Home Gym Quarterly Fall 2018 by Garage Gym Life Media

USD $4.99

HOME GYM

QUARTERLY

FALL 2018

ANTHONY DEANGELIS THIRTY YEARS IN THE GAME BIG GAINS: SMALL SPACE GET TO KNOW

The Unconquerable Matt Brown

LOVING LIFE WITH BEACHBODY COACH HOLLY MARKWART

PLUS: Review: Compex GORILLA STRENGTH FOUNDER DAVID DENNIS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 1

HOME GYM

QUARTERLY

TABLE OF CONTENTS ON THE COVER

42 FEATURED

Holly Markwart

Review: Compex

Setting Up A Gym in Your Apartment By Brianna Hamby - pg 29

Strong Enough to be Alone - pg 60 So you want to get started with Armlifting? By Riccardo Magni - pg 65 Unconquerable Matt Brown - pg 68 Editorial Advisory Board Randall Strossen, Founder, IronMind Enterprises Diana Young, Financial & Media Consultant Nick Nilsson, BASc Mad Scientist of Muscle Roberta Greaves, Editor Graphic Editor/Director: Kellie Kilgore Graphics, LLC Photography: Naomi Greaves

Gorilla Strength Equipment

Holiday Gift Guide

By: John Greaves III

This is a story that was originally told to me by my maternal grandfather, Robert Isaac Ekundiyo Bright Senior, elder statesman, successful businessman, athlete, visionary. I told my son, Marshal, the story when he asked me my relationship with my grandfather. One day all of rats called a meeting to discuss what to do about the cat. The cat had killed many rats and they were so afraid to even step foot outside the rat hole that they could no longer go get food. The children were hungry and the entire rat community was suffering. Many theories were thrown around, the young rats blamed the older rats for not taking care of this before they were born. The older rats complained that the rat government wasn’t doing enough to make sure that all rats shared equally in the available food. Finally a young rat proposed a daring plan: “Why don’t we just put a bell on the cat?” the young rat asked. “Then we can hear him when he’s coming and run back into the walls where it’s safe. After he leaves, we can just go back out again to finish collecting food!” Every rat there stood with jaws open and eyes wide. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard!” one rat exclaimed. “I always knew he was going to be something,” an older female rat told her neighbor. “He’s always been smart!” the neighbor agreed. She turned to her son, “I don’t see why you can’t be more like that smart young rat over there! He’s doing things! Making something of himself! That’s what I’m talking about! The rat community was electrified by the suggestion. More ideas were put forth to build upon the original one. “We should divide hunting parties into Listeners and Collecters,” the rat mayor proposed. “The Listeners can monitor the halls for the cat while Collecters focus on gathering food. That will make each group more efficient rather than every rat having to collect food and listen for the cat!” “Excellent suggestion Mister Mayor!” a rat council member agreed. The rats talked for hours about the wonderful things that would happen once the bell was put on the cat’s neck. The community seemed alive for the first time. Then one older rat raised his hand slowly. “Excuse me,” he said slowly when he was recognized. “But who is going to put the bell on the cat’s neck?” To this day that question remains unanswered and the rats continue to be eaten by the cat whenever they are caught outside the rat hole.

My addendum: Some rats upon encountering a rat who appears to be better fed and more successful say, “It must be nice to grow up in a house without a cat!” Other rats upon encountering a rat who appears to be better fed and more successful say, “Hey, they must have put a bell on their cat!” Which rat do you think has the best chance of being successful? My son, Marshal’s answer: The rats who say they must have put a bell on their cat because they believe it’s possible if you’re willing to take a risk. The other ones think they just have bad luck while some rats have good luck. Smart kid.

CONTRIBUTOR BIOS BRIANNA HAMBY

Brianna Hamby is a north Georgia writer. She enjoys walking as a daily exercise routine. Her interests include politics, philosophy, and positive living. You can follow her on Instagram @ sensorydispensary.

BOBBY ALLEN Bobby Allen is a personal trainer and strength coach with 15 years of experience in body transformation. Bobby is a former competitive bodybuilder with 10 years of experience in helping clients gain or lose weight for physique competitions. You can follow him on YouTube at Bobby Allen or Instagram @allenbobbyjr.

RICCARDO MAGNI Riccardo Magni is a hardcore garage gym athlete and strength coach with a competitive background in track and field, powerlifting, strongman and Highland Games. Riccardo currently competes in Armlifting. He is one of the co-hosts of The Grip Guys podcast as well as the Secretary General of Armlifting and a husband and father to three kids. Riccardo teaches science to high school students in Santa Maria, California. You can follow him on YouTube at Riccardo Magni and Instagram @riccardomagni1.

JOE GRAY Joe Gray, also known as Gray Matter Lifting, is a garage gym athlete who loves the Garage Gym Community. His personal motto is Better Than Yesterday. This defines who he is, his view of the world, and his goals in life. Each day he tries to be a little better than he was the day before. A little smarter, a little stronger, a little happier. Joeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is to create opportunities and content for the community that he would want to watch, read, and take part in. Whether we are talking about his 1+ Year Product Reviews with no affiliate links, coordinating monthly AMAs as a moderator on Reddit r/HomeGym, or running the annual #GarageGymCompetition on Instagram. It is his way to give the community something new, exciting, and hopefully push us forward together. Joe squats over 500lbs, he is an instructional designer and human resources professional, married to a fellow garage gym athlete and a father of one in training, and he loves to cook. Check Joe out on Instagram @gray_matter_lifting, YouTube, his Blog, and at garagegymlifemagazine.com.

Compex 1+ Year Review The Compex might be a good idea. As in, if you have an extra $200, 30 minutes a day of down time, are nailing every other aspect of recovery, and still feel like you could use the extra recovery bump, give the Compex a try. Otherwise, spend your time and money elsewhere first. Background One of my goals is to be proactive in my aging process. I want to continue pushing the limits in the gym well into my later years without paying a horrendous price in my ability to move and be pain free. Part of that is obviously correct technique, paying attention to my body, sleep, nutrition, etc. But if I can find a few tips and tricks and tools here and there that can help me on that journey, well then, I’m all for it. From mobility tools to compression wraps to various gadgets here and there, I’m often willing to take the plunge in the name of longevity in the sport. In the past, I’ve used a TENS machine to help with any pain, particularly in the lumbar region, with mixed results. The key limiting factor here is that the TENS is meant to relieve pain, but I really wanted to avoid pain entirely. Pair that with the TENS not really supporting recovery, but instead just focused on pain 8

relief, and we aren’t moving the body in the ideal direction of “fixing” itself. So, when I see an EMS like the Compex, I start thinking about adding it to my arsenal. Below is my experience with the Compex over the past year. The Compex I bought the Compex as an early birthday present for myself and figured I would use it for three things. First, was active recovery after hard workouts. At night, sitting on the couch and watching TV, I’d toss it on and get some blood flow. Second, was preworkout activation. Toss it on before a workout and get everything started. Third, would be weak point training on off days. So maybe my right bicep is bigger than my left, I could hook it up to the left on a Saturday and get in some additional volume so to speak. Wanting these three options led me to buy the Performance model. I strongly considered the wireless unit, but Bluetooth seems to be REALLY dodgy in my house. The last thing I wanted to do was spend $600+ on a unit that would jump in and out of working.

THE WHY PROJECT

A Documentary aboutÂ What Motivates Us 9

Compex vs. Life I first started using my Compex when I would come home from work. I’d change clothes, toss it on, and eat dinner. I’d let it run for 3 or 4 rounds while we ate and relaxed and watched some TV before taking it off and heading on a family walk, then bed time. This worked great until my daughter became mobile and wanted to play. Trying to chase a 1.5-yearold around the house with a bunch of wires dangling all over and your muscles pulsing wasn’t very safe or effective for anyone. I quickly started using the Compex right before bed after my daughter had gone to sleep and I was eating my yogurt and watching a few shows. It works well, moves some blood around, and seems to keep some of the DOMS away. I’ve found that the Compex doesn’t work well when you are sweaty. Since I start my day every morning with a walk with my dog, using the Compex for warm-ups hasn’t been successful. The pads just don’t stick well and it ends up being more work than I want. I’ve used it once or twice for the actual training effect, but again, life intervenes. Trying to wear the Compex at any point during the day is just not practical in my current life. Maybe in a few years when my daughter is in school things will change, but right now it ONLY gets used before bed. That said, I have friends and family with slightly different needs, lifestyles, and abilities. I have a friend and his wife who often share one unit while watching TV, or a movie at night, and on the weekends. No kids, so its just lay back and relax and let it do its magic. They can easily make it a lazy Sunday and let the thing roll all day long. I had a coworker awhile back who was an active trail runner and lifter. He would do full body workouts during the week in the gym, but needed to be ready to hit a few miles on the trails on Saturday, and then do it all over again on Monday. He also lived in the city, so traveling to a trail meant, at minimum, a 30 minute car ride. Not an ideal “warm-up” for running on rough terrain. He used the Compex after his workouts during the week, especially Friday night to make sure he was as close 10

to 100% for Saturday. He would then toss the unit on the warm-up mode as he drove to his trail. He said it cut his warm-up time in half, and often led to better performance. He would also toss it on AFTER the trail, since sitting in the car after being nice and sweaty isn’t the best recovery process. Again, this limited his stiffness and helped him get ready for the coming week. I believe he often towel dried off before getting in the car, sometimes even jumping in a nearby lake or river, so the sweaty + Compex issues didn’t have as much impact on him. I have another coworker who frequently travels for bike races. We are talking driving 15 hours on Friday, competing for 50 miles+ Saturday, and driving 15 hours back Sunday. That is a HORRENDOUS environment for recovery and long term success. I actually recommended she check out a Compex the other day. It would be super easy to hook up on the way there to keep blood flow to the legs, then toss it on the day after for the same reason.

Active Recovery Okay, so we know that I only use it for active recovery. I think that’s likely fine because I believe that MOST people will do the same, and it is likely what the units are best known for. I’ve found that for the heavier days where I’m squatting, deadlifting, or benching and pushing the

weight, the unit does a good job of just moving some of that lactic acid and metabolite build up out to help with recovery. I definitely notice a difference the days I do and don’t use it. For lighter days, I’m not sure its doing much; its just the heavier days with lots of tension, maybe some drop sets, high volume, etc. The days where we get sore and pay for it for a few days, the Compex seems to reduce that recovery time frame. My wife, a nurse, has used it several times as well after a heavy day at work. She works on Cardiac, dealing with a lot of people after Open Heart Surgery, so the rolling and moving of people can take its toll. The Compex has come in handy on several occasions, helping her relieve that tension, go to bed without being in pain, and be fresh again for the next

day of work or lugging around the kiddo. My mom has had a few back issues in the past and tends to do a lot to try and keep herself from heading back in that direction. She was also an active TENS unit user, but has since bought her own Compex after using mine one day. She’s used it for a few chronic pain issues in her wrist, ankles, and back with some success. Again, these are chronic life-longnot-going-away problems, so she isn’t expecting them to be fixed, just looking for that little extra relief at the end of the day. The Compex helps again with moving blood and just making things feel better. You need about 30 minutes of down time (on the couch, in the car, etc.) to get in a round. One round is often good, multiple is better at reducing the stiffness from a tough workout or long day of work,

chores, and activities, or preparing for one coming up. About 3 years ago, I had fractured my heal bone in the left foot, which meant 4 months of a cast from toes to knee, and 6 months before I was walking around again. I think the Compex could have helped in a few ways. I still had access to my left quad and hamstring, and by hooking the Compex up there, I likely could have fought some of the woes of atrophy. Also, the ability to increase some blood flow to that leg potentially would have expedited the healing process. Then after the cast came off, I could have been using it on my calve muscle to try and expedite the PT process. This is all a guessing game because I didn’t own the Compex at the time, but I look back and wish I did. One other note, I’m still on the same pads as when I bought mine. I clean them after every use with some baby wipes and reapply the plastic sheets that came with them. They are FAR superior to the pads my old TENS had. The battery also has excellent life, as in, I think I’ve charged it only a few times total. You could definitely get through an extensive competition weekend with a lot of use and not have to pack a bunch of extras. Also, not having to buy new pads over a year has significantly cut the cost of the unit compared to my original expectations. Cons The pads are just kind of a pain to apply, clean, put away, and then reuse over and over. I’ve more than once skipped my Compex session because I just didn’t have the time or mental energy to hook everything up. (The wireless model might solve this issue, but we are back to the cost and consistency aspect). Sometimes in that last 30 minutes or so of the night I just want to lay there. I don’t even have the mental fortitude to hook up the unit. I know we’ve all been there. Set-up and take-down is a few minutes each time. If you are like me, and you sweat doing pretty much anything, you likely can’t do anything but sit and use the Compex. In fact, if you plan to use it on your back you likely need to lay on your stomach. Any sweating and movement will encourage those 12

pads to move, scrunch up, and then stop working. This means you are likely stuck to doing what I do, watching TV and relaxing while using it. The few times I’ve moved around, tried to cook dinner, or even just laid on the couch on my back, the pads navigated somewhere other than where they started. Not only could this be dangerous, it’s just annoying. The final con is the cost. Compared to say, a foam roller, or a tub of protein powder, this is expensive. You could buy a decent barbell for the cost of a Compex unit. While not the most insanely priced item in the name of recovery, it certainly is up there. Overall Thoughts Make sure your life gives you the opportunity to maximize the Compex. You need at least 30 minutes for set-up, use, and clean-up to get a round in. Whether that is a commute to work or the gym, at home on the couch watching shows or banging out emails, or on a plane or car ride to or from competition, you just can’t use this effectively without that dedicated time. This is absolutely the number one aspect of success. From there, for the athlete, if you are on a budget, skip the Compex. If you haven’t figured out your nutrition yet, skip the Compex. If you aren’t prioritizing sleep, skip the Compex. If you aren’t feeling sore and beat up after some heavy days, skip the Compex. If you aren’t doing the things you know you should and prioritizing the basics, the Compex is not going to circumvent that and give you a magic bullet. Get everything else in order, and then think about a Compex. If, however, you have some extra cash to toss at a new toy, you are realistic in what it will bring to the table, and you have about 30 minutes a few days a week to give the recovery process a little boost from your active lifestyle, then the Compex may be the next iteration of your game.

