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Number of Posts:16
Registered on:7/2/2022
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I got a Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper I can sell ya


Did you not like this piece of equipment? I just got mine in and will be assembling it this afternoon. Why are you looking to get rid of it?

Thinking it will be a good addition to my RM-6 set up I already have.

re: Napa recs

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 9/8/23 at 9:03 am to
My 2 cents.
No need to go to Napa the city. Lots of restaurants sure but I always prefer St Helena, Calistoga, Yountville, etc.

Food: Press, charter oak, gotts, oakville grocery, Brasswood.

Wineries: I will break them down to the ones I would go again and ones to forget.

Go again- outpost, Quintessa, opus one, Aonair, Taylor family, Isley family, rivers Marie, Jarvis, Paul Hobbs (Sonoma), three sticks (Sonoma), Frank family (if you have a good host), Schramsberg

So so- Orin swift, stag’s leap cellars

No need to go back- Jospeh Phelps, Cakebread, inglenook, Patz & hall (Sonoma), caymus

re: Building a home gym

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 7/27/23 at 4:55 pm to
This is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Investing in my home gym has done wonders for my health and fitness level. I have a third car garage attached separate from the main garage. This time of year I have a swamp cooler running while I’m in there. I also have a few dry erase boards to track my historical 1 rep max and also keep track of what I’m doing for the day. I have mine decorated with a large LSU flag and American flag on back of garage door and then surrounding the top of the walls with a flag from every state I’ve lived in. I have a couple of other motivational items on the wall as well.

Recently added a rogue echo bike.

Rack: Rogue RM-6 Monster 2.0 (matador dip bar, landmine, crown pull up bar attachments). I also have the shrimp trawler off the side with an 80 lb heavy bag.

Bench: Rogue AB-3. I picked this one bc it has the incline/decline bench option and incline sit-ups as well.

Bars: Rogue Ohio power bar. Rogue EZ curl bar.

Plates (# of pairs): Rogue deep dish 45 (3), deep dish 25 (1), Olympic change plates 10 (3), 5 (2), 2.5 (1), Rogue HG bumpers 45 (2), 35 (1), 25 (1), 10 (1)

Dumbbells: Powerblocks pro series with extension to 90 lbs. Love my powerblocks. They are pretty much bullet proof. They take a little getting used to bc of the shape but I’m a big fan now.
Just as title says. I’m looking to change something up in the gym for some variety. This seems interesting and I’d like to give it a try. I’m a bit overwhelmed with the cuff options. I’m not looking to invest in the high end stuff like Kaatsu bands or smart cuffs until I have more experience and want to add this consistently. Can anyone recommend a quality band/cuff on Amazon or otherwise that is more entry level but not crap quality?

Also any pearls to training would be appreciated. I am looking to add this at the end of my PPSA programming. I understand the point is higher reps and lower weight. Seems like I’ve seen things like 30 reps/15 reps/15 reps etc.. I’m also looking to use on upper thighs while using my rogue echo bike. Thanks for any info.
Anyone use or have knowledge of Carbon app? This is Layne Norton’s diet tracking app. Looks to be $10/month and less if you do 6 or 12 months. Sounds like there is active coaching involved. I was thinking about signing up.
Dominick’s steakhouse in Scottsdale Quarter.
In your reservation (on open table) ask to sit upstairs by the pool/fountain. I was there last night. Can’t beat it.
My PPSA journey for 2022.

Background: August 2021 I was weighing about 213 (6 ft tall). I was 39 yo at the time. I’m busy with work, busy with family and kids but had been doing basic garage gym stuff with 2 sets of dumbbells (30/40). Also doing a ton of weighted push ups….like 400-500/week. That August I set a goal of reaching the 1000 lbs club (bench/squat/deadlift) before I turned 40 (November 2022). I needed a goal to go after.

January 2022 is when I got my home power rack set up. I have previous post describing my set up but I could not be happier with it. I used 90% 1 RMx as training max and for those months I did not test I generally added 5 lbs to bench/squat and 10 lbs for deadlift to the following months program. I also prefer 3 day programs as it’s better for my work/life schedule.

Initial numbers 1 RMx
B: 250
S: 225
D: 225
- I only actually tested for bench. The squat and deadlift I estimated and wanted to start low and slow.

