John Greaves III's Blog, page 26

Weekly Motivation featuring STrong Lifts Episode 8

Training in the garage by yourself is tough. You usually don’t have the camaraderie of other gym members to help push you.  To help out, we combed the web to find videos that will help motivate you to keep striving to be your best.

Today’s video is from the crew at Super Training Gym in Sacramento, CA.  Super Training is a free, that’s right free, gym owned by Mark Bell, the inventor of the SlingShot bench press assistance device, publisher of Power Magazine  and a world record holding powerlifter in his own right. If you don’t know who he is, just Google him. Anyway, STrong Lifts is a video compilation of awesome strength feats from around the world. My favorites are Brandon Lilly coming back post rehab and squatting one pound more than the weight that destroyed both of his knees in the most horrifying powerlifting accident in recent history, 84 year old Ted Lindbergh benching 276lbs, Special Olympian, Timmy Headley nailing a 269lb squat and the multiple girls in the video who squat more than I ever have.

Stay motivated and keep training until people want to post videos of you!

 

 

The post Weekly Motivation featuring STrong Lifts Episode 8 appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Jon Jones Out Of UFC 200 – What Does It Have To Do With Us?

image courtesy of Akira Kouchiyama via Wikimedia commons

Spoiler alert: Jon Jones is out of UFC 200 after apparently failing an out of competition drug test.  Everyone can speculate why but the facts are that once again an extremely talented, young athlete in his prime has made a decision that will have far-reaching effects.  Fighters and fans alike are reeling from the announcement and expect the talking heads to hash and rehash it from barber shops to ESPN studios.  There’s only one thing I feel about it right now.

It’s Our Fault

Yeah, I said it.  It’s not like Jones is the first fighter to make bad choices. Just look at boxing, pick a weight class and you’ll find tons of examples of fighters who ruined their potentials with bad decisions.  We can assume that great athletes, like great musicians are simply wired differently, that their perspective on risk is filtered through a different lens that the rest of us use.  I call b.s.

Yes Jon Jones is a grown man.  Yes, he is responsible for his own decisions.  Yes, he should have had people in his corner who were willing to tell him the truth and stop him from making self-destructive mistakes.  But in America we don’t do that.  We think mistakenly that because someone has excelled in one area, that they’re great at everything.  Look at late night television.  How many times have we watched actors get asked questions that they obviously have no background to answer simply because they’re famous? Should we be asking Jim Carrey whether or not vaccinations are harmful?  Does his background in comedy and movies give him the years of scientific training to be able to critically evaluate studies on either side of the issue?  Why do we care what Stacey Dash believes one way or the other?  Does her ability to memorize large amounts of vocabulary and then repeat it as if it’s not memorized material validate or invalidate our own opinion of conservatism vs liberalism? Read that sentence again.

I had an email exchange with an extremely well-known powerlifter earlier today    I’m not mentioning his name because that’s not the point.  Suffice it to say, if I did say his name, and you follow powerlifting at all, you’d recognize it. Anyway, during the conversation, I gave him what I considered good advice.  Yes, I gave this star athlete advice. He’s definitely much more accomplished in strength sports than I will ever be.  But he’s a young man, looking at his career so far and wondering what the future holds especially since powerlifting isn’t a sport you can actually make money in.  I remember being at that crossroads point and I told him what I wished someone would have told me when I was his age.  I’m sure this guy has other people in his life and maybe it wasn’t my place to say anything. After all nobody wants to be that guy.  You know the one who knows everything? Natural habitat barber shops and commercial gyms.   But how many times have we seen someone make a bad decision and they say, “I wish I’d had somebody to talk to?” Even worse, “I wish I’d had somebody to who would listen.”

It’s Our Responsibility

Our society pays lip service to the importance of mentoring. Big Brothers, Big Sisters etc.  So why don’t we accept that it’s possible that young men and women who achieve fame because of their talents in a particular field, be it music or sports might actually need grounded, unbiased advice even more than the rest of us?  Imagine being thrust into a situation where everybody is pulling you in ten directions, everybody wants a piece of you. Everybody wants you to repost their Instagram post,(yes even me) wear their product, mention their name, get them into this event or that event, loan them money for this business venture or to help them get out of that debt? And you’re a kid?  Now imagine that your family’s welfare depends on you being able to perform in front of strangers on demand? And not just your family.  Add in the families of everyone who works in the organization because if you don’t perform, revenues to the organization go down and layoffs start. No pressure. Can you see why a young person might need a dose of common sense from time to time?

