Home Gym Quarterly Spring 2019

USD $4.99

HOME GYM SPRING 2019

KIMBERLY WALFORD

QUARTERLY

UNFINISHED

BUSINESS

JOE SULLIVAN Gripping for Jesus GET SHREDDED FOR SUMMER WITH STREET PARKING!

BODY SOLID CEO SCOTT MCDONALD

ON THIRTY YEARS IN THE FITNESS EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY 1

HOME GYM

QUARTERLY

TABLE OF CONTENTS ON THE COVER

34 FEATURED

Sanddune Stepper Review

Street Parking Workout

Five Alternative Hamstring Exercises for the Home Gym Owner

by Rob Brinkley Jr., NASM P.E.S., SFG 1, O.S. 1 - pg 43

7

Three Five-Minute Sauces to Take Your Next Meal from Boring to Fabulous!

by Amy Hester - pg 48

By: Joe Gray

12

From Shoulder Injury to WODapalooza without Surgery

by Anna Woods - pg 55 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 Brian Tait

2

Joe Sullivan From Rookie to Russia

Body Solid

by Bobby Allen

26

By: Riccardo Magni

51

We made it to our second issue! There was always a chance that the first issue would be so poorly received that wisdom would lead us to shut everything down rather than crash and burn a second time. Thank God that didn’t happen!

Instead, we got some positive feedback that encouraged us, along with constructive criticism that informs the editorial decisions made in this issue and for all others going forward. That’s true across the board with this brand. Being completely honest, although there is a general template; most of this journey consists of trying things, not knowing the outcome, just going on faith that we’re on the right path.

They don’t teach magazine publishing in school and for good reason. It’s unteachable. It can be coached by others with prior experience, but this business is so dependent on predicting months in advance what you, the audience might want, that every issue of every magazine you will ever read represents a leap of faith.

Good thing faith is something I happen to have in buckets. Faith in God’s plan, faith in the abilities of the men and women who contribute to this experiment and faith in you who read.

Faith led us to go from spectators at the Arnold Sports Festival to credentialed media in one year, faith led to the rapid growth of our following on social media and faith is building the world’s only magazine written by and for home gym owners in a time when conventional wisdom claims that magazines are dead. But I’m not worried.

You see, I have faith.

John Greaves III Editor/Publisher 3

CONTRIBUTOR BIOS ANNA WOODS

Anna Woods is a wife and mother who has based her entire career on helping other people find their value and worth through fitness, nutrition and especially the belief that “I am enough.” A published author, motivational speaker and athlete, Anna is a Crossfit Level 1 Coach, an ACE-Personal Trainer and a Functional Aging Specialist. She describes herself as an outdoor enthusiast, OCR Adventurer, Crossfit Competitor and Triathlete. Her goal is to redefine fitness from basing our worth and progress off a scale number to that of crossing our own personal “finish lines.” You can follow her on YouTube at sheStrength and Instagram @shestrength.

ROB BRINKLEY Rob Brinkley will celebrate his 10th year as a personal trainer, this year. He began his fitness quest in a Mid-West basement circa 1993, starting with calisthenics, then moving to bodybuilding, powerlifting and more recently, he has adopted kettlebell training. Although Rob has done bodybuilding competitions, five half marathons, and a strict curl competition – mostly, he prefers to keep fitness simple. Rob helps busy people simplify their fitness in person in Fort Worth, Texas and at www. simplify.fitness with online personalized training. Rob wrote a couple of Kindle books (free in you have Kindle Unlimited) to answer several fitness questions that have come up from family, friends, and clients over the years. The books are to educate and get folks on the right track with their exercise practice.

Exercise Tutorial V1:Purchase on Amazon Exercise Tutorial V2: Purchase on Amazon You can follow Rob on Instagram @simplify.fitness_.

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.

4

AMY HESTER Amy Hester is a Whole30 Certified Coach, and co-host of the podcast Strength Outside the Box with Lauren Corl. She is fascinated by and constantly researching all things health and wellness and loves every opportunity to geek out about what she has learned with anyone who will listen. Amy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Alabama. She resides in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband and two daughters whom she homeschools. When she is not on the road driving her kids to activities she can be found drinking coffee (...wait, who is she kidding, she ALWAYS has a cup of coffee in her hand!), sweating in her garage gym or at her local Crossfit box, cooking, listening to music or watching college football. You can follow her on Instagram @strengthoutsidethebox.

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.

Joe’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.

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.

5

6

Full Body Street Parking Workout

Try this FULL BODY Street Parking workout that combines 3 different variations of a SQUAT with everyone’s favorite lung burner - BURPEES! The Street Parking Crew KNOWS that it’s not about how much time or equipment you have - but how much effort you can put in that matters! This workout is sure to help build strength, stamina, and mental fortitude - and can be done with a wide variety of equipment!

You may choose between barbell, dumbbells, or even a sandbag. It is important that you choose a load you can perform at least 10 reps unbroken at the beginning. Remember, hitting the goal time is more important than going “heavy”. Choose what is right for you!

Break up the barbell reps into sets of 5 to 10 (as necessary) but make sure to keep the rest short. Just keep breathing and move at a consistent pace on the burpees.

Score: Total Time Goal: Under 18 Minutes BARBELL VERSION: For Time: 30 Hang Squat Cleans 30 Burpees

30 Thrusters 30 Burpees 30 Back Squats 30 Burpees Suggested weight for Men: 95# Suggested weight for Women: 65# (Go lighter or heavier based on ability) Movement Descriptions for Barbell Version: For the Hang Squat Cleans start by deadlifting the barbell to the waist. Feet should be roughly under your shoulders. Hinge at the hip slightly and bend the knees. Keep the weight in the heels, arms straight, and chest lifted. Stand up hard and fast, shrug the shoulders. Pull yourself down under the barbell and rotate the elbows around quickly so that you land in the bottom of the squat with the elbows pointing forward and the bar on the shoulder. Heels are down, knees out, butt lower than knees. Keeping the chest and elbows up, belly tight and back flat stand up all the way.

For the Thrusters, the bar will be on the shoulders with the elbows high. Feet under shoulders, heels down. You will reach your butt back and down and get to the bottom of the squat with the bar on the shoulders, keeping the elbows high. Stand up hard and fast to pop the bar off of the body. Move your 7

8

face out of the way and press the bar straight up.

Keep your belly tight and finish with arms locked out overhead, biceps in line with or slightly behind the ears. For the Back squat the bar will be on your back. Hands outside shoulders, feet under shoulders.

Keeping your chest up and belly tight reach your butt back and down, keep the heels down, drive the knees out. Butt should be lower than the knees at the bottom. Lead with the chest and drive your heels through the floor to stand all of the way up at the top of each rep.

DUMBBELL VERSION: For Time: 30 DB Hang Squat Cleans 30 Burpees 30 DB Thrusters 30 Burpees 30 DB Squats 30 Burpees Suggested weight for Men: 40# Dumbbells Suggested weight for Women: 25# Dumbbells (Go lighter or heavier depending on ability)

rotate the elbows around quickly so that you land in the bottom of the squat with the elbows pointing forward and the weight on the shoulders. Heels are down, knees out, butt lower than knees. Keeping the chest and elbows up, belly tight and back flat stand up all the way.

For the Thrusters, the DBs will be on the shoulders with the elbows high. Feet under shoulders, heels down. You will reach your butt back and down and get to the bottom of the squat with the weight on the shoulders, keeping the elbows high. Stand up hard and fast to pop the DBs off of the body. Press the weight straight up. Keep your belly tight and finish with arms locked out overhead, biceps in line with or slightly behind the ears.

For the DB squat the DBs will be on your shoulder.

Hands outside shoulders, feet under shoulders.

Keeping your chest up and belly tight reach your butt back and down, keep the heels down, drive the knees out. Butt should be lower than the knees at the bottom. Lead with the chest and drive your heels through the floor to stand all of the way up at the top of each rep.

SANDBAG VERSION: For Time: 30 Sandbag Hang Squat Cleans 30 Burpees 30 Sandbag Thrusters 30 Burpees 30 Sandbag Back Squats 30 Burpees

DUMBBELL MOVEMENT DESCRIPTIONS: For the Hang Squat Cleans start by deadlifting the DBs to the waist. Feet should be roughly under your shoulders. Hinge at the hip slightly and bend the knees. Keep the weight in the heels, arms straight, and chest lifted. Stand up hard and fast, shrug the shoulders. Pull yourself down under the weight and

No suggested weight for this one. We know that your sandbag is probably just pre-loaded. BUT lower the reps a bit if necessary due to your bag being a bit heavy to make this happen in the 18 in time goal.

SANDBAG MOVEMENT DESCRIPTIONS: For the hang squat clean you will deadlift the sandbag to the hips. Your feet are between hip and shoulder 9

width, heels down. Stand tall. Tighten the belly.

Arms straight. Reach the hips back slightly and bend the knees to dip. Keep the sandbag close and arms straight. Stand up hard and fast! Shrug the shoulders.