Lovin Life with

Holly Markwart 14

One of my favorite Canadians hands down. Holly Markwart has been a fan of Garage Gym Life since the beginning; purchasing apparel and giving us shout outs on Instagram, so when it was time to decide which home-based athlete to close out the year with, it was a no brainer to select Holly. Let’s jump in and see why she’s lovin’ life! How long have you been a Beachbody coach? I signed as a Beachbody coach in April of 2016, but I would say I’ve been an online health fitness motivator since 2012. Ok, so then how did you get started with Beachbody? I was already taking part in Beachbody Programs at home. I was even running accountability groups on Facebook with other friends who had the same programs. I came across Colleen Novotny on Instagram. This lady was pushing 50 and looking amazing! Like HOLY ABS!! I loved her positivity she shared every day. Finally, I reached out to her regarding what I was doing fitness wise, and some of my struggles. We conversed often, and she

finally asked me why I wasn’t a coach. I knew I loved running accountability groups and would love to help others. Beachbody gave me the opportunity to continue what I was already doing, and actually have programs and tools to offer others. Explain what it means to be a Beachbody coach; do you have to successfully complete some of the programs first; is there a training program for coaches? If your passion is health and fitness, and you desire to help yourself and others in ways to better themselves both physically and mentally, then Beachbody Coaching is definitely a gig for you. You do not have to complete a specific program, but most coaches obviously stand by Beachbody Programs and use them as part of their workout routine. Beachbody offers amazing online training to help anyone get their start in this business. In addition, my team of other coaches offered me extra training on how to get started etc. All this “training” was done online on my own time. It has become my own little home business…and I get out of it what I put into it. I love everything about it! For the sake of those who don’t know how the 15

program works, can you briefly explain what it means to be on a team? With Beachbody, I would say I’m a part of 3 teams. I have Team Beachbody itself, which offers me training, and all the tools I need to help others make their start in health and fitness, including my own business website. Their customer service is great, and any help I need is just a phone call away.

groups. I feel a certain responsibility to stay consistent with training because of what I do; does being a coach help you stick to your own program? Truth be told, it is this team that keeps me the most accountable in my own journey with health and fitness. If I’m expecting them to do the work— then I better be doing it right along with them, and I do! Is there one group interaction, or do you schedule additional “calls” if you know someone is struggling that day? These challenges can last 21-60 days, depending on the theme of the challenge group, or the program selected. I usually do personal check-ins with my challengers to see how they are doing, or to offer any additional help if needed. The work itself is up to them. Only they can control what fuels their bodies, what days they push play and workout at home. But anything that I can offer them to help reach their goals outside of that, I do.

What is the support structure like for coaches and team members? I have both upline coaches and downline. We all work together to not only assist with the growth of our businesses, but to motivate and support one another on our own personal journey within health and fitness. Most of my team of active coaches are from the USA, so it’s really cool to connect and build friendships with women from all over! Lastly, I have my own little team which I’ve branded L3 Fit. This is a group of all old and new challengers…It’s basically our virtual online gym for motivation and accountability. I run private online fitness challenge groups, usually consisting of 15-30 women, all committed to doing the same program. I offer daily support, motivation, tips, recipes, etc. within my 16

You mentioned that you gained over 60lbs with both of your pregnancies; how much weight have you lost using Beachbody?

I had lost the majority of my pregnancy weight prior to starting Beachbody. In Jan. 2012, I used Jillian Michaels’ at home programs to get back into better shape. However, my success did not stick, and I slowly gained almost 20 lbs. back. So, I started Beachbody in Jan. of 2015, but can you believe, since starting Beachbody, I’ve only so far lost a total of maybe 4 lbs? But my physique has improved drastically, as you can see from the picture. I have had fat loss, and more muscle gain. I’d say I’m in the best shape of my life, but not quite at my goal just yet. What was the first program you started with? How did you know which program to do next?

a program to follow. So, sometimes I dabble with moves from that. Pinterest and Google offer an abundance of quick routines. Many people think Beachbody is a program, but it seems to me to be more of a virtual gym. If you hire three personal trainers from the same gym, you usually get three different training styles. In Beachbody, you can choose the style of training you want to do by selecting among the training programs. Is this a fair assessment? That is exactly correct! Beachbody on Demand is basically the Netflix of workout programs. You have an abundance of programs and trainers to choose from; a virtual gym at your fingertips to keep you accountable all year long! When you are done with a program, you go on and just start another! The most popular Beachbody programs are likely the Insanity and P90X series. Which program do you think is the unsung hero, the one that deserves more recognition but just doesn’t get tried by as many people?

The first program I did was Insanity Max 30. The program proved a success and helped me with fat loss, but not wanting to quit, I continued on doing program after program. I’ve since completed 21 Day Fix and Fix Extreme numerous times, Hammer and Chisel, Body Beast, Hard Corps, Shift Shop, and more. And Beachbody is always coming out with new programs! I’m excited for the New Obsessed 80 program being released January of 2018!

21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme. I know it’s already a popular program, but feel that avid gym goers look at that program and slough it off. That program is good for any fitness level, but if you up the weights and push yourself in all sets, especially in 21 Day Fix Extreme, it’s great, and can offer you amazing results. In addition to that, 21 Day Fix includes a full nutrition program using the portion control container system. It’s an amazing plan to follow, and truly installs lifelong lessons on portion size, and what foods are best to fuel your body with.

Do you train Beachbody exclusively, or do you mix it up with other systems?

How does your family feel about your training, and how do you balance your duties as a coach with your responsibilities as a wife and mother?

I mainly stick to a Beachbody program and schedule, but do occasionally add in a mix of my own. A good friend of mine was kind enough to teach me a little bit about weight training, and even created me

This is a good question. I’ve had at home fitness as a priority in my life now for almost four years, so my husband and kids know that it’s just something that I do as part of my daily routine. I am truly passionate 17

about what I do as a coach; my kids and husband know that. They know that I motivate others to work out and make healthier lifestyle choices. Part of being a coach involves a lot of time on social media to motivate and inspire others to join me. I do my best to use snippets of time throughout the day when my kids are at school, or when they are preoccupied in their own activities to do this. However, there are times when they do have to remind me to put my phone away. Evenings and weekends are our usual family time. We enjoy many movies together, and spending time outdoors. It’s very easy for our passion to become drudgery when we start making a living from it. How do you maintain your enthusiasm for staying fit? I constantly set goals for myself Every Single MONTH! The goals usually pertain to: • committing to a specific program start to finish • inspire and motivate both past and new challengers to join me, and • always work on my own personal fit journey: find more abs, work on the booty, ditch the wine for a certain number of days. Tell me about your garage gym; you actually workout in your garage, basement and living room correct? I LOVE my garage gym! It’s just nice to a have a space specifically for working out. No moving furniture around, or hauling weights in and out of a closet. My garage gym consists of a treadmill, a weight machine, weight set, dumbbells and of course, a projector screen to view my Beachbody programs. Currently, we do not have a heated garage, therefore I can only withstand the cold for so long, come our good old Saskatchewan winter time. Usually, from Dec. – April, my gym of dumbbells and a laptop are moved to the spare bedroom. Not the same feel, but at least it’s warm!! What a wuss! (he says from the warmth of a Georgia winter) Let’s talk about nutrition. 18

First and most important: which is a better protein source, Canadian bacon or the bacon we eat in the rest of the world? Ha, ha! I’m sure it’s Canadian bacon of course…I personally go for turkey bacon myself. Ok, now that we have that completely unbiased opinion, Beachbody nutrition doesn’t get a ton of attention; we tend to focus on the exercise programs. I just tried the Protein Hot Chocolate and it was pretty good with 15g of protein per serving. What’s your favorite Beachbody nutrition product? SHAKEOLOGY of course! I drink it every single day. Some people may slough it off as just an expensive protein shake, but it is so much more than that! It is stuffed full of superfoods, ingredients with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, fiber, digestive enzymes, and more. It’s known as a meal replacement, but I myself usually use it as a delicious afternoon treat! The shake itself is known to help maintain good health. I use this as my only source of daily multivitamin and have very rarely gotten sick since starting it 2 years ago. It also builds and repairs muscles, reduces cravings, boosts energy, and over all, aids in healthy weight loss. I recommend it to all my challengers. They have a variety of flavors, and even offer a vegan version that diabetics can have. Aside from Shakeology, my favorite would be Energize Preworkout. It’s a lemon flavored, dietary supplement that improves intense exercise performance, and increases energy and endurance! It works amazing!! You mentioned that the kitchen area is your area of greatest struggle. I think that’s something that many athletes struggle with. What are your most successful habits for avoiding temptation? My accountability/challenge groups: when I’m paired up with other ladies doing the same challenge as I, on a journey through a program, we work together to meal plan, share recipes, and prep ideas. Knowing I have a team of ladies doing their best to avoid

temptation, helps me do the same. Of course, the best tip would be, out of sight out of mind. If it’s a bad temptation, (for me red wine: usually my weakness, darn all those empty calories), just GET IT OUT OF THE HOUSE.

not focus on. I am always looking through resources for tips on what to do next, whether it be books, the Internet, or reaching out to friends on social media.

We’re in the holiday season now, and most people gain weight during this time. What’s your favorite way to cope with the additional calories? Because, you can’t be the one with Tupperware at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

“I’ve completed numerous programs, tried many routines, exercises and followed a fairly clean diet… well over 90% of the time. While I know I’ve made progress, and I’m stronger than when I started, *(it’s impossible not to if you just keep at it),* my journey is slow going and has me in a “Rut”. I won’t give up though; can’t stop, won’t stop. I’ll just continue learning, and growing, and sharing.”

Over my years with Beachbody, and because of the 21 Day Fix Program, the system has been engrained in my brain. I have learned portion control, and nutritional guidelines. What I mean by that is, 21 Day Fix is structured around a macro nutrient count system, but instead, we use color coded containers. It has a suggested amount of carbs, fats, proteins etc. that you can eat throughout the day. So, on days I know I have a bigger meal involved, I just plan my day around it. I use Shakeology as a meal replacement at lunch, so that I can truly enjoy my holiday meal without the guilt of over indulging… because it was planned for, and fits within my daily suggested plan. You’ve talked about the fact that we need to adjust our training as we age— our bodies go through hormonal changes and things that used to work for fat loss don’t work anymore. Is this one of the things you learned as you researched for ways to get you out of your training rut? I know that you were reading books like Thinner, Leaner, Stronger to find ways to jumpstart progress. At this point, it is not something specifically that I have done a lot of research on; it’s just something that I have noticed. What worked for me in 2012 to reach that lower number on the scale, is not working this time round. There are many factors that come to play though; I’m older, and I have more muscle than in the past, my physique and build is different. That number on the scale is just something I need to 20

You posted this on Instagram:

In my journey, and on my social media shares, I have not shied away from the fact that I am a lover of red wine. It was the main contributor to my weight gain in 2013/2014. What should have been a moderate treat, soon became a nightly habit. It has been a main struggle of mine always. I’m a very social person, and choose to not cut all the fun out of my life, however, I find when I feel stress is in my life, or there are a lot of social activities on my calendar, old habits creep in and hinder my progress. As a coach, I do not at all feel that this makes me a hypocrite in anyway… If anything, it bonds me more with my challengers as I too have struggles to overcome in my journey to a healthier Life. In September, along with a group of challengers, I dialed in 100% to a program called Shift Shop. I followed the meal plan pretty much to a T, and completely cut out all booze for 21 days. At the end of the program, although I felt fantastic, I didn’t see much change physically, or on the scale. That led me to wanting to research into what changes I could possibly make to really see results. This statement came at the end of a September that you said rocked, and led into an October that you called a rocky month of worry, stress and anxiety which took a toll on you mentally and physically. Talk about how you were feeling when you wrote this post, and how it’s connected to your struggles in October.

October came and started on such a scary and sad note. Two scary situations within the news: terrorist attacks in Edmonton, and the shooting in Vegas. My husband and I are yearly Vegas vacationers, so, the negativity of it all set my anxiety off. I started to worry over the silliest things, and couldn’t get my mind right. I still did my workouts and ate well, but my evenings resorted back to my old friend red wine to ease my mind from anxiety that I couldn’t shake. My husband and I still took that trip to Vegas, and it actually was one of the best trips we have ever had! I came home refreshed, and ready to get back to myself. I created the Fit in Ness Holiday Dress Challenge Group in collaboration with my teammate Heather Newman. This challenge group included both American and Canadian women, who committed, and dialed in to the same program for 42 days. It is because of that group that I really focused on myself again, and on all the things I truly value: being the best version of myself, making healthier choices, and living a life I can be proud of. I love how candid you are when you struggle. Why do you think it’s important to show the world more than just your social media “highlight reel?” Because it makes me human. I’m not perfect and I don’t want anyone to ever think that. I’m not a certified fitness trainer, or a certified nutritionist. I’m just a mom trying to live a life of health and fitness to inspire my family, my friends and any other woman out there who is struggling, but doesn’t know where to start. I often look at my IG account as my own personal fitness journal because I share it all there. It’s nice to go back and see how far I’ve come, what I’ve done, what struggles I had, and overcame.

makes tarts, I’ll treat to a couple. But in moderation! And when the holiday is over, and it’s back to usual routine, I dial back in. That’s what I call balance. If you hold major restrictions on things you love, then I feel it will never become a lifestyle. You will not enjoy the journey. What’s the last empowerment book you read and how does reading those books help you in your overall wellness journey? The last one I read was, EAT THAT FROG by Brian Tracy. I took this book along with me on my Vegas vacation. It offered me great resources to share with my challengers on goal setting, and really going after those desires they want most! These books are so helpful, not only for myself and my mindset, but they offer me great insight and resources to offer my challengers; good content within our challenge groups. Besides Beachbody workouts do you still enjoy 5k runs? YES! If the weather is good, and I’m home on the weekend, you can bet I’m out getting in a 3-5k run. There is nothing I enjoy more than the sweet escape of running on the path with music in my ears! You can follow Holly or contact her to join one of her Challenge groups by visiting her on Instagram @hollyluvlife

Tell me what it means to you to create healthy habits, not restrictions. I am a firm believer of enjoying LIFE! So, I am not so restrictive at special events or holiday times of the year. If my mother- in - law offers me pie, I eat the pie. We only have one life to live. If my mom 21

GUESTS

EPISODES

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Warning: This Gift Guide is NOT for you, the home gym owner. It’s to help your friends and family come up with the perfect gift for you. No more ugly ties and shirts you don’t wear unless they’re around. To make this list products had to have been used personally by the person recommending them and be something that someone who ALREADY owns a home gym might want as an upgrade or add on to what they have. There are plenty of sites offering gift guides for people who want to set up a home gym, just Google and you’ll see a ton of ideas. Some of them are excellent and some of them are thoughts that got loose when their owner wasn’t paying attention. Anyway, here’s our list of home gym friendly products that are sure to put a smile on a cellar dwelling face.