I think it’s time to give a damn.  To stop and talk to the kids in the neighborhood instead of chasing them off your lawn.  To let them cut your grass or watch you work on your car instead of being too busy.  And if you’re in the life of one of a talented young person.  Don’t be afraid to share your wisdom when it’s warranted.  And don’t think you don’t have any.  If you’re ten minutes ahead of somebody on a path, you’ve got ten more feet of experience than them and you need to share it.

Tiger Woods was doing fine when he could talk to his father, Earl.  Mike Tyson avoided scandal while Cus D’Amato was alive.  Even Superman could fly home to Smallville to talk it over with his Mom when it got rough and Batman had Alfred.  Who had Jon Jones’ back? I don’t know and maybe he didn’t either.

John Greaves III is a freelance writer and amateur powerlifter in North Georgia.  His work has appeared in Power Magazine, powerliftingwatch.com, NaturalStrength.com, Strength Advocate, the Chattanooga Times and various trade publications.  John is the author of the coming of age novel, A Different Kind of Giant, available on Amazon.com.  You can contact him through his website johngreavesIII.net.

 

The post Jon Jones Out Of UFC 200 – What Does It Have To Do With Us? appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Diet Update Week 5

Diet Update aka What’s Going On

I’m on a diet.  I hate being on a diet to be honest and to continue being honest, it’s easy to get derailed from your plan when you hate the diet and family events come up.  My daughter’s birthday and my wedding anniversary fell within the same week.  Cake at the first one and Japanese food at the second made me stray from the path of righteousness.  That being said, I kept up my cardio and water along with getting back on track immediately after each event.  I weighed in on a calibrated scale and it showed me at 203lbs on a full stomach.  I’ll need to double check again on an empty stomach but I believe I’m right on track to make the 198lb weight class.  This is all familiar territory.  What’s going to push me into a new realm is that after weighing in, I’m not going to pig out.  I’m going to maintain my discipline through the meet into the next week when my preparation for the 2016 Atlanta Savage Race begins.

Trained Sunday in my coach’s garage and had a decent session.   I was a bit discouraged because I didn’t get the number of repetitions I wanted but it wasn’t a disaster. You can watch the highlights here on my YouTube channel.

Bad News Good News

I came home after training and took measurements and found that not only can I wear my 12 year old son’s weight belt now but my waist is down by two inches.  Good news.  Arms and chest are the same so I’d say I’m putting on muscle.  However, my throat started hurting and I wasn’t able to eat that night.  Nor the next day.  Went to the doctor and found out that your favorite freelance writer/garage gym athlete has strep throat.

Back to good news though, I’m on antibiotics and after two days of just water I tipped the scales at 195lbs.  If you’ll casually glance down below, that’s my goal.  So it would seem like I made it.  Not really though.  I want to walk around at 195lbs not have to lose water weight to get there.  So we’ve got more work to do.  Still good to see the finish line though.

Progress Report

Height: 5’9      Age 42

Goal: Physique recomposition.
Weight:
Goal: 190-195lbs    Starting Weight: 202lbs  Current Weight: 195lbs
Waist
Goal: 31 inch         Current Measurement: 37 inches Starting Measurement:  39 inches
Chest: relaxed
Goal: 44 inches  Current Measurement:                      Starting Measurement: 43
Arms:
Goal: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed Current: 17 inches flexed Starting Measurement: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed  unchanged

John Greaves III is a freelance writer in North Georgia. He is the founder of Garage Gym Life and a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. John’s diverse athletic and writing background allows him to write about a variety of topics from sports to business. You can find out more about him including how to have him guest post on your blog, write for your magazine or ghostwrite a piece for you by clicking here.

