Online Auctions, Benches and Carrying Capacity

With a month left to go before opening the gym, it has been a constant scramble to get my life organized. Relocating to PEC whilst (did I use that correctly?) opening a business, all mid home renovations, is the epitome of “biting off more than I can chew”.

However, with a little excitement and some elbow grease, I’m as locked in as ever…

Setting up a gym needs many things, equipment being the most important. My partner found an online auction for gym equipment from another facility that went out of business on Queen East… this triggered a slew of imposing and doubtful thoughts that I wasn’t having already- thank you.

I managed to get my hands on some equipment, mostly operational things like a printer, AED, cabinets, etc. What I learned from these auctions is that it’s much harder to save a few dollars than it is to save a few hundred. Here’s why:

1. Online auctions affix a 15% service charge to each item. When you’re bidding on smaller items the savings are negligible.

2. When you get caught up in a bidding war you forget about the value of the item you’re bidding on. Sometimes you end up overpaying for items.

The bench, in the picture below, is a prime example of reason 2. Upon closer review, this bench was made with a few 4×4’s, 2×4’s and T&G pine boards; and a poorly made one, even by wood bench standards. These details I missed when inspecting the bench the previous Wednesday. I paid $155 (tax-in) for it when it probably could’ve cost me less than $100 for building it myself. Factor that, time, gas, and labor (free in this case, thanks to my pal in the pic, Ro!), I spent a pretty penny on this item.

This is us trying to carry the bench across Queen St. and about 200 feet to the truck. The bench weighs approximately 100lbs, so distributed, we are carrying about 50lbs each.

In training, carrying capacity relates to the relative or maximum amount of strength one can carry. It can be measured by weight, time, and even distance traveled. A person’s performance is influenced by a few factors:

1. Upper body strength
2. Training age/experience

Outside of strength, the role that experience plays in a person’s physical ability is monumental. If a person’s exposure to high physical stress is minimal, their odds at succeeding under this certain stimulus is low. Without regular practice or exposure to a high stimulus, our abilities are limited to perform when it matters most.

The irony- the bench was light; it was just one thing of many that I overspent on and one mistake of many I’ll make. With a limited budget to open the gym, I have to be especially careful with what, where, and how I spend. The stress of moving whilst (strike 2?) opening a gym, all mid a home renovation is a lot, to say the least. Frankly, it won’t get any easier in the foreseeable future. We all deal with some aspect of adversity and challenge in our lives– some greater than others; some physical, mental, and emotional. Our abilities to deal with stress comes from our strength and strength comes with practice. What do you practice to improve your carrying capacity?