Atlas Stone Conditioning - "Pick things up and put them down"

A little while ago Im strolling up to the track shed with a box in hand and a truck full of cement when a few inquiring minds simply asked -
"wtf?"
 "Relax everyone..."

I just recently acquired my Slaters Stone Molds to create some awesome pieces of equipment. Although my first time through making them wasn't the best, bunch of air bubbles and rough spots, they still are doing the trick very well. You can check out my experience here -First Time Stone Making.

I wrote up a small workout a few weeks ago as well. I got to admit I felt much stronger than compared to now- I blame Memorial Day weekend on that one. BBQ bloat is a rough recovery amongst other things....anyways on to the workout which I now have video this time.

Just a warning my tech is crap so dont look for helpful hints on stone lifting. You won't find it here.




The workout broke down like this-
3 rounds 1 minute stone loading over a bar.
10 sets of single load @240lbs
4 sets of 8 shouldering and lifting 115lb then moved to the 170lb stone second set.

Im definitly investing in some tack next week if I am going to continue doing this to myself. Grip is becoming an issue and dust is screwing that up more. Plus if you notice a few minutes in I suddenly have a wrist wrap on my left hand. I dont know what the hell I did but the damn thing is hurting good right now. Even a day later as Im writing this is hurts to open my fingers and spread them apart. Probably not a good sign.

But hey at least my finger is feeling better. Nail is drained out and its still attached...for now.

My misadventures with McMaster Carr

Well if you read my previous blog http://danprater.blogspot.com/2012/05/chain-lifting-accomodating-resistence.html Part 1 then you would have taken in the fun mishaps I had to deal with just buy some chains. It gets better.

First lets recap;
-I drove out there to order 6 chains at 5 feet in length to save on shipping.
-After stating I wanted to pick them up I was told an hour without actually receiving a billing statement or even so much as a "cost is..."
-I arrive an hour later to be told order was shipped.
-I am then charged for another set to be picked up in "15 minutes" which turned into waiting an hour and a half and having to cancel practice.
-Also, I am told I would need to send the other order back. Yep, because shipping 120lbs of chain is as easy as stopping by your local post office...
-I finally get my 2nd order only to find out after I already got back to the gym that I am missing a chain!
-Even better, NONE are the same length...
-So after emailing stating my frustrations I am told to keep one chain from the mailed order and send the other 5 back.

Which brings us to this week.

Monday rolls around and still no refund. I email. Suddenly I have a refund issued. Except its about 2/3 of what is owed to me. WTF?!? They refunded me for 5 chains despite me paying for 6 AND the shipping charge that I didnt want. So after I spent about 333 they only gave me back 225. Few days later I get another refund except this time its only 57 bucks. So it looks like Im not getting the shipping charge back.

Bottom line is Im already done with this company. Its a big place. Couple regional suppliers. But wow can they fuck up a simple order. It really felt like they were trying to screw it up repeatedly.

And just a little salt to be thrown on the wound- I looked at Slaters Hardware prices for complete chain sets....it would have cost me exactly the same and so far I have no gripes with Slaters. I could have ordered full sets of chains (I originally bought just the heavy chains then went to Home Depot to buy the attaching chains and clips) and then driven down there to pick them up.Plus they have a nice clear coat finish to them. These damn things I got were covered in oil and already look like they are going to rust.

By the way since I like Slaters Hardware I'd recomend them. Go check those guys out- http://www.slatershardware.com/
Im planning on buying a log or two and some more stone molds in the near future from those guys.

Well Im off to drain my finger (story for another day) and play some damn rugby. It is Saturday after all....

***BONUS***
So today, about a week later, they called me to ask about a shipping bill they received to their account for product they have not received. I am actually at a loss for words on this one. They already refunded my order, minus shipping, and now are asking why they were charged for the shipping?

Believe me when I say Im not trying to be TOO vulgar on this blog but ya know what?

Fuck these guys. 

Kettlebell Fitness Complex (slightly advanced workout)

Hammered the KB class tonight...like damn I almost felt bad.

warmup
protocol single, both arms
clean 1:30, press 1:30, long cycle 1:00, snatch 1:00

prot doubles
long cycle 2:00/1:00/2:00

core
TGU's 2:00 each arm

lower
double kb front squat 40s, alt lung 40s, farmer carry 1 lap
repeat 3 times

upper
double kb bentover row 40s, alt press 40s, double twist 40s
repeat 3 times

swing finisher
double 30s ON, 15 rest

Comeback 2012?? Back to throwing Discus

So is 2012 my comeback year for throwing discus? At 29 years old?