Pull the sandbag up the body and pull YOURSELF DOWN at the same time. You will rotate the elbows around and through FAST to allow the sandbag to land on the biceps in the bottom of the squat.

In this squat position heels are down, knees out, chest up, belly tight, butt lower than knees, no plopping or rounding, elbows high! Drive through the heels and drive knees out to stand. Lead with chest and elbows, stand fully to complete each rep.

For the next rep you will lower the sandbag back to the hips.

For the side to side sandbag thrusters you will have the bag on one shoulder. Squat to the bottom.

Stand up hard and fast and use the momentum created by the legs to press the bag up and over to the other side!

You may also choose to do a thruster from the front of the shoulder and press to lock out overhead.

The sandbag will be on the back. The feet should

10

be shoulder width apart. Heels down. Raise the chest and tighten the belly. Reach the butt back and down and drive the knees out. Get the butt lower than the knees at the bottom. No collapsing or rounding the back at the bottom! Stand all of the way up at the top of each rep!

The Street Parking™ Program is for those who may be too busy, don’t have access to, can’t afford, or just don’t enjoy a regular gym.

You CAN become fit and maintain a high level of fitness with minimal equipment and on a tight schedule. Will it be “easy”? Not at all.

You still have to work hard in the time you’ve got, with the space and equipment you’ve got.

Let us help you take the guesswork out of your daily workouts AND provide a community to help keep you extremely motivated. No matter how you choose to set up your Street Parking™ Membership – you will have access to ALL of our programs! That way – you are ready to go in any situation! Find out more by following @streetparking on Instagram or visiting streetparking.com to sign up.

www.strengthshopusa.com

11

Sanddune Stepper Review

By Joe Gray

12

Disclaimer: I purchased my first Sanddune Stepper™ with my own money in an effort to accomplish my goals listed in this article. After writing my first draft of the review, I reached out to Matt Dahl, CEO of Sanddune Stepper™ , for an interview to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of the product.

After chatting, I mentioned I was considering getting one for my office as I have a stand-up desk and thought it would be perfect for active recovery and to alleviate a lot of the issues of standing in one place. Matt was kind enough to send me my second Sanddune Stepper™ free of charge.

I’m not obligated by Matt to do anything in exchange for the Stepper, I’m not monetized in any way for sales or affiliate links, or anything like that.

While I don’t believe this impacted my review or perception of the product in any way, I always want to be transparent in the information I provide.

ON TO THE REVIEW When I was a little kid playing sports, I had EXTREMELY tight Achilles tendons. So much so that I ran around on my toes on the soccer field. I got some insoles made by an orthopedist, and was prescribed calf stretches daily and before all sports activities. It worked, kind of, for a while.

Fast forward to when I first start trying to squat in the gym, and I had to throw a 25lb plate under my heels to reach even parallel depth because my feet would come off the ground. I spent a lot of time in college, where we walked to and from class, getting shin splints, having to take breaks, stretch out, etc.

Fast forward a few more years, and I blew out my calcaneus (the heel bone) on my left foot, leaving me with a nice fracture, 3 months of a cast, no weight bearing, and no ankle mobility. The ankle was literally stuck in extension, for 3 months straight! I was also stuck hobbling on my right foot with crutches for about five months. Not exactly great for ankle health.

Pair that with the fact that my entire body runs warm, like, out of the covers, open window, ceiling fan on during the winter, kind of warm. But my feet run cold. Really cold. I believe poor circulation is the issue here, but you get the idea.

Long story short, this has been my struggle for the majority of my life— tight calves, short Achilles, painful pops and cracks, and a constant fight to grab at any ankle range of motion I can. I’ve tried banded ankle mobilizations, every stretch, soft tissue technique, and chiropractic adjustment out there.

Plenty of “Fix your ankles in 10 minutes” articles have been read, tested, and tossed in the garbage.

I’ve also been struggling with right knee pain for 13

almost a year, I believe largely due to my ankle being “stuck” and my knee having to pick up the mobility slack of my ankle. Over the course of the year, I’ve tried a ton of different things to fix that ankle, some worked for a few hours and disappeared, others didn’t work at all. This led to days where my knee hurt so bad, I didn’t even want to go on walks.

I wanted to “fix” my ankles and knee pain for good. I wanted them to feel like they functioned correctly 24/7. No need to do countless ankle drills,

mobilizations, and soft tissue work to get them to be adequate.

My wife is a nurse, and she has a bad right knee from a soccer injury as a kid that never got the right attention. So, a nurse who requires her body to work correctly, who already has a tricky knee, is not likely to spend much time doing anything that would jeopardize that knee in any way. We are careful with how we program squats, split squats, anything quad dominant, etc.

Whenever I see something that multiple people are recommending for ankle, knee, hip, etc. health, I get intrigued. When I see people start claiming performance boosts, I get HYPER intrigued. When I start seeing them claim it functions for HIIT Cardio, Active Recovery, and more… I start to get the old Snake Oil travelling salesmen thing going and wondering why this wonder drug hasn’t been on Dr. Oz yet. This is where the Sanddune Stepper entered our life.

BUT WHAT DOES IT DO? I’m not going to spend much time explaining the 14

ins and outs here, The really brief run down here— the Sanddune Stepper™ , as it is named, is kind of like mimicking walking in sand. If you’ve ever done a hike of any kind on the beach, you know that afterwards muscles you didn’t even know you had are tired, but you somehow also feel REALLY good. It is this odd combination of feeling wiped and feeling stable, strong, and secure, that I’ve never really found anywhere else. That is entirely the Sanddune Stepper’s™ goal… give you that same experience, but wherever you take the stepper, instead of needing to live on beach front property.

From feedback from others, the Stepper seems to be solid at prehab, rehab, and also cardio. So I was potentially looking to replace my Rower and Airdyne for GPP use. They take up so much space, and get used at most once a week, it just feels like the floor space and budget could be spent elsewhere more effectively.

In talks with Matt he mentions a lot of crazy science terms that go far beyond my understanding.

Things around the lymphatic system, nervous system, and muscle contractions (I was with him there), and then a bunch of other stuff that reminded me of a talking to a few of my PhD friends. The words that echoed in my brain and still do, when I asked him what was going on with the Sanddune Stepper™ , he

ended the sentence with “I think there is more going on there than we understand.”

DOES IT WORK? Before, and even shortly after buying the stepper,

I was hesitant. I was really hesitant in fact, about how I just spent almost $300 on a piece of foam that would magically fix all of my problems and replace two $1000 pieces of equipment. I was hesitant that I’d see much utility, and afraid that I’d be stuck

shoving it in a corner in the rafters. Even after reading reviews, numerous recommendations from people I trusted, I was still not sure. After about six months of use, the short answer is, yes... it works.

I’ve noticed that my right ankle, the portion that felt “stuck”, is fixed. That block that was there that felt like I was hitting a dead end in my ankle ROM, seems to be completely removed. I found that using VooDoo bands for compression flossing on my ankles WHILE using the stepper, seems to have a synergistic effect that is just remarkable.

My ankles move better, my knee has almost entirely stopped hurting, I have no shifts or compensatory movement going on, etc. Keep in mind, outside of some basic soft tissue work for the calf, foot, and tibia areas, I’m not doing anything for my ankles besides the stepper. So, it isn’t like it is a combination of five different things, it is the Sanddune Stepper 100%. To the old adage, you don’t know what you got till it’s gone, I can 100% feel the difference in my squat, deadlift, and carry when I use the Sanddune Stepper in my prep, versus do not. In the future the goal is to not NEED the Stepper, but for now I’m happy with a small 30 second investment of time and the huge carryover it has to pain free movement. I’ve started using it daily in my morning mobility routine for upper body and lower body

work including the ankle work I mentioned, planks, shoulder stability, hip mobilizations, lunges, single leg RDLs, hip thrusts, and birddogs. It is easy to move to where I need it, adds to the effectiveness of my work, and is, in my opinion, helping make me bulletproof.

So that is the good of the prehab/rehab process of the Sanddune Stepper™ for me personally.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GPP AND CARDIO FUNCTIONS? For GPP purposes, I was looking for one primary use for myself, and one primary use for my wife.

I would use the Sanddune Stepper™ on Sundays during my active recovery days, instead of the rower or airdyne. My wife on the other hand, would use it after her shift to try and get to approximately 8,000 steps for the day (she wears a pedometer during work), as her form of active recovery and cardio, as she lifts on her non-work days.

What I found for myself, is that the Sanddune Stepper™ works extremely well for multiple uses of active recovery on Sunday. I use it as a rebound device for medicine ball work.

It makes for a great lower body conditioning workout as it seems to move a lot of blood and get the heart pumping well. It also works great as a stability or instability device for various mobility exercises like mountain climbers, bird dogs, side planks, and more. And it does all of this with little effort, low impact, in an extremely portable package.

On sunny days I can take it to the lawn, on rainy days we head into the garage, in the mornings I take it into the living room while my daughter watches Elmo. It seems to give me the results I want, in less time, with less impact, less recovery requirements, and less setup time, than the Airdyne or rower. It costs less than both of those and takes up less floor space in the gym as well.