$50 - $100

Quicklee 20MS Machined Steel 2” Olympic Collars $79.95+ shipping on Amazon Prime Where to Find Them: Amazon.com 23

Why They’ll Love Them If you’re just starting out, a few sets of spring collars from Walmart or Play It Again Sports is fine. BUT this gift guide is not for people who are starting out. Wait several months and having collars slide when you’re squatting and deadlifting starts to get old. It is not fun for plates to slide off the bar during deadlifts. My new favorite set of collars is the Quicklee 20MS Machined Steel 2” Olympic Collars. I grabbed a pair of these after complaining that none of my other collar options could keep the plates from sliding when I did Steinborn Lifts. International All Around Weightlifting Association world record holder, James Fuller recommended the Quiklee product. I got so excited AFTER ONE SET that I immediately did an Instagram Live broadcast where I worked up to 285lbs. I’ve since gone up to 325lbs where the plates didn’t budge an inch. Yet they slide off easily with just one hand. You might not be interested in doing Steinborns yourself but I’m just saying that any collars that can hold three 20kg/45lb plates vertically without budging can handle your heaviest dropped deadlift, snatch or clean. - John Greaves III

Why They’ll Love Them Collars are often overlooked and underused but they can make a difference between a PR and a missed lift. The Rogue HG Collars have stood up for me. Even when I cracked them they still held tight. Plus the sharp look is a nice touch. - Thomas Stone

Mark Bell’s Slingshot $50+ shipping Where to Find Them: How Much Ya Bench Why They’ll Love Them You can’t go wrong in a garage gym with a product that allows you to bench more weight with less pain, less fatigue but which takes up virtually zero space! Not to mention you can use it for dips, pushups, etc. - Thomas Stone

Rogue HG Collars $36.50+ shipping Where to Find Them: Rogue Fitness

Slater’s Atlas Stone Molds $50 - $220 (depending on the size of the mold) + shipping Where to Find Them: Rogue Fitness

These come in varying sizes from 8 inch diameter with a finished stone weight of 23lbs - the 24 inch diameter with a finished stone weight of 586lbs! Any home gym strong man can purchase a sack of Quikcrete, mix it up and go to town on some Atlas molds! Remember to follow the directions and (based on my experiences with them) GREASE THE INSIDE OF THE MOLDS!! Makes getting the stones out easier without busting them up after they’ve set and cured. - Marisol Swords

Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It I used this myself because some other yoga wheels were too big. Its excellent for working on increasing the bench arch and rehab/prehab work so it’s what I recommend for powerlifters who aren’t into yoga. - Marisol Swords

$150 - $500 Ultimate Ears Boom 2 mobile Bluetooth Speaker Options start at $119.99 + shipping (free for Prime members)

Procircle Wood Gymnastic Olympic Gym Rings $89.99 + shipping Where to Find Them: Amazon.com Without a doubt, my favorite addition to my home gym is gymnastic rings. I love doing deadhangs, pull-ups and dips on them. They are very versatile and mobile. I am also beginning to learn some more advanced moves like strict and kipping muscle ups. - Dallas Martin

Where to find it: Amazon.com I received this speaker last year for Christmas(2016). It’s a small looking speaker and I greatly underestimated how much I would enjoy it. Connects wirelessly to my phone and plays Youtube or Pandora during my workouts. It works great in the garage - and works awesome when I leave my phone charging in the garage and take the speaker out in the yard/driveway (or) in the car when I play in the park. - Rob Brink

Plexus Micro Yoga Wheel $55+shipping Where to Find It: Plexusco.com

TRX Suspension Trainer $149.95 + shipping (free for Prime members) 25

Where to Find Them: Amazon.com Why They’ll Love It The TRX is great for a quick circuit, a complimentary unstable superset, or just a fun playful weekend challenge. You can hang it up in the garage permanently, attach it inside to a door, or quickly hang it from a tree or a deck outside. It is a bit pricey, but there’s tons of stuff you can do with it. I have abused mine over the years - and it is still working great! - Rob Brink

SS Yoke Bar $389.00+ shipping

PowerLine PSM144X Smith Machine $419.00 + shipping Where to Find It: Amazon.com Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It Multi-purpose tool to balance out all of the free weight equipment. Allows for some restrictive movements but also some isolation focus on muscles. It’s under $500. You could go cheaper and just buy them another set of dumbbells but this Smith machine is my choice! - Bobby Allen

Where to Find It: EliteFTS.com Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It The SS Yoke Bar is the EliteFTS version of the powerlifting staple Safety Squat Bar or SSB. This bar is great as an option for lifters who suffer elbow pain when performing squats with the bar on their back or when doing Barbell Good Mornings to improve your upper back strength. But why the EliteFTS model? Simply put, this is the one I’ve used. I had the pleasure of trying it out when EliteFTS first released it courtesy of training at the legendary Steve Goggins’ garage gym. Everyone I know who’s used this product (a list which includes world record holders in more than one strength sport) is very pleased with it. Don’t have your beloved garage gym rat less than pleased with his or her gift. Just get the EliteFTS bar. They have a well-deserved reputation for customer service; Wes Jenkins told me that his SSB got a crack on it and he got a replacement with a simple call to EliteFTS customer service. Think about that for a while. -John Greaves III 26

Medweigh MS-2510 High Capacity Digital Platform Scale cost: $429.95 + shipping Where to Find It: Scales Galore This made it into the gift guide as a cool way to help someone who’s thinking of expanding their in home personal training business. These scales are accurate and also handy if someone competes in a weight

class sport. Since I have people coming to my garage I have a scale that can handle 1000lbs. If that is too pricey I also have a Tanita body mass scale. In my experience it has measured my body fat percentage ranging from dead on to plus or minus 5 points. - Randy Olson

Where to Find It: howmuchyabench.net

Less Than $50 But Still Priceless

GCode VICE Pre-Workout $45+ shipping (use promo code GARAGE20 for an additional 20% off at checkout)

Mad Rock Chalk Bags $29.95+ shipping

Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It One of the best ways to increase glute strength without any load on the glutes. -Rachel Flanagan

Where to Find It: GCode Nutrition

Where to Find Them: I bought mine from REI.com but apparently they no longer stock that brand. You can still find Mad Rock at Amazon.com you could try another of the brands of chalk bags which are still available from REI. Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It These bags come new with a magnesium chalk ball filled with rock climbing chalk. You stick your hand into the bag, squeeze once or twice and you’re ready to go. This one is a gift for both the home gym owner and whoever has to keep their gym floor clean. Garage gym or not chalk all over the floor if the home gym after every deadlift, snatch, clean session with barbells or kettlebells just isn’t cool. Sweaty palms that drop the bar or kettlebell though? Also not cool. Using chalk bags keeps the floor clean. There are liquid chalk products on the market but I’ve read that sometimes liquid chalk dries in the sprayer and causes the bottle to not work as well. This gift is also a great idea for people who train part of the time in commercial gyms where chalk is frowned upon. - John Greaves III Slingshot Hip Circle

Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It Why are we including pre-workouts in a gift guide? Pre-workouts are the coffee of the lifting world. Granted, many of us also drink coffee but that’s why pre-workout powders are so popular. Usually if you want more than one flavor of a pre-workout you have to buy it separately at roughly $20 per container. GCode VICE comes in 45 servings spread out across three 15 serving containers, each with a different soda inspired flavor. All for $45. That’s a $20 savings before tax! I’ve tried all of the flavors and the Grindin Grape and Cherry Swola both hit the spot for me. I gave the Legend Lime to my brother and he LOVED IT! Even if your garage gym person has never heard of VICE, they will thank you for the free pre-workout. After they try it, you’ll be their favorite for life. -John Greaves III Warm Up Accessories Athleema Mini Bands Where to Find It: Amazon.com Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It This pack of three is inexpensive and great to have around for warming up your glutes. -Rachel Flanagan

41” half inch width band

Where to Find It: Resistance Band Training Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It This is my gym workhorse. I use it for shoulder warm up and for many variations of high rep shoulder work without having to worry about load on my joints. This band plus the min band and Hip Circle always travel with me on vacation. -Rachel Flanagan

the world use Josh as their strength coach. This book has some of their programs in it plus programs from some of the greats of all time. Packed with useful info, this might be this generation’s version of Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. (Kids just Google encyclopedia). - Thomas Stone Everything’s Over My Head 3 DVD Collection by Dan John

Give The Gift of Education Seminars and workshops are an excellent opportunity to take a vacation and learn something useful at the same time. Here are the top seminars we recommend: Original Strength Pressing RESET $294 StrongFirst Kettlebell User Course $299 StrongFirst Bodyweight Course $299 KMS is up to $750, but they have an online watch yourself version at https://www.kabuki. ms/ for a $99 yearly sub or $10.99 month. Why They’ll Love It: Some of my favorite fitness gifts I have received over the years were seminars. Education may not be a shiny new trophy piece of equipment, but for me, I’m not sure much else can beat it. There are many options - I enjoy the 1 day seminars. You get to soak in a days worth of knowledge. Then you go back to your garage re-motivated and read for action. - Rob Brink Books and DVDs are another great way to give the gift of education. Here are some of our favorites: Built To The Hilt by Josh Bryant $ 45.75 + shipping (free shipping for Amazon Prime members) Where to Find It: Amazon.com Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It Knowledge is power. Some of the best athletes in 28

Where to Find It: danjohn.net Why They’ll Love It and You for Buying It One sign of an intelligent person is being able to make difficult concepts easy to understand for the average person. Dan John has that kind of intelligence and the athletic street cred to back it up. It’s largely because of him that our international love affair with carries and get ups began. This three DVD collection teaches among other things an excellent squat progression that can take ANYONE from stiff and arthritic to squatting to full depth. Seriously.

Setting Up A Gym in Your Apartment By Brianna Hamby

Living in an apartment can make exercising a struggle, especially if your building doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an apartment gym. If you have a small space like I do, imagining all of that equipment filling every inch of your apartment can be dissuading, however it is not impossible. Beyond the tips in this video, you will need to plan carefully to maximize your use of available space. - Wayne K. His home gym operation takes place in a

one bedroom 660 sq ft apartment above other neighbors. With a space this small, and goals as large as his, he ran into quite a few concerns and struggles. Because he was in an apartment, considerations needed to be made about what he was allowed to do according to his lease and how much weight he could safely have in his unit. Furthermore, he had to consider that his lower neighbors may be able to hear him lifting or feel the aftershock of deadlifting. 29

These space saving products are perfect for an apartment gym (And they won’t break the bank!): • Ab Roller/Exercise Wheel: Regardless of what you call them, these are great for achieving and maintaining that ideal figure in a cramped space. All you need is an Ab roller and anarea in which you can stretch from fingers to toes on the floor. If you’ve never used one before, keep in mind that the ab roller is a bit more difficult than traditional crunches. Benefits: Portable, Easy storage, Strengthens core. • Doorway Chin-Up/Pull-Up Bars: I can not stress enough how perfect this piece of equipment is for the apartment lifestyle. It’s stored above your head and out of the way, while still being something you can use to work your entire upper body using the right routine. Moreover, there’s a vast array of workouts designed for the pull up bar that are lowimpact; meaning you can still get your sweat on and reduce your risk of injury. Benefits: Simple Installation, Inexpensive, Complete upper-body workout, Low impact. • Suspension Trainers: These are a must-have for every apartment gym. They are small enough to store anywhere, and you can use them to work both the upper and lower body, which makes them incredibly versatile. All that you need to get a good workout with suspension trainers is a door and enough of an area to move around in front of it. Benefits: Portable, Strengthen core/upper body, Strengthen lower body. • Resistance Bands: These are a trifecta for your apartment gym. They’re budget friendly, minimal WC, and offer a variety of workout styles to help you achieve any goal. They are highly recommended for apartments that are too small to have any kind of large workout equipment or even a set of weights. Resistance bands are a great resource for building 30

muscle, strength, and endurance, thus making them a useful addition to any strength training routine. Benefits: Portable, Minimal space required, Work a variety of muscles. • Bonus tip: Yoga mat. Newsflash you can do yoga without a mat. Yogis practiced yoga for centuries before yoga mats were invented. But, since they are a thing now, why not grab one to make your mobility work and cool down sessions a bit more pleasant? For a comprehensive breakdown of the best yoga mat options for your home gym check out this post from Jen Reviews. For those who can’t imagine a gym without free weights. • Kettlebells: To get a well-rounded exercise routine at home, include a kettlebell or two! This will help you build up muscle and strength in your legs, lower back, and shoulders. Benefits: Small, Strengthen Lower Body, Endurance training, Inexpensive. • Free Weights: For a small space, adjustable free weights are perfect. Peter Keller, the CEO and founder of Fringe Sport, recommends two different sized kettlebells. With those, “. . . you can do about 80% of the strength and conditioning training exercises that you need to do.” These will help you build up muscle and strength in your legs, lower back, and shoulders. Benefits: Small, Strengthen Lower Body, Endurance training, Inexpensive. Wrapping It Up Before you begin investing in your gym, make sure you have a plan in place for what you need. This will help you achieve your personal fitness goals faster. “The best way to begin your fitness journey is to figure out what your goals are, and what’s going to fit in well with your life,” says Keller.

Spare Bedroom Gym By Brianna Hamby

Spare rooms are not always the biggest, but you don’t need a lot to do a lot! One option to pack a lot of gym into a small space, is to invest in a multi-station. Multistations are useful because of their versatility and range of workout styles. Aside from the main unit itself, accessories, bands and cables can be utilized to broaden your workout capabilities. It is this adaptability to tailor itself to anyone’s routine that makes a multi-station a sound and valuable investment.

In his review of the Powertec Levergym, Joe Gray, discusses how important it is to still train with barbells and free weights as the focus of your workout; how a multi-station can “fill the gaps in a lot of ways for your typical bodybuilding routine, and can help add some volume and variations into what can often become a stagnant revolving door of Squats, Bench, and Deadlift in a garage gym.” Free weights are an important addition to any at-home gym for numerous reasons. The most appealing is that they are a budget-friendly asset.

While the complete sets do look nice all lined up together, you can buy barbells, dumbbells or kettlebells individually based off of your personal fitness needs. Useful Tip: Buying adjustable dumbbells will make furnishing your gym even more affordable, since you can upgrade weights as needed and then sell old or unused ones! An adjustable bench press is recommended in addition to your free weight set. It’s best to get one that adjusts to flat, incline and decline, known as a FID. Even in a small spare room, an adjustable, flat, incline, decline bench doesn’t need a ton of space and the weights can be stored atop or underneath when out of use. If you have neighbors underneath your gym room, buy or build a weight lifting platform to help muffle the noise. Another consideration would be for bumper plates instead of kettlebells or barbells. These are made of a thick, tightly packed rubber, so they are safer when dropped and quieter. One interesting new product in this area is the Pound Pad. According to their website, “. . . the Pound Pad is comprised of a military-grade vinyl cover and a proprietary blend of industrial-strength foam”. This has tremendous potential to muffle if not outright kill the vibration and noise; saving you an awkward conversation with your landlord. It can be hard to know where to start or what kinds of things to consider, so here is some advice from a few home-gym creators about their struggles: u/sineater u/sineater is a member of the r/homegym subReddit and he’s got some helpful suggestions for you if you plan on a home gym in an apartment or any upstairs spare room. “I’d suggest that anybody thinking about a spare bedroom gym upstairs (or anywhere inside the house) consider what type of lifting they do/ plan to do, what other equipment they’ll have (e.g., a 32

treadmill), and maybe have somebody stay downstairs while somebody else goes upstairs and jumps around, maybe smack a couple of plates together or something to simulate the sound,” he said. “Try it with the TV/stereo on and off, etc. Then you’ll have a sense of whether or not it would drive other people in the house nuts, make watching TV impossible while somebody is working out, etc.” This may not be practical if you’re putting a home gym into your spare bedroom in an apartment but you might be able to work something out with your neighbors if you can train at a time that won’t be too disruptive for them. U/sineater also points out that lifting style will heavily influence how noisy you are. “Lifting doesn’t seem to make enough noise to be a nuisance even from directly below,” he said. “But again, we don’t drop loaded bars beyond a heavy deadlift coming down (under control) with a bit of a thud maybe. And I do cleans, but I lower the bar. I get that some people may be accustomed to dropping the bar after a clean or maybe they just enjoy it, but it’s really not necessary under most circumstances.” There are some other little tricks to help keep the noise down. We’ve mentioned bumper plates. According to u/sineater, “Felt, foam, etc. on the rack where the barbell may may hit can help reduce noise. I have monolifts that I use for benching and I’ve put felt disks on the arms where they make contact when the arms swing down in order to dampen the sound. Little things like that can make a notable difference. Some people put foam on pin and pipe safeties too which protects the bar and reduces noise”. Take-away: Apartments can be a bit tricky to construct your gym in, but it is not impossible. Establish a game plan by informing yourself of what is going to be safe to have in your apartment’s specifications, and budget for items that you may not need, but which your neighbors might, like a platform, or mats. Again, pound pads may be helpful.