February- Oak tree
March- Seesaw

March:
B: 270
S: 260
D: 300

April- Seesaw
May- Turnt up
June- Seesaw
July- Seesaw

July
B: 300
S: 305
D: 340

August- Seesaw
September- Turnt up remastered
October- SJTH
November- SJTH

November:
B: 310
S: 310
D: 400

December- SJTH

You can see I really liked seesaw. I am really loving SJTH. Days 1/3 are completely exhausting but I find it is almost cleansing not only physically but also mentally.

Currently I weigh 208ish. I definitely need to be better with diet and can shed some dad bod weight but overall I have clearly gained strength while dropping some weight. I also ruck and do interval runs when I can during the week which is usually twice.

I wanted to post my progress bc I know others are looking for a plan to follow. I can’t speak more highly of the PPSA programs. It has been life changing for the better. I’m looking to get superset and periodic table to add to the mix in 2023.
Sorry to hear about your dilemma.
Bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) can be a tough problem to deal with. I will link the AHA guidelines for valvular disease and BAV is in section 5. I would also look at the aortic stenosis section. The indications for surgery will be based on the degree of aortic stenosis (valve area or gradient) and/or the dilation of the ascending aorta/aortic root (5-5.5 cm or 4.5 cm if having another cardiac procedure). Heart function can also play into this which can be measured by ejection fraction or other LV measurements. The wild card here is symptoms usually decrease the threshold for surgery. I’m not sure if your AFlutter count toward “symptoms” for The AV. I know for MV disease it does. That would be a discussion with your cardiologist. It looks like your chance for needing a valve replacement is 20-40% depending on what study you look at. Anecdotally I feel like it is higher than that in real life. Not sure how old you are but valve selection will be another question once/if it comes to that. I understand your fear of increasing HR or BP. The incidence of aortic dissection is still really low for BAV. The link suggest as low as 0.1%. I think it would be very important to have your BP controlled pretty tightly. I would think light to moderate cardio and lifting would be acceptable. Those are very short interval increases in HR and afterload which in the long run will benefit you. If you are truly out of shape additions of light to moderate cardio/resistance training should go a very long way if you also eat in a calorie deficit. I would also want to know what your cholesterol specifically apoB (LDL/VLDL) levels are. There’s a lot of info here but just my 2 cents.


AHA guidelines
This is a post (below) I did a while back in another thread. I’m in my gym 3-4 days per week. It is perfect for PPSA which I’m a devout follower. I’ve added some fans from Costco and a swamp cooler for summer workouts. In my part of the world it can be 95+ degrees at 5AM when I usually start.



Old post:
I strongly suggest checking out garage gym reviews YouTube channel. Coop does a fantastic job reviewing pretty much anything related to home gyms. Since COVID I’ve gone all in on the home gym and I couldn’t be happier. I’m a huge Rogue fan. It is a little pricey but not near sorinex and other high end companies. I think with Rogue you get what you pay for. Their quality and customer service are off the charts. My setup is below and again I’m super happy with it.

Rack: Rogue RM-6 Monster 2.0 (matador dip bar, landmine, crown pull up bar attachments). I also have the shrimp trawler off the side with an 80 lb heavy bag.

Bench: Rogue AB-3. I picked this one bc it has the incline/decline bench option and incline sit-ups as well.

Bars: Rogue Ohio power bar. Rogue EZ curl bar.

Plates (# of pairs): Rogue deep dish 45 (3), deep dish 25 (1), Olympic change plates 10 (3), 5 (2), 2.5 (1), Rogue HG bumpers 45 (2), 35 (1), 25 (1), 10 (1)

Dumbbells: Powerblocks pro series with extension to 90 lbs. Love my powerblocks. They are pretty much bullet proof. They take a little getting used to bc of the shape but I’m a big fan now.

Also have assorted bands and collars.
Yes!
I think Seesaw is fantastic. I ran it 3 months in a row for March, April, May. It’s a 3 day program. Squat/bench every day with occasional deadlift variations (sumo/snatch grip). Not great if deadlifts are your focus. I saw great bench and squat gains.

I feel like the 3 day programs don’t get much love on here. Due to my work schedule 3 day programs work better for me. I rotate seesaw and turnt up (new and remastered) regularly. I also did oak tree a long time ago but wasn’t super impressed. I found myself adding extra accessory lifts.

