Tag Archives: Fitness

Home Gym Vision

Recently, after some deliberation, Sweeney and I determined it was time to discontinue our gym memberships. Ever since I moved, I’d been thinking about the possibility of using my basement as a workout room. Between the two of us, we’ve managed to make the home gym a reality, by the sweat of our brows and a bit of legwork.

We didn’t have a whole lot to work with starting out. The basement was cluttered, covered in spider webs, and not exactly level. We set a budget of the money we would’ve spent on memberships, and started planning it out.

The beginning. A stone walled, weirdly shaped room with a single bulb for light.

More random stuff, the type of things that typically get stored in basements.

We picked up 450 lbs of Olympic plates, which came with a bar, from a nice guy named Tom just outside the city. We then ordered a squat rack, a better bar, and a bench from Rogue Fitness. They had quality equipment at reasonable prices, and shipping hundreds of pounds of metal seemed to cost them less than expected.

Next came cleaning up and furnishing the basement. We picked up a bunch of lumber to create a stiff surface to lay horse stall mats on, and beams to level everything and bolt it all together. Yes, I did say horse stall mats, which from what I can tell are the best gym mats in terms of bang for your buck. They did have a pretty rubbery smell when we first picked them up though.

Sweeney's car packed full of supplies

Prepped and cleaned.

Finally, some light! We'd just brought everything in and left it there, calling it a day.

Once we cleaned up the place and hung a second light, there was a marked improvement. We vacuumed up all sorts of crap, including roots, dirt, cement blocks, and even some of the walls. Shop vacs are the best. The next step was the flooring, which was the most arduous part. It involved lots of sawing of hardwood, the creation of several shims, and dealing with brass wood screws which were prone to stripping, or shearing. We got it done though.

The fitted boards on top of the shims. Ready to be screwed together.

Sweeney, happy that we're almost done drilling pilot holes and wrestling with screws.

The hack saw came in handy.

It's still level! ...Not just in this one spot, either.

Ready to unpack. The best and easiest part.

Almost there...

What we ended up with is a sturdy, nearly level plywood platform for the rack, covered by mats. There’s just enough room to do cleans, and dumbbell snatches. We’ve been using the new space successfully for two weeks now, and I have to say it’s nice to have the right equipment to do some supersets or circuit training, without having to wait to get onto every new piece of equipment, whether it’s a rack or a bench or just a specific set of DBs.

Completion!

Our current program is a slightly modified version of what we were previously doing, with more pre-workout mobility work and foam rolling, and less waiting around. We’ve been focusing on a fair amount of unilateral lifts. A year ago if you suggested I stop back-squatting I’d have brushed it off, but I’m finally starting to wrap my head around movements advocated by guys like Mike Boyle and Eric Cressey.

Now we just need to coat the place in ski posters as training encouragement, and we’ll be good to go.

Miscellaneous Interlude – Biking, Running, and Eating

No photos to see here, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about a few other things I’ve been up to recently.

First off, bikes. I have a small sample size that says biking is kind of addicting. Originally I bought a bike off my friend Dwight to commute to work, and replace a old mountain bike of mine that got stolen. One day I got fed up with being crammed on the Orange line, and started biking the 4 miles instead. This was the first step down a road to a new, expensive hobby. Soon I was biking everywhere, mainly utilitarian. These days I bike generally at least 6 miles day.

It wasn’t until a warm late summer day though, that I really got hooked. Everyone was too busy to go climbing, and I really needed to stretch my legs–so I grabbed my bike (a Trek hybrid, by the way) and rode around the Charles, to Newton, the Science Museum, and back. My bike isn’t really built for speed, having nice fat hybrid tires, and straight handlebars, but it’s solid as a rock, which is great. Up until that day, I felt like I would only really use my bike to get me where I needed to go. But I got sucked in. Now a bike ride sounds like a it could be a real adventure.

And Sweeney, who at first was apprehensive about getting into yet another hobby after just starting to rock climb, confided to me that he got hooked on biking after 1 ride last Thursday. I guess there’s no escaping it.

A Scenic tour of Mission Hill

Also worth a minor note, was running the Mission hill 5k road race 2 weeks ago. It seemed like the thing to do, and though I don’t consider myself a runner, it was fun to compete and do the run with some friends. Since I’ve only run maybe 2 other times in the past two months, I set myself some nice attainable goals– 1) Don’t stop jogging, and 2) Beat 30 minutes. Given that it was pretty hilly, since it is Mission Hill after all, I was satisfied with achieving both of those.

