The folks over at RingTraining.com have unveiled a nice looking tool to help ease into advance ring strength moves, the Elite Strength Trainer. There’s good info there, and this was in the e-mail announcement:

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Elite Strength Trainer is now available. It’s selling at a $40 discount till January 1st. It’s a new tool that helps train for the cross, maltese and other advanced ring strength exercises. It works by adjusting the leverage placed on your arms in 10 increments. As you get stronger, you simply move up to the next level. It brings the direct, linear progressions available to weightlifters into the world of bodyweight exercise.

A few months ago, I took a prototype to the national team training center. I met with Kevin Mazeika, head coach of the US Olympic Team, and Jordan Jovtchev, 5-time Olympian, and they both offered me some feedback on the design. Within 15 minutes of setting them up in the gym, I had almost a dozen national and Olympic caliber gymnasts from the American and Japanese teams try it out. They had all used equipment in the past that worked on the same principle, but unanimously preferred the design of the Elite Strength Trainer. They liked that it had a lot of adjustment points, it was quick to adjust and easy to set up and comfortable to use. This is actually a tool that is quite important in the training of a lot of top-level gymnasts. For some of them, it is just for conditioning. But they already have short arms, so it’s almost like they’re already using it! For others, it’s the safest way to get back strength after an injury or to develop new strength skills. For the rest of us, it is a great way to safely and effectively incorporate advanced ring strength moves into our training.

Sorry not to let you know about the sale earlier (which will probably be over by the time you read this), but I didn’t get the announcement until 12/30.

Very cool indoor caving setup, cobbled together with eye-bolts and hinges. Great pulling workout, and that knee-over-the-arm move is clever (makes it look easy, until you consider the grip strength involved). ‹via cr›

You've got to be kidding me. Nike Mercurial Vapor SL cleats, $400:

Defying science and expectations, Nike's newest creation is crafted almost entirely of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber, that revolutionary material used in jets, offers unbelievable strength with incredible lightness. It took Nike three years to design and produce this incredible version of the Vapor. The outsole plate is seven layers of carbon composite material interwoven with TPU and polyurethane. This eliminates the lasting board and puts the foot closer to the ground for a smooth feel. A reinforcing rib offers support. The cleats and stud tips are injected molded to the plate for a strong, single outsole piece, which creates incredible durability. An internal heel cradle keeps your foot securely in place. The upper is the first boot to have a molded carbon fiber upper for an incredible performance and feel. UPPER: Carbon fiber. Internal carbon fiber chassis creates instant acceleration. OUTSOLE: Carbon fiber outsole with injected bladed studs for durability and stability on firm, natural surfaces. WEIGHT: (6.7 oz.) Made in Italy.

What part of the cleats is the "lasting board", and why is it good it was eliminated? I'm looking at the cleats I own now, and I don't see much in the way of extraneous parts. I've never once said, "Man, the lasting board is really weighing me down. When is some ingenious designer going to come up with a way of eliminating it?"

I will concede, though, that 6.7 oz. is a VERY light cleat.

Ross Enamait just posted an article and video, "The Homemade Wheel." Definitely an inexpensive piece of equipment worth making, as it's good for a variety of truly killer exercises. And as always, Ross's video is very impressive. Check it out.

Two from YouTube:

• I know nothing about gymnastics aside from what I've seen on TV during various Olympicses, but even to my untrained eye it's obvious that this guy is a total pommel horse stud « via CF ».
• Nice cheap version of an expensive (for what it is) piece of equipment: Homemade Tornado Ball.

Dan John says carrying The Slosh Pipe, which weighs in at a mere 38 pounds, is like wrestling a python, will totally kick your ass, etc. It'd be hard to believe, if it weren't coming from such a good source. Gotta build me one of those. Sounds like fun.

And as long as we're on the subject of fringe (but likely killer) core exercises, check out the picture on the cover of the October CrossFit Journal, and consider this description:

Gymnastics coach Phil Savage explains how to use a simple bucket-and-rope contraption to allow the Rest of Us to train like gymnasts. Working the ability to perform circles on the floor (as male gymnasts do in competition on the pommel horse) with the feet supported and rotating around the body provides excellent strength and coordination work that carries over to all sorts of endeavors.

I bet a few circuits of Slosh Pipe carries and Bucket Circles would be just the right kind of torture.

Awhile back I tried kludging together a glute-ham developer. The experiment was a failure, but I didn't realize how much of a failure until buying a real GHD. Night and day, even buying the cheapest one I could find, this Yukon GHD. It's quite nice for the price. The only problem I had was with the footplates, which are too small and too far away to fully engage. Here is my fix:

The pieces are made of 3/4" plywood scraps, and the carriage bolts go on either side of the footplate (so you don't have to drill through it). There are washers in all the obvious places, but also between the front and back plywood pieces that butt up against the edges of the footplate, preventing side-to-side motion. These are perhaps unnecessary, as you can really clamp these on pretty tight.

