Since fish oil is “the most important supplement ever,” I bit the bullet and started taking Triple Strength Fish Oil pills from GNC. Eight pills per day. After about a year of that, I got sick of taking eight pills every day and decided to give the liquid fish oil a try. I’m still shooting for 9.5 grams of EPA/DHA per day based on Robb Wolf’s suggested dosage of 1/2g per 10 lbs of bodyweight (19 * .5 = 9.5). With some help from my calculator and Google conversions, I figured out that 7.3 teaspoons a day will get me the prescribed amount of the good stuff (there’s 1.3g of EPA + DHA in every teaspoon). As it turns out, a shot glass of oil goes down a hell of a lot quicker than eight horse pills.
The only reason I originally went for the pills is because I thought that fish oil would taste terrible. Even though it’s listed as “lemon flavored,” I was skeptical that this stuff would end up tasting like mackerel juice and either make me gag or give me awful sardine burps. Although the oiliness of it is a bit off-putting, the taste is pure lemon and sunshine and I haven’t had any problems so far.
These bottles hold 16.9 oz and cost about $22 on the Vitamin Shoppe’s web site (the cheapest place I’ve found). Since I’m taking 1.2 oz/day, a bottle ends up lasting me about 2 weeks, which means that I’m paying about $45 for a one month supply. Compares pretty well to the $40 per month I was spending on the GNC pills (and I was short-changing myself on the dose a bit there). Highly recommended.
Buy it from the Vitamin Shoppe »
I first heard about raw milk (or REAL milk as it’s sometimes called) through Ross Enamait and I’ve been trying to get my lips on it ever since. Apparently, the distribution of raw milk varies by state (because it’s so dangerous) and New York state law limits the sale of raw milk to the farm where it’s produced. I’ve never seen a dairy farm in NYC, but I still checked every farmer’s market in town without success.
Little did I know that my good friend precious Zach had been secretly drinking raw milk in his Connecticut hobbit hole for years. Raw milk is so readily available in CT that kids set up raw milk stands around the neighborhood every weekend. 25 cents for a little plastic cup. Well, after running the Komen 5k in June, Zach took me to a farmer’s market in New Haven and we bought two jugs of raw milk from Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm.
I’d been searching and anticipating it for so long that I was sort of let down by the initial taste. It IS really tasty and creamy, but it wasn’t love at first sip like I was hoping. It’s better than any milk you can buy in the supermarket and I buy in to all of the health benefits, so I’m definitely a fan. The fact that I can only get it when I’m visiting Zach in Connecticut (or when he’s nice enough to bring me some) also makes it a rare treat, which only adds to the allure.
My man Ross Enamait recommends these as a good overall multivitamin/multimineral for strength athletes, so who am I to argue? I started taking these in 2005 (about the same time I started Ross’s Infinite Intensity program) and have been feeling strong like bull since then. I haven’t gotten sick or dealt with any lasting muscle soreness in that time, but I’m not sure how much credit is due to these pills and how much is just my general invincibilty. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to take one pill every night (with my fish oil supplement) and they’re only about $14.95 for 100 pills - that’s like 15 cents a day!
Buy these from Netrition »
This is a great belt for training heavy weighted dips, chinups, and pullups. It’s rated to hold 1,000lbs (I haven’t tested that yet), but is small and portable enough to fit inside my gym bag, much more so than a leather and chain belt. The way the belt loads took some getting used to for me, but it’s definitely well-designed. I keep the belt looped and locked (never thread it through the plates) and hang a dumbbell from the blue webbing. Luckily the Fifth Ave Gym has dumbbells up to 150lbs, so I can go pretty heavy. I may have to look into some sort of loading pin and clip device once I want to go heavier than that though.
Buy the belt from Ironmind »
This is the second nicest pool I’ve come across in the NYC rec centers, after Chelsea. There are only three lanes, but if you can find a time during the day when the pool isn’t crowded and the sunlight is streaming through the skylights, the Metropolitan Pool is beautiful place to swim. When it’s crowded (which is most of the time, as far as I can tell), it turns into a real shitshow.
I’ll be damned if I can figure out the proper lane etiquette here, but it feels like “every man for himself.” There will usually be a combination of slow and fast swimmers in the fast lane (most likely because the slower swimmers don’t want to deal with the abominably slow swimmers in the medium lane), making it difficult to keep a steady pace. The medium lane moves so slow that it’s tough not to pass people when I’m doing kick drills. Just forget about the beginner/slow lane - it’s clogged with so-slow-I-can’t-believe-they’re-afloat swimmers, so there’s no point in even going over there.
The weight room is small and usually crowded, like the pool. It’s got pretty much the same equipment you’ll find at any city rec center - dumbbells, benches, and some machines. While the pool is better, the weight room isn’t as good as the Tony Dapolito Rec Center, which was my home base for a few years. It’s worth noting that they’re really strict here - they won’t let you into the weight room without a towel and they won’t let you into the pool without a swim cap, so plan accordingly.
The showers and locker room are pretty terrible, which is par for the cours with city rec centers. I’m still always wary of catching bedbugs or footfoot from the dirty hipsters here.
Metropolitan Pool & Fitness Center
261 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Hideous, hard to use, poorly organized site with great prices for all sorts of supplements and nutritional products. So why do I keep ordering from them when interface is such an affront to taste and decency? Aside from the unbeatable prices, shipping is reliable, fast, and well packaged and I haven’t had a single problem with an order over the four years that I’ve been a customer. Of course, they haven’t made a single improvement to the web site in that time either (which is why they only get three stars).