David Dennis

Founder of Gorilla Strength Equipment By John Greaves III

David Dennis, founder of Gorilla Strength Equipment, is a throwback to an era of American craftsmanship long thought forgotten. Interact with him on any level and it only takes a few words before you find yourself captivated by the passion with which he approaches providing for his family and producing high quality equipment that your great grandchildren can hit PRs on. Put yourself in the position of someone placing a custom order. What are some things that you’d need to make sure you knew ahead of time in order to make the ordering process go as smoothly as possible, and help ensure that you were satisfied with your finished product when it arrived at your house? It is always nice to know up front what the customer’s long-term goals are, what type of weight that they will be moving, their body type (size), and target price. This helps with the overall design of

equipment. I tend to start with complete overkill and work my way back. Trap bars are a good example of this. I have built tons of custom trap bars. Mostly for people that will be moving 1k+ loads and often dropping those loads on safety straps or safety pins from inside a rack. This type of build needs to be overkill. My typical custom build on this scale will be capable of lifting around 17,000 lbs and includes my original “Bubba Bar” load sleeves. There is no reason for the average person to have a bar like that. There aren’t that many people moving 1k+ around. Most people need a bar that will handle 500 to 600lbs safely. By letting me know up front what your needs are, we can get on the same page quicker. Another big aspect of custom builds is body type: How wide is your natural grip? How tall are you? If I am building a custom piece of equipment, I like to customize it to you. I don’t think a lot of people understand that a piece of equipment can be tailored to them. Just like when buying a pair of shoes, you can wear a size bigger or smaller and get by with it. 33

I imagine that if someone had never had a proper fitting pair of shoes they probably would not know the difference. Custom equipment is just that; until you have had it in your hands, it is hard to explain. Lastly, is budget. I hate this part of the business! When pricing custom equipment I estimate design and build time and add that to the cost of materials and shipping. That sounds pretty straightforward right? Well, it is in most cases; but if you want something that is next level, let me know up front. You can have a leather topped flat bench with your name or logo branded into the center, a trap bar that is 185lb unloaded, a custom rack with a picture of your ex-wife’s new husband cut into the back of it for motivation.

something I love. Customers often feel like they are taking up too much of my time or causing an inconvenience to me. I just don’t get that. Yes, I have a lot of shit going on, but I always have time to stop and talk about something new and special. I love what I do. Your Next Generation Grip Machine was an update of the famous “Bruce Lee” Grip Machine that allows the user to build their pinch grip, arm-wrestling grip and, of course, crushing grip but it didn’t sell as well as you thought it would. With space saving being so important in home gyms, why do you think that is? I mean, I knew I wanted one as soon as I watched the video!

Wait, what? If money is no object, I will make sure you get what you want. If something like that is what you are looking for I like to know that up front.

That’s amazing, especially the part about the exwife’s new husband. I honestly can say that I’ve never had a conversation that included the words you used in that sentence with anyone else. So, what’s the number one thing that customers do that you wish they wouldn’t? I wish customers would not feel like they inconvenience me by talking about equipment. I love building, fabricating, and designing equipment!! When people ask questions or bounce their ideas off me, it gives me an opportunity to talk about 34

Man, I think a lot of people still don’t understand grip training and the different ways, (or need), to train it. People only have so much time, and I think that grip machine was just too complex for most people. In the end, people who want that are people who already have some idea about grip training. Right now, we are at a point where those people are too few. Luckily, there are many new people coming in to grip strength, but a machine like that is just too busy looking. The simpler grip machine just looks easier to use. I think that is why the old standard grip machine continues to be a good seller. You had a great blog post how President Trump’s tariff on imported steel would affect the cost of strength training equipment. The purpose of the tariff was ostensibly to protect American business, but you pointed out that it would actually make it easier for foreign brands like Titan Fitness to compete against American manufacturers. It’s been a few months since you wrote that, have you found that your predictions were accurate so far? I have seen my steel prices double since writing that article. I have had to raise my prices a bit— I wish I hadn’t had to do that. The price of steel is making an impact and is making it harder for American

companies to compete on price— but that is really just the surface of what I think we have here. I may lose a customer or two for this, but hold my beer. Don’t ever hesitate to say what’s on your heart in our publication. We’re here to give you guys a voice! I believe that people should be able to work and support their families. I pay people who work for me a wage that will allow them to work an honest day and have health insurance and support their family without government assistance. That is important to me. I think we all can agree that if a man/woman works hard, they should not have to worry about themselves, or their children going hungry, or getting sick. This is at the heart of whether or not you buy an American product. If you believe in those things, you should support American companies whenever you can. In return, you should expect a superiorly (sic) made product and great customer support by people who show respect to you for what you do to provide for their families. Too often American companies are failing to meet their responsibilities to customers and customers are choosing to buy overseas.

Some things you can get by doing DIY and I do offer DIY kits for many of the things I make. They are pre-cut parts ready to be welded together. I do this so that people who can weld have the parts to do it. My first big fabrication project was building a three wheel bicycle from plans I ordered from the back of a magazine. I like to be able to provide that experience to others. The DIY kits I provide are simple things that can be done with medium skill level. Where you really start to see safety come into play is when you started getting into heavier weight. When you start getting into loads over a couple hundred pounds you need well-built equipment. This is especially true with dynamic movements. Years ago, (when I was in my mid-teens) I saw a man get his neck broken when an incline bench failed at a local gym. He was incline pressing 225 and the back of the bench broke loose. His head hit the spotter platform behind him and the bar landed on his neck. That’s similar to why I’m picky about where I get my heavier dumbbells from— I saw a guy in the gym where I worked get a broken nose when a 70lb dumbbell came apart on him during a set of pullovers. I told someone on r/HomeGym this a week or so ago— expensive, well-made equipment is cheaper than surgery and months of physical therapy! Most people do not realize but many of the benches you buy off the shelf are only rated for a combined weight (lifter and load) of 300lbs.

Shipping is a major chunk of the cost when purchasing a new piece of equipment. That’s probably why so many garage gym owners find that they can save money by going the DIY route. But there are advantages to getting a piece professionally built. Talk about some factors that might make it better to buy instead of DIY.

You have a number of videos on your YouTube channel dedicated to specific builds you’ve done for individuals. Why did you choose to create those videos? Is it just an efficient way to give an update to customers or is there another reason? I wish I could do videos like that for all my customers. That is a goal of mine. I am a little old fashioned. I grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky. Looking someone in the eye and shaking someone’s hand is something I think is important. Doing customer videos is a way for me to put myself

out there to customers so that they can see the person who is standing behind the product. I have built many things in my life from structures over interstates, to automations in factories, to helping my wife build babies ha, ha! But nothing gives me more satisfaction than shaking someone’s hand after finishing their project. I love building fitness equipment, but I miss that one-on-one interaction with the customer. I can’t really look someone in the eye or shake their hand over the Internet. Maybe Elon Musk will figure that one out but until then, I will make customer videos when time allows.

talk about a customer service situation that you’d like to go back and handle differently? How has that affected how you do business today?

You’ve got some unique builds, but the most unusual has to be the Wall Mace! As soon as I read the description of it, it made sense, but I would have never imagined turning painting with a roller into a training tool. Has that been a popular item or is it too esoteric for the average customer?

I view customer complaints as a chance to prove who I am. By working through a problem, you have a chance to develop a relationship with that customer that is deeper and more meaningful that you would have had otherwise. [Celebrity personal trainer] Gunnar Peterson is a customer of mine. He had a problem with the very first thing he ordered from me. Now he will send me links of pictures of famous people like Bruce Willis and Russell Wilson using my equipment.

We have sold a total of two of them. The people who have purchased them seem to like them. I think they are a bit esoteric for the average Joe. You have an eBay store and a pretty solid reputation on there, with 100% positive rating out of 126 reviews, why did you choose eBay as a sales platform? Years ago, when my wife and I got married, our combined income was $80 a week. eBay was still a very new platform. Funny, but back then, everyone had dialup [Internet]. We used to go to yard sales and buy stuff to clean up and resell on eBay. We developed that into a decent business and eventually sold that business. My first few pieces of equipment were sold under that business. Later, when I decided to pursue my passion for building equipment eBay was a natural channel for me to use. I mentioned your excellent customer rating but nobody hits it out of the park every time on customer service. However, great companies and great people learn from their mistakes. Can you

Dude, you need to put stuff like that on your Instagram and Facebook pages! Your website landing page! I wish I had an instance or situation that stuck out but there isn’t any one situation that comes to mind. I think how I interact with customers I learned at a very early age. I grew up in an upholstery shop. I really think that has shaped a lot of who I am. I think I get a lot of the artisanship I put into my builds from watching my mother line up the strips on couches and the painstaking detail she put into her work. I also think a lot of my views on the world were developed then. I remember my mother coming home from work one night. Both her and my grandmother worked in the same sewing factory for many years. They made shirts. I heard her telling my father that instead of making shirts they were now sewing pre-made sleeves on already sewn shirts and a tag that said, “Made in America” (back in the 80s and 90s what it meant to be “Made in America” was very 37

relaxed). Many of the “American made” products from that time period were mostly made elsewhere. My mother left and went to another factory and shortly later opened the upholstery shop I grew up in. The impact that the change had on my grandmother was much greater. With all the parts of the shirt she had been proud to have been making now being made overseas, it devastated the sense of pride that she once had in her work. It was the equivalent of being told that she wasn’t good enough to do the job. My grandmother was a very simple lady. The world to her was very black and white. I often step back and try to see the world as she did. In most situations, no matter how complex they seem to be, they usually can be broken down into black and white. What is the right thing to do and what isn’t. Family is important to you. In fact, you started your business as a way to teach your son to enjoy what he does for a living. Looking at the Gorilla Strength videos on YouTube, it seems to be working. Do you realize how rare, father to son apprenticeship is in an age when most kids are conditioned to go to school to learn to work forty plus hours a week at jobs they dread so they can make someone else’s family wealthy? I have spent so much of my life working at things I didn’t enjoy because they were what put food on the table. I hope that my son decides to follow the natural talents that God has blessed him with to whatever enjoyable end he finds with them. I hope he is able to watch me as I watched my mother and learn how to work hard and treat people. If you have those two things and are willing to learn whatever things are necessary, you can do anything you want. That is something I believe very deeply. You’re also on Amazon, so what is it about eBay that makes it worthwhile to maintain a store there? Amazon is not a good business partner. We do perhaps five times more volume through Amazon than eBay, but we have also had thousands of dollars 38

held up for months at a time due to errors on their part with shipping overcharges. The seller’s forum is full of horror stories from sellers. There are a lot of scams people run through Amazon. A friend of mine is down over 50k from a scam where people were buying expensive authentic items and returning fakes. Amazon can be a very tough place to sell. Many times, you are fighting against a company that should be viewing you as a business partner.

What’s different about the eBay customers versus the customers you get through Amazon? The average eBay customer is much more likely to be a return customer. I think this is due to how the systems are set up. It has more of a foundation as a community with buyers and sellers interacting. This is not the case with Amazon. I think when most people purchase through Amazon, they consider themselves first to be an Amazon customer and second to be a customer of the seller. With eBay, most people view themselves as a customer of the seller first. It really is two different business models at work. Right now, Amazon’s model is winning. I don’t think this will always be the case. I see some pretty big holes that emerging companies to the market such as Facebook (which is our number 1 selling platform) can take advantage of. I view each selling platform as a channel. Just as people have their favorite TV channels, people also have channels they are comfortable buying from. I think it is important to keep in mind that even as web purchases have increased, they are still a very small part of overall

retail. One thing that attracts a lot of people to Amazon is fast shipping times. With a family operated shop, how do you manage to keep up with order volume and maintain such fast shipping times? Some of the reviews I saw on Amazon talked about three or four day turnarounds on equipment!

• The last is the older lifter. These are people who have lifted most of their life and want the quality they get from small shops like ours. They usually know what they want and have decades of experience. Ninja Master, from my YouTube videos is a prime example of this. My shop is open for people to drop in and hang out. He originally started dropping in on his way up north from Georgia. Do you supply competition equipment for any strength competitions or do you prefer to be able to craft equipment without having to build to a fixed set of specs? I build tons of strongman equipment for shows and work with promoters regularly. I would like to break into more strength sports especially grip sports.

In the beginning, I used to design things to use precut parts. The same load sleeve or handle that would be on this machine would fit here and there on those machines. Unassembled equipment with modular parts made the turnaround much quicker. That and a lot of long hours gave us quick turn around times. I have hired a few people to help but over the last couple of years we have been growing really fast. Describe your typical customer. Are you getting more recreational lifters or people who participate in strength sports? I have three types of customers. Which one is the top of the heap changes quite a bit. • The first type is the big lifter. These are people who really push big weight. They pretty much know what they are looking for from the start. • Another type is the guy that buys himself something new every month or two to add something new to his workouts. He is the small club or home gym type guy.

Speaking of grip sports, armlifting, which is fairly new as strength sports go, holds some opportunities for companies like Gorilla Strength to get brand exposure. I mean you’re already making Saxon bars, axle bars and other implements used in the sport, do you plan to throw your name into the ring as far as providing equipment? Right now, I don’t have many contacts in the arm lifting sport. I have sent out a few emails in the past to different people but not had any responses. It is definitely something I am interested in. Well, I’ll see what I can do about putting you in touch with some people. David, I know that you’re passionate about family and making quality products. As an entrepreneur, what is most important to you about owning your own brand? One of the things I am struggling with is making sure that people who work for me have an opportunity to enrich their family. I know that sounds like a crazy idea, but I have been successful following my heart doing what I believe is right. Right now, I am helping two employees develop their 39

projects. My hope is that they will be able to develop the ideas that they have into a product that they can bring to market and profit from. I love to see people change their lives. I hope that I can be a conduit to help that happen not only through the equipment I build but also through the opportunities I can provide for those who help me.

You can find Gorilla Strength by visiting their website at gorillastrength.us, and you can also follow them on social media via the following links: Facebook Instagram YouTube

Classic Muscle in the Basement Gym By Bobby Allen

various bodybuilding shows, and talk to the pros. After 21 years of age, I became very serious. I had workout journals, nutrition journals and studied anything that had to do with nutrition and muscle kinesiology. That’s what determined it for me, and I really wanted to excel at it as best I could. Bobby: I feel you man; I was kind of the same way. I started with the cement weights in the basement. AD: Right.