On a separate note does anyone notice some programs take a really long time to complete? Day 3 of turnt up and some of the stacked/jacked days really take a while to get through. I find it’s easily 2 hrs+ sometimes. I time and track all my workouts on my garmin fenix 7x so I’m keeping my rest times honest. I find I need more warm up sets. For example my bench Tmax is 280 right now. I will do the bar warm up’s as recommended in the program but then I will do 135 2 sets of 10, then 185 for a couple of reps before I get to my working sets. Does anyone else have these issues? I still love the programs but a 2 hr 45 min session in a 85+ degree garage can be rough.

re: Hotels in Napa and Lake Tahoe

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 9/5/22 at 11:27 pm to
I can second a vote for Harvest Inn.
I got nothing for Tahoe.

re: Sonoma/Napa Valley Recs

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 9/4/22 at 5:53 pm to
Thanks for all the responses.

I had a 7&8 visit planned during Covid that got canceled. If I remember they make you buy at least 6 bottles. Is that true? I almost always buy a couple of bottles everywhere I go but mandating 6 is a bit much.

Hanzell looks like a great property and I’ve had their pinot which is very good. Their tasting is very Chardonnay heavy which is not a favorite with my wife.

A lot of these other ones look like great options.



Opus was a great visit. Long story short they tried to cancel my tasting the week before we were supposed to go because they were remodeling. I plead my case and not only did they take us but we got a free multi vintage tasting and also behind the scenes private tour. Needless to say I purchased multiple bottles on that visit.

Sonoma/Napa Valley Recs

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 9/4/22 at 9:15 am
Calling all enophiles!
Have a trip in 2023 and I’m working on a list of places to visit. 2.5 days in Sonoma and 3 full in Napa with some down time in between.

These are the places I’ve been:
Opus, Quintessa, Caymus, Inglenook, Stag’s Leap Cellars, Orin Swift, Jarvis, Schramsberg, Paul Hobbs (Sonoma), Three Sticks (Sonoma-members), Patz and Hall (Sonoma)
So those are out. We may go back to Schramsberg unless there is a better place for sparkling.

I have Sonoma pretty locked up but I’m open to suggestions. So far: Occidental Wines (Steve Kistler), Kosta Browne, Williams Selyem, Cirq. I might add Arnot Roberts or Blue Farm if time allows. Any other must visits on the Sonoma side?

On the Napa side I’m pretty wide open and I understand the options are endless. In Napa we are a group of 4 and looking for private experiences and don’t need to be dragged all over a winery in a herd of people.

The differential so far: Joseph Phelps, Blankiet, Outpost, Brand, Ovid, Colgin Peacock Family, Taylor Family, Plumpjack, Tor, Rivers-Marie, Ilsley, Shafer, Peter Michael……

I’d like to hit at least one from these AVAs: Stag’s Leap, Spring Mtn, Howell Mtn, Pritchard Hill (technically not an AVA I don’t think)

Any other suggestions for a fantastic experience where you aren’t shuffled on to a gondola or a fake castle? Thanks
I have the Rogue AB-3. It’s built like a tank. I like it bc of the sit-up attachment and you can do decline bench with it.

Garage gym reviews YouTube channel has review videos on pretty much any bench out there and compares them. I highly recommend.

re: Barbell and plates

Posted by Ivor Lewis on 7/5/22 at 12:30 am to
I strongly suggest checking out garage gym reviews YouTube channel. Coop does a fantastic job reviewing pretty much anything related to home gyms. Since COVID I’ve gone all in on the home gym and I couldn’t be happier. I’m a huge Rogue fan. It is a little pricey but not near sorinex and other high end companies. I think with Rogue you get what you pay for. Their quality and customer service are off the charts. My setup is below and again I’m super happy with it.

Rack: Rogue RM-6 Monster 2.0 (matador dip bar, landmine, crown pull up bar attachments). I also have the shrimp trawler off the side with an 80 lb heavy bag.

Bench: Rogue AB-3. I picked this one bc it has the incline/decline bench option and incline sit-ups as well.

Bars: Rogue Ohio power bar. Rogue EZ curl bar.

Plates (# of pairs): Rogue deep dish 45 (3), deep dish 25 (1), Olympic change plates 10 (3), 5 (2), 2.5 (1), Rogue HG bumpers 45 (2), 35 (1), 25 (1), 10 (1)

Dumbbells: Powerblocks pro series with extension to 90 lbs. Love my powerblocks. They are pretty much bullet proof. They take a little getting used to bc of the shape but I’m a big fan now.

Also have assorted bands and collars.