Entry #925

Tried out a free day at Crunch Fitness today. These were the two main dilemmas I was faced with:

1. No squat/power rack.

2. Dumbbells that only go up to 80.

Solutions:

1. Squat in the Mactrack rack.

2. Bring my own dumbbell bars.

The first one almost ended in disaster. First I tried to set the bar up on parallel bars at a dip station. It sucked; my feet had no room so I had to stand like a ballerina and then tried to shuffle out. And it was way too low so I was doing a quarter-squat every time I needed to unrack. So I was cleaning up after trying 225 and the bar suddenly tips over and nearly impales this little Asian girl using the cables right next to me. It went right between her feet. I apologized profusely over and over again while she just smiled and shyly said it was okay. Then I apologized to her mom nearby and brother and they brushed it off. Damn, you get used to assholes so much that it's almost uncomfortable when someone is that nice.

Next I went over to the Maxrack. Also known as a Jones machine, it's like a Smith but with 3D movement. Still a POS. I brought over an Olympic bar and set it on the little knurls that rack the machine bar. The barbell wasn't long enough so it sat crooked because one side was resting on the bar past the collars. Then a breakthrough: I managed to fit it in between the plates but past the collar as long as the plates were loosely secured. I'm doing a terrible job illustrating this, but basically, I got the bar straight and was able to do squats. Reracking is kind of a pain but even when it's crooked I can get it out again.

All of this trial-and-error was kind of fatiguing but I still had a better session than last time.

Safety-band squats:
325 x 5, 4 sets
325 x 3, 1 set

Unilateral dumbbell press:
60, 80, 100, 115, 125 x 5; right arm
50 x 5, 10, 15, 20, 25; left arm
> With my good arm I progressed on weight, and with the bad I progressed with reps.

Bent-over rows:
These started standing and then on the last set I realized I was able enough to support myself on the bench.
60, 80, 100, 110, 115; right arm
60 with Fat Gripz x 5, 10, 15, 20, 25; left arm

Great day.

These are my XMark dumbbell handles. $50 for both off Amazon. Here they're loaded with 125 lbs:



I don't like how the handle is as wide as a barbell. I'd prefer a thick bar. And the handle is too short to fit my Fat Gripz. Gonna think of something to wrap around them. Otherwise they kick ass.