This modification makes a HUGE difference in the feel of the machine. The increased surface area accommodates my size 12.5 feet nicely, and the added thickness is great too, locking my feet in much better. I can use the GHD much more effectively now than before. I can't imagining owning one of these machines and NOT making this fix.

If you've been thinking about cobbling together some rings, you might want to give PlaysetParts.com a look. In particular, their round trapeze rings, either in uncoated aluminum or Plastisol -coated. A few lengths of chain and a few quick-links and you're good to go.

That said, if you want to buy a set ready to go out of the box, I can't say enough good things about Ringtraining.com. Great products, great service. Their rings have a larger inner diameter (7" instead of 5") and have a thicker grip, I think.

UPDATE: Got a few, ostensibly for the kids, and they are pretty small. Keep that in mind if you have big hands.

Got a new jump rope this week. I've tried a variety of jump ropes (leather, beaded, and "speed", but this new one is easily my favorite. It's a Cable Freestyle Rope from buyjumpropes.net. The handles are long, lightweight plastic (with foam sleeves, not pictured on the site) and the rope is basically a flexible coated wire. It's the fastest rope I've tried (although not the fastest they sell) and the long handles are nice for crossovers. Since it's been cold I've only used it wearing like exercise pants, which is good because I bet it hurts like hell when you whip yourself with it. Adjustment is very easy, just a little two-part sleeve inside each handle that you slide apart to adjust. Adjusted out to the max. they are just long enough for my 6'4" self.

The other new piece of equipment I got this week was a used tire, kinda on the largish side (maybe off an SUV?), picked up for free at a local garage (they generally have to pay to dispose of them, so I imagine any garage would be happy to be rid of them). What's it for? Why, beating the tar out of it with a sledgehammer, of course!

So, in honor of my new finds (and workout time being pretty tight lately), today's workout:

• Tabata jump rope, immediately followed by...
• Tabata sledghammer, immediately followed by...
• 50 double-unders on the rope.

Ross Enamait recently ran an article on sledgehammer training, which includes a video demo of sledgehammer Tabatas. From there, he also links to his own article specifically on Tabatas.

Anyway, since I mostly feel the jump rope in my shoulders and the sledgehammer in my forearms, it's amazing I can type this at all.

I've seen it suggested in various places that horse stall mats make great, cheap exercise mats. Looks like the rumors are true! Tractor Supply Co. carries a 4' x 6' stall mat for $40. It's 3/4" dense rubber, and really heavy. If you want one, it's entirely possible there's a Tractor Supply Co. store near you. Transporting it's not too big a deal; it rolled up (although not real compactly) and fit in the back of my Subaru Outback easily (with the seats down).

Crossfit Jersey Shore has an interesting approach to sandbag construction: they use old (and free!) truck tire tubes. Cool!

Happy Thanksgiving, gang!

I mentioned previously the Again Faster Bar, and really liked the look of it. The market inefficiency of spending 20% of the total cost on shipping bugged me though, so I never ended up taking the plunge. So I percolated for awhile over how I'd build one myself. The trick is attaching the pipe to the strap such that it doesn't spin (although a spinning bar would offer a different challenge). Here's what I came up with:

...and here's a detail of the end assembly:

Here is the equipment list and costs:

• 1" diameter 48" long black pipe ($8.96)
• 1/2" x 6" (I think) eye bolts ($3.72)
• 2 1" galvanized Ts ($4.62)
• 2 1/2" lock washers ($0.30)
• 8 1/2" fender washers ($2.00) 4 1/2" fender washers ($1.00)
• 2 1/2" nuts (mine were included with the eye bolts)
• 2 carabiners ($12.50)
• 2 NRS 1" HD Tie Down Straps ($16.55)

Grand total: $49.58. More than I was expecting, but isn't that always the way? You could economize by leaving out the carabiners and just threading the straps right through the eye bolts, and by buying shorter straps. I wanted the straps longer so I could throw them over high things (like swingsets, rafters, and tree branches), and the carabiners make life a little easier.

Anyway, assembly was easy: screw the Ts onto the pipe. I used a pipe wrench and a huge screwdriver through the T for lots of leverage, getting them nice and tight. You'll want them to both be oriented the same way when they are snugged down. Put an eye bolt through one of the Ts. Then, on the other side thread on the two four fender washers (two four because you want the metal to be thick here, as it supports everything three or four per side might be better). Then the lock washer, then the nut. Hold everything centered as you tighten the nut. I got mine tight enough that the washers went slightly concave on me (again, three or four fender washers per side might be better than my meager two). Repeat on the other side, and you're good to go!

