Blacksmith513 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Just now, Douglas Carney said: Perhaps this counts as accessory work for my Axle and Saxon lifts... Either way...today I did the same 20 minute hike workout on the treadmill that I did yesterday - but this time I wore my 60lb weight vest. Definitely felt it during the sections where she ramped the incline up to 12.5%. Thats great Doug. What weighted vest do you have? Thinking about buying a 60lbs one myself. But I want a good quality one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 3 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said: Thats great Doug. What weighted vest do you have? Thinking about buying a 60lbs one myself. But I want a good quality one. I have one of the Performance Series Adjustable Weighted Vests from Titan Fitness. I got it because it was the cheapest option with cast iron ingots and I pictured sand or shot eventually leaking through a small tear or rip with the other cheap vests. This vest feels fine for doing sets of goblet squats but on the treadmill I'd describe it more as "tolerable." Frankly, after about 15 minutes or so of hill work I was looking forward to taking it off for the cool-down... This review from Coop at Garage Gym Reviews pretty much sums it up: Although the weight is cast iron and they can go up against heavy, the vest itself is very cheap, uncomfortable, hard to breathe in, and the adjustment system is weak and simple. Just okay, although cheap. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 -----NON GRIP RELATED---- In the past two weeks, I've been Santa Claus (and his Elves), the Tooth Fairy (TWICE!), and tonight it's Three Kings. No wonder I've been dragging a bit! I've been working "overtime" on the "late shift" a lot recently... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Super cool nice work Doug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 Currently scrolling through the "Grip Sport Ranking Lists" after watching @Jedd Johnson's "What's the World Record? January QnA 3" video. Not sure how I spaced on this site. Kinda cool to see a rookie like me on the list for a couple of (rarely contested) lifts. But more importantly, it gives me a much better idea of what I need to hit at my comps in 2024. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 -----GOAL UPDATE----- Friday morning I noticed that I was using a new notch on my belt to hold my jeans up. [Well...not exactly "new"...technically it was always there...but I can't recall the last time I needed it. ] I don't weigh myself often, but I have my annual physical this Friday and don't want any surprises when I step on the scale at the doctor's office. Last weight I wrote down was 251.8lb on Aug 27, 2023. Today (Jan 7, 2024) I'm 249.2lb, so apparently I was able to fend off a huge weight gain over the holidays. Contributing factors were (a) getting COVID 10 days before Christmas (less outings and less appetite), (b) eating healthier and avoiding alcohol, and (c) walking more. COVID was a bit of a reset for me and instead of going right back to my old (bad) routine, I'm choosing to build back better habits. The key to long-term success will be making the new routine healthy, reasonable, and sustainable. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, Douglas Carney said: -----GOAL UPDATE----- Friday morning I noticed that I was using a new notch on my belt to hold my jeans up. [Well...not exactly "new"...technically it was always there...but I can't recall the last time I needed it. ] I don't weigh myself often, but I have my annual physical this Friday and don't want any surprises when I step on the scale at the doctor's office. Last weight I wrote down was 251.8lb on Aug 27, 2023. Today (Jan 7, 2024) I'm 249.2lb, so apparently I was able to fend off a huge weight gain over the holidays. Contributing factors were (a) getting COVID 10 days before Christmas (less outings and less appetite), (b) eating healthier and avoiding alcohol, and (c) walking more. COVID was a bit of a reset for me and instead of going right back to my old (bad) routine, I'm choosing to build back better habits. The key to long-term success will be making the new routine healthy, reasonable, and sustainable. Little things add up to big changes. Thats awesome you where able to lose weight over the holidays. Just ordered some Mighty Mitts chalk how are you liking it? Pretty sure i used it at Jedds over the summer and lifted with the Blobtop what im lifting now. And that was after not using it for months as i let him borrow it. I'm excited to use it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, Blacksmith513 said: Little things add up to big changes. Thats awesome you where able to lose weight over the holidays. Just ordered some Mighty Mitts chalk how are you liking it? Pretty sure i used it at Jedds over the summer and lifted with the Blobtop what im lifting now. And that was after not using it for months as i let him borrow it. I'm excited to use it. Thanks Joe! But don't give me too much credit. Some of this is just simple stuff like making a turkey sandwich for lunch instead of DoorDashing a triple cheeseburger, french fries, and Coke. I told myself the triple was protein or I'd burn off the fry calories. But that wasn't reality. Anyway, I like the Mighty Mitts chalk so far. Definitely has a different feel than the Primo Chalk balls I used up until now. Makes sense that powdered chalk in a bag would