Home Gym DIY : Build a Workout Sandbag

I won't preach to you about how all your fitness hopes and dreams will come true if you start working out with a sandbag, but trust me you need to add one to your home gym arsenal.  Its EZ to make, very durable, and can take the place of a expensive barbell set in many cases.  You can do Deadlifts, Cleans, Snatches, Turkish Get Ups, Squats, Carries, etc, you can even do curls with it in front of a mirror if that makes you happy.

Here is my version of a Home Gym DIY Workout Sandbag :

1)  Get yourself a military grade duffel bag (Army/Navy store ~$15-$20).  The size you choose depends on what type of filler you use.  Its all about Weight and Volume.  For a 60-80 LB I used a 21 x 36 bag.  Mine had a side zipper but not sure about the durability of that until I use it more.

2) Get durable bags and chose your filler.  You can find resources online how to make a bag with sand and zip lock bags, but thats old school.  Arguable a better (but more expensive) method is to use at least 3 Mil thick contractor bags (Home Depot ~$15 for 32 bags) and rubber mulch (Home Depot ~$9 / 20 LBS).  The rubber mulch is basically recycled tires and has a good weight/volume to make a full sandbag and way less messy.  In my opinion its worth the investment versus sand and your shoulders may thank you.  I know mine prefer rubber.

3) Put 20 pounds of rubber mulch in a contractor bag.  Tie off ends with a zip tie, seal with duct tape, and double bag it for piece of mind.  

4) For this size duffle bag I fit 3 individual 20 pound bags.  Total weight is ~63 LBs.

5) Because the bag gets thrown around a lot and this bag has a side zipper I used duct tape for extra protection and prevent the zipper from breaking.  So far the size zipper looks very durable but is unnecessary.

TOTAL COST ESTIMATE-
80 LB Bag - ~$50*
60 LB Bag - ~$45*
40 LB Bag - ~$40*

*Price will be significantly cheaper if you chose sand or other filler versus rubber mulch.

Workouts- there are many resources online but here is a start:

Home Gym DIY : Pull Up Bar and Rings for Muscle Ups, Dips, Etc.

Everyone trying to get fit or who's goal is to get better at CrossFit needs a pull up bar at their disposal at all times, PERIOD.  How many times a week do pull ups show up on a WOD?  Sometimes never, sometimes too much.  How much time do you have before or after class to practice kip or muscle up?  Why not just throw one up in your garage, backyard, or even kitchen, whatever works for you.   I am going to show you my personal garage set-up.  It doesn't cost that much money, pretty easy to install, and when you find a support beam it shouldn't need any maintenance.

Home Depot Shopping List for a basic horizontal set-up:

*One- 3/4" or 1" Galvanized Steel Pipe pre-cut to 3-4 feet.

*Two- 3/4" or 1" Galvanized Steel Pipe extension.  (about 4-8" can be considered)

*Two- Right-Angles  

*Two- Mounting Plates

*8 heavy duty wood screws (VERY important, I used 3" wood screws)

*Cost is around $20-25*

You can pre-assemble the bar onto the mounting plates and right angles, just make sure the joints are tightly screwed in place.  Once you find the best mounting location and support beam you may need a corded drill to push the 3" wood screw entirely through the beam.  Although some cordless drills may do the job.  You will need two people to install, one to hold the pre-assembled bar to a (hopefully) premarked level location, and the other to drill.  If you marked correctly its as simple as that.

For muscle ups you can find Rings sold online, and they can be used right on the pull up bar.

For people who can't do a pull-up OR for when your grandmother comes over to workout with you, theres Pull Up assistance bands for sale or what I use for "special" guests was some green Thera-bands I had laying around.  This way anyone can do pull ups!

Tip #1: Work with what you have.  I dont have high ceilings in the garage but I can still practice muscle ups by keeping my legs bent at the bottom and can still do a full kip.
Tip #2: Figure out what width bar you like 3/4" or 1" are the standard.  
Tip #3: Pick a height that is functional but not too hard to jump up and grab the bar.
Tip #4: Dont wrap the bar with tape or any rubber cushion.

There are many styles of layouts you can do to make a pull up bar.  But this in my opinion is the simplest way to get your pull ups and muscle ups on!

Jump Rope!

If you don't jump rope, you need to.  Look around, any legit athlete jumps rope to build up speed, conditioning, and agility.  I wonder if there is a professional boxer/fighter out there that doesn't train with a rope?  Use it a method of warming up instead of the treadmill, incorporate it into a workout, use it as a cool down.  However you fit it into your workout routine you need to be doing it.  It took me about 6 months of casual practice to learn how to do double unders with confidence (two rotations of the rope for every one jump).  Most people build up to hundreds of single jumps, then one leg, crossovers, double unders, then combinations of them all.  Try it and have some fun.  How long to do 250 singles?  Max double unders?  Can you do crossovers for 1 minute? What about when you are fresh versus tired?  etc.
There are many ropes out there from the cheap old school beaded ropes (think kids playground) to the expensive Buddy Lee ropes ($30-$40ish) that are used and recommended.  I started with a Harbinger Trigger Handle ($10) rope. I like it because its simple, heavier, and slower, so I can control it easier but takes more effort, tires you out faster, and isn't very durable.  More recently I made purchases from http://www.buyjumpropes.net and they offer various styles at good prices.  I would recommend both the Boxer's Training Jump Rope (~$10 shipped) or the Cable Freestyle Rope (~$16 shipped).  There aren't too advanced to start out with but are definitely lighter and faster then whats offered at your local Sports Store so you need to move those wrists and legs faster!  Also these can easily be adjusted in length and the cord doesn't get kinked or tangled, and durability looks good so far.  