I'm no engineer though, so don't be surprised if the whole thing falls apart, the straps break, or the washers just pull right through and dump you. The eye bolts even say explicitly say not to use them to support people. So don't build one of these. If you do, and you get hurt, it's not my fault. I'm just telling you what I did.

UPDATE: be sure to read the comments for design suggestions/concerns.

UPDATE 2: became convinced two fender washers on each side weren't enough, so upped it to four, and updated the instructions above accordingly.

On Crossfit today was a link to a "Cliff Kipping" video by Jon Gilson. I liked his portable pull-up bar setup, and didn't have to look very far to discover he sells them under the name The Again Faster Bar (after his site). If you live in the Boston Metro area you can pick up the complete set, which comes with lashing straps and chains for $150, or you can have just the bar and straps delivered anywhere in the US for $60 + $15 FedEx shipping. Here's a related thread. Tempting as an option for my garage, so I don't have to move the rings around, and could just leave it slung over the rafters, but I can probably jury-rig something if portability is not a priority. Still seems like a nice piece of equipment though.

I decided to spend my way out of my post-Regionals depression, and as the stuff has arrived in the mail it has contributed to my growing excitement over my off-season training plans.

First up was a 12-foot length of 1.5" manila rope from McMaster-Carr. $22.17 including shipping. I'd link right to the page, but their site uses frames. I hate frames. Anyway, I tied it to a garage rafter with a bowline knot for rope climbs. It's not very high, but workable, especially if I do them in an L-seat position. In fact, I'll have to work on it before I can manage that distance in that position.

Next, the big ticket item: the "advanced" set of Iron Woody Fitness Bands for $118.45, including shipping. I've played with these a bit, and they're going to be great (I had no idea they'd be so thick). I can loop a band over the door attachment of my Homemade GHD, rig a board with footholds, and work the Grasso Lunge. Will also be perfect for improvising a kneeling cable crunch, and all kinds of rotational/core movements, explosive and otherwise. I can also use them in devious ways to add weird loads to pullups, pushups, and other bodyweight exercises. And free weights, for that matter.

Also, inspired by Ross Enamait's The Home Gym video, I built myself a couple doubly evil wheels:

Equipment from Home Depot (total $32.70):

• 2 3/4" x 5" black pipe nipples (handles)
• 4 lawnmower tires
• 2 1/2" x 10" carriage bolts
• 4 1/2" hex nuts (two per bolt - screw one on, then screw the other one on to lock it down)
• 8 1/2" washers (one for each side of each tire)

I've been working on the standing rollout some more after letting it slide a bit. Progress is very slow. Doing one-arm rollouts from the knees is a nice exercise too, for those of us who can't do 'em standing. The wheels are also great for pushup variations. For example, pushup with one arm while the other arm rolls out. Or up. Or, for a big challenge, down (towards your waist).

Until yesterday, I had no luck playing catch with my daughter, either with balls or discs. She's afraid of getting hit with anything hard, and doesn't judge trajectories very well (probably because we haven't played catch enough because of the first problem!). Smaller discs are still too hard for her to use without fear, and the really light cheap-o promotional discs are just too erratic. Same with must weighted fabric discs (and you can't throw a flick).

But I finally think I found the ideal disc for us, as we had a very satisfying round yesterday! It's called the Fun Gripper Flyer, and it comes in 6" and 9" models. I got the 9", which is working out well. It's perfect for my eight-year-old, and I think it would work for my four-year-old too, if she didn't insist on throwing in her own unique style (picture a forehand arm motion, but with a backhand grip). Anyway, it's of the "weighted fabric" variety, but the rim is pretty thick, feels like it had a bunch of little beads in it, and is covered with a rubbery weave. The body is a padded nylon, I think. It holds it's shape pretty well, and you can even throw a serviceable flick with it! It's certainly not a distance disc, but it works great in the 15-25 yard range (we aren't throwing further than that yet). Anyway, I'm going to pick up another and introduce my daughter and her friends to Schtick.

If you wear Adidas Copa Mundial cleats you know two things:

• They're great.
• They're expensive.

Rock-bottom price I've ever paid is $80. Prices gust up to $100. But at the moment you can get 'em for $63 through Amazon.

Regular price is $83 (and that's the price that shows up on the page above). Hopefully you'll see a "Special Offers Available" link on that page. If so, when you add the item to your cart and check out, the $20 discount should be applied (it will show up prior to final confirmation, so you can cancel if it doesn't happen). Shipping is free.

Not sure how long this promotion will last.