be really fine...but I never realized the difference between that and a block of Mighty Mitts. Now I'm understanding that the ball was too fine and it was pretty easy to use too much and flatten out my fingerprints (if that makes any sense). "Chalk it up" to my inexperience that I went with something that fine. hahaha 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorOfCrush Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 3 hours ago, Douglas Carney said: -----GOAL UPDATE----- Friday morning I noticed that I was using a new notch on my belt to hold my jeans up. [Well...not exactly "new"...technically it was always there...but I can't recall the last time I needed it. ] I don't weigh myself often, but I have my annual physical this Friday and don't want any surprises when I step on the scale at the doctor's office. Last weight I wrote down was 251.8lb on Aug 27, 2023. Today (Jan 7, 2024) I'm 249.2lb, so apparently I was able to fend off a huge weight gain over the holidays. Contributing factors were (a) getting COVID 10 days before Christmas (less outings and less appetite), (b) eating healthier and avoiding alcohol, and (c) walking more. COVID was a bit of a reset for me and instead of going right back to my old (bad) routine, I'm choosing to build back better habits. The key to long-term success will be making the new routine healthy, reasonable, and sustainable. Love all this. I probably need to start charting my weight for some accountability. I’d love to be down at 185-190. The 200-205 I’m at now doesn’t suite me. One of my goals is to be sub-200 when I finally hit a 400lb deadlift. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 3 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said: Love all this. I probably need to start charting my weight for some accountability. I’d love to be down at 185-190. The 200-205 I’m at now doesn’t suite me. One of my goals is to be sub-200 when I finally hit a 400lb deadlift. Very cool goal! And I get the doesn't suit thing... I was 280lb at my appointment this time last year. Didn't realize how "off" I felt until I dropped 25lbs or so. Right now I'm kinda going by how I feel, how my doctor reacts, and how my pants fit versus any specific number. But perhaps I'll shoot for getting down to the 105KG weight class (231lb) even though I'd have to go head-to-head with @Ben Helms and @ZRMMA at Heavy Hands...hahaha 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said: Very cool goal! And I get the doesn't suit thing... I was 280lb at my appointment this time last year. Didn't realize how "off" I felt until I dropped 25lbs or so. Right now I'm kinda going by how I feel, how my doctor reacts, and how my pants fit versus any specific number. But perhaps I'll shoot for getting down to the 105KG weight class (231lb) even though I'd have to go head-to-head with @Ben Helms and @ZRMMA at Heavy Hands...hahaha Thats some tough competion... I'm not proud of this but the night before my checkup a few months back I had like 5 beers, 3 bowls of chili with 3 slices of bread, sausage, 2 scrambled eggs and toast all for supper. I only remember this because after I had all of that I realized i had a check up the next morning, and what he said to me... The Dr. told me keep doing whatever i'm doing , and that my back was really "jacked". If I told him what I had for dinner the night before he might not of said that. But now i'm trying to lose weight again, as long as it doesn't affect my numbers going up on my lifts. Already down 3lbs myself. Edited January 7 by Blacksmith513 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 16 hours ago, Blacksmith513 said: Thats some tough competion... I'm not proud of this but the night before my checkup a few months back I had like 5 beers, 3 bowls of chili with 3 slices of bread, sausage, 2 scrambled eggs and toast all for supper. I only remember this because after I had all of that I realized i had a check up the next morning, and what he said to me... The Dr. told me keep doing whatever i'm doing , and that my back was really "jacked". If I told him what I had for dinner the night before he might not of said that. But now i'm trying to lose weight again, as long as it doesn't affect my numbers going up on my lifts. Already down 3lbs myself. Uhm...yeah. I can't even imagine my cholesterol and blood sugar numbers for my blood work if I ate all that the night before. hahaha Wish my doctor would refer to me as "jacked." Only compliment I recall getting is maybe something about good veins from the blood work tech. But seriously...losing strength is also on my mind. Trying to make sure I get "enough" protein and overall calories. Not cutting out carbs completely either. I don't want my body going into shutdown/starvation mode. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Reminded by @DoctorOfCrush's post this morning mentioning an "under desk treadmill" that I have a setup available for use when working at home. So I "just" need to incorporate it. Sometimes it's not the tools I'm lacking...it's the healthy habits. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 New Investment in my Grip Training Journey – 178.6lb Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell 01/04/2024 As you may have seen in previous posts, I walked away from the Heavy Hands grip competition on September 9, 2023 with what I (lovingly) call the “Coke Can – Kettlebell” Baby Inch Dumbbell. In about a month, I went from wondering whether I could even pick it up to putting it on a 16" box for 25 reps. The next step was a 145lb Baby Inch Dumbbell from Gods of Grip which has been going ok to the point I was comfortably (casually?) lifting it in December. So I made the leap and reached out to @Jedd Johnson, who put me in touch with Steve Slater [ #slaterstrength InchBell.com] to order a full Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell. Steve did a great job answering my questions, sharing the history and effort that goes into handcrafting these masterpieces, and communicating throughout the entire process from initial inquiry to delivery followup. Words cannot do this thing justice, so I'll let the video and photos tell the story. Suffice it to say, I'm extremely excited about continuing my grip training journey with this beautiful dumbbell in my home gym. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 1 hour ago, Douglas Carney said: New Investment in my Grip Training Journey – 178.6lb Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell 01/04/2024 As you may have seen in previous posts, I walked away from the Heavy Hands grip competition on September 9, 2023 with what I (lovingly) call the “Coke Can – Kettlebell” Baby Inch Dumbbell. In about a month, I went from wondering whether I could even pick it up to putting it on a 16" box for 25 reps. The next step was a 145lb Baby Inch Dumbbell from Gods of Grip which has been going ok to the point I was comfortably (casually?) lifting it in December. So I made the leap and reached out to @Jedd Johnson, who put me in touch with Steve Slater [ #slaterstrength InchBell.com] to order a full Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell. Steve did a great job answering my questions, sharing the history and effort that goes into handcrafting these masterpieces, and communicating throughout the entire process from initial inquiry to delivery followup. Words cannot do this thing justice, so I'll let the video and photos tell the story. Suffice it to say, I'm extremely excited about continuing my grip training journey with this beautiful dumbbell in my home gym. Doug, that is awesome! Congrats 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 1 hour ago, Blacksmith513 said: Doug, that is awesome! Congrats Thanks Joe! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 -----NON GRIP RELATED----- Working from home today and have a three hour training coming up. 99.9% sure it's camera off which means I can watch it from my treadmill. Wondering how many steps I can get in walking today... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorOfCrush Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 6 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said: -----NON GRIP RELATED----- Working from home today and have a three hour training coming up. 99.9% sure it's camera off which means I can watch it from my treadmill. Wondering how many steps I can get in walking today... NIce. If you can go the whole time, you'd be looking at 15-20K! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 10 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said: NIce. If you can go the whole time, you'd be looking at 15-20K! I plan on doing a before and after photo of my step count, so I'll be able to tell you exactly what I earned by making this choice instead of sitting at my table (like I have most every other day I've worked at home for nearly four years) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Hey Doug, that’s super cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 UPDATE - Three hours walking on the treadmill for a total of six miles. That's 14,472 steps I would have not otherwise gotten today. Full disclosure, this was a bit excessive for my weight/age/current fitness level. And going forward it would be more reasonable/sustainable to do this an hour here and an hour there. But I'm still glad I did it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 That’s a lot Doug. Great work. Can’t beat walking 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 31 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said: That’s a lot Doug. Great work. Can’t beat walking Thanks Joe! Shortly after the four mile mark it became work rather than a novel way to attend training. But I stuck with it.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Carney Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 178.6lb Thomas Inch Replica Dumbbell – Four Minutes of FAILS 01/08/2024 Waited four days after carrying this thing down to my basement gym to give it a good go. But oh my goodness this thing dropped anchor and is making itself at home on the floor. Even with trying to lift it from a crash pad all I could do was get a little bit of spin. Musical Inspiration: "Dropping Anchor" by Jimmie's Chicken Shack from "Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope" released in June 1997. Fun Fact: These guys were from Annapolis, Maryland and used to play at a place called the Flying Club that I used to frequent - a lot - back in the day. And not many bands driving down my way could claim they had a video playing on MTV...so they did stand out a bit. Unfortunately some lineup changes and problems with their label cut short their ascent up the charts. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Knowlton Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Hey Doug aren’t fails just warm ups 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.