Equipment Crew- Part IV

[urbanlifter]

This forum has other sections?

LOL, on spread.

[Synthetickiller]

Which exercises are you referring to? I ordered this book too. When I first got it, I looked up that Dr. Tom bar and it's ungodly expensive - had to sub hammer DB curls for neutral grip barbell curls. I guess a Dr. Tom or swiss bar would work for exactly what he recommends. And I don't have chains for Month 2.

I did the same thing. I just used dumbbells in place of that damn bar. Someone needs to make a version of the Dr. Tom Bar that's affordable (just tweak it). Frankly, Rolling dumbbell extensions for triceps work really, really well and all you need are dumbbells.

I didn't even know the name of the bar. Maybe I glossed over it? I just did what I needed to. I did the first month & I noticed some size increase. I just couldn't do the 2nd phase b/c I lack a preacher curl. I also lack a dipping station.
I have chains, but like I said, didn't get there for other reasons mentioned above. Bands would be too harsh. Depending on how you train, chains are awesome. I think they are a highly overused tool that's used incorrectly. Very few really use it properly.

I haven't bothered to go back to working the routine in as I am having issues recovering as it is.

[THErunCMD]

the issue for me with sous vide steaks is that i'm not convinced the water bath is worth bothering with for 2 or fewer steaks. i have to use the skillet anyway to finish them and the skillet produces awesome results without it.

if i'm cooking for more than me and the wife, i'll whip out the circulator asap. i can get however many steaks i need into the water and then get the grill ready.

IMy wife doesn't eat meat (i know, i know), and my daughter is along for the ride so it's usually just me and my 4yo boy splitting steaks. The key thing with the sous vide is being able to time readiness much more precisely. Again, if you sear them first they don't even have to rest when they come out of the bag. My dad is an old school guy and was extremely skeptical but a steak done right on the sous vide turned him around.

[Domicron]

IMy wife doesn't eat meat (i know, i know), and my daughter is along for the ride so it's usually just me and my 4yo boy splitting steaks. The key thing with the sous vide is being able to time readiness much more precisely. Again, if you sear them first they don't even have to rest when they come out of the bag. My dad is an old school guy and was extremely skeptical but a steak done right on the sous vide turned him around.

so you sear it before and after the water bath? according to the Food Lab the presear is unnecessary i thought; the water bath doesn't need resting either way

[THErunCMD]

so you sear it before and after the water bath? according to the Food Lab the presear is unnecessary i thought; the water bath doesn't need resting either way

Only pre - and cold out of the fridge. That way the sear doesn't cook any of the inside of the meat. If you sear post you will definitely want a rest. I've tried sears all different ways. Grill, skillet, searz-all attachment. On asteak I find the best method (for me) has been pre-sear on cast iron in butter and then sous vide.

[Domicron]

but then the crust is soggy when it's out of the bag...no? still, that's interesting...maybe will give it a shot later

[keyboardworkout]

So, no sh!t story.

I just got back from Chipotle and standing in front of me in line is a gal in a Leblanc-Bazinet Games jersey. She ordered a double chicken bowl.

Well, guess what....it actually was. No idea why she is in AZ.

[Bench905]

I did the same thing. I just used dumbbells in place of that damn bar. Someone needs to make a version of the Dr. Tom Bar that's affordable (just tweak it). Frankly, Rolling dumbbell extensions for triceps work really, really well and all you need are dumbbells.

I didn't even know the name of the bar. Maybe I glossed over it? I just did what I needed to. I did the first month & I noticed some size increase. I just couldn't do the 2nd phase b/c I lack a preacher curl. I also lack a dipping station.
I have chains, but like I said, didn't get there for other reasons mentioned above. Bands would be too harsh. Depending on how you train, chains are awesome. I think they are a highly overused tool that's used incorrectly. Very few really use it properly.

I haven't bothered to go back to working the routine in as I am having issues recovering as it is.

I don't think they mentioned the bar name - it took some hard googling to find it was the Dr. Tom bar by Watson. Then I saw it was 225 GBP or something and rolled my eyes: https://www.gymratz.co.uk/gr-profess...ricep-trap-bar

I think the only things that will hang me up are the chains and the 30° incline DB curl / 30° decline bench press superset. I would have to use the same bench, inside the power rack...I guess it's not a huge deal to have DBs in there too. And my FID bench only does 18° decline...doubt the 12° difference matters too much. If I can find some chains, I'd be in better shape.

Sorry to hear about the recovering...is it with your arms?

[CliveWarren]

So, no sh!t story.