Not likely.

Well heres the good news- I can still throw a somewhat respectable distance.
Bad news- Apparently my elbow still hasn't forgiven me for being a jackass a few weeks back.

Anyways, I havn't been training specifically for throwing in a long time. Mostly just on strength endurance and some general fitness and other odd related exercises. But I think this has carried over well into my throws. In other words all the goofy full body complex training has actually allowed me to retain some ability to throw the discus still.



Yea my tech doesn't look all too bad. Speed, on the other hand, is damn awful compared to my peak years around age 25.Regardless I think my best throw on the day was very close if not over 50 meters which I havn't thrown since my back injury (herniated disc).

If you watch the vid you'll see after a few throws Im favoring my right elbow after some of the throws. Yea, it hurts like hell after throwing right now. I tried throwing again the following day and damn did it hurt even more. So looks like Ill be needing a few days off now. Ahh, that takes me back to the good ole days of popping ibupropen like they were skittles and icing every body part after training. Its been too long.

Regardless, this looks like I may just be able to start training for throwing discus again very soon. Which is good as after Saturdays 'workout' I realized I have a severe itch to throwing some heavy crap again. I still remember my old lifelong goal of hitting 200 feet and honestly if Oerter can do it at 42 (minus the gear) then why shouldn't I be able to?

In the mean time I'll play around with the discs for the Summer but for the time being I still got to get serious on training for Summer rugby and Fall seasons.

Oh yea- 41 days!!! July 1st is going to get here quick I feel it.

Get Random

Sometimes its best to just do something different and say "Screw it lets shake things up a bit."

Yesterday was supposed to be a somewhat dynamic day of jumps, throws, lifts, and some minor GPP since Im still hurting from Wednesday's ME session. Those chains are kicking my ass lately and showing no sign of mercy. Have at it then.

Well that was the plan. Couple 'problems' occurred.
1- The weather, for once, is absolutely awesome. This is Ohio. Well versed in a schizo-bastard-dunno-wtf-im-doing weather area. Never been here? A sampling is that Friday and Friday evening it was in the low 50's. Saturday? Yea screw that. Lets break the heater and crank it to 80+.

2- It was Saturday. I mean, really, who trains hard on a rugby day anyways?

3- I just got out of a meeting with BAT Cage and guess what? Unofficial opening date of THE FORGE - Strength Systems is JULY 1st! Yea buddy. Im excited. So after this news it was a little hard to focus on the task at hand or at least focus on the plan of attack.

Ladder was thrown to the ground for some warmup contacts. Legs were stiff so I rolled and stretched before hand. Got my jumps in then got the tires out;
-Standard 'box' jump to two tires (I think the height is about 40-41")
-Jettison Jumps: 20lb dumbbells that are dropped after one jump, 2nd jump(or third), then up to tire
-Multi-Jumps outside; Bounds, long jumps, single leg hops for distance

This is about when I got bored. I just wanted to throw shit. Im getting the itch. So out come the kettlebells; 18, 26, 30, and 40 pounders. Then it just turned into a crap show of everything I could find, get a grip on, and throw for some distance. All of which included;
-150# tire
-20# chains
-Med balls up to 30#
-110# rock
-Bumpers
-Kettlebells up to 60#
-all fucks given that day



Worked out great actually. Worked on my tan somewhat AND got some decent conditioning at the end. Unfortunately what was also not included on the video is the end where I hit some MB throws and sprints. Battery died.

'Till next time. 

Atlas Stone - example GPP (conditioning, fitness, or whatever)

Well my workout was a bust today. Planned on getting some heavy squat work in and mess around with the chains but got into the weight room later than planned and next thing I know im running out of time before the bus leaves for the High School District meet. Instead I had to improvise and this is about what I salvaged in a 30minute block.

Weighted box jumps 5x5

First 3 sets with 40lbs of chain on 32" box (gotta throw those in somehow, right?)

Next 2 sets were on 24" box with a 80# sandbag on my shoulders

Stone workout- 9 pickups on the 240# on single rep lifts (too much dust to reset and hit again

3 sets x 8 lifts @170# and then shoulder carry 110# for a 20yard lap

And that was about it really. Wanted to do some other things but just ran out of time. Forearms are good and tore up and the workout felt pretty good. Im starting to get the feel for the 240# and its coming up much easier as long as I can get my grip set. I think its time to invest in a heavier stone and some tacky. When my arms get dusty its almost impossible to get a grip on the 240.

