new toys

i don't often obtain lifting toys. i like to think that my lifting is not about the shiney toys but about the dull, rusty iron. that's why i've never strayed from the path of squat, deadlift and press and tred on the trendy ground of the bowflex and elliptical trainer. i'm old school, for some reason.

but still, sometimes i wants me some toys.

i got lots of good new toys this week. over the weekend, rather than shell out 200 bucks for an appolon's axle (TM), i took the more satisfying route of building my own. in fact, "building my own" is closer to what i planned than what I did. my plans involved lots of drilling and metal cutting, but the actual way of things involved little more than screwing olympic collars onto a seven foot galvanized metal pipe.

so far i've used it for grip-building deadlifts and reverse curls. it's fantastic and i'll be integrating it deeper into my routine.

while browsing ironmind, i ended up getting some lifting straps. for a long time i resisted straps because i wanted to work my grip in the deadlift and -- more precisely -- because i'd forgotten about them. i used them this morning and found that they worked amazingly well. they had far more effect than i had expected given how they work. what they allowed me to do was ignore my grip and focus more on the lift. while it saddens me that the deadlifts will no longer intensely work my grip, i am excited about the effect they had on the overall lift. i was able to lift my target weight today (5x285) without a combo-grip. normally i'd have to use a combo-grip, which, at 285, you'd expect i'd have mastered. i haven't. i always feel off balance and distracted by the combo grip. with the straps, the focus was all on the legs and back, where it should be. my arms were just part of the bar. as they should be. these were possibly some of the best deadlifts i've ever performed. score for the lifting straps.

i was at ironmind for something in particular, though, i wasn't just browsing. i was looking for a dipping belt, and i got it. like the straps, i like it. before this, i was using a piece of monster cable and a $1 carabiner clip as a dipping belt. try loading 40lbs onto a speaker wire and then hanging it from your hips. bites a little, doesn't it? now do some dips. oooh, feel the bite. wait, we're supposed to feel the burn, not the bite, right?

that's why i wanted a real dipping belt. well, that's what I got. the thing is positively cushy. feels great. as with the straps, it takes the focus away from distractions and focuses me on the purpose of the lift. the ironmind belt moves my center of gravity during the dip, and i'll have to adjust, but it's quite worth it.

all in all, i'd say i've done well by my new toys. score.