Non training log entry:

Did a really cool DIY project on my lat pulldown to make it more viable and wanted to share.

Previous issues with lat pulldown:

-Too low.  Even at only 5'9, with my long arms, I wasn't getting a decent stretch of my lats at the top of the rep.  I'd have to start each lat pulldown with a bent arm.

-No leg catch.  This was one of those "all in one" type of machines, so it was meant for pulldowns and rows, along with curls and other stuff.  This meant that I couldn't really use any heavy weight for pulldowns.

Solutions to problems:

Put the lat pulldown up on cement blocks.  Doing this easily solved the "too low" problem, as now I could get a good stretch.  This had an added bonus of allowing me to use the "foot plates" that were intended as a place to put my feet for rows as a leg catch.

However, as you can tell in the above photo, there was now a hitch running into a sensitive part of my anatomy.  That was originally designed to hook a bench into the machine, but I uninstalled the bench previously and was instead sitting on my Ironmind 5 star bench.  This wasn't an issue before when the pulldown was low, but now that it was elevated, it needed fixing.  Enter: the hacksaw.

Yes, I used a hacksaw.  I am cheap and crazy.  

And dedicated.

Now that this was sawned off, I wanted to really go the full 9 with this thing.  I could use the feet plates as is, but I wanted to make this a bad ass lat pulldown, so I decided to pad the feet using a pool noodle.  Pretty much my go to for cheap padding.

And then, of course, gorilla tape.

Just like with my log, wanted to seal the foam from the elements/sweat/wear and tear.  

Above you can see the finished product.  Up on blocks, sawn off, and feet plates padded/taped.  You'll also note that there are some 25lb plates weighing the apparatus down, keeping it on the blocks and preventing it from moving around in use.

And in use.  You can see my legs trapped under the padded feet plates.  

Here's to more fun in the future.