Anthony DeAngelis has stood lat spread to lat spread with bodybuilding’s best for nearly three decades. His only advantages are an unwavering dedication to the process and a hunger to always be better than the guy in the mirror was yesterday. Fellow bodybuilder, Bobby Allen called Anthony for a candid conversation about bodybuilding, prioritizing family and of course, Ant’s famous home basement gym! Bobby: So, hey man, if you don’t mind me asking, about how old are you brother? AD: 51 years old. Bobby: Wow, I feel you. How long you been lifting? AD: Yeah, everyone starts out with the concrete DP weight set from K-Mart when they’re 14, 15 and 16 years old. But seriously, with my first bodybuilding competition, I was 18; it was in 1981, The AAU Natural Teen America. I competed against Bob Cicherillo. Bob placed 4th I placed 3rd. He was a lot bigger: more size. I was more cut, really defined. Story of my life, ha, ha! I was very interested in bodybuilding . . . buying bodybuilding books, magazines, and spending extra money to go to 44

Bobby: You know, wanting to get big, asking my uncles for weight lifting programs, watching Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan movies and all of that, falling in love with the whole transformation process, but not really understanding the diet, you know? I just thought you lifted weights and curled and you just got big. I didn’t recognize the science behind it at that time, at such a young age. I know for me, that didn’t come until a lot later. But with you, that means you’ve been going hard now for over 30 years! AD: And I’ve been eating the same foods for over 30 years. Ever since then, I really paid attention to dieting, because, just with my genetics, how I look, and I’m thinking I’m a type of guy, yeah, I could get big, but football player big, not like Jay Cutler or Markus Ruhl big. I didn’t want to be football player big, so if I didn’t watch what I ate, I could really blow up, so I pay attention to this day. I eat like 12 foods, and I allow myself one or two cheat meals a week, usually around my son, who is nine years old. We’ll get a burger or something. Even my cheat meals have some solid nutrition backing; it’s not like I’m going to just eat Hershey candy bars or cheesecake or ice cream. I’ll usually just do a burger with some steak fries, maybe fried chicken, some BBQ ribs, pasta with meatballs, sushi, pancakes . . . good solid food. Bobby: Right. So, for me personally, I try to run a 80/20 rule, and I tell anybody that’s trying to

get themselves in a reasonable shape, unless you’re trying to compete, try to make 80% of your meals that you eat muscle building type deals. The protein, carbs and all that, and then if you got 20% of— AD: That’s a very safe and effective way to follow it. That’s good. Bobby: Yeah, but I’m listening to you, and you sound like you’ve like been highly disciplined for the longest, because you’re a pretty lean dude. That’s more like 90%-10% or 95%-5%. AD: It’s very funny, I’ve been reading a lot about what Dorian Yates did recently, and I didn’t really deal with him back in the day. He wasn’t around when I first started. But I just didn’t go out there. I just wanted to body build. So, I had a normal Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 3:00 pm job in Physical Therapy. I was a PT Tech. An example of focus was something as simple as cutting my grass. If my grass needed cutting on Sunday and that was leg day, I did not cut my grass until next Tuesday, thinking, walking back and forth, pushing a lawn mower, would interfere with my leg training. Again, this was when I was in my 20’s. Crazy huh? My dad thought so! I’m going to a birthday party, I’m packing my meals. I’m Tupper-waring it out.

Bobby: Whoa. AD: But I just did the same things he did, and back then, I just thought that was the way to do it. I have a little more balance now, but as far as nutrition, yeah, I eat, but I eat really disciplined. Again, I don’t have any weaknesses. I don’t really crave anything. It’s just like more of the good food. So instead of having a cup of rice, I might want to have two cups of rice, or some pasta, or a fattier piece of meat like NY Steak instead of London broil. So other than that, I’ve been eating the same food since I was 21 years old. So, that’s over thirty years! My favorite breakfast to this day is egg whites mixed with oats, all in the same bowl with hot sauce! Bobby: Man, how did, how does your wife handle that? Because that type of discipline in the house, does it drive her crazy a little bit? AD: I’m a single parent; I’m not married now. Bobby: Oh, okay. AD: Eating in the house when my son comes over is kind of funny, because his mom’ll be like, “Now you’re going to your dad’s house; bring some snacks.” I’m like, “It ain’t like I just have chicken and rice in my house!” I have stuff for my son. I’ll buy ice cream for him or buy him fruit— we love fresh berries and pineapple! I have treats like fruit snacks, trail mix and stuff like that. But she thinks my fridge just has like dried chicken breasts and plain rice. Ha ha! Bobby: Right. AD: I mean we have healthy fruit. We have raisins, and I’ll take him out for water ice and Chinese food. He even wants to have the egg whites and turkey sausage for breakfast. He likes having the chicken and rice with the barbecue sauce. He just likes that, or ground beef, with ketchup. Maybe he idolizes me, and I don’t say this is because it’s me, but it’s tasty, and I don’t have to force him to eat and share my discipline. He just likes to eat my same food that I 45

prepare for myself, which is very healthy. Bobby: Well that makes it easy. AD: Yeah it does. Bobby: Man, thirty years into bodybuilding is incredible! Like, I can’t even imagine competing for that long. What is that like? Hundreds of shows up under your belt, or something like that? I mean, Good Lord! AD: When I first started competing, I was the type of person that used to do four or five shows a season. I used to try to compete in the fall because I knew right after the fall shows, you have Christmas holiday, the January holiday, the winter holiday; automatically, it’s like bulking season. Bobby: Oh yeah, that’s deadly. AD: And you diet in the summer, so you’re forced to stay leaner in the summer anyway when you’re sweating off pounds, and you’re looking good for the beach. Well, I used to do like six, seven, eight shows a season. I’m thinking, when you’re young, you just want to collect the trophies. When you get older, it’s just kinda like, well, I just want to beat my former best. I just pick two or three shows now. My last show was two years ago: the 2016 NPC East Coast. My son was there with me all day! I gave him one of my trophies. I placed 2nd in the Masters over 40, and 3rd in the Men’s Open Light Heavy. This was the first time since I was thirty-five that I did not place first or win an over-all in the Masters. The guy who beat me is now an IFBB Pro. When I competed in 2007, that’s when I won everything and went to NPC nationals. Same year that Evan Centenopani won his pro card. I did very well at Nationals and after that, a couple of big guys wanted to work with me. A couple like contest prep gurus offered, and I was kind of like, I wasn’t so sure then. At the time I was married, so my wife and I decided to have a family. So, my son was born. But when I did NPC nationals, Jim Manion and Gary Udit with the NPC 46

said, “How old are you if you don’t mind me asking?” I’m like, “41.” “If you brought 85% condition to the Masters, you would have had your pro card!” I’m like “Really?” He said, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I just want to compete,” because it was in Texas and Ronnie Coleman was there. I tried to do that whole bodybuilding lifestyle video on my day off after nationals, train at Metrofelx, eat at Peas in a Pod etc. So, I kind of looked at it as a vacation, but I never really thought, you know, I’m just gonna compete and get my pro card. Bobby: Right. AD: Then they told me, “Well if you brought this to Masters, you would really do well.” That’s where I kinda hung my trunks up. I had a family. Then, flashback 2015, eight years later, and my son was getting older. I had just started my job in a new correctional facility. I was working crazy hours. I compete because I just like the structure; it adds structure to things in my life like the stresses, family, work, or overtime, or bills. It seems like when I have that bodybuilding component, it just makes my life easier. So, I said, “Alright, let me try to compete.” I did an NPC show up here in New Jersey. I placed third in the Masters, in the open, which I thought was very well, because I haven’t competed in eight years. AD: But the best thing about the process was that my son was with me the whole day. He saw the whole process; I gave him one of the trophies. It was just great to have him there with me.That was my last show, and then maybe if things go my way again next year, I’ll do something again. Bobby: Yeah, man, you know what? Our lives almost sound like they mirror a little bit. Me and my wife actually competed several years back, and then as the kids kind of got older, it was like your priorities change a little bit. Even now, with my IG posts, it’s just kind of getting back into it, because you just love to lift, you love to work out.

AD: I’ve always tried to tell people that, as far as for me, I’m sure it’s as far as for you, it’s that balance. Man, I didn’t have the balance when I was younger; everything was just ... more bodybuilding, bodybuilding, bodybuilding, meal prep. I missed out on a lot of stuff. I didn’t really want to party, my buddies might be going on vacation to Myrtle Beach, or the Shore. I went. I had a big Igloo cooler with like twenty meals, and made sure I had my spring water. The first day I looked at, okay, where’s the local gym? I’ll do my cardio in the morning, and I’ll bring a mountain bike, or I’ll walk on the beach. To me, that’s what my vacation was. I didn’t mind doing it that way; I thought that’s what all the pros did. Now I find out that a lot don’t work that hard.

Bobby: Oh, you’re just full of piss and vinegar, you know? AD: Your arms are strong, and you don’t know what soreness is, or joint pain, or ... now, it’s like I walk by the bench and boom, “My shoulder hurts! I’m not doing that today! Let me try a little pec deck today, and little more volume.” Bobby: You know, and that’s funny because truthfully speaking, that’s kinda how I train now. It’s like, I tend to like to go with a little bit more volume, you know? And just that pump. And I’ll go heavy a little bit, but I don’t try to go crazy on it. I do what’s heavy for me, as long as I can get reps.

Bobby: Yeah, there’s down time. AD: They don’t work that hard in all seasons. Ronnie says, you grab some cornbread, you chill a little bit, you have some ribs, you relax, you have fun. I didn’t think like that. I thought the stricter you are in the off-season, the better you’re gonna be pre-contest. And again, Ronnie, you know, he’s more in the know. He’s just a freak of nature, he was the best of the best. Not everyone can be Ronnie, but I thought that if well, if I train like that, if I’m strict in the offseason ... It’s funny because when you’re young, you don’t realize that Ronnie is a freak of nature.

AD: Right. I’m more of a volume trainer, to heavy. And I’ll gradually- if I do, decline dumbbells, or flat dumbbells. I’ll warm up and I’ll do like 70, 80, 90, 100. So, 100 might be my last set; I’m only getting like five or six. I’m not getting like 10, 12 reps. I studied, and I found out that pyramid was the old way everyone learned how to train. I found out, to me, it’s the safest way because you’re getting stronger, you’re going up in weight, and if your reps decline, you’re still getting that volume. You’re still forcing that load onto a muscle. It seems like it’s gonna be injury-free as long as you warm up. Bobby: Well, let me ask you this also: now, when you’re in a traditional gym setting, right, - now, you know how we’re like from a traditional gym as a body builder, waiting there on one machine, to the next machine, to the next machine - so then, stuck till stuff is available. But when you’re at home, you don’t have that. So how has your training changed being at home versus in the gym? I know how it did for me, but I’m just curious about what’s your opinion on that. AD: A lot of people think, oh it’s great having a home gym. It is. I’m very blessed. I have my own home gym. It’s basically like Retro Fitness and Gold’s Gym smashed together. 47

Bobby: Dude, your gym looks like it had a baby, and a big gym just spit up in, or something. AD: A lot of gyms don’t have a vertical leg press, but I have one in my gym. And then, I have the Polaris Pullover machine in my gym. My dumbbells go to 160, but it could be challenging sometimes too. Because I’m gonna tell you, I’m a person, and I think you’re the same way, where in the middle of a workout I see that mirror needs to be cleaned. I need to clean that, or, I see that upholstery come off the pad. I’m gonna fix that. Or, my pec deck might not be in line, let me do that. Where at the gym now, it’s kind of like, I’m just gonna keep on going, because it’s not mine, is it? At the home gym it’s nice, because you don’t have to wait in line and the machines are there.

again, it’s that companionship kinda in there, to keep you a little bit motivated. So, there are days when you’re by yourself. Then you got other days when you’re with people. So, you don’t have a large audience, but you got a little something to squeeze a little bit more out of. So, it works. And then I find also, that I tend to do a lot of circuit style training, because you can just get to stuff. So that pump is just crazy, because you’re not just loading up on one particular straight set to failure. Now I can move on because I don’t have to worry about people getting on my equipment. It’s like, I can just run all over the place and just kind of have at it.

AD: You know, I kind of like the circuit training, especially on my days where I don’t have that much time, or I feel like- and you’re the same way, because AD: But sometimes just training with a couple people, we’re both old school - you feel like a chest workout even if you don’t know them, they’re available to ain’t’ the same if you don’t do your five sets of spot. You might have something in common, you just bench, heavy dumbbells and pec flyes. But you know, might feed off their motivation, they might motivate I’m ready also with the circuit. I just put the pin here off you. But getting back to the mindset that once on in my vertical chest machine, then right to my cable my bench, and I just say, “All right, here’s the goals cross-over. Do some pushups; they’ve got some I have I want to accomplish,” I’ll try to do the best type of incline machine, then end with cables. And I to do that, but it’s nice because again, I don’t have might just do an old school circuit for four sets and to worry about, “Hey, that guy’s over there sitting, rest a minute in between. I get all pumped, and I’m playing with his iPhone doing this.” Or, I don’t have sweating, I feel good, and I’m like, “Man!” to worry about these guys over here doing some type of slack off stuff. It’s like, “How many more sets you Bobby: You killed it. got?” “Oh man, I do this program that has nine sets. Look AD: I killed it. In the back of my mind, my mind Bro.” is really tweaked. I’m thinking, alright do you I’m like, “Ugh, you’ve got nine sets of whatever. Can really need to do heavy chest, dumbbell, all those I work in with you?” movements? With this method, I’m getting a good “No man, I’ve got to do it in a certain time and it can pump, I’m putting less strain on my joints and the be frustrating.” still shock to my body, because you’re still having Home gyms are the best of both worlds, but I have growth, or anything that gives your body some type that mindset that, here’s the goals I’m trying to of stimulus. It’s like I’m relearning again at 51 years accomplish. I put the music on and I try not to leave, of age that, just because this isn’t the way you saw so I get everything close to where I need to be. someone else do it, you can adapt and change. Once in a while, it’s gonna be better for you in the forms Bobby: Yeah. So, what’s kind of helped me out of growth, ligaments and tendons, and just a little is that I may have a client or two, some folks that something different. are trying to kinda transform their body. But 48

Bobby: I guess this kind of segues into my other questions too, that, since you’ve been bodybuilding, first of all, how long have you had your home gym now?

happenstance- ooh I just need a chest machine, but like no- how does this feel? How does this target in terms of what I’m trying to get at, and that type of stimulus? I guess we’re both gonna say that we’re very particular about the equipment, whether it’s big or small, that we use, to really try to get us to our end-game. So even as we’re picking this out, we have this ideal in our head about what our bodies look like, what it’s gonna- how is this gonna help us transform?