I just got back from Chipotle and standing in front of me in line is a gal in a Leblanc-Bazinet Games jersey. She ordered a double chicken bowl.

Well, guess what....it actually was. No idea why she is in AZ.

That's neat. Did she have a French Canadian accent?

[KBKB]

So, no sh!t story.

I just got back from Chipotle and standing in front of me in line is a gal in a Leblanc-Bazinet Games jersey. She ordered a double chicken bowl.

Well, guess what....it actually was. No idea why she is in AZ.

Wow. Cool!

[KBKB]

Several of us hiked Peter's Canyon in the Superstition Wilderness on Friday. We hiked it last spring too, but there was more water this year. For those of you who live in or visit this area, it's a really nice five mile hike.

Rock Live-Forever:



Tortilla Creek / Canyon:



This is my son climbing a boulder:



This is Peter's Cave. We climbed up to an exposed area to the right and ate lunch there.



In a few areas, we were lucky enough to have a rock ledge to hike upon above the water. There was a lot of rock hopping and even some bushwhacking through other parts of the hike. That said, the trail - what trail there is, anyway - seemed to be better defined this year.



Another scenic / photogenic part of the canyon...



This is the entrance / exit to Peter's Canyon. The shot that I took on the way out turned out better than the one I took earlier in the day.

[keyboardworkout]

That's neat. Did she have a French Canadian accent?

I think all I actually heard her say was double chicken. ;-)

[RemainDieHard]

She's probably here for Final Four? Will Smith has been spotted on some hiking trails.

For someone who loathes CrossFit...... how did you even know who she is lol

[keyboardworkout]

She's probably here for Final Four? Will Smith has been spotted on some hiking trails.

For someone who loathes CrossFit...... how did you even know who she is lol

The fact she had a shirt on that said Leblanc-Bazinet Crossfit helped. I may hate Crossfit but I do enjoy watching sweaty andro babe videos.

[Kwazer]

Several of us hiked Peter's Canyon in the Superstition Wilderness on Friday. We hiked it last spring too, but there was more water this year. For those of you who live in or visit this area, it's a really nice five mile hike.

I always enjoy these pictures.

My parents bought a small place in Mesa, to spend winters there. I will likely visit them next December. I'm assuming the weather would still be okay for hiking that time of year? And can you recommend any locations for a newbie to start with?

[KBKB]

I always enjoy these pictures.

Thanks!

My parents bought a small place in Mesa, to spend winters there. I will likely visit them next December. I'm assuming the weather would still be okay for hiking that time of year? And can you recommend any locations for a newbie to start with?

The weather in December in the Mesa area is excellent for hiking.

Usery Mountain Regional Park is a Maricopa County park located in Mesa. There is a not-too-hard, but still fun trail in the park called the Wind Cave Trail. At 1.5 miles in length, it'll provide you with a round trip distance of 3 miles with over 800 feet of elevation gain. It takes you up to a shallow cave in the side of the mountain. More information is available here: https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=152

If you want to do a hike in the Superstitions, the Peralta Trail is a popular and easy to follow trail. You can take the Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle where you can view Weaver's Needle. Round trip distance is slightly under 5 miles, but will provide over 1400 feet of elevation gain. Information about the hike and how to get there can be found here: https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=88

There are a lot of other places to hike in the area. Several of the city parks are very popular, including South Mountain, Camelback Mountain, and Piestewa Peak (formerly Squaw Peak). The problem with those areas though is that they are so popular that it's often difficult to find parking. I tend to enjoy hikes in which I (or the group I'm with) am/are the only ones in the area. So, I tend to avoid the "popular" hikes. However, if you're new to hiking, it's not a bad idea to start with these hikes because there'll be lots of people around in case you run into trouble.

Make sure you bring more water than you think you'll need. I bring at least 3 liters of water on nearly every hike that I do, even hikes on chilly days in the winter. On most of the longish hikes that I've done recently, I've carried 6 liters of water. On one hike that I did early in March, we were out for 13 hours - I drank nearly all of the water I brought with me that day.

[Synthetickiller]

I don't think they mentioned the bar name - it took some hard googling to find it was the Dr. Tom bar by Watson. Then I saw it was 225 GBP or something and rolled my eyes: https://www.gymratz.co.uk/gr-profess...ricep-trap-bar

I think the only things that will hang me up are the chains and the 30° incline DB curl / 30° decline bench press superset. I would have to use the same bench, inside the power rack...I guess it's not a huge deal to have DBs in there too. And my FID bench only does 18° decline...doubt the 12° difference matters too much. If I can find some chains, I'd be in better shape.

