Complained I have, about this travesty but to no avail. I am a regular at one of the City of Toronto’s fitness centres, here in Ontario, Canada. Policy changes within the last year have made these fitness centres not as safe as the were before these policy changes. This regression in safety may seem to not matter, but random violence in society is common, and fitness centres get no exception. I have written letters to City of Toronto staff on up to the mayor, my local councillor and Parks and Recreation staff, to no avail.
You travel along the path we call life, grow up and take for granted many things as gospel. Unfortunately there are some learnings related to diet that are so incorrect and can damage your health. It is like walking into a health trap set up for you by society at large. Family members and friends all believe in the same “truths” that you once believed. Here are some that I had to test and then was forced to change my stance on them.
e-clip installed on a metal shaft for my home gym, leg extension. Photo01 by Don Tai
My metal needs are quite simple and one-off. I needed to cut a single slot into a metal rod to insert an e-clip. This DIY slot cutter is quite simple, using 2 ball bearing drawer hinges, some scrap wood I had in my garage, and my rotary cutting tool. The slots it cuts are acceptable for an amateur like myself. It works.
I was not looking for an elliptical trainer, as I am not really heavily into cardio, but one popped up curbside, so I brought it home. The Thane Orbitrek elliptical trainer needed a lot of work in order to function. Thankfully it all turned out well and I now have another option for cardio to add to rope skipping and a stationary bike.
Strength training weight stack pin with an additional ring, photo 1 by Don Tai
This is a strength training machine weight stack pin from a city gym that needed some alterations. I enlarged the hole on the handle to add a ring. The steel of the ring was from a garage door spring, so is high strength steel. I then bent the ring to allow the pin head to be threaded, bent the ring back into alignment, and then welded it shut. I used SMAW 6013 at 40 amps, but should have used 70amps.
The ring is 1/4″ 6mm thick and is not easily bent. I cut the garage door spring lengthwise, resulting in many rings, but they are slightly twisted. These then need to be bent into alignment. My welding is a work in progress, meaning I need a lot of improvement. Welding rings is interesting because you cannot get an angle grinder into the middle of the ring.
It is apparently very common for people who do strength training using lifting straps, to have wrist pain if not done properly. The wrist is not designed to carry your body weight. The tendons in your wrist and within your carpal tunnel can become inflamed causing tenderness and pain. I experienced this for 2 days and had a significant loss of hand strength. Thankfully with rest this has subsided.
Some things get you so mad. I’m trying to do my part for recycling and attended the L’Amoreaux Community Centre “Environment Day” in the City of Toronto, 2024 July 06. Environment Day should be a day to celebrate not wasting resources, to be light on Mother Earth, to do your part and recycle. Today was so not like this. Here is my note to the local city councillor:
That was the worst planned environment day ever at L’Amoreaux Community Center today 2024 Jul 06. At 10:10am over 60 cars idling for 30 minutes before I could deposit my recyclables. The actual deposit of recyclables took less than 30 seconds.
I want to try to extend my Weider home gym so I can do some exercises a little easier. It involves designing an extension to my Weider home gym and will need some welding and fitting. I was unsure what metal can be used, so I took a trip to Metal Supermarket in Scarborough.
The store is not really a traditional retail store. There are 3 guys at a desk out front on computers and talking on the phone to customers. I suppose most customers know what they want and just call their order in, but not I. There was one guy at the back using a huge metal saw to do custom cuts.
Bird Muskoka folding bicycle, right side, made in China, Photo01 by Don Tai
A neighbour discarded this Bird Muskoka folding bicycle with 20″ wheels 7 speed, so I picked it up for review and tune up. I enjoy anything about bicycles and love to see how they are manufactured and how they ride. This is a Bird Muskoka folding bicycle, the paint job, including the Canadian flag, seemingly tailored to the Canadian market. Even more fitting is that I did most of the repairs on 2024 July 01, Canada Day. Fitting.
Libodun baby fence: cute baby standing up. Made in China
My neighbour left a mess of long parts in a bag curbside, so out of curiosity I took it to try to figure out what it was and if I could use it for something else. The bag had metal tubes, metal brackets, padded baby blue metal bars and some plastic corner pieces. It looked like it had something to do with babies or small kids. It turned out to be a couple of sets of Libodun baby fence, used when a baby is small and prevents the kid from rolling off the edge of the bed.
