I went to my rugby club Thursday night and was asked about how I got my gym together. I knew I had this post to send my clubmate and literally just finished sending him that link. And, reading that post got me thinking about my big Wish List post, so I searched for it and found this post.
Of course, that was 2010 and this is almost 2015. So, let's see how much work I got done towards this list in almost five years, give ourselves a grade and then do some thinking about what's next.
1) Mats - these happened about two years ago when a martial arts club sold 75 puzzle piece mats on Craigslist for 100 or 150 bucks. The puzzle pieces are so mush easier to handle, clean and move than one big piece of mat.
2) Bench. Floor space is always at a premium. I recently put my bench press back into storage as I knew the next few months are going to be focused on recovery not benching.
3) barbells and weights ... well I have enough. I think. Fifty pound metal "Real McCoy" ones are usually available used at Play it Again Sports, but I'm pretty sure I'm good for weights. Right now my max dead lift is 200 lbs at home as that is the most weight I can get on a bar.
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| We've come a long way, baby. |
4)Bigger tires - I have access to bigger tires at my rugby club. They are huge and I don't have to store them. I've not used my tire for anything other than climbing on for my youngest in a while.
5)White Board - do not have a white board up, but I have paper copies of workouts and plans pinned up. I'm planning on painting this summer, and might go with some blackboard paint at that time.
6)Posters - always on the look out. I got one for the National Wheelchair Rugby tournament held in London, Ontario in May 2014. I still have the wrestling ones, and just today I got my wrestling medals back up on the wall.
7)Heater stand. I kept the kettlebells just inside the door last winter and I'm doing the same this year. Happiness is a warm kettlebell.
8) Fixing the punching bag - yeah, this was handled a while ago. I also got a stand up Wave Master off of Kijiji, too. I think I paid 50 bucks.
9)Boxing gloves - I got for 10 bucks from Play it Again Sports in Milton last year. Nice big heavy bag gloves with a wide velcro strip to take them off during boxing workouts. I'm very happy.
10) Judo gi - has not happened. I've stopped looking, as any local judo club is just too much money at the moment. I may try again after March of 2015.
11) Insulation on the door - I moved form the old house and into a new house. I have my own side of a double garage to use as a gym and last year used snow on the outside as an insulator. I don't think I'd like to do that this winter, but as I am thinking about this now, may use BTB's put inside hockey socks to do the same job. In the spring I can use them for training or as weights to help an outside deck umbrella keep standing. These are cheap and resuable/retaskable items, which I can handle.
12) Ropes I did use battling ropes last year and I did like them. I don't see myself using them a lot this winter, to be frank. They are a useful tool, but not worth the expense in stressful economic times. Besides, they are bulky and need space to be stored.
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| A long way indeed |
13) Slam balls - I also used this last year at a small gym. They are so loud, I can't use these at my house. Not even going to bother. I did buy some medicine balls and use them regularly in the summer when training outside in parks and after rugby training sessions.
14) I've maxed out on kettlebells. To be frank I'd sell a few if I thought the older beaten up ones would actually sell. The last ones I bought are totally sweet and totally what I wanted to begin with. I'm good.
15) LAX balls and a roller. I got an awesome medicine ball and LAX ball combo going on in my morning sessions at the moment. I just have to keep my youngest from throwing them around and losing them.
16) bench - I got nice one, but in the summer it was rarely used except as a slide. Floor space is too precious for it at the moment, and it's back in storage.
17) a rower - got a cheap one which I have used and will being to use in the morning sessions in the next month. The workouts I have done with the current rower are decent. I may want to go big in the future, when budget is less of a concern.
18) Resources ... I've pretty much got enough audio books and podcasts that talk about training and mindset as I'm going to need for a while. I just need time to read and digest the contents. I do enjoy the drives to work while reading books, though. See the list of books recently read on the right hand side of the blog.
19) Jumbo valve box - yeah, this was inexpensive and is durable. It is also what I think my son bonked his head off of this week to get a nice cut between his eyes. Meh, I still like this item and it does add a certain soreness to my training sessions.
20) Scale. Yeah, I still have the one I got from Airmiles. Still works, although I haven't checked my weight in a while. I know I need to do exactly that in order to scare myself into better diet. At least it is there in my bathroom waiting for me.
So ... that was the original list from 2010. As it worked out, it was a great thought experiment to plan what I would need for my own place while money was decent. Having a plan is what I know works best for me and my family.
I'd like to think as a grade I'd give myself a sold B or B+. I'd miss out only because I just stopped looking for a few of the items. Meh, no one is perfekt.
So ... what's next?
1) Better civil planning. I'm pretty packed in there as it is. I'd like to think that I could do with a few more feet of space. I'd also like to think that with some more careful layout, this could be achieved.
2) Thoughts about training with people. I've had people ask to train with me and I've also made offers to people to come train, too. It's odd, nothing has happened. It's as though people want to train, but want me to nag them into coming. Yeah, that's not happening. I've already got kids. I don't want to bother with training partners who really don't want to train.
3) Thoughts about a certification. Yeah, I don't have the extra coin at this moment in time. I'd like something to point to to say that I know what I am doing, but I think before that gets done, I need to be a lot fitter than I am now. I should be my best advertising.
4) My own personal coach. I did some this summer, but ran into money issues. I did learn a lot and worked hard and it is obvious to me that I would like to work with someone with more knowledge and experience with training.
I'm trying to get the money together for Parabellum this winter, but am just pounding my head into stones, so to speak.
5) A treadmill. Yeah, this one has me wondering. I do keep checking Kijiji and may just pick one up for cheap, even if I lack space and money for it. I think that I would do more running in the winter if it was inside my gym, but also might get some spill over with my family running (or just walking) on it too. But this is a physically large and generally expensive item which requires a lot of thought before investing in one.Still, with all the lack of snow clearing I saw last winter in my neighbourhood, it might just be cheaper for me to drive and run somewhere else. Mind just blown.
6) Paint. I'd like to have a good paint job on the floor and the walls this summer. The paint on the floor is to help keep it clean, the walls to help make it look good. If I have to choose, I'd pick paint for the walls this time, as last time I painted the floor.
7) Something to help with scrums and other technical parts of rugby and wrestling. There are throwing dummys out there for wrestling/bjj. There are things out there to help with scrums and line out throws for hookers. I'd like to see them and see what I could do to get better at those skills for the proper season.
I think that is about it ... at least that's what I've been thinking about while writing this.
In any case, I now will write up my training sessions for the last two days.
Thursday was weird. I got my rolling session in early then had to go to Niagara Falls for the day. I got back stupid late, ate dinner and got the kids to bed. I got a late run in and then had to go buy my banquet ticket at the rugby club.
Friday was weirder. I got my rolling and stretching in early. Later, I had to take my youngest to the doctor for some sort of papal blessing and concussion checking. Not sure exactly what the doctor was thinking about making a three year old boy do that, but whatever. I got the run in extra late.
I did try to make this run look like something, can you see it? In any case,
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| Richard III is a great play. |
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