The post Diet Update Week 5 appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Declare Your Independence

Independence Day

Today is our country’s independence day.  The day that brave men made the choice to sever their ties to a way of life that was comfortable and familiar but that was choking out their ability to grow.  200 plus years later and most people are focused on getting to the barbecue, the cookout or the fireworks display.  But you’re dedicated.  You have that competition in a few weeks.  Or maybe your pre season practices start in a month and you need to be ready.  You don’t have time to slack off.  Too bad your gym is closed for the holiday. Or maybe the gym is open but there’s no childcare that day.  Which for you as a busy mom or dad is the same as it being closed.  What to do?

Look At The Headline

I am a passionate advocate for the garage gym lifestyle.  Not just because I love being able to saunter downstairs any time day or night to get in a training session, although I do.  But because I have the freedom to choose to train when I want.  It’s my house; my rules. I enjoy going to my coach’s garage to train.  I crave the camaraderie of training with a team.  But I love the psychological muscle I build by training at home on my own terms. If I’m not getting ready for a competition, I thoroughly enjoy the ability to train with my sons and their friends.  To train with my infant daughter waddling around the room.  To choose the music, to dress how I want.  To focus on my training rather than wasting time in small talk.

Sacrifices and Benefits
my second gym

I didn’t always have as much equipment as I do now. I left a gym that only cost me $.50 a day because they were closed by the time I’d get home from work.   My first home gym was a wooden box and two 70lb dumbbells.  After that I graduated to the shed in this picture.  I had a standard bar, a rickety bench with standard sized weight plates I picked up here and there at Play It Again Sports and on Craigslist. I couldn’t do any pullups because I couldn’t get a grip on the roof beams and my landlord wouldn’t let me hang a bar in his shed. I did cardio by walking from my house to the Laundromat down the street and back.  I happened to be in the Marine Corps Reserves at the time and when we did our annual physical fitness test, I ran three miles in 22 minutes, did 19 pull ups, one less than my previous year’s best and 100 strict crunches.  With no squat rack, I had to clean the weight every time I wanted to squat and my upper back was it’s most developed up to that point.  And I was free from the need to meet someone else’s schedule.

I love that when my daughter can’t sleep, I have the option to take her downstairs to get in a deadlift session while watching The Hobbit at 4am.  I love that I don’t have to wait in line for equipment, that I’m forced to be creative when I don’t have a piece of equipment.  I love that I have to go outside to do pullups on a tree branch outside, that I have to roll up my garage door so I can do keg carries because the garage isn’t long enough.  I savor the cold mornings when I have to turn on the space heater and it’s just me and the downstairs television against the urge to drop everything and go upstairs.  I love that I train my willpower every time I choose not to stay on the couch  upstairs but leave my family upstairs enjoying a movie so I can get done what’s important to me.

Time To Choose

Isn’t it time you stopped being afraid of leaving your comfort zone; afraid of what you might lose if you left the juice bar and built what you keep saying you wish you had?

Isn’t it time for you to declare independence?  I think so.

Shoot me an email or drop a comment if you make the choice to start your garage gym and I’ll do what I can to point you towards inexpensive but effective equipment.  I don’t get a dime for any of my recommendations but I love helping people to succeed.  Best of luck.

John Greaves III is a freelance writer in North Georgia.  His work has been featured in the pages of Power Magazine and The Chattanooga Times as well as on Powerlifting Watch, Natural Strength and Strength Advocate.com.

The post Declare Your Independence appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Robby Robinson Posing At Age 70 Will Inspire You To Start Training Now!

Training in the garage by yourself is tough. You usually don’t have the camaraderie of other gym members to help push you.  To help out, we combed the web to find videos that will help motivate you to keep striving to be your best.

Today’s video features former Mr.  Masters Olympia, former Mr. World, The Black Prince, Robby Robinson posing after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.  He’s 70 years old.  Seventy years old. You can find out more about this Iron Game legend by checking out his website robbyrobinson.net or visit his blog on Spherady. While you’re there snag a copy of his DVDs Master Class and Built or his awesome autobiography Muscle Versus Hustle.

Keep training hard until people want to post videos of you!

