Georgia Tech Plates

Although I have no ties to Georgia Tech, I am a sucker for custom plates and was thrilled to grab a pair of these Georgia Tech 45's.  He had 35's as well and was taking offers.  I really wanted a pair and decided, but put out a fair $180 plus shipping price which the seller accepted.  They should arrive March 11th and I am happy to add these to my collection.  Maybe they will live here forever, or maybe they will be traded for something different.

UPDATE 8/26/2026:

As part of a gym downsizing, I decided to throw my GT plates on the market.  TJ Hovel inquired and purchased them for $180.  Turns out they are destined for Adam Gotsis.  TJ was great to work with on the phone and has a background in strongman and grip.  He hosts a podcast called The AM Lift Show in addition to training athlete and hosting competition.  I enjoyed talking to his buddy Evan Markl who is also a lifter and vintage iron collector.  Travis and Evan are well connected having worked the Shaw Strongman show, hanging with Brian Shaw and Hafthor Bjornsson, and other well known athletes.  His picture reel in his phone was like going to a museum.  Great to make some new contacts and with this sale, I am going to take a little break from selling stuff.

Eleiko Calibrated Pound Plates

I had a chance to look at the following plates, but could not make a deal.  The original asking price for 510 pounds was $6,000 but the best offers he was getting was on the order of $6/pound.  I decided to show up with cash anyway and had a price target of $2.50 to $3.00 per pound.  Unfortunately, we were not able to make a deal.  They are extremely nice and almost seem too fancy to be daily drivers.  More like, "we have company coming over, let's get the nice plates."

He is certainly not in a hurry to sell.  One buyer wanted a pair of 10's and 5's and was willing to pay $250 or $8/pound.  I am not sure if that includes shipping.

I chatted with the buyer for a while and if he does not sell everything as a set, there may be the opportunity to grab some odds and ends.

Philosophy Gym Trap Bar

I am such an equipment snob that the thought of purchasing a trap bar from Walmart makes me throw up in my mouth a little.  However, I had a chance to try out the Philosophy Gym Trap Bar and really liked it.

The handle width (reported at 22.5") is perfect for me.  The knurling is aggressive.  The finish looks great.  It is small (9.5" loadable sleeve) which would be a problem for some, but I would be able to load more than enough weight for me.

The Rogue Trap Bar has 25" handle spacing and larger diameter handles at 1.34 inches.  I was shocked at how much better the Philosophy trap bar felt.  The Rogue bar does have 16 inch loadable sleeves.

Finally the $145 price tag from Walmart is laughably cheap.  I cannot even buy trap bars on Facebook Marketplace for that price.

Sumo Deadlift - Strict Press

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Garage Gym

1600

Warm Up

Reverse Hyper

Crossover Symmetry

Hip Hammy Flow

Sumo Deadlift - 135

STRENGTH

25:00 to Complete

5 Sets

3 Dead-stop Sumo Deadlifts @ 70-87%

----2:00 Rest B/t----

+

4 Sets

5 Strict Press @ 60% and Building Heavy

15 Straight Arm Banded Pull-aparts

----1:30 Rest B/t----

Sumo Deadlift - 165-195-225-255-255

Strict Press - 65-75-75-80-80

I really liked doing this on my own in the garage.  Warm up and strength took me nearly 50 minutes, but I was really able to get after each set and bring my best.  It may be time to start training at home again.

METCON (skipped)

Health

AMRAP - 8

20 Wall Balls (14/10#) to (10/9')

400m Run

20 Wall Balls

500m Row

Max Rep Wall Balls

Conditioning - EMOM

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Home Gym

1400

Conditioning

Erg Triathlon

1000 m row - 5:17

4000 m bike - 9:22

1000 m ski - 5:42

EMOM 18

1 - 2 pull-ups

2 - 10 med ball over shoulder (55#)

3 - 10 sit-ups

This was kind not programmed real well.  I would do 1 pull-up at 0 and another at 10 seconds and then a long rest.  The med ball over shoulder took 50 seconds.  The sit-ups took 40 seconds.  At the end of the day it worked out fine and met the intent of getting in some pulling and core work.

Front Squat - Metcon

Monday, March 3, 2025

Garage Gym

1800

Warm Up

Bike Erg - 1000 meters

Ski Erg - 1000 meters

Front Squat - 45, 75

Front Squat

5 Sets

5 Front Squats @ 70-80%

----2:00 Rest B/t----

105-115-120-125-125 pounds

Felt Good, wore knee sleeves, wrist wraps and a belt

Metcon

Health

For Time (12:00 CAP)

4x

200m Run

10 Deadlifts (135/95#)

20 Box Jumps (20/16")

Modified to 250 m ski erg, and 18" box jumps.  Finished 3 rounds in 15:02.  Programming from Westbound CrossFit

USAWA Colorado Single Arm Challenge

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Garage Gym

1000

USAWA Lifting

Colorado Single Arm Challenge

Snatch, One Arm, Right - 55, 60, 65

Clean & Jerk, One Arm, Right - 55, 65, 75*

Deadlift, One Arm, Right - 135, 150, 185

I was really pleased with the one arm deadlift.  While it is not record setting, my grip strength has definitely improved.

Q1 Postal Meet

Continental Snatch - 95, 105, 115

Press From Rack, Behind Neck - 105, 115*

Trap Bar Deadlift - 294, 314, 364*

The trap bar deadlift was a huge win for me.  I have conventionally pulled 341 pounds and I have tested my sumo to 255 (triple), but have never really tested my trap bar deadlift.  Jarrod's bar has the ideal handle width for me with excellent knurling.  I was very confident at 314 and decided to see what was left.  I think it was exactly 364 pounds.

Record Day Lifts

Continental to Chest, Fulton - 123, 143, 143*

This was a big lift for me.  I opted to bring the bar to the hang and then heave it to my chest, rolling it from my nipples to the upright position.

In addition to setting the (4) records, the Trap Bar Deadlift; Continental to Chest, Fulton; and Continental Snatch were new lifts to me and I am now at 140 of 195 lifts attempted.

Jarrod and Kim joined me for some lifting and we were able to complete everything is around 3 hours.  Everybody had a chance to do the Challenge and Postal Meet.  Jarrod set (3) records, Kim set (3) records and I set (1) record.  Total of 25 lifts in 3 hours or about 7 minute per lift when you figure in set up, loading the barbells, etc.