The catch is there's a 3-to-5 week wait. I'm going to have to make due with my old ones and some duct tape until then. As long as the new ones are here for Regionals...

These NRS straps look like the perfect thing for improvising some excellent fitness equipment. Buy a couple swing hangers and screw them into your basement joists. Then get a pair of 20-foot straps and something like vinyl tubing, PVC, or pipe nipples to use as handles (take care about sharp edges rubbing the straps). Thread a handle onto each strap and then make each strap into a loop. Hang loop from the swing hangers. Instant cheap-o gymnastic rings (here's the real deal). Since you can easily adjust the length of the loops with the cam buckles, you have an excellent unstable platform for dips, pushups, flys, "roll-outs", etc. You can also monkey with the handle configuration. I imagine you could make nice handles for these extreme renegade rows with a couple pipe T fittings and three pipe nipples. Something like this:

The looped straps would also be perfect for a variety of isometric exercises, I bet. Cheap, too. Might want to get a few so you don't have to thread different handles for different exercises. Not sure about shipping cost, and I have no experience with this vendor.

Quick background: I tried twice to make a slammable medicine ball but neither held up. Then I found this approach by Pierre Auge on the Crossfit forums. I resolved to give it a try, but didn't get around to it until recently. In the meantime, a new four-page thread based on enhanced instructions from Pierre appeared, and I finally gave it a go. And it worked! I now have a twenty pound basketball that I can inflate so it bounces slightly, and I can slam the heck out of it with no (so far) big sandy mess to clean up. Here's my version of Pierre's instructions (the instructions are his, the particular experience is mine):

1. Get a cheap rubber basketball, the tougher the better. I think I paid $6.
2. VERY IMPORTANT! If you're going to want to inflate the ball, then the very first thing you should do is inflate it and let it sit around for a day or two to make sure the damn thing doesn't leak. I am speaking from bitter experience: it is quite a letdown to spend hours (really, hours!) filling the ball with sand only to discover a leak near the valve (that you couldn't possibly have caused) days later. *&$#! cheap-ass Walmart ball...
3. Once you're sure you have a good ball, grab the spike from a radial tire plug kit (it should include a spike/rasp, a plug-insertion tool, some cement, and some plugs which are basically long gooey strips of rubber or something) and puncture the ball with it. I actually drilled a hole in my ball, but I read later that stabbing might be better, as no material is actually removed from the ball with a stab. So far no problems with the drilled hole though. No matter what, you want this hole to be as small as possible while still admitting the rasp.
4. Insert an inflation pin into the ball valve. This will allow airflow out of the ball when you pour the sand in. Surprisingly important. Oh, so I guess this means you'll want your hole somewhat near the valve so it stays clear of sand as you're filling. I put mine on the next black line over from the value (in the picture above, you can see the inflation pin in the valve, and my hole is very close to the right edge of the picture).
5. Get a funnel. It will have to be fine enough that you can jam it into the hole, but not so fine that the sand won't flow through it. I used one of those diner ketchup bottles (pictured above) with the tip cut off at an angle (I tried cutting the tip square on one, but then I couldn't jam it into the hole).
6. Pour your sand through the funnel into the ball. A surprising amount can be said about the choice of sand. I used play sand and it was a pain to get into the ball. I would fill my ketchup bottle (which also had a hole in the bottom for airflow purposes) jam it into the ball, and a trickle of sand would flow in before it would jam. So I'd jiggle it around, and it would flow a bit before jamming again. So I held my random orbit sander against the bottle, and the vibrations kept the sand flowing. I don't know how long it took me in total, but I do know that I watched all of The Memory of a Killer (good movie!) on my tiny 7" portable player under flimsy headphones against the whir of my orbital sander, standing on the cement floor of my cold workshop and probably only did three-quarters of the job in that time. It would be much better to rig up some self-filling solution, kinda like my ketchup bottle but much bigger so you can fill it and walk away while the ball fills. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. Anyway, back to the sand: some Crossfitters recommended silica sand, as it is finer (I think it's used for sandblasting, among other things). I already had the play sand though, and I could only get the silica sand in 100 pound bags. Besides, silicosis is such an ugly word. Very recently somebody suggested using sugar, which I bet would flow nicely. You could probably get 20 lbs. for $10 or less. Anyway...
7. After the ball is as full as you want it, rasp around in the hole to clean it, then follow the instructions on your tire plug kit to patch the hole. Then slather the plug and surrounding area with Shoe Goo for a good seal. Leave it alone for 24 hours.
8. Inflate as desired, and get slamming!

A couple other notes:

• Clearly getting the sand in is the big chore. I read on one of the Crossfit threads folks that recommend an approach where you slit the ball or cut a flap into it instead. When I did this the ball did not hold up to slams, but it's entirely possible they are better patchers than I am.
• Suddenly $50 or whatever it is for a twenty pound slammable ball doesn't look so bad. :-)
• Thank you, Pierre, for the great instructions!