For my wife, it’s been used very well for her after work active recovery. In fact, she often gets home before I do and starts cooking dinner. She has set it up in the kitchen and gotten in steps while prepping dinner.

On off days, she has used it while straightening her hair, while my daughter is taking a nap, while 15

watching TV shows on a rainy lazy Sunday, etc. It is quiet, portable, and easy to get in some work at almost any hour of the day, even while multitasking.

And, best of all for her, no knee issues.

I’d argue that the balance requirements will likely help prevent future knee problems. I’m having her do lunges on the stepper, as well as other activities to try and move her in a direction where that knee is no longer a hindrance of movement. Talking to Matt, he has seen great results with people using the stepper and finding relief from VERY old injuries.

The lymphatic system seems to get cleared, you start engaging and strengthening all of the little muscles that weren’t doing their job before, and all kinds of cool stuff with the nervous system happens and essentially gives you a second chance at recovery.

The one area I wasn’t expecting to use it for, was in my actual gym training. I’ve primarily used it on leg days, but for a ton of different options— lunges, Bulgarian split squats, hack squat variations, and more. If you’ve seen my Instagram before, you know I use my Powertec Levergym regularly. The leverage squat on the Sanddune is awesome!

The muscle activation that comes from the Sanddune Stepper™ seems to absolutely fry your legs with a lot less weight, and no joint issues. All good things.

I’ve even seen people do weighted carries, or they call them weighted marches, with a kettlebell hung between their legs off a belt squat belt. I’ve also started using it in my primer work for bench press days. I typically do something like use bands for some

16

chest press to get the blood flowing, feel my chest working, etc. Adding the stepper and doing 10 pushups has been AMAZING. Ten push-ups isn’t too difficult, so it isn’t like I am exhausting the muscle.

But when you go to bench EVERYTHING lights up and you just feel what bench should actually feel like.

From a bodybuilder perspective, I see this having tremendous results in developing my chest. From a powerlifter perspective, I think you start to move the load from your front delts to the primary movers of the chest and triceps, and you ideally get a healthier and stronger bench. I’m even noticing my stability in the bench being better, and areas of my upper back that are tight are loosening up.

One often overlooked piece is the high and low side of the stepper. I tend to use it similar to my Olympic lifting shoes, where if I’m feeling tighter, then I give myself a little more ankle range of motion with my heel on the high side. If I’m hitting my hamstrings, I face the high side to put an extra stretch. You can get creative in how to use this slight adjustment, on top of the likely beneficial factors of it creating more stability requirements.

IS THERE ANYTHING BAD? Where we get into the bad, is when we flip the stepper over. The cover is kept on with a thin bungee cord type material. In less than a month, mine snapped twice, which led me to cut it off entirely.

Luckily, the cover still stays on because it wraps over decently well, but this just seemed like a shotty after thought. The bottom of the stepper has what appears to be a form of anti-skid material on it. It works, kind of, depending on how it is used. But, if your bungee cord is intact, that comes in contact with the floor first. And even if it’s not, the cover wrapping around the base will be on the floor, NOT the anti-skid material.

I think this could be improved very easily with some more aggressive rubber type anti-skid material strategically placed to make sure it is the main point of contact. This would make the Sanddune Stepper™ work better for all surfaces, indoor and outdoor, and likely keep the bottom edges of the cover in better shape over the long run. As an

Yeah, you take a lot for granted. When life hums along, you don’t think twice about the things that can bring your life to a screeching halt.

Maybe that’s why you don’t worry about your joints–until you have a problem. But when you do, serious joint issues can not only keep you out of the gym, they can make doing the simplest things a whole lot tougher. That’s why we created a fast-mixing and delicious powdered version of our multiple award-winning, time-tested joint supplement, Animal Flex. Think of Animal Flex as “insurance” for your joints, and take a scoop to keep things running smoothly in the gym… And in life.

17

youtube.com/animalpak | @animalpak | info@animalpak.com | 800.872.0101 | www.animalpak.com

example, it moves WAY too easily on my garage floor. It sticks like crazy on carpet, horse stall mats, etc. So, it just needs a little something extra.

I think this could be improved very easily with some more aggressive rubber type anti-skid material strategically placed to make sure it is the main point of contact.

The last piece that feels like an oversight, is the lack of a handle. I mentioned how easy the Sanddune Stepper™ is to take from room to room, inside and outside, etc. Because of the lack of handle, the first time I went to move it between rooms I “pinched” the foam and tore a small piece off.

Very frustrating to damage a new toy in the first week. Because of its large and awkward shape, carrying it without a handle is awkward until you find the right arm position. If you add the anti-skid material to the bottom, you could embed a decent handle into the bottom that pseudo folds into the unit and out of the way during use but comes out nicely for transport.

When talking to Matt, he mentioned they are working on a better bungee chord that works off Velcro and ideally functions like a carrying handle. Without seeing or testing it, I’m obviously not going to say he fixed the problem, but he is aware and agrees that they need to fix that area. So, if you order in the near future, you might get a flawless product.

BUT THAT PRICE THOUGH! The key roadblock for most people here, is going to be the price. Most people are going to see it as a $300 piece of foam, and instantly opt out. My first response here is, if you are in a similar situation as me, $300 is a lot less than I spent on various modalities to try and fix my issues with little results and is a LOT less than surgery would be if I truly blew out my knee. The average knee surgery is about $50,000 in the US, plus rehab costs and time and more. Plus, if it truly does fix my mobility issues and strengthen my ankles, knees, hips, and all the fun little muscles in the lower body, then the future performance improvements should be noticeable. For most of us that spend hundreds a year on powders, potions, and various supplements that might not do 18

anything, again, this might be a better use of your money. The average American spends close to $650 a year on supplements.

If that doesn’t do it for you, the comparison of the Sanddune Stepper™ to any other conditioning type implement easily puts it well under any solid Air Bike, Rower, or other common garage gym tool.

So, $300 for a stepper that conditions the body and fixes strength and mobility issues, or $600+ for an Air Bike? Or $1200+ for a rower? Even a cheap used treadmill is going to cost $200+, take up a ton of room, not be moveable, and it achieves exactly ONE thing.

The other roadblock for the Sanddune Stepper™ is, unfortunately for Matt, being compared to and connected to all of the other balance and unstable surface training devices on the market. Bosu Balls, balance boards, Airex Pads, and a lot more are frequently looked at as “the same thing”. Those haven’t proven to be effective, both by individuals and coaches and in scientific studies, so why is the Sanddune different? A question I’ve seen countless times on their Instagram account, followed by a number of people who own and use it that commonly come to its defense in a number of ways.

In my interview with Matt we cover the price and the comparison topics. Matt does an excellent job of painting the intricate details of the stepper, its construction, and how that adds up to the price as well as makes it stand out amongst everything else.

The flat surface, the high-density foam, the slight angle to the high and low side, the independent left and right sides, and more. I don’t want to butcher Matt’s words, so I recommend you check out the interview coming in the Summer Issue of the Home Gym Quarterly for more details.

FINAL THOUGHTS For me and my situation, along with my wife, the Sanddune Stepper™ has done exactly what I wanted it to. It is helping me down a path of sustainable and functional movement that should help pull that metaphorical e-brake off my training and keep me off the surgeons table. Paired with that is the active recovery possibilities and its abilities to move and go

wherever you need it to, not to mention finding new ways to incorporate it into my actual training. It gets used daily in my morning mobility work, and every Sunday in my active recovery work, three or four times a week currently by my wife, and my daughter even enjoys using it.

Add in that Matt is a stellar guy, and that you have athletes and coaches from the NFL, NBA, UFC, WWE, Powerlifters and more putting the Sanddune Stepper™ to use, and I just don’t see any way around it. After almost 6 full months of regular use, I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of what I can do with this thing. I’ll be planning a weight cut this year and plan to use this as my main

52

forms of cardio.

The Sanddune Stepper™ is a leap and bound ahead of any other item out there in its class. It gets more done, in less time, in less space, at a lower cost, than any other item on the market I am aware of.

Follow them on Instagram @SandduneStepper to see a myriad of athletes putting it to use. If you are interested in buying a Sanddune Stepper™ , make sure to check online for a discount code, and you can get it here: http://www.Sanddunestepper.com/ You can follow Joe Gray on Instagram @gray_ matter_lifting and read more of his reviews on his blog The Gray Area.

GUESTS

EPISODES

REASONS TO WATCH

SUNDAY CONVERSATIONS new episodes every Sunday on the

IGTV CHANNEL 19

ON LOCATION 2019 ARNOLD ARMLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Photo Credits: Naomi Greaves 20

21

22

ON LOCATION

2019 Central Georgia's Strongest Man

23

24

Photo Credits: Brian Tait 25

The Body-Solid Difference An Interview with Scott McDonald by Bobby Allen

I’ve owned several Body-Solid pieces since starting my home gym and my social media posts frequently include workouts using them. When Body-Solid reached out to me through Instagram, I shared some of my history with them, (see Bobby’s story at right), and asked if I could do an interview to drill down a little deeper into the organization. Unlike most reviews this one was a little personal for me because of my experience but I tried to keep the information gathered objective and informative. Body-Solid CEO, Scott McDonald, was exceptionally helpful with the promptness of his communications so I hope that you find this interview educational as a reader.