Kettlebell Full Body Complex #1

This routine hits it ALL. I mean in a bad way too. Most of my clients were pretty exhausted after finishing but finish they did.

Warmup 10-15 minutes (series of swings, tech work, stretches, etc.)

1.30 each - Push Press/ Cleans/ Half Snatch - Single arm
45s each - Swings/ Clean/ Long Cycle - Doubles. Rest 45s then repeat once more.

Lower Body- 30s each, 30s rest, 3 rounds
Goblet Squat/ Alt Lunge/ Kneel Downs

Upper- 30s each, 30s rest, 3 rounds again
x2 Kb Alt Row/ Alt Press/ Ribbons

Core- 1min each, minimal rest
1/2 TGU's/ Supermans/ Windmills

Finisher- 20 ON, 10 OFF each, x1 Kb, 4 minutes total
Swings, Burpees, Split jumps, Jack Squats

Cool down stretch


Yea...they were pretty quiet after this one.

Grip4orce - Use and review

Long time ago I ran across something interesting and what I thought at the time sort of bizarre. An ad on a forums saying how great these little black rubber handles that snap onto bars and what they did for grip strength. I wasn't sure what to think since I never heard of this company nor had much experience with grip training. Not even sure what possessed me to buy them but what I do know is Im glad I did.

The funny thing is when I first bought these things they were on back order for what must have been 4 or 5 months. Their website wasn't fully functional yet but I saw they had an offer so I figured what the hell? I also bought two pairs, regular and stiff. Apparently the initial design department didnt think that there was any reason to put any sort of distinguishing mark on them as until you squeezed them you couldn't tell which was which. A pair of wire cutters taking a snip off a corner on the stiff pair did the trick. I havn't tried the newest but with all the new colors and that Im hoping they did something to resolve this issue by now.

As far as construction and cost Im pretty surprised at how durable these are. I've had them for almost a year now and have been regularly using both and they are still as good as the day I bought them. Cost was roughly $40 each minus a %15 discount on the back order which I thought was solid. And considering these can be attached to practically any bar or object the cost is well within reason.

So what do my athletes and myself use these for?
Everything.

Quite frankly theres very little in the lifting department that you cant just clamp these things onto. And compared to Fat Gripz the Grip4orce grippers need to actually be squeezed onto the bar and can easily open up during the lift if you are not careful. This really puts your grip on notice if its lacking. So all the wrist wrap junkies out there may not appreciate what Grip4orce will do to their egos.

So far what I have found most effective using the G4's is during either dynamic or high volume upper and lower days where the weight just is not as heavy and the extra reps will really blow up my forearms. Pretty good example is doing simple exercises like DB shrugs or rows for 12-20 reps. Also lower work performing deadlifts or trap bar deads really hits the hands as well.

Lately, I've noticed I have been using them more and more during heavier workouts. Can really feel my grip strength increasing and catching up to the rest of my lifts. To put it in perspective I couldn't even pick up 315 off the rack much less shrug or dead lift while not Im pretty confident with that and more. What really hammers the grip strength, bottom line, is any sort of high rep pulling work (back and bi's for example). It definitely adds a little variety to press work but not nearly as effective as pulling weight.

I still plan on getting a few pairs of Fat Gripz down the road and will definitly buy a few more pair of Grip4orce for my future gym for extra grip work. I really like the product and between the cost and abuse they are definitely worth it when considering how much they save from buying fat bar equipment.

So if you are wondering I'd highly recommend these. Check 'em out -  http://www.grip4orce.com

Chain Lifting - Accomodating resistance at its finest. Part 2

Well this is the more 'legit' post for the day/week. If you already read my previous post about the chain ordeal (which is still to be concluded btw) then hope it gave you a laugh. If not at my own expense.

So, anyways, for something a little more constructive. I wanted to put the new chains through a workout to see how it went. I will be the first to say I havn't had a good upper workout like that in awhile. I tried to get in a pretty good variety and at certain points was just banging out reps trying to get a good pump. No matter what I did the chains worked well.

Heres a rough recap of the workout. Remember, I had several sets I just either went to failure, left 2, or was just playing around to see what would happen. Some exercises worked great while others not so much.