Cool inspirational Video :Buddy Lee Power Jump Double-Under

DNF : The Muscle Up

       Everyone wants to be good at everything at life.  Best at school, work, competition then balance all that with your family and friends and all that life throws at you.  That pretty much sums up CrossFit.  You have to be good at everything.  Period.  Sure everything is scalable.  But everyone doing band assisted pulls ups wants to eventually do a "real" pull up.  Can't do power cleans yet?  Suck at double unders?  Well now you have an agenda and a mission, thats what keeps things fun.  
       For me, trying out for the Regional CrossFit Affiliate team made me realize something I wasn't prepare to do (tired): a muscle up.  Sure I can do muscle ups.  But on day 2, the 3rd workout of my tryouts, my muscles were failing.  Maybe I relied too much on muscles versus a strong kip or good form.  But I came a long way, it took about 9 months of CrossFit until I can even do 1 muscle up fresh, but my technique and confidence was not built up to the level I needed on this move.  
       The day of the tryout, I was staring up at the rings completely exhausted I just needed to do one muscle up to stop the timer.  BUT I couldn't.  75% up, then 50%, then 85%, almost there....everyone cheering me on.  I wasn't about to give up. One more and I'm done.  But 20 minutes later, nothing.  The 1 muscle up put me in my place.  That means a DNF : did not finish.  And now its a focus of mine.  I already have burns on my triceps from all of the ring work.  Love it.

Example WOD from 5/21 (focus on muscle ups while in recovery mode)

Run 1 Mile

5 Ring Muscle Ups

Run 1 Mile 

5 Ring Muscle Ups
Run 1 Mile

Max Muscle Ups in 5 min 

Still trying for a muscle up?  These are some of my favorite references:

Click here for photos and FAQ on how to do bar and ring muscle ups


Click here for CrossFit Video Instruction

Paleo-ish Snack Food Review - Nori Korean Seaweed

Since I am 50% asian I may be a little biased on this review. But at Fresh & Easy this $0.69 lil wonder of a snack hits the spot. At 30 cal/package, low carb, low salt, no sugar, and no msg.  This eats like a Listerine breathe strip from the ocean with a punch in the face worth of iodine and minerals. It has multiple thin layers of green airy goodness, but will leave you pissed when you eat all the way down to the inedible moisture absorbing packet. If caveman didnt eat this processed Korean seaweed, I feel sorry they didnt have the technology yet.

Paleo-ish Snack Rating: 8/10 (but its just a snack people)

You don't need fancy equipment to workout

Paleo Strong -Geek Chart: Weight Loss Over Time

What happens after 30, 60, 90+ days of Paleo Strong?
Weight was taken on an electronic scale first thing in the morning on random days for consistency.  We all know its not all about weight loss, what about body fat, muscle, and energy levels?  Guess you have to take my word on those or have me workout with you to see how my performance has increased.

The trend line shows somewhat predictable weight loss overtime.  Of course there are outliers but remember I dont count calories or adjust calories based on target weight.  I just eat Paleo Strong, never hungry or starved, exercise consistently, and most importantly LIVE, and it all comes together.

3/1/10 : 195 lbs -strong, bigger "bodybuilding" frame (est. 15% bf)
5/1/10 : 182 lbs -strong without the bulk (est. 10-12% bf)
June and beyond : will probably stabilize around 180 lbs (< 10% bf?)

Does it really matter how much he can bench press?

The Beginning.

Before my so-called fitness prime years are close to passing me by I wanted to look back at the things I have accomplished. Why did I turn out the way I am, and where do I want to go? I felt like I ate pretty well and pushed myself hard consistently.  But was that enough?  Was it the right way?  How important are genetics in all of this? Thinking about myself, I never excelled in any one sport or exercise but do well in many. And I can thank mom and dad for the calf muscles and the ability to build arm and chest muscle easily but where is the endurance, flexibility, and lower abs!?.....so I will start here and take you through the journey of the next fitness/diet/health stages of my life.

People that know me know that I had tremendous success with T-nation's Velocity Diet.  Basically 4 weeks of ONLY protein liquid nutrition and ONLY one healthy solid meal a weak.  Then followed by a 2 week transition period.  You can see my blog and photos here that inspired many others to try the quick fix accelerated fat loss diet.  I still think it is a great program that resets your mind and gets rid of cravings and increases your desire for healthy food.  Its the toughest diet I ever tried and is designed ONLY for short term, for people who already know how to eat healthy afterwards, and is done with specific workouts that support the lower nutritional consumption.  

Now the goal is to be Paleo Strong (started 3/1/10 program)....this blog will be a notebook of my ongoing workouts from various sources: CrossFit Mainsite, CrossFit Costa Mesa, My Own Creations, and other publications and online sources.  I will also include recipes, learnings, and inspirations along the way.  Lets see what can really be accomplished mentally and physically. Head to Head, Paleo Strong vs. Genetics.  What really dictates what you can become....and of course with all these fitness goals strive for overall mental well-being as well, and of course steroid free because there is no fair competition against that.