Tell me about the history of your company.

When were you founded and why?

Body-Solid was founded in 1989 by three men who correctly saw a need in the fitness market for a strong value line of equipment. With great product quality at reasonable prices, the first ever lifetime in 26

home warranty, product availability through multiple outlets including mail order and then internet, and best in class customer service the company grew quickly from the start and today is one of the largest companies in the industry.

Are you a family owned business?

We are privately held but try to run our business like a family business. While we employ a lot of people, we prefer to think of each of them as a part of a family that is relying on them, and by association Body-Solid, to help support everything they do. We believe strongly in this and strive to provide our employees with a well rounded experience that offers the financial compensation they deserve but also the time and flexibility to be with their family and support them in the things that really matter. We believe that this approach has paid off as our average employee tenure is in excess of 15 years.

What would you say Body-Solids vision statement is and why is it important to your brand?

Our goal is to provide the best possible customer experience possible for each customer. This starts with the quality and pricing of our product, continues with how it is sold and represented by our dealers, then extends as importantly to the after sale customer service experience that is sometimes needed. It also applies to offering a broad array of products – the deepest assortment of any fitness company in the industry.

What is your sales geographic range as a U.S. based organization that targets both home-based and commercial consumers?

We sell in over 100 countries with over a quarter of our business outside the USA. We have a 200,000 square foot warehouse just west of Chicago that houses our main distribution center and offices.

We have other smaller distribution centers located outside the USA. Do you manufacture your own equipment?

We utilize several manufacturing organizations with whom we have very long term relationships – in one case over 25 years. They work hand in glove with our engineers and product development team to make our equipment.

Do you sell most of your products online or in dealer stores?

It is hard to differentiate. We sell a lot of products to our bricks and mortar dealers but much of what they buy is also going out on line (through their websites).

You also have people that will go and try a product at a dealer but then buy it on line rather than go back to the store. Overall though, online sales are a substantial part of the fitness industry’s sales and we are no different.

Which part of the business markets do you see trending fastest for growth, home or commercial and what actions do you intend to take to maximize exposure in those areas? (i.e. social media, fitness conventions or sports festivals… etc.

The home and commercial markets really grow in tandem with each other. Commercial fitness continues to see strong growth in particular in the vertical markets (hospitality, municipal, schools, etc.) and in small and medium sized fitness training studios as consumers demand more ease of access to fitness. I like to call it the increase in the liquidity of the fitness market. It used to be that you had to sign one year health club contracts, that only some hotels had fitness, and so on. Today, consumers want to drop in and use a club just once and virtually every hotel has a fitness facility of some type. This extends directly into the home market as well. People want the fitness programs they pursue available to them on their schedule at home too, so the home market follows directly what happens in the commercial market. And of course, for exposure, nothing is as important today as social media. With multiple platforms and formats, it is a key component of our marketing strategy. We do a number of trade shows and similar events throughout the year, but by far the most exposure is being generated through social media.

As a current owner of some of your equipment the quality is great; where does your R&D 27

28

draw their inspiration from in designing your equipment? What part of fitness industry motivates the R &D? The starting point for the development of any new piece of equipment is an evaluation of the demand for the equipment. Once we see that there is demand for a piece, we carefully analyze many factors. This process is not just a simple R&D department. It is combined also with the input of many of our stakeholders. Dealers will tell us what they want, our sales team will provide their insight, and consumers are consulted as well. Ultimately what comes out of that process is a product that will fit in with our vision of providing a great customer experience in all aspects – quality, price, functionality, and service.

to put fires out quickly and to the satisfaction of the customer. It may cost us well more than the underlying product sometimes, but we don’t want to make our problem the customer’s problem by rejecting their request for service or making it difficult for them. My favorites are when we get emails from customers praising something our customer service team did. I think it is the hardest job in our company since you are generally dealing from the start with a customer that is at least mildly unhappy if not already angry about having to call customer service. When we can convert that unhappy person into a happy one – then we have truly done our job.

One of my pet peeves about home gym equipment is the directions for assembly. I have another brand I have purchased equipment from, and they have the worst instructions I have seen by any company! Yet they have done nothing to change that format. How important is customer feedback and how applicable is it to how your organization conducts its business?

Customer feedback is huge not just for aftermarket issues but also for the design of our equipment. I think instructions are a perpetual sore spot for some people in part because everyone has a different way, they like to see instructions prepared. Some people are very visual and do not want a lot of words to read and others are the opposite and want every step laid out in detailed language. We try to walk a middle line on our instructions and then make sure our customer service people are well trained and able to help if there are any questions.

Probably the best measure of a company’s integrity is how they handle it when they have a care complaint. Can you provide any examples of what your organization has done to resolve service issues?

This is where I think we do differentiate ourselves from some of our competitors. Our goal is always

Your company has different product lines that fall under the Body-Solid family how will you use that to address new market entrants that seek to challenge manufactures with lower price points for products.

This is a very good question. It is almost always possible to undercut a competitor on price. You can reduce your margin, you can reduce the quality 29

of your product, you can spend less on R&D and customer service. But sometimes you have to stick to your guns and just hope that you have an educated consumer that will take the time to realize that a $150 power rack is not going to hold up like a more substantial and costlier one. Also, you have to make sure you keep your customer service at a high level and insure that the customers know this. Many competitors we have faced over the years are no longer here. One of the first signs of trouble we have seen before these companies go bust is when consumers can’t reach customer service, needed parts are out of stock or slow to come, or multiple hurdles are raised for the consumer to get satisfaction. In the end, we do not sell on price – e.g. the amount you pay to get the product to your door. We sell on cost – the end cost of the item over its life including how it goes together when you build it, how long it lasts, what kind of service it needs, will the company be around 10 years from now when you need that service, and of course your overall satisfaction with it. If we can win the cost battle, we will win the war against lower price point products.

Attendance at the Mr. Olympia 2018 Fitness Expo seemed down compared to previous years. Since home gym owners tend towards introversion, it can be a hard sell for them to spend hours in the wall to wall crowds to see the equipment. Do you think that the era of trade shows and expos is winding down now that customers feel they can find out everything they need to know from a company’s website or social media platforms?

We do not play a large role in expos like Mr. Olympia but anecdotally we hear of certain expos doing very well like the Arnold Classic and hear about others that do not do well. I think a key driver of these expos today is the entertainment factor, seeing people that are involved in the fitness space, and getting tips on technique, nutrition and similar.

While the personal experience is important and fun to people, you are correct that it can to some degree be replaced by the incredible amounts of good and 30

robust information available on line far beyond basic product information. There are many blogs/ websites/etc. that provide great discussion forums on equipment and other home gym information, reviews of product to see if it will fit what you are looking for, videos of product in use with tips for use and so on. I think the two can and will coexist, but the shows will need to work hard to keep their audiences.

Along with written instructions do you also provide video walkthroughs on YouTube, Vimeo or your website for customers to follow?

We do have a lot of content on line that is designed to help the user understand the equipment they are buying. In many cases these same videos are embedded in our dealer’s websites as well so it can help inform your purchasing decision.

That price versus cost differentiation is huge because many home gym owners are price sensitive. That’s why many of our readers became home gym owners in the first place— to save money. How do you educate dealers and your sales staff to help them help customers understand that in the words of Jim Wendler, “It’s better to buy nice than buy twice?”

I think for most people the concept of cheap versus economical is not a foreign concept. We all understand that a product that costs half as much but is broken within a year or two is not a good purchase when compared to a product that costs twice as much but will last a life time. In most cases, when and individual sees a limited warranty on one of those cheap products when stacked up against the

stronger warranty of, for example, Body-Solid with a lifetime in home warranty – unless you plan to stop using the equipment in a few years – it is a powerful equation and one that our dealers and sales staff understand and attempt to convey to the consumer as well.

pieces to target areas that might not be easy to hit with free weights.

David Dennis, the founder of Gorilla Strength USA, a small equipment manufacturer, wrote a blog post in March 2018 that explained the challenges facing American manufacturers due to the higher tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. As a larger company, have steel costs significantly impacted your business and the prices you have to charge to break even?

Unfortunately, costs have gone up across the board in everyone’s business. Beyond steel we have seen higher labor costs, insurance costs and many other factors that impact us as a business. Our challenge is to see if we can find other ways to reduce other costs or achieve efficiencies so we can maintain prices for our dealers and consumers.

Even home gym owners travel. In some cases, they don’t have the option of a local gym other than what’s in their hotel. If I prefer your brand of fitness equipment and want to use it on the road, is there a way for me to tell if a hotel is outfitted with Body-Solid products?

Unfortunately, we do not have that information in most cases. We are typically selling to a dealer who then sells to the hotel, so we frequently do not know where the product ended up.

