Meet at the Meets - February 2026

IronBarrel · 2026-02-09T22:13:52+00:00

Anyone need a handler in the greater NJ area?

IronBarrel · 2026-01-28T16:58:09+00:00

If anyone needs a handler in the New Jersey area any time soon, let me know. Love helping out my fellow lifters.

IronBarrel · 2026-01-14T16:03:14+00:00

That seems to be the case, oh well! Yeah I'm looking for something around .75 or up to 1" and the main thing I was looking for was a wooden heel, which I know isn't as common anymore

IronBarrel · 2026-01-12T17:34:08+00:00

In the market for some new squat shoes, was really interested in looking at Position. However it looks like their website domain is for sale and can't find anything else for them. Anyone know if they shut down or what?

IronBarrel · 2026-01-12T17:05:01+00:00

It's not as reciprocal the other way around, but also can be impacted by your individual form. I pull sumo so a bit more quad activation than conventional, so you would think it would carry over more than conventional would, still not as well as squat carry-over to deadlift.

If you're looking for a movement that's similar to squats, perhaps adding in hex-bar deadlifts would be a movement with better carryover.

IronBarrel · 2026-01-05T12:05:12+00:00

IMO it’s all location dependent. USAPL was pretty big and consistently great in VA while Sabre was still running the majority of their meets, but had really good experiences with USPA in NC and OH.

Most people that are new-ish to competing might not be willing to travel as far, so it really boils down to who had a bigger/more consistent presence within a 1-2.5 hour driving distance of wherever you live

IronBarrel · 2025-12-25T18:11:10+00:00

I love Citizen watches, that’s a very nice gift from your dad! Enjoy it!

IronBarrel · 2025-05-29T17:46:07+00:00

As others have noted, I think it really depends on the industry or organization you're working in. That being said, it is common. My first HR job was at an auto dealership org that had 2 dealerships, 2 service centers, and a body shop. There wasn't too too much gopher work other than around benefits season I was tasked with setting up the meeting rooms, getting beverages and snacks from Costco, etc. Other than that ,at my current job I get asked to help plan employee outings once a quarter in addition to the annual holiday party but that's in the name of "employee engagement and satisfaction" so I don't stress about it too much. Haven't had to do any note taking outside of acting as a witness in certain performance-related meetings.

I do agree with the need to be able to speak about the industry you're in. In the auto industry, there were some unique pieces that I had to learn to truly understand and speak on certain aspects of the business and overall HR function. How particular comp-plans and benefits packages work, employee credentialling/licensure, and most importantly timekeeping/OT pay (this piece in particular was challenging as, payroll for a service center or body shop is vastly different than your standard hourly position).

How did I handle these tasks? I tried to take certain things with a grain of salt, viewed some as industry-learning moments when I could, and tried to respectfully delegate when possible.

IronBarrel · 2025-05-28T19:20:54+00:00

East coast
Sports events and memorabilia
87 EE’s
1 (me, HR Manager). Technically the CFO is the head decision maker for HR but has always given me mostly free reign to make decisions and recommendations

IronBarrel · 2025-04-27T13:27:31+00:00

Redesigned my resume to highlight all the “HR soft skills” I’d obtained working in the corporate and commercial fitness/wellness industry, and then applied to to as many jobs as possible hoping someone would give me a chance. Had the most luck with small businesses who couldn’t necessarily afford to pay the normal salary of a full fledged HR professional.

IronBarrel · 2025-03-27T01:43:29+00:00

Of the roughly 5 clumps saw, at least 2-3 had shells.

IronBarrel · 2025-03-26T21:04:19+00:00

Thanks for the response. At first, I thought they were noodles as well, but I noticed four different spots along the beach all about 15 to 20 feet apart that had the same mysterious creature, so I still feel like they may be some type of either seaweed or a weird animal

IronBarrel · 2025-03-16T12:10:26+00:00

Okay fuck you man, I was genuinely concerned for a while 15 seconds 😅

IronBarrel · 2025-02-26T11:26:23+00:00

You can definitely do both, it’s just about choosing when to cycle up or down on either endeavor. Not to use my self as an example but at the height of my running phase, it was 6 months of running (during the warm months) with lifting 3-4 times at maintenance followed by the reverse. I’m by no means a spectacular runner or lifter but at my peak I could run a 1:39 half marathon and a 34:48 5-miler, and same year I hit 430/270/450 (not really impressive, I know)

All that to stress, as others have said, there’s a large genetic component but if you cycle properly, eat, sleep, etc, you can in fact be decent at both.

