since I'm only benching in the high 200's low 300's, any recommendations on style and/or length.

Also, I've heard good things about knee wraps, any pair from apt pretty much good? They have some on sale I was considering throwing in with my wrist wraps. 2m ok?

i haven't looked at the apt site in a while, but i've got a few pair of their wrist wraps and a pair of knee wraps. make sure you get longer wrist wraps, i've got two pair that are 12" and they are way too short to give me much support- and i have small wrists. i haven't tried any other knee wraps so i can't give any advice there.

Lance is pretty much out of this year. He had a flat tire in one stage and lost about 3 minutes. Then he got caught up in a couple crashes and is now about 17 minutes behind. Also, it doesn't help that he is in his late 30's. That is a young mans game. Those guys ride up those mountains faster than I can ride on flat ground.

i saw that, it's too bad. he had a great run, drugs or not. i'm so tired of hearing about all of that stuff, i don't care one way or another, personally. he was awesome in the dirt and killed it on the road.

someone should talk to him about that rack in his garage, though. i'm sure he can afford better