Golfers, Listen Up!
Last week, I met with my friend and PGA golf instructor, Scott Seifferlein, who gave me a brief overview of an awesome tool he uses in his business: the K-vest.
Comprised of military-grade gyroscopes and hi-tech software, the K-vest transmits wirelessly to a nearby laptop where Scott (and his clients) can get immediate and measurable feedback on all aspects of the golf swing. (I do loves me some tech-gadgets!)
Here’s a short video “tour” of the K-vest in action at the Highlands Golf Academy in NW Grand Rapids.
(Don’t forget to visit Scott’s site, GrandRapidsGolfLesson.com, to claim over $300 worth of golf-goodies absolutely free!)
Speaking of Waterbeds, Refrigerators and Weight Stacks…
Here’s a sneak-peek of the new content included in my UPDATED AND EXPANDED ULTIMATE HOME GUIDE – to be released soon Be sure to subscribe to “THE CUP” for up-to-the-minute details.
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Waterbeds and fully loaded refrigerators can weigh as much as 2000lbs and the only times I’ve ever seen ‘em fall through a floor was on Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid.
But how much fitness equipment can your floor handle?
Assuming your home has been built sometime after the dark ages, it’s likely you have a ¾” subfloor plus another ¾” of “finish floor” – usually plywood panels. The top surface of this 1.5″ thick stack of lumber is what your carpet, linoleum, tile, hardwood, etc attaches to.
Current building code requires floor joists to be spaced no more than 16″ apart though there are instances in which they may be built as close as 12″. This spacing is where you get your real support. The type of lumber (or engineered material such as Glu-Lam) are additional considerations, but the main factor which determines load carrying capacity is the size of the joists. Other factors being equal, a 2×12 will be stronger than a 2×10 which is stronger than a 2×8, and so on.
There is an amount of deflection – or vertical “flex” – allowed by building code. The greater the span (read: the unsupported length of the floor joists), the more deflection you’ll expect in the middle of the room.
Common vertical deflection limits are L/360, L/480, L/600 and even L/720. Using this notation, L is the length of a joist as it spans from one supportive wall to the other. Simply divide the length by the respective limit. Builders then use span tables to determine appropriate materials and dimensions.
To interpret using the minimum code of L/360, let’s assume you have a room that is 12′ long between load bearing walls. Divide 12′ (that’s 144″) by 360 and you come up with a limit of .4″ deflection in the center of the room. That’s normal and expected in a room built to minimum specs. Higher limits result in even less deflection, so if you’re building a new home and know you want to include space for a gym, be sure to discuss your plans with your builders.
If you don’t want to consult with a structural engineer to determine the exact limits of an existing home, but you really enjoy driving yourself crazy with calculations and the finer details of building construction, here are a few resources you might find interesting:
www.southernpine.com/spantables.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_load
www.awc.org/calculators/span/calc/timbercalcstyle.asp
And if that still isn’t engineer-y enough for ya’, you might want to pick up a copy of the Architectural Graphics Standards. I hear it makes for a nice bathroom read – if you’re into that kind of thing.
While it’s tempting to say something along the lines of “a 10′x12′ room has a weight capacity of XXXX lbs”, you’d really need a qualified builder or engineer to assess the structure and provide guidelines tailored to your specific requirements.
To wrap this up with the simplest guideline I can give (it’s about time, huh?), place your heaviest objects near load-bearing walls, distribute weights as evenly as possible/practical and don’t drop weights unnecessarily.
I’m Fat (And Personal Trainers Only Want My Money)
Real email. Real response (slightly edited for readability).
I realize it’s not my usual sarcasm-laced, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny post, but you might find it useful.
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I’m frustrated with my weight but love to work out. I have four kids and I can’t go to a gym but I have a Precor elliptical machine and weights and cable machine in the basement. I just can’t seem to get dialed in on a diet. I hated weight watchers. I have worked with personal trainers in the past and all they wanted was my money!! I got down to 195 and 10% body fat. Now I am fat at 255. So wasn’t sure if you could help!! Have a great day!!
-Mike M.
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Thanks for your email, Mike.
I’ll quickly try to point you in the right direction and save you a few bucks in the process…
Nutritionally, I can’t say enough good things about Dr. John Berardi(“JB” for short)’s programs. It’s the same system I use with my private coaching clients.
Depending how much you really want to learn about nutrition (and how much you want to spend), there are a few ways to get the information you need…
You can get the whole enchilada for about $100 (plus shipping) at PrecisionNutritionPlan.com.