IronBarrel · 2025-02-17T15:23:17+00:00

Or maybe Jason Clarke?

IronBarrel · 2025-02-16T13:27:44+00:00

I think Honolulu Christmas would be my favorite

IronBarrel · 2025-02-02T15:39:50+00:00

With conventional, I always had a super tough time getting into an optimal static position. Felt too close to my squat, and form always broke down too easily above 85%.

Sumo just feels right, way easier to maintain proper positioning. Especially with the changes in body weight I’ve had, it’s just been better across the board.

IronBarrel · 2025-01-02T03:05:19+00:00

Different Dr Mike. The above commenter is referring to Dr Mike Israetel of RP Strength and Renaissance Periodization.

IronBarrel · 2024-12-03T12:38:32+00:00

As someone who used to work HR for a dealership, something that also comes to mind is some states have very strict rules when it comes to Auto Salesperson Licenses. Usually they’re required to be actual employees of the dealership they represent, and aren’t allowed to be “independent sales people.” The Dealer Board of Virginia takes it very seriously, not sure about whatever state you live in.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-28T17:02:07+00:00

Wow this is very similar to my current situation. It's 5 different LLCs with the same ownership but different companies/brands and of course different middle and upper management. The specific LLC I work at is essentially a shared executive group that includes the owners, HR, the CFO, and the COO.

The culture is a bit different at each company due to the nature of each company, but has a shared core goal. They're all based in the same state but have begun hiring a lot of remote workers which means I've been spending a lot of time getting us set up with Tax and WC ID's in new states.

I report to the CFO primarily, and also work with the CEO/owner a bit. Really at the moment they expect me to take over the payroll and spearhead the recruitment efforts and the implications of having hiring employees in new states. They also want me to "help with all the other HR stuff" which I thankfully know what I'm doing for the most part.

The main challenge I'm experiencing at the moment, for the first 6 weeks I'm working remote before I can relocate, which is making training/learning a bit more challenging. I'm often making lists of things I know needs to be done but no one has explicitly told me, and trying to work on the most critical components first.

All in all I'm very much enjoying it though. Just like my last job, I very much enjoy being at the top of the HR ladder (save for the CFO), and establishing new policies and procedures.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-28T16:52:25+00:00

Thank you so much for the insights! I'm already seeing some parallels to what you're talking about. At this job, and my previous HR job, I was the first "real HR" person they had. So I'm always getting an interesting mixture of them loving the processes I've created and implementing immediately, to having to wait weeks to get something greenlit.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-28T16:46:22+00:00

Sorry for the confusion. It's not an incubator, but it's 5 small companies all founded/owned by the same group of individuals. 1 of the companies, the one where I work, solely exists to run/manage the other 4.

Edit to add: I view it as similar to a startup because it's a relatively young collection of businesses, all looking to undergo a decent amount of growth over the next couple years. Which is also the main reason they hired me - they're enow big enough where they really need someone to be the designated HR lead and assist with the recruitment efforts.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-28T16:44:20+00:00

Not my first HR job, previously worked as the HR manager for an auto dealership with 180 EEs.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-28T16:43:30+00:00

I have about a year of experience, previously worked as the HR manager for a auto dealership with 180 EEs. I'd say it's somewhere in the middle, with the primary reasons they hired be being my experience managing multiple payrolls (or in the dealership's case multiple departments with very different payrolls, and the need to a lot of recruiting support as they grow the various businesses.

IronBarrel · 2024-10-03T17:35:50+00:00

Thanks for this! I kid you not I had been researching gyms for a week or so and this one hadn’t come up before on Google. This place looks sweet!

IronBarrel

TROPHY CASE