II’ve bought all sorts of junk from them (larabars, Myoplex shakes and bars, multivitamins, etc) and haven’t seen comparable prices anywhere else. I also generally buy in bulk to save money and they usually throw in some free goodies if your order is over $100 - I have a few free t-shirts and shaker cups.
Buy some stuff from Netrition.com »
Martial Arts Mart is one of the biggest online martial arts suppliers. Their weapons are shite and their return policies are even worse. I ordered a bunch of poles for the school once and they were terrible quality - one was already broken in transit and the others wouldn’t have lasted one training session with Hung Ga men. I returned them all and had to pay for shipping both ways.
They also sell Feiyue shoes on the site, but knowing their awful return policy and the fact that Feiyues are not sized consistently, I would not recommend buying them either. In fact, don’t buy anything from them.
These shoes are everything you could want in a kung fu shoe - lightweight, flat-soled, grippy, cheap, and pretty durable. I’ve owned several pairs of these over the course of my Hung Ga training, in both white and black. I’ve had my current pair for about 2 years and they’re just starting to wear out. I always resist getting a new pair as long as possible because breaking in a new pair is a pain in the ass. Sometimes the rubber soles of a new pair is sort of rounded and requires some wearing down/breaking in.
You can buy these online, but I wouldn’t recommend it (especially not from martialartsmart.com). I head over to one of the martial arts supply stores in Chinatown when I need a new pair because the sizing is very inconsistent. I always have to try on a few pairs before I find one that fits (if there IS a pair that even fits). Still, a great value for about $15.
This is a good leather speed rope for a good price - I paid about $15 for mine at my local sporting goods store. It comes in two sizes: 8 feet (for the shorties) or 9.5 feet (if you’re over 6 ft tall) and weighted and unweighted versions. I use the longer unweighted rope (for speed) and tie a knot near each handle to shorten it a tad. The rope seems durable and never gets out of whack. Even though I leave it rolled up in my closet when I’m not using it, a quick stretch on the rope and it’s good to go.
But it online at everlast.com »
It’s hard to nitpick an amazing, free resource like the Stronglifts.com program and web site, so I’ll just share my thoughts. All 5x5 strength programs (even Rippetoe’s 3x5 program) are all derived from Bill Starr’s original work and they all use the same basic principles. I personally don’t think there’s anything revolutionary in the program itself, but the Stronglifts presentation stands out for its comprehensiveness, depth, and organization. Medhi not only provides a thoughtful writeup on the program, but provides a free Excel spreadsheet of the program which lets you map out your entire 10 week cycle and keeps you on task. He also provides instructional videos, online articles, and helpful FAQs covering every possible question that could possibly arise. You also have access to a huge community of users of all skill levels on the Stronglifts forum who have either gone through the program or are going through the program. Hey, did I mention that this is all free?
My personal experience with the Stronglifts 5x5 Beginner Strength Program is probably not typical because I had a few years of strength training under my belt and was also keeping up with an intense workload of kung fu classes and other conditioning workouts. I didn’t start the program with just the bar, I had some decent loads so it got heavy pretty quickly. I also made some adjustments to the plan - swapped power cleans for barbell rows and did weighted pullups and dips instead of the unweighted versions.
I did see some strength gains, but my main goal in using the program was to build a solid foundation and to improve my form on the basic lifts. My squats and deadlifts feel really solid these days and no doubt the amount of time I spent under the bar made that happen. I wasn’t able to finish the program because in the later days the load just wore me out and I wasn’t recovering enough between sessions. I stalled pretty hard on the presses and hit the wall on the weighted pulls. I just couldn’t handle the volume at that point. They say progressive loading only works for so long and now I see first-hand what they mean.
Up next for me is the Texas Method, which is supposed to allow intermediate lifters to make steady progress
I went through the elements workshop at Crossfit NYC’s original location (Black Box 1.0) in August of 2007. The facility wasn’t ideal, (they’ve since moved to a bigger, better location) but the instruction was top-notch. It’s hard to explain to the appeal of a gym where the workouts leave you lying on the floor gasping for air like a guppy, but the the truth is that it’s just not for everyone. Crossfit is for people who want to increase their strength, athleticism, and make real physical gains. It’s low-tech, high-intensity, and effective. Crossfitters who make it through the initial awkward stage, learn the exercises and techniques, and stick with the programming get results. Serious results. The good news is that offer a free introductory class so you can find out if it’s right for you.
The main drawback to Crossfit NYC (and Crossfit affiliates in general) is that it’s prohibitively expensive for most people. Of course, the level of coaching members receive is well worth the cost and for those who need motivation, you can’t beat the atmosphere here. But the reason I’m not a member is because I just can’t justify the expense for myself.
Update: there have been some personnel changes at Crossfit NYC since I was there. Most of the great coaching I received was from Keith Wittenstein, who has since opened his own affiliate, Crossfit Virtuosity. I can’t personally vouch for the other coaches.
This track almost makes me envious of people who live in Williamsburg. Almost. Then I remember how much Williamsburg sucks. Great track though. There’s even a bunch of pullup bars next to the track so you can cook up some marvelous interval-based workouts here. I plan on using this track much more once the weather warms up. You know, now that I’m a Brooklyn resident and all.
Warning: the track gets very crowded on nice days.
