Best Anti-Tick Solution for Dogs

When you have a garden lawn, one of the disadvantages of having a pet dog is the risk of having ticks and fleas getting on the dog. This is especially if the dog isn't tied or caged and is allowed to roam the yard.

I'm an avid gardener and we have front and back yards with gardens and lawns planted to grass. Our dog isn't tied or caged. She's very much active and loves to rest, lie and romp around the garden. I think ticks will always be a problem if the dog is in constant contact with ground soil.

Homemade Reverse Flyes or Rear Delts Station

The Reverse Flyes exercise is one of the shoulder exercises that isolates the rear delts. The exercise can be done on a Reverse Pec Deck machine, with low cable crossovers or with free weights, using dumbbells.

As a free weight exercise, it is sometimes called Rear Delts Lateral Raise or Bent Over Dumbbell Raise or a combination of those words.

Homemade Bench Press Rack

Another application of the homemade safety squat racks is their use as barbell racks in bench press exercises. The advantage of using these freestanding racks over the commercial bench press racks is that they're able to accommodate barbells of any length - even EZ-curl bars. You just move them closer or farther from each other to adjust to the barbell length.

DIY Anti-Slip Paint for a Stronger Grip

In a recent project, I assembled a pair of homemade thick bar handles for thick bar weight training. Thick bar training challenges the forearms much more than the regular 1-inch bar.

The homemade thick bar grips are mainly made of PVC pipes and, unfortunately, have a smooth outer surface.

The slick surface on the improvised fat bar grips poses a safety risk when the poundage increase. This is unlike the surface of the regular 1-inch thick barbell and dumbbell bars where the knurling provides traction for better gripping capability.

Homemade Thick Bar Handles for Barbell and Dumbbells - Part 2

(This is the continuation of Part 1)

7. Position the interior lining (EVA floor tile piece) on top of the thick bar handle (half of the PVC pipe) with the rough side facing up.
   
   
8. Push the interior lining down inside the thick bar handle. Position the lining so it's centered in the thick bar handle half. The concave shape of the thick bar handle compresses the lining and keeps it in place without the need for glue.
   
   
9. With a pair of heavy duty scissors, cut off excess lining material that protrudes from the edges of the thick bar handle.
   
   The photo below shows the interior lining inside the thick bar handles. The inside lining is held in place by compression and no glue was used.
   
   
   

Homemade Thick Bar Handles for Barbell and Dumbbells

Many powerlifters, strongmen and bodybuilders acknowledge the value of thick bar training. Thick bar training challenges the hand and forearm muscles much more significantly than regular bar training.

So, why aren't many weight trainers using them?

Homemade Deodorant for High Intensity Gym Workouts - Part 2

(This is the continuation of Part 1)

Procedure

1. Pour equal amounts of cornstarch and baking soda powder on a sheet of paper as shown below. No need to be extra accurate here. An estimated equal amount would still be fine.
   

Homemade Deodorant for High Intensity Gym Workouts

In a recent article, I wrote my top ten reasons for working out at home and one of those reasons is getting away from other gym members' offensive body odor.

Of course, you might counter that you can't avoid sweating in the gym, especially if it's hot and humid. But surely, you must have heard of "deodorants".

I recently discovered a recipe for a homemade deodorant. It's a simple DIY (do-it-yourself) thing. And for the past couple of weeks, I've been applying this deodorant.

I have to conclude that it's the best deodorant that you can possibly use. Yes, that even includes all you sweaty gym rats out there.

Alternative Instant Oatmeal with Asian Flavor

In a couple of previous posts, I espoused the benefits of adding oatmeal for a healthy diet. Instant oatmeal, specifically, is convenient to prepare and cooks quickly.

And who says you only take it for breakfast? Given its health benefits, I've learned to take oatmeal twice a day. It's very filling and you won't need to snack often.

I suppose there are dozens of ways to prepare instant oatmeal. There have to be. Plain old instant oatmeal gets bland fast and you quickly grow tired of it. Oatmeal manufacturers recognize this and put out several flavors out in the market.

My Neti Pot Solution to Prevent H1N1

Ever since I've watched the Neti pot episode in the Oprah Winfrey show, I knew the device's purpose for nasal irrigation made sense.

A brief look around on the internet revealed how such a simple device can be so overpriced! And so I quickly thought of improvising one. There are actually plenty of improvisations you can find around the internet ranging from real ceramic teapots to stainless steel kettles even!

Homemade Diving Brick or Pool Weight

Many times I read of swimmers who practice treading while carrying a 10 pound weight to strengthen the legs. The 10 pound water pool weight is quite heavy in my opinion. Plenty of swimmers find treading already difficult as it is. Adding 10 pounds to your bodyweight, even in water, is certainly an added challenge.

I believe swimming with a pool weight is also a requirement of the Red Cross for someone wanting to become a lifeguard. A prerequisite is for an applicant to be able submerge to a depth of 7 ft, retrieve a 10 lb. weight from the pool floor and return to the surface. In addition to this, he should be able to tread water for 2 minutes using legs only while holding the pool weight above the head.