Finally, back to the product lines you provide the public. Can you give me a brief breakdown of which ones might be a better fit for the home gym owner? For example, which product line would you recommend to someone interested in general fitness who’s just starting their home gym? And then same question but the person has a bodybuilding focus and is just looking for

This is such a huge question and really where a good fitness retailer can make a difference. There are so many factors that impact an individual’s purchasing decision. What is their level of comfort with fitness exercises? Do they want the convenience of a stack weight gym set up or the greater flexibility and potential of free weight exercises? Do they have space for one piece of equipment or for more? Are there roof height restrictions? Will this just be for you or will your spouse/partner/kids be using it too?

What are your goals – do you want to lose weight, recover from an injury, improve strength, compete in a sport? All of these factor into your decision as purchaser and your answers to this will help guide my advice to you.

Is there something on your site that could help the buyer with planning/addressing specific interest?

We do have a neat tool on our website called Body Focus (https://www.bodysolid.com/body_focus/) that allows the user to at least start on the journey of answering these questions. You can use it to enter your specific goals whether they be body part specific (e.g. chest, legs, etc.) or goal specific (lose weight, rehab, etc.) and we will in turn suggest products and exercises for you to consider.

31

BOBBY’S STORY

My experience with Body Solid started with a Universal unit that we bought from one of my wife’s friends for $100 dollars. I gladly took it off his hands and had officially purchased my first piece of Body Solid equipment. Although I had this equipment, I was still doing my workouts at the local chain gym and used this piece on occasions as a fill-in. Fast forward seven years—my kids got older and were becoming more active. During this time, I prepped my wife for a 4th place finish at the 2012 National Physique Committee™ (NPC) Nationals in Women’s Physique before we hung up the trunks to focus on our children’s athletic development.

After a fitness layoff we decided to add a more few pieces to the house so we could start training more— it was now impossible to make it to the gym with our schedule and neither of us was satisfied with how we looked based on how we used to look.

This was the beginning of our full-time home gym 32

lifestyle and we started mapping out the pieces needed to accomplish the training we enjoyed most; bodybuilding.

Our current gym like most home gym owners was built over several years, piece by piece, as I attempted to mimic key machines that we that the public gyms had. This allowed for a targeted approach to our gym’s construction as we picked pieces that improved the overall shape and symmetry of our physiques.

The gym as constructed now is made up of eighty percent Body Solid equipment with multiple pieces that target the entire body.

I have enjoyed the durability of the products as well as the consideration in the engineering and the load that I can place on them maximizing the amount of stress I can put on my muscles in a home gym setting. The footprint for my pieces is reasonable allowing me to pack a lot of equipment in small space without looking over crowded (and did I mention the lifetime warranty on the products?).

There was never a time that my home gym became more important to me than when I tore my quad tendon and had to rebuild my right leg up. This injury came like most injuries from a freak accident where I slipped down the stairs three steps from the bottom in my garage! I’d never had a major injury before, and this was a major setback for my goals of once again competing on the stage in the Master’s division after a major layoff.

I had been walking around 300 lbs. forever and had been shaping the weight so it was locked in and now I had a dead leg. Thanks to the family here at Garage Gym Life Media and the friends I’ve made through it, I was up and working out in no time. The encouragement I got from this group was amazing and I’d never really seen social media like that, but I learned that if you’re real then you can attract real people. I used my Body Solid equipment to rebuild my broken body into the mass it is today and plan on moving forward teaching others on it while also finishing my goal of once again hitting that stage.

33

34

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

by John Greaves III

35

Kimberly Walford is a six-time International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) world champion.

To put that into perspective the IPF is composed of 100 countries, spanning six continents. No other powerlifting federation comes close. That means Kimberly Walford is one of the few human beings who can legitimately claim to be the strongest at her body weight. And she did it six times, with every intention of increasing that number to seven. Let’s dive in and meet her.

John: So, Kimberly, as I’ve said multiple times, you are one of my favorite powerlifters to watch across any federation, but, along with all your successes, you’ve also had some changes. So tell me about how it felt to be standing on the platform in a different federation for the first time in your career.

Kimberly: I would say it’s more of like a continuation. It feels fine in the sense that I’m blessed that I could continue to lift, because that was most important to me.

John: Okay.

Kimberly: At the time, for about 16, 17 years, I had been used to lifting in one federation, or two sets of federations, and then switching to another, wondering what it was going to be like. And in all honesty, when I had to switch over, it was quite welcoming. I had nothing negative to say about it all.

It was a welcoming environment, it just felt good just to focus on lifting.

John: Okay. So you spent some time lifting in the USPA, and one of the biggest things that I see lifting in the USPA versus the USAPL or the IPF is the bar.

How did it feel using a deadlift bar on the platform?

Kimberly: I had to get used to the whip, learning to understand that you have to pull out the slack before you pull. I was used to being basically more of a grip and rip type of deadlifter, and learning how to pull at the deadlift bar, I had to learn the importance of when I set up to actually pull out the slack and the 36

bar first before I could break ground, because if I didn’t, that rip would catch me on my way up.

John: Right.

Kimberly: Yeah, it was a little bit of a challenge, but once I got it down, it was fine.

John: I think one thing that people who’ve done that have said is that it actually makes you a better deadlifter once you adapt, because it forces you to get tighter. And I mean you’re not a novice to powerlifting at all, by any stretch of the imagination, but is it one of those situations where now that you know how to perform at your best with a deadlift bar, that now when you go back to lifting with the IPF bar, that you are actually stronger? Do you feel stronger?

Kimberly: Well not necessarily say stronger, I would

say definitely I’ll probably get focused even more like you said on the tightness because you have to have that ability to pull the slack out of the bar. Like with a strict bar, it’s you bracing against that bar and it’s you’re already ready to pull. But with that deadlift bar, you really have to focus on assuring that you take that extra second to pull out that slack before you break ground. It does force you to focus on being tighter initially from that pull, I mean from the start of that pull definitely.

John: Okay. And so what are your numbers looking like now that you’re gearing up to lift to represent the US Virgin Islands, is that right?

Kimberly: Yes, I’m going to be qualifying for IPF Classic World, so that’s what I’m focused on now.

As far as numbers, you know I love you John, but I won’t share because I know they’ll be listening, so-

John: Okay, can’t say I didn’t try ha ha! Well, I wanted to talk to you about your ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) coaching that you’re doing with Garret Blevins. I know that you’ve been coaching people for a while and you’ve been writing programs for a long time.

But this AI coaching system is such a new concept.

Kimberly: Well, Garrett approached me and he discussed the part that was related to the AI coaching and what I liked about how he explained it to me is that once again it wouldn’t be something that was a cookie cutter template which is sometimes what is used to describe what happens when a person signs up with our online coaching. But the great thing about what Garrett created is that they can basically fill out a questionnaire which gives you background on the individual in regard to their training goals and their commitment to training with regards to time and also having issues with mobilities and past issues.

Kimberly: Basically, it ties all that information in together with the goals that they want to accomplish in power lifting and create the program. And the great thing about it as well is that on a monthly basis it will re-evaluate where you are in your program and as a result of the feedback that you give based on that end of the month questionnaire, it will basically adapt your program. So, it’s constantly evolving as you evolve as a lifter. And that was one of the main reasons I was completely interested in jumping in with Garrett on this because I knew that it wouldn’t be something that would just be the same type of template for every lifter that would basically subscribe to the system.

Kimberly: Another thing I like about what Garrett has done, is that it makes it affordable for people to have online training. Now it’s not like the traditional one on one online training like when you have someone looking at your videos, you know weekly phone calls and more interaction, but at least it allows the individual to receive that feedback that they need to know and understand that as they’re making these changes or as they have questions about their training, their training is also adapting as they’re adapting.

37

John: That’s a big deal and among the many things that makes you one of my favorite lifters, is that you are so committed to passing on what you know from the AI program to the work you do with Iron Sisters USA. Tell me more about Iron Sisters USA. Kimberly: How I originally got involved was due to Frances Manias. She is the founder out of Canada.

She competes for the Canadian Powerlifting Union and it was a concept she had about creating seminars where you could have women’s empowerment of strength and supporting women in pursuit of their strength goals whether it be them competing or them just wanting to improve their fitness levels as well.

Kimberly: A huge part of it is creating that support system for women, and Frances had been doing this for about six or seven years, and then a few years ago me and Jen Thompson and Rhaea Stinn, who’s also a world champion record holder out of Canada, were sitting at dinner and Jen said we should do something like this in the U.S. And we were like, “Yeah! That’s a great idea!” We just started talking about it with Frances and brought it to the USA and we’ve been doing that for about three years now.

Kimberly: The great thing about the seminar is the fact that we’re able to bring together all our knowledge and experience and pass on the information to other ladies, which only helps them pass it on to others as well.

John: One of the things that I see universally with great teachers is that they actually are learning at the same time that they are teaching you. Because sometimes the question you ask makes them think about something differently maybe that they’ve become so accustomed to taking at face value that it’s, not till they see it through your eyes that they get a deeper understanding of it. Do you find that happening when you’re coaching a lift?