Awhile back I mentioned SOLE Custom Footbeds, which are insoles you bake in your oven to mold to your feet. The good folks there noticed my post, and sent me a pair to try. I mentioned this to a PT friend of mine, and she expressed some misgivings. She had seen them before, and thought they looked great "unbaked" but was worried that if I baked and molded them, I'd basically squish away the arch support, and I'd end up with a set of insoles that merely conformed to to my faulty over-pronating architecture rather than providing the support I need. I raised this concern with the representative at the company who set me up with a pair, and this was her response:

Your PT friend is 100% correct!. By molding the insoles, the arch lowers in order to mold correctly to your foot. However, by not molding the insoles, the aggressive arch remains intact and will provide you with additional arch support. However, it's tricky to assess exactly how much arch support you need. I recommend that you do not initially mold the insoles to your feet, just wear them as is. After a week or so of use, reevaluate the support the insole provides to both your feet. If you find that the support is great without going through the molding process, leave the insoles the way they are. If you find that both insoles have too much support, proceed to mold the insoles.

So I tried them unbaked, and I really like them as is. This is lousy news from a review perspective, as I can't really tell you anything about the baking process. Sorry not to be more help on that front, but hopefully some of the information above will be useful to anyone considering buying a pair.

I updated one of my medicine ball articles after an e-mail exchange with Ross Enamait. Scroll to the bottom of the article for the update.

Yesterday I alluded to one of my favorite forearm exercises/implements from this grip-training article, the wrist roller.

Making the handle is easy, as it's just a stick with a rope attached to it. The loading pin (the thing the weights hang from) is a bit more involved (at least the way I approached it, anyway). Here's how I made mine:

• Go to your favorite hardware store, get a pipe nipple that fits your weights (more on that in my dumbbell handles post), a cap for the nipple, an eye bolt, and some hydraulic cement. Bring a weight to the store to make sure the nipple fits, and that the "eye" of the eye bolt can go through the weight as well. Also bring the carabiner that you'll use to attach the loading pin to the wrist roller cord and make sure it fits the eye bolt.
• Screw the cap on the nipple.
• Mix up some hydraulic cement and pack it into the open end of the pipe nipple. Don't dawdle, as the hydraulic cement sets fast.
• Push the eye bolt into the cement, and let the whole thing set.

Hydraulic cement expands when it sets (presumably not fast or hard enough to break the pipe, but I still stayed clear of it while it was setting), and the whole rig feels very secure. Nonetheless, I make sure to keep my feet clear of the weights when I do the exercise.

To use, load it up by sliding weights over the eye bolt end, use the carabiner to attach to the cord of your wrist roller, and start rolling!

I've gotten surprising mileage out of my pair of cinderblocks above. I picked them up at Home Depot along with some rubber padding (sold as "anti-fatigue floor mat", or something like that). Nothing high-tech, I just cut the pad to fit and wrapped lots of duct tape around it to affix it. Each is 6" high when laid flat. Uses so far:

• Depth plyometric pushups.
• Standing on one to make the Standing Jackknife on rings more challenging.
• Stacking them and then anchoring my feet in the lower holes during Russian Twists.
• Stacking them and doing step-ups onto them.
• Standing on them to use my wrist roller properly (scroll to near the bottom of the article).

The padding is a mixed bag. The downside is that it makes the blocks unstable when you stand them on the side or on end. Then again, they've saved me from at least one nasty scrape so far when I didn't quite make it back up onto the blocks during my last plyo depth pushup of the day.

Two also isn't quite tall enough for the step-ups. I'll probably buy two more and leave them unpadded. The rough surfaces should keep the blocks from sliding in relation to each other, and I could do a variety of configurations with a padded block always on top.

After a couple failed attempts I figured a homemade slammable medicine ball was impossible, but it looks like I was wrong. What you need is somebody that actually knows what they're doing to apply themselves to the problem. Pierre Auge graciously posted his instructions to Crossfit and gave me permission to repost them here:

Actually its pretty simple as long as you're up for some hard work and have some tools.

You'll need the following:

• A drill with a medium fine bit. (1/8")
• A funnel with the narrowest nozzel you can find. (to fit in the 1/8 " hole)
• A rubber/epoxy high pressure tire puncture plug. (Not silicon, it has to be either rubber or epoxy, or rubber with an epoxy resin.)
• Epoxy resin based high pressure sealent.
• Sandpaper (or die grinder if you're lazy and want to chance weakening the ball)
• Radial tire patch (some cordura or old canvas might work too)

Get the toughest Basketball you can get, drill a hole in it. Sit there for about 2 hours pouring sand through this stupid funnel. (Or you can use a machine like I do) Weigh the ball as you fill it.