OR you can get Gourmet Nutrition for $40 (plus shipping). It’s so much more than a simple ‘recipe book’, but this book gets more use than any other in my kitchen…
If you just want to test the waters before shelling out any more cash, JB created a FREE 8-day mini-course. (no shipping charges either!)
All of these options are based on the same set of 10 easy-to-understand nutritional habits.
Like you, I train at home (for a variety of reasons)… I highly recommend my ULTIMATE HOME GYM GUIDE (free pdf download) so you can learn some of my best tips & tricks for saving BIG $$$ on anything you may decide to add to your current setup.
Finally, if you need any help with your training program design/advanced training strategies, I currently have a couple openings for my Platinum-level monthly coaching program. If you’re interested, just drop me a line and we’ll start your application process right away.
-JS-
$15,000 For WHAT?!?
Product Review: ROM QuickGym
Time is money, right? So how much would it be worth if you really could get an effective workout in only 4 minutes a day? The creators of the ROM QuickGym would like you to believe it’s worth over $15,000. A club in California (where else?) thinks it’s worth $40/month for a membership. On the other hand, the so-called “experts” will often discount it’s value simply by looking at it.
Who’s right? (by the end of this post, I will be – but I’m sure you already knew that)
First, we need to consider these important principles:
Specificity: If your goal is to get really good at doing 4 minutes of exercise on the ROM, then by all means, you need to train with the ROM.
Will it help you shoot better free throws? Make more tackles? Run a faster 5k?
No. Uh-uh and certainly not.
Progression:Once you adapt to your initial stressor(s), to make further adaptations, you need to do more and/or work at a higher intensity.
Variety: One of the arguments of the ROM is that it has a life-span of 30+ years. Therefore the “actual cost” is only $1.25 PLUS 4 minutes per day. This may be good in theory, but if you plan on doing the same activity/duration/relative intensity for 30+ years, there’s a good chance you’ll hit a plateau sometime in the first 6 months (if not sooner). So for much of the next 29.5 years, you’ll have to do something other than the ROM. This means you’ll still have the expense of $1.25/day to let the ROM sit there, in addition to whatever your other form(s) of exercise may cost.
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ROM’s Strengths:
Even the ThighMaster has a useful purpose - and because I like to think I’m a li’l smarter than the ”experts” ROM says “will feel threatened by such a perfect machine” (can it really put personal trainers out of business?) I’ll give ‘em the benefit of the doubt by focusing on its strengths first.
Tony Robbins owns one. So does Sly. Even Tom “top-gun” Cruise has one. The marketing DVD is packed with testimonials from various experts and “lay people”, all (presumably) first time users at a bodybuilding/trade show.
Upon completion of 4 minutes, when asked if they’ve ever experienced such a workout, everyone breathlessly agrees it’s the toughest workout they’ve ever done.
For the uninitiated, although BIG, bodybuilders aren’t typically recognized for their knowledge of training. Flip through an issue of Flex magazine and you’ll discover most of ‘em are still doing ever-so-slight variations of the workouts Arnie was doing back in the ’70s (plus a little chemical “help”, if you know what I mean).
Getting to the point, the greatest strength of the ROM Quick Gym is it’s marketing strategy. They do a fair job explaining why all the “experts” are wrong.
To their credit, while I was reviewing the ROM DVD, I did hear one of their “experts” admit that ‘the best exercise is the one you’ll do.’ If the ROM truly is better than any other form of exercise, it’s only because the price tag can be a strong motivator.
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ROM’s Weaknesses:
From what I can tell, the ROM is limited to a single dominant plane of movement (in the real-world, we move in all 3)
Plus, it separates the muscles of the upper body from the lower body. Ever try running with just your legs? Or how about walking with only your arms?
Like most machine-based exercise, the ROM is incredibly concentric dominant. While the ability to produce force is great, we also need the ability to reduce and stabilize forces.
And for $15,000, you could buy a cheap car and a weight set.
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Believe it or not, I would recommend this machine IF…
- You’re an actor in need a quick way to get that hot & sweaty look before shooting an action/love scene.
- You’re a bodybuilder preparing to go onstage and pose for the judges (of course you’ve spent countless hours doing “real” training up to this point).
- Space and time are both limited and you recognize that ‘something is better than nothing’ in the short term (as in a hotel stay).
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Bottom line:
Can the ROM QuickGym be a useful tool under the right circumstances? Sure, but those circumstances are limited.
If a person was currently doing NOTHING, would 4 intense minutes of SOMETHING cause something to change? Of course.
I’d rather deadlift, sprint or do push-ups for 4 minutes and save the 15 grand for shiny new car.
"Mighty" Joe Stankowski