Kimberly: Yes, yes I do and its almost reinforcing in yourself, it’s like I’m reminding this individual about the importance of core, you know when they’re 38

squatting, benching and deadlifting, I’m reminding them about the proper technique and then in my own head as I’m teaching them about this proper technique it’s reminding me, “Okay Kimberly it’s making sure that you do the same”. Because even though you know that you’re right, sometimes things do fall by the wayside and it’s like, “No! If you’re teaching someone this, you have to make sure that you’re doing it yourself.”

John: Right.

Kimberly: So yeah, it definitely reinforces the knowledge within me as well.

John: Yeah, because people forget that if you’re saying it out loud, you’re hearing it too.

Kimberly: Good point.

John: Same thing back stage at a meet. I’ve heard our mutual friend, one of powerlifting’s legends, Steve Goggins, tell people “You need to approach the bar as if you already got it!” Like it’s just a matter of going out there and executing. And I’ve heard you say it too. What does it take to develop that sort of strong mindset that allows you to not get the negative talk stuff going?

Kimberly: I think first and foremost you have to believe that what you set out to do is possible and how I believe that you can reinforce thought of that goal in your head that I can do this is putting in the work to make it happen. Like really putting in the work, not saying you’re putting in the work.

Following the program, being truthful with your coach when something isn’t going well. Whether its life or you didn’t finish doing sets or you decided to do extra sets that your coach didn’t want you to do.

You have to follow the plan.

Kimberly: Making sure that you manage the stress, because we all have stress in our lives. You have to manage the negative stress and how it relates to your training because if you don’t find a way to harness

it positively that can affect how you compete come comp day. Making sure you have the right support around you. Not just your family or your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend but just your gym family as well. The right environment to train. I know it’s extremely expensive sometimes trying to get a hold of the right equipment especially for a home gym but if you’re going to have a home gym, save the money and get the right equipment. Because you and I both know it makes a huge difference in how you lift.

The difference between you lifting on an approved powerlifting bar whatever federation you choose to lift in versus some knockoff cheap bar that has the wrong knurling or no knurling at all or not long enough or not heavy enough— just knowing that there’s a specific plan that you have to have and you have to follow that plan to get to those goals.

John: I don’t want to end this without you talking about your sponsors who stood by you in the face of everything you went through the past year. I think people always forget that although you’re an elite athlete, you have the same frustrations, the same fears, the same hopes that the rest of us do. How did it feel to get that bar from Rogue that had your name on it?

Kimberly: I had had a long day, I came home and I saw it and originally I did think that someone had stolen my identity and had purchased some stuff from Rogue, but it came to my house, but when I opened up the box I was like, I remember telling Lexi like, I was just smiling ear to ear like a kid on Christmas cause it came around Christmas so I just assumed that it was a Christmas gift. But I thought to myself that they believe in me. That’s what I thought.

While I was going through all of the stuff with the federations you know, knowing that the sponsors were still there, told me that they believed in me and it just made me, it just made me even want to work harder to show them how much I appreciate their support of me. That’s why I couldn’t wait to get back on the platform. Because we know it’s also you being a representation of them so this is how I felt I could pay them back by giving my all and doing my best

when I compete.

John: You’re also sponsored by SBD, by Apeman Strong and also by Promera right?

Kimberly: Yeah.

John: Talk about each of those brands just what it means to you to be associated with them.

Kimberly: Well, we can start with Apeman Strong and I can thank Lex for that. She exposed me to their brand; I remember her saying “Kimberly this is totally you!” Like “Lift Angry” and “Overcome” and some of their other shirts. What I really enjoyed about the Apeman Strong company is that every shirt has a story, and these aren’t fabricated. They take the time to write the story behind each shirt. I find myself, when I’m looking at that word on the shirt, and it makes me think about things I may have been through, things that I’m trying to accomplish, things that I’ve done. Every person can find a connection to one of their shirts. Because it’s amazing how they do really take the time to focus on words and that’s what it is, they find words that inspire, that tell people’s stories, and that’s why I love Apeman Strong.

Kimberly: SBD is often first and foremost because it’s owned by an actual powerlifter. Benjamin Banks was a powerlifter and what I love about him owning this company is that he understands our mindset, he’s lived it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed it and how many times I’ve experienced it myself and I would run through the fire for SBD too, and the rest of my sponsors because they have supported me and my dreams.

Kimberly: Rogue has created an awesome company that supports the majority of strength sports, but not just strength sports, sports in itself and I just like their message of saying #ryourogue. It’s like they’re inspiring everyone to go after their own goal whatever it is. They even sponsor bull riders, it’s whatever your goal is in pursuit of pushing your body and mind they are in support of it.

39

Kimberly: With Promera I’ve been with them off and on for the majority of my career. And what drove me towards them is that being a lifetime drug-free athlete, I never had to worry about any supplement I ever took with them. In regard to having issues with the wider prohibited list and for a lot of lifters who lift under IPF affiliates or drug testing in itself, a lot of people revert back to looking at that prohibited list and I never had to worry about anything I ever took. And you know they created these supplements with the highest quality in mind.

For instance, something that Promera has done recently is they switched to more natural ingredients, you know removing a lot of the dyes and et cetera from their current supplements. So, it wasn’t just the rebranding that you saw recently. They actually were working on changing the formula, the ingredients of their supplements and using more natural ingredients.

So that tells you that they actually care about people, and what they put into their bodies and that they’re willing to do that as well.

John: So Kim as we wrap this up, let’s talk about how people can find you and follow your training, and not only how they can do that, but how can they get involved if they’re interested in AI programing?

Kimberly: Okay, well you can follow me on Instagram @trackfu. You can follow me on Facebook that’s just my name Kimberly Walford. You can also follow me with regards to, well not me, you can go to Iron Sisters Canada if you’re interested in being in the Iron Sisters Canada Camp. That will be ironsisters.ca. And if you’re interested in the Iron Sister USA camps that will be ironsistersusa. com. If you’re interested in doing Blest training, it’s Blestcoaching.com where you can do the AI training, or you can just contact me for training as well.

John: Awesome. Well I appreciate you for spending so much of your Sunday with me.

40

41

42

Five Alternative Hamstring Exercises for the Home Gym Owner –by Rob Brinkley Jr., NASM P.E.S., SFG 1, O.S. 1 When we think about accessory hamstring work, usually we visualize leg curls and Romanian deadlifts.

Programmed and practiced correctly, these can be great. But I don’t have the budget, space or desire to buy a machine or purchase heavy dumbbells (my preferred RDL variation).

Here Are Five Alternative Hamstring Exercises, Designed Specifically for the Home Gym Owner: Barbell Anchored Hammie Gravity Drop What you’ll need: Loaded barbell; with 2 to 4 extra loose plates; and one or two “padding items” (examples: yoga mat, towel, padded flooring, old stinky sweat shirt, or similar).

Set up: Wedge your loose plates in front of your loaded barbell so that it does not roll (behind if needed). Place one padding item a foot or so in front of the barbell, so that it can pad your knee.

Optionally, but recommended, place another padding item where your hands will “fall” to absorb some of

the shock.

Movement: Starting from a kneeling position (knees on padding), comfortably wedge lower leg against the bar. Bar touches lower leg somewhere a few inches above your ankle. Tuck hips under torso. Brace midsection*. Tense/flex hamstrings, and try to keep this tension; as you try to lower your body in slow motion towards the floor. There will be a point where you’ll sort of… fall. That’s where the “shock absorbing” padding will be your wrist’s friend.

Comment(s): Do your best to keep your torso & hips moving/falling as a unit. This means don’t exaggerate your low back arch. I start people off with sets of 1 rep. Take as much of a break as you need for your next rep to be your best possible next rep. You can get better at the movement by having more control and going slower, without having to add any reps. But as needed, add more reps. I rarely have folks do more than 5 reps per set.

Video link: https://youtu.be/ZXuoy7PoE0E 43

Furniture Slider Hamstring Curls What you’ll need: Furniture sliders appropriate for your flooring (free sample carpet squares work too).

Set up: Lie down, face up, and position the sliders under your heels. You may need to adjust a few times before you discover your best placement. But with a few practices you’ll find your spot.

Movement: Dig your heels firmly into the sliders.

Lift your butt off the ground. Brace your midsection*. Drag sliders towards your butt. As you are dragging heels toward your butt, keep elevating your hips. At the top position, you will be in a floor bridge position. Try to keep tension in your hamstrings as you slowly lower back into your starting position.

Comment(s): If you need to rest your hips on the floor between reps, go ahead. If you try to force through the move, but your body needs to take a quick break, you might feel a little discomfort in your lower back later. I usually have folks practice five to eight reps per set. If that “feels” easy, I’d encourage you to press heels harder into the floor and/or brace your mid-section harder. You can control the “intensity” of the tension without having to chase more repetitions.

Video link: https://youtu.be/hWykDGpW44w Bent Over Sled Drags What you’ll need: Sled, or something that can replicate a sled; chain or rope (strong resistance band will work); some sort of handle; something moderate to light for “weight”.