When the desired weight is achieved use the tire puncture plug to fill the tiny hole. Trim the excess that is sticking out. Use the sealent on the area in and around the plug. Wait until dry and hard. Now put some air in the ball with a pump. Go back to the area directly around the plug and start sanding with your sand paper until the area is quite rough. Take the radial tire patch slather the area with some more resin and put the patch into the resin. Put more resin on top of the patch. This should give you a good seal after it dries for a few hours. (Overnight)

If you are willing to take on this endeavour all the power to you but it took me several attempts to get this to work properly. But on the other hand its worth it because you get a very tough ball.

Hell I've seen an entire company of guys wail away at these things one troup after another and they are going strong.

Thank you Pierre!

With a hole that small I wonder if my Home Depot play sand would even go through (even new in the bag it is slightly damp and clumpy) or if I'd have to buy finer sand from a garden center. Just something to consider if you're going to tackle this yourself.

As for affordable off-the-shelf medicine balls, I bought an 8-pound Danskin ball from Walmart for around $16. It has a smallish diameter (maybe around volleyball-size?), minimal bounce, and a slightly nubby surface. It works great for a variety of slams. You can also get a 10-pound Danskin ball from Amazon for $23 (buy something else at the same time to get over $25 and be eligible for free shipping). Same size and bounciness as the 8# ball, but with a smooth vinyl surface. I haven't had the 10# ball for very long, but the 8# ball has held up well to some good slam sessions, including hitting a rough concrete seam on my basement wall a bunch of times. In addition to slams, balls of this size/weight are good for holding between your feet or knees for weighted pull-ups and dips, and in your outstreched arms for Russian Twists.

UPDATE, 1/9/06: I originally tried the Walmart ball on Ross Enamait's recommendation, but he just pointed out to me that the ball I picked up is not the same as what he found there. Walmart used to carry the Stamina Products 10# ball for $16, but apparently Walmart doesn't carry that product line anymore. As you can see from that link, you can buy them direct for $20, and it might be a nicer ball than the Amazon/Danskin one I have (for the textured surface, if nothing else).

I needed dumbbells for the Infinite Intensity program, and wanted to get them as inexpensively as possible. The photo above encapsulates my solution. The plates above are 10-pound plates from Walmart. I think they were $5 or $6 each, so I bought a bunch of those along with four 5# plates and four 2.5# plates. Walmart also sells a cheap 14-inch handle for around $7, shown above on the left (it's threaded, and the star-shaped thing is one of the included collars that just screws on to secure the plates). UPDATE: Okay, a year later and the Walmart handles suck. The problem is if you screw the collars down tight enough so they don't loosen during the workout, the rubber handle gradually crushes under the force, so as the months go by the space for your hand gets smaller and smaller. Mine are basically unusable now. Dick's Sporting Goods sells a pair of handles for $20 that are all metal. A better design.

This handle is big enough for me for most of the full-body over-the-head moves, like snatches and swings. But for stuff like deadlift twists and side bends (both great core exercises) I needed a bigger handle, and real DB handles that are longer than 14" get expensive. So I took one of my plates to Home Depot to the pipe section. Black 3/4" pipe is a perfect fit (but 3/4" galvanized is not; always bring a plate to the store!). I got a 24" length and a couple hose clamps. At home, I cut up an old inner tube and wrapped it tightly around the middle of the pipe, and then secured it in place with the hose clamps, trimming off the excess. The inner tube stretches great when you wrap it, and it gives the hose clamps something to snug down onto. I considered epoxying the hose clamp threads for added security, but figured I might want to change the grip some day, so left them alone. They are pretty damn tight, and failure here probably wouldn't be catastrophic, as they just keep the weights away from my hands, not from sliding off the bar. The finished bar is immediately to the left of the plates in the photo above.

I still needed collars for this bar though, and here I splurged, as I wanted these to be easy to change and very secure. I bought a pair of Muscle Clamps, which seem great. I've only used them a couple times, but they go on and off in a flash, and no weights have slid off yet. The are pictured above the plates.

Finally, the last thing in the photo, all the way to the right, is a homemade uneven dumbbell handle. Made of the same 3/4" black pipe, inner tube handle (secured with electrical tape) and a union and nipple threaded securely on the end (snugged down with a pair of pipe wrenches). It is for forearm work. You put a plate on the end, secure it with a Muscle Clamp, and then hold it like so: with your elbow by your hip, and your forearm parallel to the floor hold it in front of you by the handle. The handle should be perpendicular to the floor, with the weight up. Rotate the bar to the right, stopping it when it gets parallel to the floor. Rotate it back, and then down to the left, again stopping it when it's parallel (your fist goes from "fingers up, thumb to the outside" to "fingers down, thumb to the inside"). With a long handle, it doesn't take much weight at all to make this very challenging.