AD: I had it since I had my house, so it’s just going over 23 years. I think I’m very, very selective of certain equipment I want to buy. I knew that I want the Polaris Pullover because of my studies. I didn’t want a pullover with an arm bar on it. I just wanted something to the elbows that was a proper pullover that really targets the back muscles you drive with AD: Exactly. I know that for a fact that one of the the elbows. I didn’t want to use any type of arms or best weight presses ever used was the Nebula. It just shoulders on a hand gripping. So, I knew Polaris was seemed like you could load that up, and for some the only manufacturer that made that pullover just reason, the angle of the seat, and the angle of the with the elbows, not with the bar. So, I wanted that, truss where you place your feet- you could do over that lat machine I told you about- that seated style 14, 1500 pounds; it felt kind of light where the leg Cybex has a very small footprint. It has a very, very press I have down in my basement is harder. It’s an heavy stack. It had both the parallel and the wide grip. old Cybex plate loaded that Dorian Yates had. The I spent forever looking for that. I saw streamline, I same one in his Temple gym, and who used to train saw Hammer Strength, I saw Icarian, but I wanted with Anthony Bailes; and, Leroy Davis, Dorian’s old that Cybex one. I just found that three months training partner, had the same leg press. The weight’s ago after searching for that for 15 years. So, I was heavy. You come down off that sled, that weight’s very, very selective in the pieces that I wanted to get. heavy. It’s not like the Nebula, where you’re pushing, When I first started out, I had a lot of the stuff made and the machine is just smooth. But I do half the by old school companies - it was a light, commercial weight than with the Nebula. So, I had bought that stuff, which is still good. Actually, my brother has leg press, and after watching Dorian, I think, “Wow, it in his home basement gym. I had a lot of stuff he has the same leg press as me.” He’s Mr. Olympia; made by Ferrigno. Actually, Lou Ferrigno’s father, he’s like the hardest training guy at that time. I mean, Matty, made equipment. I still have a couple pieces you feel good that you’re using the same equipment. in my basement, and my brother still has some that I I’m thinking how the angle, and the load feels, and couldn’t fit anymore. But I was up there buying stuff, how to pretty much make it harder for me. then it was like, you know what? Let me just tailor it to just me. And I like the small foot print. That way, Bobby: And I’ve told some of my clients, too, when I’m training my clients, they’re in and out. But and I’ve noticed this in terms of in the gym most of the stuff, like how Ronnie Coleman set his versus at home. I’m like- the equipment that gym up- I bought it for me, I’m the one using it. This most of these box-gyms pick out- it’s there to machine works the best for me, that’s the way I like make you feel good. You know? Because you’re to use it. just gonna put a gang of weight on it. It’s just there to make you beat on your chest and all that. Bobby: This has kind of got me bouncing You’re not working out until you get something around a little bit. So, when you were picking on here where you would load up 45s and you’re out your equipment, it seems like you were like, “Yeah.” Now you’re putting 25s over here, very intuitive, going by feel of the muscle, the and you’re like, “These 25 pounds is killing me!” contraction, and all of that. So, it wasn’t just a And I’m like, “Yeah, because now you’re really

lifting.” AD: I believe that wholeheartedly. If we lift up in the gyms with the old equipment like that, you don’t need a lot of 45s. You put one or two, and it’s targeting the right muscle, like you said. Now, 18 pulleys, 19 counter-balances, 14 seat adjustments, that does all the work for you. The machine’s doing it. And these young kids are like, “Yeah bro, look at my max set with five plates.” Yeah, you’re working everything except for the targeted muscle. Your shoulders are working, your butt’s off the seat, you’re pressing the weight, so you’re not targeting the exact muscle you wanna target when you train. Bobby: Yeah, so, and another thing too, just transitioning into the training, into the design style, because I know for me, when I look at training, I look at it as if I’m an artist. I view my body as a canvas, and I’m sure you feel the same way. Looking at some of the older bodybuilders versus some of the newer ones, and comparing physiques and its reflection in your style of training, and the muscle balance, by not being a mass monster, I mean, you’re up in New Jersey and New York and all that; you’ve got a lot of friends that are pros, and have been in the game for a while. You guys tend to have that classic style of body where you’re not overly bulky big, but it’s balanced. As you move forward, even as you work with some of your clients that you train, how important is aesthetics to you over size? AD: Where I grew up in Philadelphia where I’m from, there wasn’t that many bodybuilders. So, if I go to Jersey, or I go to New York, there’s more. But I always admired likes of Frank Zane, Berry Demey, and Rich Gaspari. I remember when he started competing on the circuit. He was the one that really proved too that with definition, he was really good. He showed me, here’s an Italian who’s not possessing the best genetics, kind of built like me, where thicker waist, the legs, overpower his upper body. His arms are little bit behind in development, and that’s the same construction I have. I just saw what he did to 50

place 2nd in Mr. Olympian. Then Lee Haney, he just worked the best he could, but he really brought that whole level condition to another level. And I knew, just by my structure, I’m not going to be a big monster like Ronnie, but I always admired Frank Zane, Berry Demey, and Lee Labrada. I always admired that aesthetic, lean muscle, and I think it’s a more obtainable look. Especially, I think, when you get older, I think you can still carry that on your frame as well. I know that you look at the bigger bodybuilders back in the day, and when they retire, they lose a lot of muscle. Jay Cutler was always very healthy, but he looked like the really big guys: over 300 pounds in the off-season. Now you see him in retirement, and lifestyle changes, and cutting down on a lot of stuff, he is much smaller. The leaner ones, Troy Alves, who’s a current perfect example of not over doing it. He still looks wonderful, and he holds a lot of muscle per pound on his frame. He could get back in shape in four or five weeks because he’s got lean muscle. I think that’s a little healthier on your body, and then when you retire, if you do decide to step back in the game, you just flip that switch and you can get back easy.

Bobby: Yeah, I kind of look at it the same way. Are you’re thinking about doing any more shows? AD: You know, right now I’m just getting over a full torn rotator. Actually, I just came from the doctor’s today, and I had something pretty unique that’s called

PRP, where they take the blood out of the shoulder, they spin it and put all the nutrients— Bobby: Oh, I’m familiar with it. Kevin Levrone was doing that with his knees, wasn’t he? AD: Yeah, exactly. The doctor I’ve been going to is sort of one of the first ones to pioneer that treatment. Then there’s the old body build mentality, more must be better for that treatment, but my doctor’s like, “Nah, you’re still making progress. Every week you’re getting stronger. When you put your utility belt at work, you’re getting more range of motion.” And he’s asking me questions like, “Does it bother you at night when you sleep? Can you reach up above and grab the cereal bowl?” “Yes,” I said, “Look, I could do all that daily living; I want to get my bench and my incline stronger.” Bobby: Right. AD: The doctor’s like, “Normal people can’t put their jacket on without help, and you just want to be stronger?” Well I’m a body builder, and I wanna be able to do more exercises pain free. And after talking to him, he understand my viewpoint. Shoulder feels a little better now, so I could probably compete in November. So I’m getting a little leaner, I’m just fine for the summer. But again, I always compete against my former best, so if I compete in November, and depending on the show, like you saw as well as I do, the level of competitors are really starting to fade down in body building. They’re gearing more toward classic physique. Men’s physique. So, I know I could probably place well, but I want to beat my former best, which was when I competed, and my son saw me in 2016, so, if I can’t beat that guy on stage--Bobby: You’re just going to wait. AD: I’m going to wait to compete. So, I really need a nice off-season, you know, moderate to heavy training, a nice nutritional/ supplemental protocol, and get my mind set right, and stuff like that. But I could probably flip the switch and compete in

November, but I just don’t want to get up--- the judges are like, wow this guy has not competed in years. I don’t want to come back--- and they’re going to remember even the last show--- and be judged that day against your peers, and on stage. I felt like every time I compete I want to be better than last time. That was just fine for us. Next year, I’ll be back on stage. Bobby: For us bodybuilders, it’s not about our last lift and how strong we are. I see you’ve done some powerlifting too, so that’s the comparison. Bodybuilding is more subjective in terms of its approach and what you see visually and opinions. We’re like true artists, and true critics of ourselves, and we should always be our worst critic. We’re always going to try to put the best possible package up there for evaluation. We are not necessarily just trying to be the best at the time, but we are trying to beat our former self. We want to see the improvements, and see some type of progression. I tore my quad tendon last year, so trying to get that rebalance shape back in the leg is just a process man. It’s such a long process. Your performance evaluation for this sport is so visual. There’s not a whole lot you can do in terms of rushing how that thing looks. Because it took you that long to build that muscle up. AD: It’s funny, you talked about symmetry and that is what I was always known for. I tore my right quad when I was working in corrections about 10, 12 years ago. I stepped on water and the impact of the fall… I tore it. I had the rehab, I had surgery, and that was tough. And just three years ago, right after Christmas--- I never walk around the house barefoot, never--- I was going downstairs to get a drink of water. I don’t know why. I was just going to the bathroom and get a drink of water. I think that water is colder in the refrigerator, which it is. So, I’m coming down the steps, half asleep, and I fell down the steps, tore the other quad. So I had both quad tears, and the judge was like, “You going to try to come back?” The injury actually caused symmetry 51

because of scars on both legs. And he knows that a quad tear is just so hard in your mind, let alone physically. It’s the rehab, and once that muscle pulls up, just the weight you have to have, and the stability and shape is tough. I remember being 100% from rehab. Eleven months later, I was still nervous walking on ice. I’m like, “God! I’m going to fall! I’m going to have to get another surgery.” So, you’re very careful, very! Almost cautious with things you used to take for granted. Now I’m going to do treadmill for cardio and maybe not the elliptical. Maybe I’ll do the bike. I don’t want to fall. It’s kind of like, it really sets you back a little bit, more than just physical, but psychological. Bobby: It does. AD: I have had both quad tears, and it’s kind of like, I’m very blessed to still have full range of motion. I can squat, I can get everything again. But the first one was kind of like --- The doctor was like, “I don’t think you can walk again, let alone body build.” I’m like, “Really?” And the physical therapist said, “Yeah, he has to say that to you because of liability. It’s what you put into the PT- the rehab. You’re going to beat this thing.” Well, they put me in a little bit of a black corner. Said that you’re never going to train again, let alone have no trouble walking. So, I was just like…. It hit my mind that alright, shit happens. It seems like I would never get injured in the gym. I tore my pec once in the gym doing weighted dips; not the ego thing. I just think that I increased too much. I don’t get injured doing training; almost like Branch Warren who falls off a horse to get hurt. He doesn’t get injured doing that crazy weight in the gym. He always gets injured doing normal life stuff. Bobby: Oh. The dumbest thing. AD: I just think that we’re not built for normal stuff. Our bodies are so big and heavy and muscular, and our flexibility’s not the best. As soon as we land wrong, or fall just right, we’re going to break something.

Bobby: Oh dude, listen. That whole falling down the steps, tearing the quad; that’s how I did mine. AD: You’re just a big guy, and the impact is kind of like— Bobby: Just right. AD: You’re not bouncing right back up. Not if you’re over 200 pounds, and you’re used to lifting so much weight. It’s the impact that gets you. Bobby: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Your body is just like, “Nah, I think I’m going to take a nap right now.” AD: You’re exactly right. Bobby: It is for people that work out with any type of workout plan: when you get injured, I think the greatest test of an athlete is for you to make it back to the gym; for you to get back in and start training; to do what you can; the need to have that type of resolve. I know, fortunately for us, because we are bodybuilders, there are alternative movements that we do anyway. So, you know, you lose your legs, you work the upper-body. So, you get out your feelings a

little bit, and then you get that little kick in the butt. You’re kind of able to get out there and transition and get yourself going. I know I went through that, and I’m sure you went through that. It sounds like you went through that several times. AD: The mind is such a strong muscle. And I told you I was going to make a comeback in 2016. My son’s mom was giving me a little stress about child support, the works. And work was getting a little overtime crazy. Just my life seemed like I couldn’t catch a break; it seemed like I’d always work extra hard. I know there’s tests in life, and it’s how you deal with it. I said, “You know what? If I compete, and if I could train when I’m tired, and not eat when I’m hungry, and have to eat when I’m not hungry, and force myself to do cardio when I’m tired and sick, I can do anything in life.” So, to me, competing in that structure almost is like it’s going to teach me that you are going to get through this. You’re going to have some gray areas, but you’re always going to see the light of the tunnel. I’ve always had two jobs, really. When I worked part time at a supermarket, it used to be A&P Super Fresh since ‘83. I was in produce there, and I kept that job up until when I had first gotten a year in my probationary period in corrections. I resigned from that job four years ago. So, I’ve always had a full time job, and a part time job. The part time job was always weekends and one or two nights a week. So, I would prep my own meals for two jobs, then along came my son. Now I see guys having meals prepped for them by a company. They don’t work, or they take one client a day and they doing this. I’m thinking where the work effort is. Bobby: You ain’t struggle. AD: And I’m not jealous. They’re very blessed that they have that time. But me, I’m lucky if I get to floss my teeth. I’m on the phone, going to the bathroom, checking messages. I always had two jobs, and prepped my meals myself, and I always had to strive for that balance. I guess your body building— the competitive bodybuilding when you set yourself 18,

20, 22 weeks from a show, that really teaches you about life. If I could do this, to me, I could handle any adversity that comes my way. So, I persevere with this, and even though I might not be the best on stage, I did it for 22 weeks, doing all the workouts, I didn’t miss a meal, I didn’t cheat on the diet, I gave 100% of myself. To me that’s why I like competing, because it’s teaching you that if I could do this, I could deal with that dumb stuff at work, or I could deal with some stuff that you really have no control over. Sitting in traffic when there’s a traffic accident, well, you can’t control that. You just do the best you can with it. Bobby: As I sit back now, okay, I just turned 44. I haven’t competed in years, but eventually I would love to make it back, because I think that because of how we train, we always train like we’re going to go back and do a show. There is no other way to train for us. We’re always training for improvement and for growth, so at any point in time, I’m like, you know what? Let’s go. Of course, the ultimate reward may be a pro card or something like that. More so, instead of all the drama of trying to chase that, it’s the reward of just improving yourself, and then, hey, you know what? I made it back to the stage again. This is the best me that I have. To do that, and walk away with that, and to be content and be fulfilled in that. I think that at a later date in our lives, kind of where we’re at now, our perspective has changed, you know? Whereas earlier it was kind of live and die, now it’s like, man I’m just trying to live. More than anything, I’m trying to live. I’m trying to be happy. I want my peers to be proud of me. I want my kids to be proud of me, I’m trying to do so that it’s more inclusive instead of exclusive. I don’t necessarily want to be a hermit, because it is, and it can be, as we both know, a very selfish sport. As our children grow, we don’t want to necessarily do things to kind of push them away. We want to bring them in. AD: I look at if you’re a pro bodybuilder, that’s 53

almost a job. My law enforcement job, your job, orthopedic surgeon, landscaper, that’s your job; that’s the way you got to support yourself. So, I can understand that if you’re a pro bodybuilder, that’s what you got to do to pay the bills. That’s one thing. You have to live to body build. That was my philosophy when I was younger. But now, as I get older, I body build to live. Bodybuilding is not paying my bills, my job is. But guys like Lewis, the type of guys that opens up his gym, Dorian Yates, has his own supplement company. Kai Greene was probably my favorite bodybuilder, and it was funny because I competed with a lot of pros, and back in the day I beat a lot of the pros when we were all young. Freddy Smalls, Shawn Rosen, Victor Delcampo, Chris Tuttle, Bob Ciccarello— these are all pros I

competed with that I beat, and I have pictures of me and Shawn when we were younger, and Bob Ciccarello, Freddy Smalls— Bobby: Listen, you got to share these pictures with us as we put this thing together. AD: One of my favorite stories is Kai Greene. And Kai and I both started in the NGA- that’s the National Gym Association. He looked the same as he is now, just a smaller version. He and I- it’s 1994, the NGA Hercules in New York; overall winner gets the NGA pro card. Kai won the heavy weight, which 54

he was, probably like 212 pounds. I won the light heavy. I looked at him. 1994, I competed against Kai Greene in the NGA Hercules. I won the Men’s Open Light Heavyweight Class. Kai Green won the Men’s Open Heavyweight Class, and beat me for the Overall. In 1995, I won the NGA South Jersey. I won the Men’s Light Heavyweight Class and the Men’s Overall. He just looks like a freak, so he won the pro card. I shook his hand. The following year, at ‘95-, the NGA South Jersey, I won the light heavy and got my pro card. The former winner Kai was there to hand me my trophy and give me my pro card. Flash forward to 2000 when Kai got his IFBB pro card. He did his first show at the New York Pro and he was still kind of like— he wasn’t full-bore, he was still kind of experimenting. I spoke to him and I said, “Kai man, you look great!” He goes, “Yeah.” I said, “Do you remember me?” He’s like, “Yes,” and he talked like real philosophical. “Yes, yes, you’re that gentleman from New Jersey, or Philly. We had a battle on stage! NGA Hercules. It was a tremendous battle, and I came out victorious. And, the following year, you put your saddle on and you won; and I see we had pro cards, and we were both pros.”And it was funny that he still remembered me because I had these big, freaky legs with a lot of vascularity. It was funny because he remembered that, and kind of like you, start talking about that. He was like, “Yo, man, this ain’t no joke. You know how we were pros in the other federation? Let me tell you something, this is a whole ‘nother level!” And I’m like, “You’re blessed, I’m happy for you. I’m going to support you.” “No, I’m telling you man, you think you were working before? This is working three times!” So, it’s kind of like he was honest in saying, “Yeah, I’ve got my IFBB pro card, but the NGA pro card was easier. But now you really have to sacrifice and think about your health.” But it was cool that he remembered that. Then we started talking about, “Didn’t we compete with Shawn Roden?” I said, “Yeah. I beat a bunch of pros back in the day when we were all basically no-name scrubs.” I said, “Kai, you’re the only pro that beat me!” And he goes, “Really?”I said, “You’re the only IFBB pro

that beat me; everybody else, I beat.” And then he was laughing and he shook my hand, and we started cutting it up. To this day, if he still sees me, I say, “Kai, remember me, Anthony?” “Ah yeah from Philly, big leg boy.” And we go back and reminisce. He’s a great guy. Bobby: Nice. AD: He’s a true ambassador for the sport. I love the guy. It’s a true Rocky Balboa, rags-to-riches story. He’s a wonderful person inside out the sport. Now he’s pursuing something outside of the bodybuilding. So, I mean, all these guys, they’re coming close to retirement, they’re not bodybuilding no more. They’re doing other venues to earn that cash. I think that’s significant; they only can do this so much. Bobby: There’s like two more things here, because I don’t want to hold you past the hour. What is your affiliation with the GCode Nutrition? And two is, we can talk about how social media has changed the game, in terms of like- because you’ve seen the transition, from how it was all about trying to get sponsored and all this. Now these guys, for social media, you’re pretty much able to create and bloom into your own deal. So, you don’t necessarily need to have, or be established as a super pro bodybuilder as much as it is in terms of the content, the quality and your own person in regards to marketing.