Set up: Connect your sled to rope/chain and connect your handle. Add your weight.

Movement: Face away from sled. Grab handle, holding it behind your legs (I hold a couple inches above my knee pit). Brace your mid-section* and form sort of a 90 degree with your legs and torso (no rounding of the back). Keep legs fairly straight, but with a slight knee bend, begin walking forward for time or distance.

44

Comment(s): Although this looks sort of funny, my wife laughs every time, I like it! I like how both my lower back and my hamstrings feel during and after this movement. If you don’t have a sled, there are numerous cheap and easy D.I.Y. options. Start off with weight that you might deem light to see how it “feels”. When you initially start to walk forward, slowly walk the chain/rope tight, then continue. If you start with slack in the line and then lurch forward, your lower back may become a shock absorber. Ouch.

Video link: https://youtu.be/CK_ZoUpoq5E Resistance Band Leg Curls What you’ll need: Resistance band; ankle strap & carabiner (or another way to attach to ankle); anchor for the band (properly loaded weight tree, power rack, 68 kg kettlebell, etc).

Set up: Attach band to your anchor item. Attach cuff or similar on your ankle(s). Connect your ankle cuff(s) to resistance band (I used a carabiner). Lie belly down and scoot away from your anchor point as needed for preferred resistance.

Movement: Curl your heel(s) towards your butt.

Pause and flex your hamstring(s). Keep that tension in your hamstring(s) and slowly “un-curl” your leg(s).

If you can, “re-curl” before the tension is fully gone.

But if needed let all tension off and take a short break, as necessary for your next good rep.

Comment(s): You could practice these, one leg at a time or both at the same time. If you like, you can experiment with different heights of band attachment and possibly elevate yourself on a bench. I just lie on the floor and anchor my band to a large kettlebell. I do lay the kettlebell on its side, so it doesn’t fall over on the first rep. I think you’ll get the most out of this movement if you think of it as a negative hamstring curl. I think all the movements, but especially this one is heavily dependent upon your attention to mindfulness of the move. If you quickly curl your leg up and down, you won’t get much out of it. But if you put a little extra emphasis on curling with a

purpose: push through your heel (pre-stretching/ tensing your hamstring, then slightly exaggerate the “curling” phase. At the end of your curl momentarily pause “flexing” your hamstring, then “uncurl” with a deliberate, slow cadence. The rep range here highly depends on your ability to create and slowly release tension. If you are really good at it – you may only need sets of one rep. If the tension is a new skill for you, you may need more reps to practice.

Video link: https://youtu.be/lbApmjX6_T4 Suspension Hamstring Curl What you’ll need: Suspension Trainer (official TRX or D.I.Y.) somewhere secure to anchor to.

Set up: Adjust length so that the foot cradles line up with your mid-calf. Lie down on your back. Holding the foot cradles drop your heels into the foot cradles.

Scoot back away from your anchor point as needed for difficulty level (closer easier, further is more difficult).

Movement: Lift your butt off the ground. Brace your mid-section*. Dig heel into the foot cradles and curl heels towards your butt. Reverse movement back to legs straight with control. If you need the movement to be a bit harder, lift your hips up as you curl. Basically, at the top you would then be in a suspended floor bridge.

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

Model: Wes Jenkins Powerlifter Garage Gym Owner Charlestown, West Virginia

45

Comment(s): If you need to set your butt back on the ground between reps in the beginning, that’s ok.

Depending on your ability to brace, I typically have folks do 5 to 12 reps. More reps for someone that needs more practice.

Video link: https://youtu.be/Kp6X5irvAJw The “mid-section brace” is important for these movements because if you get sloppy and push through the move without “bracing” your lower back may get aggravated and tight for a few days. But if you brace well during these moves, not only will your lower back stay happy and strong – your skill of bracing will carry over into your other lifts. *Brace your mid-section = When I say brace your mid-section, I’m thinking of the Happy Gilmore batting cage scene. He is creating intra-abdominal pressure and bracing for impact. If you are unfamiliar try this: • Four inches on each side of your belly button, jam

46

your thumbs into your belly.

• Now with your stomach muscles push your thumbs out.

• Practice what it feels like to push your thumbs out.

This is “your mid-section brace”. It’s best if you can hold your brace and still breathe. After that starts to make sense, jam your thumbs into your sides, with the same “brace” push your thumbs out again. It is a skill. It takes practice.

Rob Brinkley has written two Kindle books (free in you have Kindle Unlimited) to answer several fitness questions that have come up from family, friends, and clients over the years. The books will educate you and help you get on the right track with your exercise practice.

Exercise Tutorial V1: Purchase on Amazon Exercise Tutorial V2: Purchase on Amazon You can follow Rob on Instagram @simplify.fitness_.

AirGym.com Workout at a Verified Home or Commercial Gym

Fueled By:

47

Three Five-Minute Sauces to Take Your Next Meal from Boring to Fabulous!

by Amy Hester When health is a priority in your life, it can be easy to fall into the trap of piling some plain protein on a sweet potato next to a handful of spinach and calling it good. And while that is great, a healthy meal doesn’t have to be so boring! Why not take a few extra minutes during the week to whip up one or all of these sauces? In less than 5 minutes, you can add some extra nutrients and a whole lot of tasty to your next basic meal!

Carbs:8g Fat:0g Protein:0g Sodium:5mg Sugar:5g

Quick Mango Salsa 2 cups Frozen Mango Chunks 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 green onion, chopped ¼ teaspoon cumin 1/8 teaspoon salt Juice from 1 lime 1-2 tablespoons jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (optional) Place frozen mango on a cutting board and roughly chop into smaller pieces. Place in a medium bowl and microwave for thirty seconds to one minute, until beginning to thaw.

Add remaining ingredients to mangoes and stir to combine. Can be served immediately or keeps in an airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serving Size: 4 tablespoons Nutrition Facts (via My Fitness Pal) Calories:31 48

Easy Tahini Drizzle ½ cup tahini Juice from ½ lemon ¼ teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 4-5 tablespoons water Stir tahini, pepper, salt and lemon juice together

in a mason jar. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth and easily runs down spoon. Keep refrigerated for 2 weeks (the longer it sits in the fridge it tends to thicken, it may need additional water stirred in before serving).

Serving size: 2 teaspoons Nutrition Facts (via My Fitness Pal) Calories:171 Carbs:3 Fat:15g Protein:6g Sodium:24mg Sugar:1g

Juice from ½ lemon 1/8 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high until smooth and bright green, scraping down sides as needed. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Serving Size 1 tablespoon Nutrition Facts (via My Fitness Pal) Calories:28 Carbs:1g Fat:3g Protein:0g Sodium:3mg Sugar:0g

Spinach and Pumpkin Seed Pesto 2 cups baby spinach, tightly packed ½ cup basil leaves, loosely packed ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds 3 tablespoons olive oil

49

50

Joe Sullivan From Rookie to Russia

By Riccardo Magni 51

Team USA member Joe Sullivan probably can’t remember the last time he couldn’t open a jar. In his first year of competition he’s already earned a second place finish at the North American championships and secured a spot on Team USA. That means he and his forearms are heading to St. Petersburg, Russia to lift all the things.

RM: What was your first armlifting contest?

“My first competition was in October of 2017 at the International King Kong of Grip in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. I started training for this grip contest on January 1st, 2017.”

RM: How did you do in the contest? What was your favorite event?

My favorite event was the 2-inch v bar. This is a vertical lift where you have to pick up the bar with weights. It takes a lot of body strength to perform 52

this one. I placed 15th out of 170 people in the contest.

RM: Wow, that is very good for a first contest!

Which other contests have you competed in?

My next contest was in February of 2018 called the Grip Games (also in Wyalusing PA). My first big contest was at the Philadelphia Fit Expo on April 27th and 28th. This contest was the Odd Haugen ViseGrip Viking Contest. It was a two-day contest featuring six tests of grip strength. I loved the big stage of this contest! I also liked being able to test my mettle against the best armlifters in the country.

RM: What else made this contest stand out?

I really liked the way that Armlifting USA ran the contest with a professional environment that was a good audience and on a grand scale.

RM: How did you do in this contest?

damaged at the time of the contest but I wanted to compete anyway. I placed 8th out of 17 lifters in an international field filled with some of the stars of the sport.

RM: This was an amazing performance for someone who’s only been training for a year and a half ! What did you do next?

I injured my middle finger in training and it was still I decided to travel to Canada to compete in Eric Roussin’s contest in Ottawa. It was only four hours away and I absolutely loved the contest.

RM: Wow, you were busy in 2018! How did your contests end up for the year?

I improved my results in the Rolling Thunder, Apollon’s Axle Deadlift, and the Silver Bullet. I secured second place in the 2018 Armlifting USA rankings!

RM: That is awesome! Second place in your weight class in the USA! Congratulations! What good news did you get as a result?

I got an invitation to Russia for the World Armlifting Championships in May of 2019.