As I mentioned in my Evil Wheel post, the new version of the excellent Power Rings is available for pre-order, and the limited-time price of $55 is fantastic. It's more than $20 cheaper than what I paid for version 1.0 about a month ago. Man, that's always the way: I buy something, and that's a cue to the producer to rollout the new, improved model. Dang.

Anyway, I love my rings, and if you are the least bit tempted you should consider the pre-order. Even if you aren't a gymnast (I'm not, certainly) they are worth it for the pushup variations alone, and you won't find a cheaper (or more challenging) dip station anywhere.

A few days ago I mentioned a DIY pull-up bar as an alternative for more expensive models. I just ran across an inexpensive off-the-shelf model though, that looks almost exactly like the one I own. The only differences appear to be that mine was by Champ's and this one is by Everlast. Also, mine had red pads and this one has black. Otherwise I'd say they are identical (from looking at the pictures, at least). Read the user reviews, as they raise the following potential issues: cheap construction (mine has lasted great), possible marring of surface just above the door due to scraping (yes, I get a bit of this), marring of door trim surface due to color rubbing off the black padding (haven't noticed this with my red pads), and door sizing issues (description says, "fits most doorways up to 32 inches"). $25 is quite a price though.

UPDATE: Having finally tried a real GHD, I have come to realize what a poor substitute this is for the real thing. I'm leaving the page up so as not to break links, but I can't recommend this approach. It was a better idea in theory than in practice.

The Crossfit folks love the Glute-Ham Raise, and it is one of the exercises featured in Infinite Intensity by Ross Enamait (my current program). So of course this warranted further investigation on my part. Really, you don't need to do any research beyond reading The Glute-Ham Developer (PDF, 787KB) by BFS, which is a description of the machine, includes a history of the exercise, a compelling list of benefits, and a variety of other exercises you can also perform on the apparatus (abbreviated "GHD"). The more you read, the more such a device seems like a must-have.

The problem is that GHDs are a bit pricey. Some Crossfitters recently shopped around, and there's always Froogle or eBay. Enamait's home-grown approach is to put a towel on the floor under his knees, secure his ankles, and do them that way. The pressure on my kneecaps scared me off trying them that way, so here's what I came up with:

I'm not recommending you build one of these, as it's surely structurally unsound, will break, and will maim or kill you. But here's how I did it just for curiosity's sake...

My Swiss Ball serves as the rounded pad. To anchor my feet I made two T-shaped attachments from 3/4" threaded galvanized pipe and screwed them to my basement door. Each T is composed of a floor flange, a 5" nipple, a T fitting, two 12" nipples, and pipe insulation for padding (make sure you buy the right size - the insulation should provide two measurements, one for the copper pipe it fits, and another for steel). To affix to the door I drilled all the way through and used bolts, washers, and wingnuts. The wingnuts make it easy to remove these or shift them to different positions. You might think you'd want to permanently affix the flanges to the door and just unscrew each T to move it, but you can't really do this as when you go to unscrew one T it will hit the other.

A couple assembly notes:

• You can just screw everything together by hand, leaving the flanges off. Then attach one flange to the door. Screw on the T assembly. You'll be able to use the "arms" of the T to get lots of leverage, making it really tight. Then get your feet in position to figure out where you want the other T to go, and affix the flange. Remove the tightened T via the wingnuts, and then screw the other T really tight. Reattach the initial T when you're done. One thing you might want to consider which I didn't do is epoxy the threads to make the assembly permanent (not the wingnut threads, of course).
• You might want to use smaller than a 5" nipple for the "upright" of the T. You'll want a fairly snug fit, and if your door has panels like the one above it can be tricky, as it's a squeeze to get your foot in, but then it's loose once it's in position because you're on a panel. I ended up screwing a couple boards onto my door to make the fit snug (not shown, as this was today, post-photo). Shorter than 12" nipples for the "arms" might solve this as well, as you wouldn't span different "depths" on the surface of the door.

So far using it is a mixed bag. It's great for back extensions and full range-of-motion situps. Jury is still out on the Glute-Ham Raise though. Part of the problem is that I'm not strong enough to do these under the best of circumstances, which makes other mechanical problems with my setup hard to diagnose. It seems hard to figure out where exactly to put the ball in relation to my hips and knees. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to come up with a satisfactory solution, given that a proper GHD has a fixed pad you can push against, whereas the ball can roll/slide away from you if you try to replicate the mechanics demonstrated in the document above. The ball is also slippery when sweaty, although draping a towel over it seems like a workable cure.