Andrews, and Dr. Rick Silverman, who is an NGA pro, and they were both with SportPharma. And, they were sitting next to us; and of course, we carried pictures - at least I did - because you see Craig Titus, Lee Labrada, or Mike Quinn; I would ask them, “What do you think of these? How can I improve?” I always carried cool, competition pictures of me. And even back then, I had that marketing in the back of my mind.So, I talked to these guys from SportPharma and they’re like, “I tell you, you should definitely put in an application.” The guy in charge of all the athletes was sitting right behind me, and he gave me his card, and I went to the booth, and I showed him some pictures. So, I got my first endorsement when, like, no one in the Philadelphia area— no one was endorsed. I was the first one. They kind of liked that, yeah. I’m this guy who works two jobs, trains in the basement, got a national pro card. I really said, “Look, I use your products.” Anything I didn’t use I didn’t need to use. Everything I use, I say I use.

AD: Yeah, I could do both. The first one was actually when I first competed; there used to be a company called SportPharma, which now— Bobby: I remember them. AD: Yeah. I remember going to my first Arnold Classic. We’re in the plane, and you go as a spectator. Back in the day, they used to have that weekend pass. You get the pre-judging tickets, the tickets for expo, you used to get your pass, that had the picture of Arnold, like the seminar for the following days. I’m on a plane with a female NGA pro, Nancy

Bobby: I believe in that too. AD: And then after SportPharma was this other company, Animal Pak/Universal for a while. They tried changing brands and direction and things. Greg [Santarsierso] was actually my boss. He was in charge of athletes at Animal Pak when GCode 55

started having their business. Their mindset is just so much better. It’s not to push their supplements, it’s kind of like, improve a little better each day, keep your fellow person good. I just kind of liked their whole thought process, the whole mindset behind the products. It just fit. Now all of us that were with Animal/Universal are back with GCode; so now we’re all reunited again. It’s better because you saw the GCode lifestyle: improve each day, help your brother out, don’t be aggressive, be humble. So, their whole way of life it’s really, really true. It just kind of hit me. So, I’m very fortunate, very happy, and they’re all from Jersey. There’s a couple guys in Philly, where I’m at, I’m very fortunate, very blessed to be with them: SportPharma, and the Animal/Universal, to GCode. I’ll be honest— everything from the first company, if I say I used it, I used it. If I didn’t use it, I was very honest. I don’t like this, because of this. So, I was very honest in this sport, and the product line, to say I’m very happy, I’m blessed to be part of GCode, and the new products coming out in the future. It’s a very nice, close-knit, supportive family. It does come across that way. JGIII had recommended that I try some of the products. That was the first company I bought a pre-workout that came in like three different flavors. I was like, who does that? Here’s the thing. Greg knows what athletes and bodybuilders want and need from his own experience. It was genius how the VICE pre-workout has three soda inspired flavors. Legend Lime for Mountain Dew—

Bobby: Aww yeah, and the Cherry Swolla. AD: Cherry Swolla for Cherry Pepsi and Grinding Grape for Grape Crush. And the RISE BCAA/ Recovery mix is that old school Stewart’s Orange Cream flavor. So, he has all the flavors. I can’t really discuss it now, but there’s going to be his own personal flavor that he likes. So, they’re going to be banging. In my mindset, I nearly match the flavors to my training which is great for me. The Legend Lime has a different, unique taste. Once that hits my palette, I know it’s going to be leg day for Legend Lime. Every day you could pick a different flavor, and you don’t have to take the same boring flavor day in and day out. The product’s very unique; it’s a genius idea. And the products work, it doesn’t give you that crash coming down. Bobby: No, they don’t. AD: You don’t want to train and get the heart palpitations. It gives you enough concentration energy to get the job done and then you’re done. Bobby: Yeah. I felt that it was real smooth. Very, very smooth. AD: And it tastes good. It doesn’t taste medicinal, it’s very smooth. It tastes great ice cold. It’s just a great product. Bobby: And I think that’s what I think I like about some of the workout enthusiasts kind of taking that piece of it into their own hands now, you know? And they’re really trying to explore that aspect of the nutrition, and putting their own little products together. He has a movement. There’s no doubt about it. He has a serious movement going on right now, and it’s growing; and it does seem like it’s catching fire for you guys. I’m very excited for you all. AD: Yeah, I’m very blessed to be part of the company. And we talked about the social media. If I wanted to learn about bodybuilding, I would buy Flex, Musclemag, Ironman and Muscle & Fitness

back in the day from a 7-Eleven. Another option trash trying to get views. It’s you showing, this is would be following a competition show in New how I’m working out; this is how I’m doing what Jersey or New York, and talking to the guest poser. I’m doing. If you like it, great. If you don’t, okay. I would write down questions the night before There’s probably somebody out there that’s gleaning because I didn’t want to take too much of his time. I something from it just to continue to try and shape, remember I saw Dorian Yates and I had a couple of and just mold. You control your content. I’m in my questions I wanted to ask him. I saw Rich Gaspari uniform driving home, after working sixteen hours. guest pose; I had questions already lined up. There’s a bunch of guys that say, “Wow! If this guy That’s how we got our information. We read the who works sixteen - hour days is gonna do a little magazines, but then we would go see the guest poser, cardio, and he’s 51, I’m 23, and I worked 10 hours, at least. I was going to the bodybuilding shows, and I should be able to do a little bit.” So, I’m trying after the guest poser, I would ask him questions face to motivate. So, it’s not like I’m trying to brag, say to face. “Do you really train this way? When you “Yeah, look at me! I just worked sixteen hours law pre-contest, do you really believe fish is the way to go enforcement. I’m gonna go home and kill it in my when you stop red meat?” All of my questions always basement.” Now I’m just trying to like, if I can do were scientific, and I did not take for granted the it, and I’m 51, and I worked sixteen hours, if you contact opportunity. And now with the social media, working ten hours, and you’re 23, and you’re tired, get you don’t even have to train. You could just be a off your ass and use it for motivation. Show me, how good-looking guy taking pictures of yourself sitting do you do it? You just do a little bit. As long as you on a bench, and if you’ve got that look, you could do something, it’s better than nothing. So, I try and have a thousand followers and start doing something. really help and motivate, and use it as a tool that, look There’s a thousand people like that social media if I can do it, you can do it too. personality, but is he really putting the work in? My Instagram stuff ’s private on my account because Bobby: Yeah. Yeah. And that’s what it’s all about of my job, and not knowing who I’m dealing with, man. I think that’s part of what attracted me to and that keeps me from more followers. But I’m the home gym life scene. It’s like a family and not about the followers; I’m just about supporting not just there. In some aspects we’re kind of an the company that endorses me, GCode. I share older community. We’re all kind of working out the information because there are people like me there, we’re trying to find time, we’re all trying who work ten, twelve - hour jobs, who are in law to balance this thing out. enforcement, who are single fathers… AD: That’s the whole purpose of why we have the Bobby: Yes. home gyms. Because that 20 minute or 30 minute sneak to the gym, to a commercial gym, half our AD: …who are about improving. So, I try and make workout’s done. We go outside or go downstairs or my posts almost informative. I jumped around, I go next door and that workout’s done. Like you said, showed how to balance my son and my family. But we play our own music, have our own sets, have our I’m trying to help. If I can inspire just one person by own training area, and we just don’t have time to get a post, my job is done. And I really think that’s the outside. way it should be. Bobby: Not even close to it. Bobby: Help people, pick them up when they’re down, help them out. AD: So, you’re no longer trying to pull out three hours of your day. 30 minutes to drive there, hour AD: Brick by brick, you’re not just out there posting and a half to workout, 30 minutes back. It’s like I 57

have an hour to workout, that’s all I have; or, an hour and a half, and you can actually get it done. I think it makes you train harder, knowing that okay, look, I’ve got 45 minutes tonight to do shoulders; that’s all I have. Am I gonna be on social media, looking for motivation? I’ll put the loudest music I have down, whether it’s any type of music I have --- I’m gonna reveal my age - my cassettes, ha ha! --- I’m gonna put that on. I might set up something on the shoulder lateral machine; I might have some dumbbells; I might have a shrug barbell set up; I might have a seated press machine. Like you said, I might just do a circuit. I might just do one set, one set once, after four sets, bang it out. I have time to get showered; I’m done with me. Wow. That’s what I have to do, that’s all the time I have. So, it makes you more productive. It makes me a lot more productive. Doing that circuit training, you’re just- so I’m just gonna do the best I can. By the time you get to the gym, and you have to wait for equipment, you know there’s always gonna be buddies who wanna talk to you. That’s an hour wasted already.

barbell, a spot rack, and have some dedication. You start from there and you can build it. You can build whatever your mind lets you build.” Bobby: No doubt. Well, we’re gonna close out man. I appreciate you taking this time out. It’s been a wonderful conversation. You gave me a whole lot of good information. I hope the readers of this glean a lot from you. If they wanna follow you man, I know you said it’s private, but they can at least request it. AD: @BigAnt1026 on Instagram. Bobby: Yeah, that’ll work. Hey listen, man. I feel like I’ve met a new friend, a new family member up that way. AD: Definitely. Bobby: So, when I come up, and me and the wife come up, I’m gonna definitely reach out to you ahead of time, so that we can break bread. Okay, Ant?

Bobby: It is. It is. It is, it is. So, it just makes everything better, man. As we kind of close with our focus on balance and family, just our lifestyle, AD: I’m looking forward to that. Sounds good, it makes it all happen. Brother, I’m so glad I definitely. talked to you. It is unreal. I normally don’t do these. AD: You definitely have to come to New Jersey, PA. You let me know a week in advance. You can come to train, we can eat some good food. We’ll get in touch with the guys from GCode. We’re all over Jersey, Pennsylvania. Bobby: Sure enough, sure enough man. AD: We’re all within a half hour. But you definitely, within a week. Before you get here, coming up, let us know, we’ll get together. We’ll train, and, it’s a good thing. I think we’ve got a good movement going here. I’m hoping- I’m happy, and hopefully, we could get more people on our side and really say, “Look, if you don’t have time to go to a gym, all you do is get a 58

https://www.garagegymlifemagazine For Athletes Who Train At Home

Model: Wes Jenkins PowerlifterÂ Garage Gym Owner Charlestown,Â West Virginia

Solitude is strength; to depend on the presence of the crowd is weakness. The man who needs a mob to nerve him is much more alone than he imagines. – Paul Brunton

Solo training isn’t easy. There’s no one around to keep you accountable. It’s lonely. To be successful at solo training in your home gym, at some point, you have to start to enjoy your own company. I don’t mean that you become a hermit or recluse. That’s going too far the other way. But in today’s hyper connected world, I believe that our constantly stimulated nervous systems need a break to allow them to recharge. Think about it: we are constantly being stimulated. The alarm clock in the morning, maybe with several snooze button intervals. Morning coffee, music while we get ready, the television on for background noise while we eat breakfast (assuming we take time for that rather than rushing out the door because we’re running late). Talk radio, podcasts or more music while we drive to drown out the noise of traffic. The constant noises of the workplace. Conversations during work, at lunch and a repeat of the morning commute on our way home. Slam the preworkout. Then head to the garage, basement, backyard or spare bedroom to lift with a steady thumping bass 60

line of whatever music gets our blood racing. If you’re a powerlifter, at some point ammonia makes an appearance. Then we settle down for some television before we fall asleep for a few hours to do it all again. And within it all is the incessant beeping, chiming or chirping of our cellphone to save us from the horror of a single moment alone with our thoughts. At some point, you need to become comfortable with silence. If you can’t handle a single moment without stimulation, then I submit to you that you are in the most desperate need of some quiet time with yourself. Constant entertainment makes you dumber Don’t believe me? Author Mike Erwin has said regarding solitude, “. . . when people are distracted they’re 5 to 15 IQ points less intelligent. Some of the work that’s been done by some folks out of Stanford and other places have really referred to this idea that when you’re in this constant state of distraction, you really don’t have the muscle that is required to do that deep work and to focus. . . you become a sucker for

irrelevancy . . .” Basically, if you want to be able to concentrate on problems at work more easily, you need to spend less time distracting yourself and more time training your mind to analyze problems. Yes, there’s value in talking your problems out with friends but at some point you need to be able to make decisions on your own. That sort of solitary mental workout also built the emotional muscle our forefathers had that gave them the grit to stand up to tyranny, endure deprivation and build nations. Fortunately for you, your one hour of training

time in the garage is perfect for that. If you don’t have a competition pending in the next six weeks, experiment with at least one training session a week where you unplug and just lift. I promise that social media will survive without seeing your exploits for that one day. And you’ll be fine. We promise not to do anything fun until after you finish training. As Richard Hawthorne, pound for pound strongest powerlifter in the world says, “You have to train your will.”

PICKING THE RIGHT DUMBBELL SET FOR YOUR HOME GYM It doesn’t have to be rocket science. Picking the right dumbbell set for your needs comes down to the amount of space you have, your budget and what you’re going to be using dumbbells for primarily. If you’re just starting out, especially if you plan to train alone, then the right dumbbell set for you is a simple pair of adjustable dumbbells. As I laid out in the video below, when you’re starting a home gym, you need to focus on bang for the buck, and you’ll get a lot more mileage out of a barbell set and plates than a rack of dumbbells. If you’re someone who primarily trains with kettlebells, but you’d like a dumbbell set to give you more options, I’d still recommend a simple adjustable set if for no other reason than to save space. But let’s say you’ve got the basics and you’re looking to expand your home gym

In that case, picking the right dumbbell set means grabbing a set of hex head dumbbells. In my mind, pro style dumbbells are a pain. They seem to always loosen no matter how much Loctite you put on them, and when I worked in a commercial gym, I’d spend a significant part of every shift tightening dumbbells back up. Worse, lifters would often have to re-tighten the dumbbells between sets, which is no bueno when you’re talking about a fifty pounder or above. (picture ten pound plates coming loose and dropping onto your face one after another).