 

The post Robby Robinson Posing At Age 70 Will Inspire You To Start Training Now! appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Vinny Galanti Remembers The Garage

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know everything. That’s why I try to find accomplished athletes to do guest posts for me.  Still,

image courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/vinnygalantiGYM

I don’t pretend that this site has everything. So I’m constantly scouring the web for interesting and motivational posts to help you in your Iron Journey.  That’s how I stumbled across this gem by Universal Nutrition sponsored athlete Vinny Galanti.  Galanti is a seasoned pro who now trains up and coming bodybuilders. But everyone starts somewhere.  Follow the link to read about Vinny’s experiences in his early years in The Garage.

The post Vinny Galanti Remembers The Garage appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Diet Week 4

I’m on a diet for the first time in my life. This is my post #4 of my record of the journey to reclaim my dream of a truly in shape physique.  I highly recommend you start read the first, second and third posts if you want to dig into why I’m doing this even though my strength sport of choice is powerlifting not bodybuilding or physique.

Getting Back On Track

As I mentioned in my third post, I got derailed a little on my weekend trip up to Maryland.  I came back weighing 200lbs which was up by one pound.  Now I wasn’t too excited because I know that bodyweight fluctuates and it’s affected by water and sodium intake.  My water was off so I knew I’d get it back down soon enough once I got back on the wagon.  I got back on the straight and narrow, sticking closely to my plan and keeping water at 1.5 gallons each and every day.  The water issue is easier to keep on track if I use a gallon jug.  I’ve tried just keeping track of how many times I empty my 25 oz. shaker bottle but I’ve found that without that gallon jug staring me in the face; reminding me that I’ve got to drink more to empty it, I will simply forget to drink water.  Thirst is NOT an effective reminder.

By Thursday, my bodyweight was back down and I did a weight check revealing that in addition to having ashy toes I was 197lbs.  Good to know.  My physique doesn’t look that different to me but I didn’t feel bloated which was great!  It’s also under the weight class limit for 198lbs which means I just need to hover where I am for the next few weeks until I weigh in on July 16.  That’s a good feeling but it would be worthless if my strength doesn’t remain high.

The Week In Training

This week of training was encouraging.  I had to compress training because Sunday, my normal bench day during this training cycle, I was on the road.  I couldn’t make up training Monday because I was again, on the road. This time it was a four hour drive up to Tennessee and back.  So I decided to squat as normal on Tuesday night and follow it up with bench.  After all, that’s essentially what I’ll be doing in the meet anyway.  Squats went well, I worked up to 182.5kg/402lbs for a single.  That’s not bad considering I’d done a 501lb beltless deadlift only three days prior and then followed that with fourteen cumulative hours on the highway.

I followed that up with one set of pause squats at 145kg/319lbs then moved to the bench. I worked up to a top set of 137.5kg/303.1lbs after warming up.  Again, not bad.

I did mobility the rest of the week until Thursday when I did arms for accessory work which was a mistake.  It was good because I was able to practice my form on lying triceps extensions after my friend, NPC champion bodybuilder and powerlifting champion, Monique Hayes tweaked it.  I was still sore days later but had none of the elbow pain I usually have.  No elbow pain was great but being sore meant that my triceps failed when I attempted 147.5kg/325lbs at our bench session on Sunday, June 26.   My coach said he thinks I’ll be able to get that for an easy second attempt once I’m rested so I’m not too upset although I wish I’d gotten it.

But the coolest thing was I was able to muster up a one handed deadlift PR on Friday.  Using a hook grip, I pulled 225lbs for three reps.  And that felt great!

Next week I’ll take measurements again.

Height: 5’9      Age 42

Goal: Physique recomposition.
Weight:
Goal: 190-195lbs    Starting Weight: 202lbs  Current Weight: 197.6lbs
Waist
Goal: 31 inch         Current Measurement: 38 inches Starting Measurement:  39 inches
Chest: relaxed
Goal: 44 inches  Current Measurement:                      Starting Measurement: 43
Arms:
Goal: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed Starting Measurement: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed  unchanged

John Greaves III is a freelance writer in North Georgia. He is the founder of Garage Gym Life and a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. John’s diverse athletic and writing background allows him to write about a variety of topics from sports to business. You can find out more about him including how to have him guest post on your blog, write for your magazine or ghostwrite a piece for you by clicking here.