Next time I’ll make sure I get a little more speed in my gait so I can be faster. I’ve never run a 5k before, so I was kind of in the Tough Mudder mindset–keep a nice steady pace so that you can tough it out for the long run. Training a bit might help too, but I don’t like running in the city too much, so I usually just do hill sprints if at all.

New adventures in food consumption

Also, just over a month ago now, I realized I was spending a tad too much on eating out–mainly just buying burritos every chance I got and bringing them home. I decided a drastic change in my eating habits might be a good way to get more convicted to buying groceries. With this notion in mind, I decided to start eating a “slow-carb” diet, a version of which Tim Ferris describes in his book The Four Hour Body.

First of all, let me inform you that I have no intention of losing weight. In fact, at my current morning weight of ~168, I plan to gain another 5-10 pounds. I wanted to try the slow carb diet mainly for its simplicity. Basically I eat as much scrambled eggs, meat, fish, veggies, and beans as I want. I also have been drinking a fair amount of 2% milk, since it’s a good way to get extra calories to gain weight. This keeps my shopping list fairly short–if I can’t walk out of the grocery store carrying everything for a week in one hand in a basket (one very full basket), I probably have done something wrong.

One day a week (Saturday), I get to eat anything I want (carbs). Basically I see who wants to hit burger joints, and I attempt to eat ridiculous amounts of pastries for breakfast, and devour entire pizzas. This is great, since I’d say overall I eat healthier, and I can only eat so much junk food in one day. A stipulation I should make here is that when I’m active for most of the day, hiking, for example, I generally eat more carb heavy since I feel like I need to replenish what my body is using.

Results and thoughts? I’ve had a few realizations in the past month. I’ve definitely leaned down a bit, which is great. Eating to the diet isn’t very difficult mid-week, though I tend to have a few Bolocco bowls throughout the week. Salsa and hot sauce make everything tasty, something I didn’t think to take seriously until 2 weeks in.

Another thing is I am fairly active, so if I eat a few meals that are a bit too small, I end up hungry and losing some weight, which is no good. In a given week, I workout for 3 hours doing barbell routines, ride 6 miles daily, and often spend at least 1 or 2 of the remaining days of the week doing something active like climbing or hiking, if I don’t have other plans. After a few weeks I noticed I was losing a bit of weight, so I just started drinking more milk, and sometimes having a protein shake after the gym. Ferris’ diet plan makes various allowances for this sort of thing.

Three weeks in, the day after my “cheat day” I had some leftover pop-tarts, and had a really strong urge to stop eating slow carb. I was out of food and knew it would be easier just to buy something rather than come back to cook up lunch. Don’t leave leftover sugary food. The thing is, I realized I was wussing out. It really isn’t hard for me to eat slow carb, I usually cook the same type of meals most weeks, slow carb or otherwise. The simplicity and diet of slow carb is just a motivation to cook. The snacks will be there next Saturday, and I’ll be sick of them by the end of that day, again.

Getting in shape: How to make the gym work out. Part 4

Part 4: Staying Motivated

If you’re just joining us, Part 1 starts here.

This can be the hardest part for many people. They started going to the gym, and something comes up and this miss a day, and then another, and another. Pretty soon they haven’t gone in two weeks and it feels like a huge struggle to start again.

How do you prevent starting this trend? First off, there’s a few reasons beginners might start to dread or avoid working out.

They might say, “I started going to the gym, but….”

“I got really tired/ sore.”

This is hard to avoid. If you’ve never really worked out, and then you go to the gym, try everything and workout for awhile, the next day you’ll be really sore. The first time I started working out again after a long break, I did way too much arm work and couldn’t easily straighten my arms without a lot of soreness. Start slow and slowly increase the weight, time, or intensity of your workout. There will be days when you get sore, but the first 2 weeks are usually the worst.

“I couldn’t do the reps/ minutes I wanted to.”

It’s ok to set high goals, but understand you need a systematic approach. If you want to row for 20 minutes, you try and don’t make it, then take a time you can do, and add 2 minutes every time you go. It’ll add up quickly.

“I’m embarrassed because I can only lift a little weight / do a few minutes of cardio.”

I’ve honestly never seen anyone in the gym sneer, snicker or comment on someone lifting or the amount of time they spend on the treadmill. Most people at least stick to their own routine, and many are willing to help you out if you ask. I’ve never heard anyone ask for a spot on a lift and the person respond ‘No’. Everyone is at a different point.

Get yourself there

In the end these are all excuses. You’ll have rough, bad workouts. You’ll have good ones. A lot of it comes down to not giving up on your goals, which I mentioned in the first part of this series.