Hex head dumbbells do have their cons I learned that at the same commercial gym when a 70lb dumbbell came apart during one patron’s set of dumbbell pullovers and half of it smashed him in the face. Granted, he’d made a habit of dropping 62

them despite yours truly constantly asking him not to do that. Didn’t matter, that incident was a major factor in management deciding to switch over to pro style and adding Daily Dumbbell Tightener to my job description. But the pros of hex head dumbbells: if you’re sensible about how you treat them, and get them from a reputable source, far outweigh the cons in my mind.

drilled down into the dumbbell head making it less likely that they’ll come apart but they are pricey. That’s something on my wish list for way down the road, right now my rack of hex heads is doing just fine.

• They don’t roll away - this is a big deal if you train in a garage. Most garages are designed with a slope to guide water away from the house, so having dumbbells that roll would get fairly annoying, especially if you’re doing one of those short interval, Tabata workouts where all you want to do between sets is pray for the Rapture. Having hex head dumbbells eliminates this problem, and for me, makes it easier to set them back on the rack. • You can get them rubber coated - this will help if you don’t have mats on your entire gym floor. Having rubber coated dumbbells cuts down on how many you can store on a dumbbell rack but it frees you to take the party out into the driveway if the weather’s nice without worrying about chipping your dumbbells. • They’re a good middle of the road pricing option. The best dumbbells I’ve ever used were Iron Grip Urethane dumbbells. They have a solid shaft that’s

So you want to get started with Armlifting? By Riccardo Magni

By Riccardo Magni

Armlifting is a great sport that can be done anywhere, so it’s perfect for home gym athletes! It all starts with a loading pin, a carabiner and some attachments. For a more detailed look at armlifting, including the history of the sport, check out this article on Armlifting USA. If you’re ready to get started, here are five tips to help you get ready for training, and possibly a competition.

you do not get hurt when lifting the weight on the loading pin. Ironmind sells a very nice carabiner. You Get some implements: can also go into your hardware store and buy one Loading Pin there as well.

There are several companies that make loading pins: Ironmind, Country Crush, Arm Assassin Strength Shop, FBBC, Sorinex, Barrel Strength Systems, David Horne's World of Grip, and Rogue. All you have to do is pick where you want to order one from and they'll do the rest. Standard height is a 15 inch loading pin, so I recommend you get one of those because that is what you will use in an Armlifting USA contest. Then you need to get a carabiner; it's very important to buy a quality carabiner so that you do not get hurt when lifting the weight on the loading pin. Ironmind sells a very nice carabiner. You can also go into your hardware store and buy one there as well.

Attachments Now that you have your loading pin, (most of them are for 2-inch Olympic weights, although IronMind does sell one for old school standard plates), you Attachments need some attachments. Now that you have your loading pin, (most of them are for 2-inch Olympic weights, although IronMind does sell one for old school standard plates), you need some attachments. Product Country Crush Rolling Thunder Adjustable Thick Bar Blockbuster Pinch Block Flask Hub Bull Ring Finnish Ball Dube Cube Coin Attachment Apollon's Axle (50mm/2 inch) Rogue Axle 60mm/2 ⅜ inch

Get some implements: Loading Pin There are several companies that make loading pins: Ironmind, Country Crush, Arm Assassin Strength Shop, FBBC, Sorinex, Barrel Strength Systems, David Horne’s World of Grip, and Rogue. All you have to do is pick where you want to order one from and they’ll do the rest. Standard height is a 15 inch loading pin, so I recommend you get one of those because that is what you will use in an Armlifting USA contest. Then you need to get a carabiner; it’s very important to buy a quality carabiner so that 66

Type of Grip Strength Thick bar grip strength Thick bar grip strength Thick Bar Grip Strength Pinch Grip Pinch Grip Pinch Grip Pinch Grip

Where to Get It Countrycrush.com IronMind David Horne IronMind Barrel Strength Systems IronMind Jedd Johnson

Axle Deadlift Axle Deadlift

IronMind Rogue

All of these devices clip to the loading pin with a carabiner. It’s simple and very convenient to change weights. You simply unclip the carabiner and pile on more weights. One note about the Axle. Like anything else in armlifting, it is possible to make an axle on your own or buy one. Whether you make or buy it, it will also be useful if you decide to also compete in the sport of strongman down the line. Another alternative would be to purchase a pair of Fat Gripz; you could use them at a home or any commercial gym. The blue Fat Gripz are 60 mm on a typical bar. Get Advice Another tip would be about the lifting itself: you might want to go online and look at some people who are doing the lifting and possibly even ask other people for coaching or for technique advice. For example, as we mentioned in our article on Armlifting USA, The Axle Deadlift is a frequently contested event and since many of you are used to doing the deadlift, it’s an easy transition to doing deadlift on a thick bar. The key for this deadlift is that it’s in the double overhand grip style: in other words, both of your hands are facing the same way with the palms facing you. As a result, this makes the lift much more difficult because the bar wants to rotate and you cannot have a mixed grip to counteract that. The weights used in this event are much, much less than a typical deadlift and it seems silly that the weights would be that much less until you try it. For example, my best deadlift in a powerlifting meet is 672 lb and my best deadlift on a double overhand axle is 385 lb. As you can see, some of these lifts are one-hand lifts, and some of them require two hands. I highly recommend that even in the one hand lifts, you train your weak hand at some level, otherwise you will develop a large discrepancy between your strong hand and your weak hand.

net They have informational podcasts that may spark some interest or give you tips on how to lift certain implements. Get Some Goals Goals can be really helpful in making progress because once you have a mark to shoot for, you are more motivated to get after it. One way to set a goal is to pick a contest that interests you, either because it’s nearby, or because it gives you an opportunity to travel. Then obviously, you need to practice for those events!

today

Be Patient You do not want to injure your hands as hand injuries can take a very long time to heal. One good source of information is the Armlifting USA website. Another good source of information is the Gripguys. 67

Unconquerable Matt Brown Matt Brown is more than a conqueror. From an emergency craniotomy in 2012 to stand up paddling, bouldering, lifting weights and most recently Highland Games, this father of two is pushing himself as hard as possible, laughing and living life to the fullest, though not necessarily in that order. You’re a guy who takes up a lot of challenges; who wins in a Matt Brown versus MMA fighter Matt “The Immortal Brown” in a thumbwrestling death match where the loser has to change his name?

go. What were your top three keys to achieving this?

I’d like to think I would. My dad taught me some good thumb wrestling moves when I was a kid. I say the only way “The Immortal” takes me is with that big elbow to the head.

After seeing my first Games in the fall of 2015, I started training in the spring of 2016. I trained for a few months, and then work got really busy, and I had to stop training. I didn’t get to train at all for this year’s Games.

Your transformation pic on Instagram was impressive! You went from dadbod/skinny fat to a vascular, athletic physique that’s got show and 68

Thank you! The three things that helped the most were tracking macros, hitting the workouts with everything I had, even when I just wasn’t feeling it, and the constant desire to want to improve. You recently did your first Highland Games competition. I know that you got a trainer to help you prepare. How far out did you start training?

How did the neighbors react to you throwing sheaves of straw in the front yard and running

down the street with utility poles? Unfortunately, we never got to practice the caber toss, so none of the neighbors got to see me running down the street with a utility pole.

I realize that you said you’re not happy with your performance but the Games events are absolutely some of the manliest feats of strength on the planet. Did you have fun?

All joking aside, competing in a Highland Games comp is definitely on my bucket list. Where did you find your trainer?

I had a blast! The other competitors were very helpful and encouraging. The sense of camaraderie was amazing, as most of the guys had already been competing together for several years.

My trainer just happened to be one of the organizers. He was looking to boost participation, and find people to train with, so it was just a matter of showing up at the park where we practiced twice a week.

Next year you’re planning on a rematch with those events; this time in a kilt. Have you ever worn a kilt and where are you planning on getting one for the competition? SportKilt? Utilikilt?

The interesting thing about Highland Games is they’re divided by gender and amateur versus professionals (although in Midwest Games only they have an under 190lb division for amateurs). How many competed with you and what were the weight ranges?

I’ve never worn a kilt, but I plan on probably borrowing a kilt for next year. Although, if I can manage to get my free time and extra money to line up, I’d like to compete in at least three games. If that happens, I’ll probably buy a Sportkilt: my favorite Highland athlete, Matt Vincent, wears a Sportkilt.

I competed in the Masters 40-49 group. There were seven of us. Myself and one other guy weighed in at about 200, and the biggest guy came in about 265.

I like Matt Vincent’s stuff. I listen to his vlog when I’m driving if I don’t have a podcast cued up. Not sure if this will make Michael Soong’s list on Powerlifting Watch but I can verify that the world record for heaviest bench completed while dodging falling objects from a power rack is held by you, Matt Brown. You got the title with your successful attempt of 300lbs. What are you going to do next? Haha! That was something else, wasn’t it? I built that rack fifteen years ago for a friend, and that was the most weight that thing had ever had on it during a bench press. I had to actually secure it to the floor after that. My next trick will be 300 nice and smooth. Tell me about the Grey Sweatpants Society. Did you swear a blood oath to join? The Grey Sweatpants Society is the brainchild of Aaron Ausmus. He’s a former college strength coach, 69

who worked at USC for several years. It’s more of a movement than anything.

You just put on grey sweatpants, and sacrifice wearing anything else for gym wear. And you take an oath to yourself to get stronger with your best efforts in the big three lifts.

My most memorable climb was actually not mine. It was my oldest son, Wyatt’s. We went to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas on a whim one day about three years ago. I forgot my shoes, so we found a couple that let him climb on the route where they had their gear placed. He reaches the top— 50 feet up, and the man tells me it’s a 5.10, an advanced level climb. We all high-fived when he came down. It was awesome!

That sounds serious! Nothing but grey sweatpants for the rest of your gym life? But I do see you in shorts as well. Is there a GSS Reserve Unit?

I only found out about indoor climbing comps from reading an article on Kai Lightner while at the doctor’s office a couple of years ago. Do you ever do competitions?

I guess you could say I’m a Grey Sweatpants Society reservist. Ha ha! Some days it’s just too humid for anything but shorts. I doubt my total is big enough to be an official member, anyway. Those are some VERY strong guys.

I did two outdoor bouldering comps in 2014 and 2015. In 2014 I took second in my division, and 2015 was literally a wash for me: it rained the entire morning, and I just couldn’t hang on.

So no ceremonial sacrificing of a pair of joggers?

You got me pretty motivated when you pulled 570lbs with your trap bar. Then you switched it seemed to focusing on bench leading to the 300lb bench pr, after that it was squatober and an unsuccessful attempt at 405lbs. Do you structure all of your training to chase individual prs while putting other lifts on cruise control? I’d never really thought about it, but I guess I do. I have a one track mind when it comes to achieving a PR goal. That’s going to have to change while I train for my first powerlifting meet next spring. You’re into rock climbing. How often do you climb? I don’t climb nearly enough, anymore. The last time I climbed was in 2016. It looks like a great way to keep the spirit of play alive in adults which is so important for overall emotional/mental/physical wellbeing. What was your most memorable climb?

Rock climbing is amazingly tough on your grip! Do you do grip specific training? I trained on a hang board twice a week. Not so much for grip, but for tendon strengthening I have seen you do some hangboard training, what did you think of our article on The Gripster earlier this year?

Great read. I liked that you covered the anatomical advantages of using it over traditional training methods for rock climbers. I may have to put one on my Christmas list this year. I have one and what I like most about it is the ability to use progressive resistance combined with multiple surfaces all challenging my fingers in different ways. Maybe we can work out a deal to let you borrow one of mine in exchange for some welding (not so subtle hint). I’d be happy to do some welding in exchange for some time with one of your Gripsters. We’ll have to work out some details later.

I think barn gyms are the ultimate in the home gym experience. It’s been one of the best moves I’ve ever made. I’m able to channel all the the things that wear on my mind into my lifting. The only time I get distracted is when one of the kids wants me to teach them how to get stronger. Pure bliss. I like that you have your family training with you. That’s always been important to me; I plan to retire to a place with my own barn gym to continue the experience with my children and grandchildren. Something like what they do at Buck’s Barn in Tennessee. Are you familiar with him?

What’s your favorite grip training tool? My favorite grip training tool is farmer’s walks. They work great, and look cool. Why else would they be a staple of World’s Strongest Man competition? You’ve done an exhibition strongman medley where you said it taught you that your overhead press was weak. Is part of the allure of competing in different strength events a way of finding out where you need to focus your training next? Definitely! Physical training should be aimed at strengthening all parts of your body. However, most of us make the mistake of overlooking the areas we don’t use on a regular basis. Overhead press is probably one of the most overlooked, but most important lift there is. Your home gym used to be inside your home, now it’s out in your barn. What motivated the change of venue? The move from inside the house to out in the shed came from combining families with the love of my life, Deanna, and the expense of my oldest son’s medical bills.

I am now. Thanks for turning me on to that. I’m envious as can be. That’s what we’re here for My Dude; do you plan to build a climbing set up out there like the ones on home climbing gyms? Probably not. We’re just renting this place, so I’m looking ahead toward the eventual moving day, and trying to minimize the amount of packing. Besides, Zenith Climbing Center isn’t too far away, and that’s where my climbing friends hang. You built the arms for your monolift attachment so how many pieces have you built for the Barn over the years? Well, I’ve built the squat rack and monolift arms, a yoke bar, trap bar, deadlift jack and a Swiss bar. So I guess just six pieces. Tell me how you like having a monolift attachment on your rack. The monolift attachment takes some getting used to for squats: since you don’t have to walk out the weight, it kind of forces you to sit back into the squat, and keep a more vertical torso. If not, you’ll 71

bang the bottom of the j-hooks on the way back up. Not much fun when you have over 300 on the bar. The monolift arms are fantastic for bench press. Rogue should be given a “Bro-bell” science award for that design. What build are you proudest of ? I’m assuming it’s going to be the one where you taped 10lb plates on each end of a set of dumbbells. That one is pretty high on the list, but I’m probably proudest of the Swiss bar I made for a friend from work. That one came out great. Do you have any builds you’d like to share with other aspiring home gym welders? The deadlift jack is probably the cheapest, easiest build. Work has been pretty hectic lately, but I’ll draw up some plans for the mini deadlift jack for sharing online in the next couple days. I’d love to have the instructions here on the site. You can do a video and include the written instructions. We’ll throw it up here in the Garage Built section with the other DIY articles. Sometimes we get into DIY builds and realize that although it might have been cheaper or more effective to just buy the piece; the build process itself was the point. Is it ever like that for you? So far, I’ve been pretty fortunate, and have saved more than enough to justify the build. There is something about knowing you can use your own two hands to build equipment that fits you. Does it make your bench rack and un-rack easier? Unrack and rack positions are ideal for bench-- they allow you to maintain tension in your upper back and scapula when you un-rack, and when they fall back, you’re set up for optimal bar path to re-rack.

Last question and this one will make or break this interview. You’re a former Beachbody coach so based on your industry knowledge, personal experience and this Instagram post from your timeline; how many calories do you burn by cleaning the stovetop after DB Incline + DB Pullovers; BB Standing Press + BB Bent Rows; BB Shrugs + DB Rear Laterals; CG Bench + Alternating DB Curls? I’m guessing probably about 456. I realized this question was about an old IG post a couple hours later, but only because a new flower of mine apparently made it his mission to like every last one of my posts. Kinda weird, kinda flattering. Maybe he was going I’d respond in kind. Matt is really an inspiring example of how life can get better as you get older if you make the right choices. Want to get started in Highland Games? Check out NASGA in North America. Outside North America, check out the Scottish Highland Games Association which has member associations around the world. If you’re interested in bouldering or indoor climbing, check out indoorclimbing.com.

In their own words...