Sorry to hear about the recovering...is it with your arms?

Maybe you could use plates to tilt the bench? I never work arms, short of running his routine for a month, but my guess would be to find an exercise that can easily be subbed out for decline dumbbell curls.

I mean recovery, as in, recovering from a training session. I'm filling the sink faster than it can drain. If I could just get sleep & eat right, lol. The body doesn't get the difference between physical & mental stress... I'm surprised I can even lift right now, lol.

Thanks for the concern though! I appreciate it.

[urbanlifter]

Ran across the topic in the supplement section, looks like FDA laid down the final ban hammer on the remaining DMAA supplements. That likely means whatever is left out there for sale will be the last to go, places have already started discounting their stock to liquidate. Placed a modest order for myself, if you have EVER wanted to try APS Mesomorph (or DMAA), now is the time....

[SomeIronBoy]

As I now have a Freemotion Cross Cable machine, I was thinking of getting a pair of the Prime fitness RO-T8 handles, cost come to $141. It funny because over a year ago I wouldn't have imagined paying retail for ANYTHING for my home gym, I actually would only get pieces that were dirt cheap or free to keep, but now I'm kinda paying up for stuff I want. Anyways, my questions are should I get the sweet green colored, or the black handles, most of my gym is white, black, or greyed color scheme. Also is there any reason I should not get these? Possibly better options out there or maybe wait till they get cheaper (not going to happen probably).

Thanks!

[KBKB]

I walked through a bunch of dry, seedy grass on today's hike. It really made a mess of my socks and gaiters - the grass seeds (which sort of look like the tops of wheat) push their way into the fabric. When you try to pull them out, they often catch on the fibers in the fabric. Pushing them through and pulling them out the other side sometimes works better. Still, it's really time consuming to remove them all. I've spent maybe ten minutes on them so far, but there's still a lot to do.

I also learned that the soles of my new Xero Prio trail running shoes (which I had hoped to use for hiking) are not thorn-proof. I had to stop twice to deal with a thorn that had pushed through the bottom of the sole. By way of contrast, the thin soles of my moccasins from Soft Star do not have this problem. My Altras, even with the stock soles, are usually okay in this regard too. It's a shame because I like them in most other respects.

In hindsight, I should have worn my leather moccasins today. Coupled with the right kind of socks (or no socks), I would have avoided the both sets of problems.

[Domicron]

I walked through a bunch of dry, seedy grass on today's hike. It really made a mess of my socks and gaiters - the grass seeds (which sort of look like the tops of wheat) push their way into the fabric. When you try to pull them out, they often catch on the fibers in the fabric. Pushing them through and pulling them out the other side sometimes works better. Still, it's really time consuming to remove them all. I've spent maybe ten minutes on them so far, but there's still a lot to do.

I also learned that the soles of my new Xero Prio trail running shoes (which I had hoped to use for hiking) are not thorn-proof. I had to stop twice to deal with a thorn that had pushed through the bottom of the sole. By way of contrast, the thin soles of my moccasins from Soft Star do not have this problem. My Altras, even with the stock soles, are usually okay in this regard too. It's a shame because I like them in most other respects.

In hindsight, I should have worn my leather moccasins today. Coupled with the right kind of socks (or no socks), I would have avoided the both sets of problems.

i remember hiking a lot during my years in Boy Scouts; a trip ill-prepared through bad terrain was always annoying. stupid stuff like grass has a way of making life miserable if you're not ready.

[keyboardworkout]

In hindsight, I should have worn my leather moccasins today. Coupled with the right kind of socks (or no socks), I would have avoided the both sets of problems.

As a young chap I spent some time around former Rhodesian scouts and professional hunters. They swore by chukkas or (veldskoene). Might take a look at them. Very simple design. Russell Moccasin makes modern versions.

[KBKB]

i remember hiking a lot during my years in Boy Scouts; a trip ill-prepared through bad terrain was always annoying. stupid stuff like grass has a way of making life miserable if you're not ready.

The grass is always a problem at this time of year. The trail running gaiters that I use are usually effective at keeping most of the grass seeds out of my socks - not today though. (I mostly wear them to keep dust and sand out of my shoes.)

[KBKB]

As a young chap I spent some time around former Rhodesian scouts and professional hunters. They swore by chukkas or (veldskoene). Might take a look at them. Very simple design. Russell Moccasin makes modern versions.

I have a pair of chukkas from Soft Star Shoes. I've hiked with them a few times. They were mostly okay, though the toe area in the ones I have needs to stretch a bit more as I recall starting to get a blister on a seven(ish?) mile hike. I think the grass still would've been a problem for my socks though. I probably need to use some more serious gaiters. (I have some, but don't like them.)