It’s easier to keep up a habit rather than break the trend. If you’ve been missing workouts, it’s easier to keep missing them, but at the same time, if you’ve been going regularly, it’ll be easier to keep up.

There will always be something that comes up, and you just need to work around it. You need to know why you starting going in the first place, and don’t forget it.

Get yourself to the gym, be consistent, and you’ll achieve your goals.

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

Part 2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people: Weight Lifting

Part 4: Staying Motivated – You are HERE

Getting in shape: How to make the gym work out. Part 3

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people: Weight Lifting

If you’re just joining us, Part 1 starts here.

It’s common knowledge that if you lift heavy things repeatedly, you’ll get stronger. Currently I’ve been following the Stronglifts.com 5×5 workout, which I think is a great resource. But weight lifting isn’t just for guys, it’s great for women too.

This guide is also for people who lift already, so keep reading even if you already lift weights. It might be interesting to get another perspective, even if you follow a different routine.

One thing I want to clear up. People might ask, ‘If I lift weights won’t I get bulky and slow?‘

No. If you can train at a moderate intensity you will actually gain endurance, and you only get bulky if you are trying to put on weight. This also applies to women.

First off, here are some general guidelines:

Technique is KEY. If you don’t use correct technique, you can injure yourself. If you are working out and can no longer hold correct technique with a certain weight, stop. I see SO MANY people working out incorrectly. At best, it’s less efficient, at worst, you’re hurting yourself. Take the time to watch videos on how to do an exercise. Read a step by step guide, it’ll be worth it to prevent injury. Don’t sacrifice technique to lift that extra 5 pounds and stroke your ego, or try to look impressive. If you aren’t doing it correctly you won’t get stronger.

A common example of bad technique: People go in, lift something clearly too heavy for them, and lower it only a few inches. Or they flail around doing an exercise way too quickly. Neither works well.

When lifting, going all the way through the movement with a steady, if quick motion, is extremely important.

Get a routine together. If you don’t know what to do, look online for proven workout routines geared toward your goals. If you do that, follow them, don’t get too creative.

Don’t go too often, your body needs to rest, especially as you start lifting heavier. A general guideline is 48 hours for a given muscle to fully recover.

Forget Bicep Curls

The best way to build a foundation is to do exercises like bench press and squats that work multiple muscles at once as opposed to working each muscle individually. This allows you to lift the most weight, the most times in a given day, using multiple pieces of your body as one. It’ll also give you balanced muscle growth, you’ll look strong. Have you ever seen someone who only works out their biceps? They look silly. Training your full body is important since getting stronger in one area will help your other lifts, and avoid imbalances.

Strength Training

Why do strength training? Stronglifts has a good introduction. You do low rep, high weight exercises without a lot of rest between sets. This makes it a fairly aerobic. You’ll gain practical strength and build strong dense muscle. This is based on muscular hypertrophy. Doing 5 sets of 5 reps, mostly builds muscle strength and a little size. Doing 3 sets of 8 reps gives you more gains in size and less in strength. However, with strength training, as you get stronger you can lift more and therefore gain more muscle mass. And honestly, would you rather be strong, or only appear strong?

My results

Since August 2009 I’ve been using Stronglifts 5×5, and it has had some major benefits. Which is why I linked it so damn much. I was kind of lost before I started looking into websites built around good routines. From August to the end of November, Joe and I were very consistent. Keep in mind we’d started working out for the first time in May. On August 11th (I keep a book of our workouts) I got on the 5×5 program:

August 11th: (Everything is in pounds)
Body Weight: ~160
(All are for 5×5)
Squat: 145
Bench Press: 100
Overhead Press: 65
Deadlift: 135

November 30th:
Body Weight: ~168
(Max is 1 rep)
Squat:215 (max: 245)
Bench Press:135 (max: 155)
Overhead: 95 (max: 110)
Deadlift: 265 (max: 295)

I’ve been pretty happy switching to Stronglifts. It has cut down the time I spend in the gym, but I still do quality workouts. I stopped doing bicep curls, but after only a few months, weight I could barely pick up I was able to lift for many reps. I’m still on the same routine now, and I plan to switch over to the Stronglifts Advanced program once I hit my 1.5 bodyweight squat.

Sign Up

Whatever your goal is, commit to achieving it and go do it! It doesn’t take that much time a week to make it to the gym. Find a gym near you, sign up and get started.

Part 1: Getting started and Goal Setting

Part 2: Run faster and jump higher: Cardiovascular Fitness

Part 3: 101 guide to carrying people: Weight Lifting – You are HERE

Part 4: Staying Motivated