Bench press- Worked up to max effort for 3 reps with 80lbs total chain. Hit 245 for a trip. Puts it around 305 (some of the chain sits on the ground at lock).
Swiss bar Incline Press with fat grips (theres a mouthful)- hit 4 sets for 10-12 reps. Used 40lbs chain, narrow grip, and Grip4orce grippers on the bar.
Multi-grip pullups- This one I just sort of hit reps at whatever I felt like at the moment. I think my pride on the day was the triple I had with 80lbs of chain on me. Puts me close to 300lbs. So 3 pullups at that much is pretty good for me.
Multi-grip inverted row- Same deal just hit different grips. Mixed in chains (was awkward and clumsy) and used fat bar and cannonballs.
Arms and shoulders- Just started rocking curls and raises with the cannonballs. My biceps cramped pretty hard later on.

This is a pretty heavily edited video. Didnt want to bore everyone with EVERY single rep I did.

Chain lifting - Accomodating resistence at its finest part 1

So I finally decided this past Monday that it was a good time to get some chains. Heard of a nearby place that sells all kinds of different hardware and at a reasonable price. To put it in perspective chains from a exercise equipment supplier have some crazy prices. Usually around 110-140 bucks for a pair of 20 pounds chains. Total weight at roughly 40-45lbs. So about $3 a pound. Kind of ridiculous. So I found McMaster Carr right down the highway in Aurora that has chains for dirt cheap compared to others. At about 9 bucks a foot I think I saved roughly 30 or more per pair with attachment chains and links included. So not a bad deal despite the complete utter cluster#$&@ that happened when I tried to order the damn things...

So heres the story-

I head out to Aurora around noon thinking I call them up and make the order, swing by play-it-again sports, and then come back to grab the chains. Seemed simple enough, right? Well it started that way. I make the call when Im about 15 minutes out and they inform me it will be about an hour to complete the order after I made it a point I AM ON MY WAY to come pick it up. So no worries. I'll get some shopping done and it'll be ready when I get around to them...WRONG. So a little over an hour passes by and I walk up, give them my info, and suddenly a puzzled look comes across the guys face.

"Hmmmm..."

Hm?

"Well it looks like your order was shipped." (Mind you it cost me about 10 bucks in gas to get there plus the tolls while shipping was somewhere around 90 dollars total so Im a little annoyed now).

"Hey it was supposed to be will call, man."

"Yea, Im not sure what happened. Well let me get you another order in and it should be ready in about 15 minutes"

So here I am thinking "great Im going to have 12 friggin chains when this is said and done and be about 600 in the hole. NOT what I was planning on.

"Ok. Yea they have the order so it should be out soon"

Alright. Whatever. I still have some time before practice. I can wait 15 minutes. So I shot some texts out to my athletes and let them know I was going to run a few minutes late but no big deal. Well except the man must've been on some seriously good medication as it took well over an hour and a half to get my new order ready. So not only do I still not have chains yet but practice AND the anticipated testing day is a complete wash. Its already 330 and Im still stuck in some massive warehouse the size of the IX center.

"Ok sorry about the wait you can head around back and pick them up."

Are you shitting me?? After all this they were around back?? For all I know they could have been ready for awhile but I was sitting up front waiting around with dumbass who doesn't understand how time works.

Alright, whatever, the day is already lost so lets make the most of it. I head around back. Grab the bucket of chain (which seemed kind of light for the listed 127lbs but I figured 'well I have been getting stronger') and was on my way.

Finally Im back in Brunswick. After a quick stop to Home Depot for the rest of the pieces I needed Im back in the high school weight room. Home sweet home.

Lets crack these babies open....

I pull two out and link em up to the bar. Bench a few times. All is well. Pull out two more, chain em up, bench a few more times. Feels good. So I reach in to grab the other two...remember when I said it felt light? There was only one chain left. I ordered 6 and was given 5. Alright now really? I was starting to feel a little better until this happened now I got 6 chains in the mail and 5 in front of me. Where do they hire these guys?

It gets better...

So I send them an email 'kindly' voicing my frustrations with the day thus far. Was responded later with "please use this shipping account to send them back and you be issued a full refund for the bad order". Ok well thats good to hear except I got to lug around a heavy ass bucket to UPS to send a bogus order back.

Then I noticed something-

The chains on the left side of the bar were grazing the ground like they are supposed to. The right side- hanging freely. I checked the links and they were even in height so wtf? Why is one higher than the other? I begin to take each chain off and lay them down next to each other....

AW SUNUVA $#%$^@#*$@#*%^#*($@($!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so lets recap. Not only did they completely misunderstand "I am coming to pick them up DO NOT ship them", they have no idea how long it takes to cut chains and prepare an order, they can't count, and now apparently dont know how a tape measure functions. Its complicated stuff I am sure.