The post Diet Week 4 appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Happy Birthday Chet Blalock

I’m not given to hero worship albeit I’ve been blessed to spend time around and be mentored by some highly accomplished men and women.  That being said, Chet Blalock is one of a small handful of men who will always have my undying loyalty and respect.

Chet was my mixed martial arts instructor before the UFC was a household name.  When everyone still dismissed the idea that you needed to be proficient in multiple ranges of fighting.  It was during a time when people either believed that martial arts were something harmless taught to children to help them in school or were the deadliest of arts where true masters avoided full contact for fear of killing each other with the deadliness of their chi.

Then I met Chet Blalock.  At that first meeting in the downtown YMCA he looked at me and I could tell that he was deciding how best to disable me.  It didn’t put me off.  Quite the opposite.  I’d seen guys with that predator look many times before when I grew up in Maryland, they would look me over and after a quick assessment, decide that I wasn’t a threat.  I endured that humiliation time and time again, that secret shame and relief whenever someone dangerous decided NOT to pick on me especially in a social situation.  I watched them spar full contact that night, hearing the sounds of leather striking flesh that I’d only ever heard in boxing gyms in Maryland and knew that these guys were for real.  I wanted to be real too.

Chet was the first person who offered to help me claim a part of the manhood I’d always missed.  Understand that I’d never had the experience of my dad teaching me to defend myself.  I still remember my mom having to run out of the house to pull neighborhood kids off me.  Of being grabbed and flung around, slammed repeatedly at a party because a guy was arguing with my friend and I stepped in the way. Of being mugged in a rough neighborhood in Chattanooga and escaping a beating only because I meekly submitted to my assailants.

Over the years, Chet didn’t make me a predator.  He did help shape me as a man. Because of him I went from being a nervous kid to a silver medalist in the International Kickboxing Federation Nationals in 2000.  I supported myself partially as a bouncer/doorman because of the skills he taught me.  I excelled in the Marine Corps partially because of the experience of surviving long training sessions at Blalock’s IMB in the outdoor ring under the hot sun. It wasn’t easy.  I was the smallest there for a while and getting punched in the face full force by 200+ black belts when you weigh 165lbs on a good day is no fun.  But it did mean that I stopped being nervous about a lot of other things.

I thought I was there to learn to defend myself.  I was wrong.  Chet taught me Jeet Kune Do, which as my son, Marshal pointed out is a way of life.  To this day I still approach every situation by developing a Plan A, Plan B, Back up plan and an Avenue of Exit. I still absorb what is useful, discard what is not and add what is uniquely my own.  When I thought was going to lose my son, he was the person who let me cry without judgment but also refused to let me wallow in despair. Who made me channel my frustration into training and then create a Plan A, Plan B, Back up Plan and Avenue of Exit or fallback option to deal with the situation.  I remember nights hanging out with his family watching WWE or UFC Pay per Views.  We watched our mutual favorite Evander Holyfield defeat Mike Tyson together.

I remember him launching himself like a spear at a guy I was fighting in a nightclub in Chattanooga despite him needing knee surgery. I remember taking a guy down with ease at the door of that same club and feeling pretty good about myself until Chet walked up and showed me how I could have done it more efficiently had I chosen a different technique.  I remember knocking a guy out in a dive in East Ridge with my family in the audience and Chet jumping in the ring to fight the referee because the guy refused to start the count. I remember the rest of our crew jumping in there ready to back him up without hesitation. I remember standing by his side when he lost his brother. I remember praying for years that he would come to know my Savior. I remember rejoicing when he told me that he had.

I’ve dreamed of having a black belt for years.  The reason I don’t have one is my current schedule doesn’t allow me to travel up to Chattanooga to train with Chet and a black belt from anyone else doesn’t mean anything to me.  I was a Blalock’s Bad Boy and that title means I won’t accept a black belt from anyone else’s hands.

Happy Birthday Chet.  I pray that you have many more.  After all many people in the world still need healing.

The post Happy Birthday Chet Blalock appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Weekly Motivation featuring Randy M. Olson

Training in the garage by yourself is tough. You usually don’t have the camaraderie of other gym members to help push you.  To help out, we combed the web to find videos that will help motivate you to keep striving to be your best.