Thanks for the interview Joe! You can follow Riccardo Magni on YouTube at Riccardo Magni and on Instagram @ today subscribe riccardomagni1.

53

54

From Shoulder Injury to WODapalooza without Surgery

by Anna Woods Note: Make sure to check out the the three part series A Non-Surgical Approach to Dealing with Injury I-III at www.garagegymlifemagazine.com to read the full story of my journey including my workouts and to learn how my mindset and approach to working out changed.

QUICK RECAP: I started experiencing shoulder pain while competing in CrossFit and weight lifting a few years ago. After multiple rehabilitation attempts, I had an MRI/Arthrogram and discovered I had a GlenHumeral Avulsion and Hill Sach’s Lesion in my left shoulder. After seeking advice, and expert opinions, I decided not to have surgery and to rehabilitate my shoulder using other treatment and methods.

Namely, using DNS or Dynamic Neuromuscular Stability.

I began working under the guidance of Dr. Jared Shoemaker at inMotion Spine Muscle Joint in Maize,

KS to re-pattern the way my shoulder moves and repattern how my brain communicated for my shoulder to move.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY I just returned from competing in The Wodapalooza Fitness Festival in Miami, FL. Ha! Yes, a lot has changed in the past few months. A team of two other women and I competed in the Intermediate division of the sport, completing eight workouts in three days. Workouts tested all aspects of our fitness. The movements included: snatch, clean and jerk, bar muscle ups, handstand walk, 5k beach run in the sand and water, 250 meter ocean swim and ski erg test, and tested capacities of: cardiovascular endurance, team work, and communication, accuracy, speed and efficiency.

I spent all of 2018 focusing on improving movement efficiency, addressing my diastasis recti and improving core connectedness, mobilizing my 55

T-Spine, and just enjoying my workouts. I wasn’t focused on intensity or strength, just retraining and enjoying the process. What I didn’t realize was in all of that “non-sexy” training, I was becoming a better athlete overall.

I was asked to compete on a team for the online qualifying workouts for The Wodapalooza in November. The challenge was to complete ten workouts in twelve days as a team of three. Our individual scores were tallied to determine the top 60 teams in our division which would be asked to travel to Miami and compete.

I decided to enter, with no expectations, just something to train for during the holidays to keep me accountable. Keep in mind, I had not been completing any snatch movements or any kipping pull ups or muscle ups, I had avoided GHD sitUps, toes to bar and anything else that flared up my shoulder and diastasis, for a good 9-12 months. I knew I’d be the weaker link on the team but vowed to try my hardest.

“Watch Karen”—One of my qualifying workouts for The Wodapalooza After ten workouts in twelve days, and redoing a few of them to improve our scores, my shoulder was definitely sore, my body tired— but somehow, we came out fourteenth in the online qualifying series, which was enough for us to go to Miami and compete in person, along with 60 other teams.

WHOA! I was excited but also nervous, because a lot of my pain returned during that week of ten workouts.

56

Granted, I knew some pain was to be expected, but I did NOT want to undo all I had worked so hard to avoid the past year.

Dr. Shoemaker and I sat down and discussed what a plan of action should be to prepare for Miami which was two months away, as well as avoid injury, while getting pain back under control. We decided we needed to prepare the tissue better for these movements we knew we’d see at the competition, while still continuing to work on areas of weakness from my typical daily rehab exercises/ movements. These included overhead movements mostly…snatch, overhead squat, push jerk, push press, pull ups, toes to bar, muscle ups, swimming, kipping handstand push-ups. The idea was to work the movements and mechanics required to do the movements; without actually doing them— to avoid the pain associated with certain positions I cannot get into. The rules looked like this: If I did 2-3 of these painful movements in a week, I’d avoid them for at least 1-2 weeks before doing them again. I would also pay very close attention to pain, decreased range of motion, and core fatigue. I added cardio intensity to non-overhead movements through bodyweight

exercises, barbell movements, air assault runner sprints, air assault bike, track workouts, rowing, and slowly introduced swimming back in.

I was working out way less than I had in previous years competing at this level, in terms of days a week, volume per workout, and hours per day. I kept battling the mental aspect of not feeling like I was doing “enough” to be prepared and concerned with being the weakest link and letting my team down.

Especially since I knew from previous competitions what it takes to be at this level. And in my mind, I wasn’t anywhere close to that with my current training regimen.

BUT I WAS PROVEN WRONG. Less is more and quality over quantity proved itself time and time again. We would work through a workout and I focused on breathing, keeping a proper core brace, moving efficiently and moving smart…and I was able to hang with the rest of my team. I used DNS principles to warm up and cool down before each event and recovered with proper food and water each day.

We ended up 34th out of 60 teams and I was able

to walk away a little bruised, sore, and scabbed over, BUT my shoulder FELT amazing! And that was the biggest win of all for me.

I still can’t believe that taking a year off from training specifically for CrossFit and weight-lifting competitions actually made me a better, more efficient competitor. I breathe better thanks to diaphragmatic “cylinder” breathing, my core is stronger and my hips more powerful, and the best part of all is I am moving nearly pain-free!!

There are so many factors that play into all of this Including consistency and adherence to the protocol Dr. Shoemaker prescribed. Obviously, I won’t be able to go and compete like this on the regular, but qualifying for a BIG TIME event like The Wodapalooza, just one time, has been a long-term goal of mine, and is what I used to train so hard to achieve before my shoulder pain. When I started my rehab a year and a half ago, I really thought these days were over. And I had become okay with that.

But apparently God had other plans and here I am, sitting on this side of a major CrossFit event, feeling content, proud, and excited to be back, even stronger than before. And what appears to be healed, without going under the knife.

57

Modifications I made to prepare the tissue but not overdo the movement to induce pain included: Snatch – Modifications: Squat to a low box and press PVC pipe overhead and stand up with it from a seated position Snatch Pulls from low boxes Isometric holds of snatch positions at shin, knee, and hip working to maintain IAP pressure and a neutral spine Pull-Ups/Toes to Bar/Muscle Ups – Modifications: Hollow Rock/Deadbug Holds with Banded PullOver’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3BbXa55cxQ&index=90&list=UUtszDljIJMOeml2CDNZuSrQ Dead hang from a bar in 6-months position with feet elevated/assisted Banded sit-ups for muscle up transitions on bar and rings Shown here: https://youtu.be/V0FbE1_2Ssk Push Press/Push Jerk/Handstand Push Ups Bear Position Hold, Crawl (lateral/forward/back) Side-Lying Oblique Sit (DNS position) Low-Kneeling Transitions (DNS position) https://youtu.be/yTfFzj07pK4 Frog holds+Balances Earthquake holds Farmer’s Carry/Waiter’s Walk

58

Anna Woods is a wife and mother who has based her entire career on helping other people find their value and worth through fitness, nutrition and especially the belief that “I am enough.” A published author, motivational speaker and athlete, Anna is a Crossfit Level 1 Coach, an ACE-Personal Trainer and a Functional Aging Specialist. She describes herself as an outdoor enthusiast, OCR Adventurer, Crossfit Competitor and Triathlete.

Her goal is to redefine fitness from basing our worth and progress off a scale number to that of crossing our own personal “finish lines.” You can follow her on YouTube at sheStrength and Instagram @ shestrength.

59

In their own words...

60

61

62

63

HOME QGYM uarterly USD $4.99

One of the all-time classic strength feats is to lift a 45lb plate by the hub. This was definitely a test of strength in the “olden days” and there’s no reason why you can’t learn Summer 2019 how to do it too. Let’s look at what the feat entails and outline a program that can help you get there.

First things first To begin your quest to lift the 45lb plate by the hub, you need to assess where you are. By that I mean you need to first start with a 25lb plate and see if you can lift that. If you’re successful with the twenty-five then you need to graduate to the 35lb plate. If you conquered the 35lb plate, you should be feeling pretty good about yourself at that time.

If you have done a 25lb and 35lb, by all means, have a go at the 45lb plate! It may budge, it may stay welded to the floor. Whatever the case may be, let’s look at different ways to train to help you conquer this feat. And make sure to train each hand!

How to get it done It is imperative that you have the plate well chalked and also that you have chalk that works well for you. There are many different brands of chalk and everyone seems to have a different preference of chalk. I like Hand Armor chalk. Experiment with different types of chalk yourself and see what you like. I would train the hub two times per week. One day I would use a plate loaded hub system like the Ironmind hub or the Barrel Strength Systems Dub Hub. The other day of hub training I would practice lifting only plates. Using the idea of a twelve week system, I would first start off with finding your max on the plate loaded hub system that you’re using be ii the Ironmind hub or the Barrel Strength Systems hub. Once you know your max on that hub and you know what kind of plate you can lift, that makes the job a lot easier and figuring out the weights that you would use. The table below outlines a program that may help you lift plates by the hub using a loadable hub trainer and a series of plates that you can hub.

Remember, if the plate is too easy by itself, microload the plate with a series of small plates around the edges of the plate that you are picking up.

Where do you get plates to lift by the hub?

64

SUBSCRIBE

65