Heres the worst...maybe they just had their B-side working service that morning. Maybe it was just because it was Monday and McMaster pulled their complimentary employee coffee. Maybe the company Cinco De Mayo party just royally screwed up their staff so bad that they were still recovering until Tuesday and therefore normal human functioning on any sort of intelligent level just ceased to be. Tequilas ridiculous.

I don't know.

What I do know is they still have a better location and way better prices than anyone else. So what does this mean? Well like Jim Carey said in Liar Liar - "Guess Ill just piss and moan like an incompetent prick!"

No, seriously, thats about the whole point of this post. Have a good weekend!

Atlas Stone Making - First time

Glad I didnt totally screw 'em up.

I gotta say I was pretty happy with the final product. Only regret is not shaking the mold as much and buying an 18" while I was ordering the initial set of molds. So currently I have a set of 110#, 165#, and 238# stones. The 238 already tore up part of my forearm. Really should have gotten some tacky.

Special thanks to Jason for being camera man and Nate for lower the stone down without breaking the mold.

Stay Positive...

...and for shit's sake smile!

I was told something along those lines this week and its rough. I think by nature lately Im just an angry old man and salty about everything. Why? Well its easy. Everything pisses me off to some extent so why not? Hell I could off on all the dumb crap that happened before 8am this morning. Anyways, heres to trying to stay positive.

So how am I going about this?

Simple I suppose. If its that damn easy to be angry and grumpy 24/7 its got to be just as easy to focus on the good and stay positive. Right? ....right?!?!

I think I figured out what Im doing wrong to be honest. Its incredibly easy to identify and hate on the negatives. They just stick out and are way too obvious to be ignored. Probably why there are so many haters floating around. Its simple. Staying positive actually takes some damn work. Gotta earn it. And it takes focus. Not just being around positive things, peoples, or atmosphere but actually getting off your duff and doing something about. Why else can you explain those images that float around of people smiling during a flood, or walking around in the slums, or just people that are down on their luck every damn day yet can still walk tall? They make the most of it. Find the best in ANY situation and build on it. Its purely up to the individual. The strongest will build something better. The weak will let it eat them alive. Sad to say I've been pretty weak lately. So lets break down today and see what I can do build this sunbitch up.  

Ok so lets hit on some positives as of late. A few more t-shirts have been selling. I actually found 3 checks that were unaccounted for during the last big sale I had. Go figure. Hiding underneath the cash box. Knew my count was wrong but hey its like a little bonus for me. Going to turn those into a stack of barbells soon.

The throwers are looking solid. Good timing too since this is our last week for dual meets. But Ill be damned if we don't look like we know what we're doing now. Girls definitly stepped up to fill in the gaps we were missing the guys have rebuilt pretty well from what we originally walked in with. Everyones working hard and thats all I can ask at this point. Had some nice performances and big PR's at the Berea Relays last week and today should be pretty interesting. Today marks the day of our last dual for the season and 80% of my team is done after this. There is a JV meet Friday and a varsity meet the same day. After that its on to NOC's which only top 2 compete leaving me about 5% of my team to work with. 

Im taking advantage of the 1.5hr bus ride that Im looking forward to today to dive into a fun thought provoking book I acquired from a nice package deal that Zach Even-Esh sold me earlier last week - Under the Bar by Dave Tate. Heard it was solid so looking forward to this one.

Im FINALLY in talks with a gym. Im actually kind of nervous. Its more like an interview. But staying positive right? Im the damn boss. I know what Im doing and confident enough that what I saw WILL work and thats the end of it. At least thats the mind set. And its true. Just check my stats and results. Athletes have been crushing the weights this year and honestly cant wait to see how they do elsewhere on the field or going into next years season. I have no idea where the fine line between arrogance and confidence is but Im pretty certain I piss on it daily.

I could've sworn I had more to report today. Im still cranked about this mornings events. Apparently we lift too much weight or some nonsense. I dont know but it blew my mind when I heard that.

Oh! I did pick up a new client yesterday. So thats fun. I think. Eh, I hate to say it but Im not even that excited about PT'ing anymore since group training and athletics is what Im gunning for.  Im too obsessed with performance that the average "I want to lose my belly by Summer" Joe/Dad doesn't appeal to my interests.

Well last thing is I drew a picture. Want to see?

Bonus points if you actually know what it is or what the little images might represent.











Its my doodle of the possible gym layout. Come on now...