On the plus side, though, the leather is thicker and I'd be less prone to stubbing my toes than using moccasins from the same company. I should probably spend some more time breaking them in.

I've considered getting a pair of custom shoes from Russell Moccasin. They're kind of pricey... Plus, I remember reading at least one negative review.

[keyboardworkout]

I've considered getting a pair of custom shoes from Russell Moccasin. They're kind of pricey... Plus, I remember reading at least one negative review.

I once heard that Russell sells most of their shoes to customers in Japan. I thought that was odd.

[KBKB]

I once heard that Russell sells most of their shoes to customers in Japan. I thought that was odd.

I found the negative review for Russell Moccasin. It's here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/th...25#post2168025

The key part from Hilldweller's post is:

I was so hopeful that Russel Moccasin would make me the perfect boot. After speaking with the owner on the phone I was so confident. And then the boot showed up two sizes too long and two sizes too narrow. And the eyes touched each other around the shin when I laced them. They totally didn't get it. They also refused to try and remedy it, refunded my money less $50 for some reason. I'll admit that the boots they sent were wonderfully made ---- the leather was soft, supple, waterproof, and the sole was exactly what I wanted.

I think he provides a more extensive review in some other thread, but I'm not able to find it at the moment.

One of my concerns from looking at the photos on Russell's website is that the toe area won't be wide enough for my feet. For many years, I wore shoes that were too narrow in the toes. I've resolved to not do that any longer unless I really have to - e.g. cycling shoes.

[keyboardworkout]

One of my concerns from looking at the photos on Russell's website is that the toe area won't be wide enough for my feet. For many years, I wore shoes that were too narrow in the toes. I've resolved to not do that any longer unless I really have to - e.g. cycling shoes.

I ordered a pair of custom carbon soled cycling shoes years ago that just relied on a trace of your foot. The toe box ended up being very tight (height). It's spooky ordering expensive shoes like this.

Years ago I remember seeing Sidi's room where they had all of the pro peleton's foot molds. Someone asked where Indurain's molds were. They said he always picked off the shelf shoes after trying them on first.

Here's a pic of a pair of old SADF tracker boots. They look like high top converse.

http://soldiersystems.net/blog1/wp-c.../05/boot-1.jpg

[Kwazer]

Thanks!



The weather in December in the Mesa area is excellent for hiking.

Usery Mountain Regional Park is a Maricopa County park located in Mesa. There is a not-too-hard, but still fun trail in the park called the Wind Cave Trail. At 1.5 miles in length, it'll provide you with a round trip distance of 3 miles with over 800 feet of elevation gain. It takes you up to a shallow cave in the side of the mountain. More information is available here: https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=152

If you want to do a hike in the Superstitions, the Peralta Trail is a popular and easy to follow trail. You can take the Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle where you can view Weaver's Needle. Round trip distance is slightly under 5 miles, but will provide over 1400 feet of elevation gain. Information about the hike and how to get there can be found here: https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=88

There are a lot of other places to hike in the area. Several of the city parks are very popular, including South Mountain, Camelback Mountain, and Piestewa Peak (formerly Squaw Peak). The problem with those areas though is that they are so popular that it's often difficult to find parking. I tend to enjoy hikes in which I (or the group I'm with) am/are the only ones in the area. So, I tend to avoid the "popular" hikes. However, if you're new to hiking, it's not a bad idea to start with these hikes because there'll be lots of people around in case you run into trouble.

Make sure you bring more water than you think you'll need. I bring at least 3 liters of water on nearly every hike that I do, even hikes on chilly days in the winter. On most of the longish hikes that I've done recently, I've carried 6 liters of water. On one hike that I did early in March, we were out for 13 hours - I drank nearly all of the water I brought with me that day.

Thanks for the great info! I've saved this for when I go.

[KBKB]

Here are several photos from yesterday's hike at McDowell Mountain Park:

Our hike started somewhat before sunrise. I took this photo prior to the start of the hike.



This flower is called Buckwheat. I got a bunch of flower photos yesterday.



This was the actual sunrise:

[EricAtl]

Here are several photos from yesterday's hike at McDowell Mountain Park:

Our hike started somewhat before sunrise. I took this photo prior to the start of the hike.



This flower is called Buckwheat. I got a bunch of flower photos yesterday.



This was the actual sunrise:

Remarkable. I have enjoyed seeing your incredible photos and these may be the most inspiring of all.