In conclusion, I'm happy with it for some exercises, but not entirely for the exercise I was shooting for. I'm not sure if this will change with practice or not. I'll keep posting other notes on equipment, although between this and the medicine balls I'm not off to an auspicious start on the homemade front.

I've tried two different approaches to making a medicine ball that you can slam, but neither has held up to even a few slams. First attempt was a rubber playground ball stuffed with sand and with the hole stuffed with a rubber patch and glued with epoxy. Probably got 100 slams out of it before it failed spectacularly (i.e. big cleanup job). I had high hopes for my next attempt: got a cheap rubber basketball (much more rigid sides than the playground ball), cut 1-inch flap (still attached on one side) in it and filled it with sand. Folded the flap back down, used a piece of inner tube and Goo to make a patch, and sealed it up. It really seemed like it was going to hold up well. I got good coverage and adhesion on the patch. Ten slams later and the ball split from one of the corners of my cut flap to just outside the patch. The patch held fine, but cutting the ball clearly compromised it's structural integrity irretrievably.

Lessons learned so far:

• A playground ball full of sand weighs around 14 pounds.
• A basketball full of sand weighs around 23 pounds.
• Making a homemade slammable medicine ball is tricky (but making one that holds up under less extreme usage should be easy).
• If you don't want to go heavy, Walmart sells an 8-pound ball for around $16.

I might try one more thing: I read somewhere that if you submerge a bicycle pump in water as you are pumping up a ball you can fill the ball with water. Seems like a good approach, as the ball stays intact, and I imagine you could slam with the same impunity as an air-filled ball. Not sure if you end up with water in the pump that you then can't clear, though.

A few years ago I bought a pull-up bar from Champs for around $25. The beauty of this particular bar is that you don't need to screw it in or fasten it in any way. I dangles off the trim and gravity and leverage keep it securely in place. A buddy of mine was recently looking for something similar, but most such bars now seem to be $50 and up. Fortunately, you can build your own pull-up bar for around $30 using off-the-shelf threaded pipe (scroll down to "Doorway Chinup Bar").

A buddy of mine has been struggling with Achilles tendonitis, and I noticed at Regionals that he had this single strip of tape running down his calf and into his cleat. Reportedly, this was helpful. I just learned tonight that this wasn't any ordinary old athletic tape, but was instead Kinesio Tex tape. Sounds pretty nifty:

KINESIO TEX® TAPE is a very thin (about the same thickness as skin), porous cotton fabric with a medical grade acrylic adhesive. A special method of adhesive application and porous nature of the fabric allows the skin to breathe and showering cleans part of the skin under the TAPE. The TAPE is designed for a 30 to 40% longitudinal only stretch and when applied lifts the skin and provides support for surrounding soft tissue.

This TAPE is LATEX FREE and NON-MEDICATED.

KINESIO TEX(r) TAPE was designed to be worn for multiple days ( 3 to 4 ); and an hour after application it will withstand athletic activity and showering without coming off. [snip]

Theoretically, KINESIO TEX® TAPE will lift the skin to increase the space between the skin and muscle. This reduced localized pressure help promote circulation, lymphatic drainage and lessens the irritation on the subcutaneous neural pain receptors. As an end result, the Kinesio Taping Technique reduces pain, swelling and muscle spasm; and subsequently promotes the body's natural healing processes. Additionally, the built-in stretch of the TAPE supports fatigued, weakened and/or strained muscles.

There are books and videos for learning techniques for using this magical tape. Who knew?

I've updated my article Timers for Tabata Intervals (formerly titled "Timex Watches for Tabata Interval Timing") to include a review of the Gymboss workout timer. Short version? It's fantastic.

If you haven't considered the humble NordicTrack cross-country skier, you should:

• It's a good full-body workout.
• Taku mentions it specifically as a good choice for interval training, and my own experience bears this out.
• There is a balance component to the exercise, and thus really works the lower legs, especially in the first few weeks. It's been great for my shin splints.
• It's dirt cheap. Check out the current eBay listings (make sure you also check the "show only completed listings" box to give you an idea of what these are going for, and note especially all the auctions that end with zero bids!). You can also often pick these up for a song by watching the classifieds or CraigsList. Heck, I've seen them at tag sales or just sitting by the side of the road.

I will warn you though: when you first hop on the thing you'll think it sucks. It'll feel wobbly and awkward. You won't like coordinating your arms and legs, and at least one part of your body will probably fatigue well before the others. So you'll cut your workout short without really feeling like you've achieved much. For me, it took about three weeks to hit my stride on the machine, but now I'm very glad I put in the work to get used to it.