Today features Nutrition coach and Garage Gym Life contributor Randy M. Olson explaining that you cannot hide from the dragons that are keeping you in fear. They must be confronted if you want to move forward!

Randy is a motivating figure not just because of his over 100lb weight loss but also his drive to share his knowledge with others. Check him out!

Stay motivated and keep training until people want to post videos of you!

 

The post Weekly Motivation featuring Randy M. Olson appeared first on Garage Gym Life.

Lesson Upon Lesson From My Weekend Road Trip

I learned lesson upon lesson on my road trip last weekend. This is not a post to trumpet how well I handled my diet while traveling.  Instead it’s about what I learned from the experience.  Friday morning I packed my cooler as usual for the 600 mile drive to Maryland.  That’s about a 9-10 hour drive and my eating schedule works out to about 15 hours.  No big deal right? Not exactly.

Lesson 1

I didn’t factor in my diabetic son when I packed food. So that’s how we ended up at Hambino’s Pizza Company in Bristol, TN.  Also related is the fact that my son gets offended whenever I’ve been to a good food location but I’ve never taken him.  I was good though.  Substituted salad and wings for my turkey meal.  Not great but I upped my water intake as well. Call it a better bad choice.  Next time I need to get a bigger cooler and pack food that we can both eat.  Alternatively, I can check the menu ahead of time for where we plan to stop (I don’t do random stops on road trips. Too dangerous. I look up the rest stops and assess them for potential dangers. Blame Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children for that behavioral quirk.) and find something that fits in my diet ahead of time or come up with a suitable alternative.

Lesson 2

We stayed at my uncle and aunt’s and I thought I’d be safe because I’d told him about my diet. Ehn, not so much. He’s also the proud parent of teenagers who are the proud owners of stomachs.  They devoured the rice that was set aside and then tore through my grilled ground beef. I compensated with some grilled chicken breast.  I should have gone grocery shopping when I got in town per my original plan.  I didn’t want to make my aunt feel bad, she did cook for us two days in a row after all.  The food was not bad and it was awesomely West African.  I increased my physical activity the next day to compensate. I don’t think you can out eat a bad diet but I also know that by increasing my calories out vs calories in I will eventually get where I want to be.  I also went to the gym the next morning and pulled a beltless PR in the deadlift despite having been in a car for 10 straight hours.  Yes that was before breakfast.  I followed that up with a 2 mile brisk walk on an outdoor track in 90 degree heat before lunch. Pretty sure I burned some calories in there somewhere. Lesson learned, look for the positive.

Lesson 3

I was out of food because I didn’t go grocery shopping so I ended up eating out for lunch.  I had baked chicken at Nando Peri Peri a nice South African eatery and a Coke.  Having not had caffeine in a month, it really affected my appetite in addition to making me really wired.  The plus side was I knew that I was going to be eating Liberian food that afternoon and that evening so I called one of them a cheat meal.  Afternoon meal was Liberian fried spinach greens and the evening meal was Liberian pepper soup with chicken and salted beef.  Downside was I didn’t drink nearly enough water.  Probably 32 ounces instead of my scheduled gallon and a half. That stopped the plumbing until I got back to Georgia.  Lesson learned: drink water

I’m back in Georgia now. Back on my diet. Water intake is back to normal. My weight went up to 202 during my trip. It’s already back down to where it was.  I’m four weeks out from my meet and I’m due to take photos and measurements in three days.  Maybe I’d already be where I should be if I’d stayed on point but there’s the last lesson.

Lesson 4

Don’t let life derail you.  Life happens and you’ve got to adapt to the fact that the rest of the world isn’t going on a diet just because you did. If you stumble along the way, adjust for it and re establish a strong position  as soon as possible.

Height: 5’9      Age 42

Goal: Physique recomposition.
Weight:
Goal: 190-195lbs    Starting Weight: 202lbs  Current Weight: 200lbs
Waist
Goal: 31 inch         Current Measurement: 38 inches Starting Measurement:  39 inches
Chest: relaxed
Goal: 44 inches  Current Measurement:                      Starting Measurement: 43
Arms:
Goal: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed Starting Measurement: 17.5 inches flexed/16 relaxed  unchanged

The post Lesson Upon Lesson From My Weekend Road Trip appeared first on Garage Gym Life.