Body Fat Reduction Challenge Day Two

Vin Vallejo from Pro Fitness AZ didn't kill me yesterday.

But I'm still kinda chunky and now instead of being relaxed after a week of no running, my hamstrings are tight, my shoulders are sore and my lower back requires me to roll instead of sit up in bed.

At least I know we didn't waste our time. I have today off from meeting at the gym, so I'll probably enjoy a nice 5k and stretch, or maybe just stretch.

The diet what Vin sent yesterday, which I'll share once it's more complete, will require me to buy a few specific items that I'm currently out of (tomatoes, cottage cheese) so I probably won't be able to start that until next week. I'm always wary about changing too much stuff at once, as it's easier to give up on everything that way.

But hey, no Diet Coke!

Body Fat Reduction Challenge

I have far more fat on me than I'd like. While I can still run pretty far and I mostly fit into to my 36" waist pants but sometimes not large shirt, I miss the feeling being light on my feet. I've had little success losing weight for almost two years now, so when Vin Vallejo of Pro Fitness offered me the chance to participate if I'd share my experience, I couldn't say yes fast enough.

Vallejo took down my body measurements, recorded my height and weight, and then took a picture straight on and another profile. He also gave me a handheld body fat test, which showed as a little over 25%, which I think is the proper percentage for a pregnant or nursing woman. That's a lot. Vallejo said his goal for me was to get down to 17%, which would mean I'd lose nearly 30 lbs of fat and gain 6-7 lbs of muscle.

I think that would look pretty good on my 5'11" frame, and would help me prepare for my long-term goal, the 2012 Ironman here in Tempe.

Today was my first day. My half marathon last weekend did nothing to prepare me for this. Three and a half workout sets later, I dry heaved in the rest room for nearly seven minutes. I bet that didn't happen during YOUR Monday morning.

Finish the sets I did, and Vallejo said his goodbye and promised to send a meal plan.

I received it a few hours later and by now rigor mortis (don't fight it) is kicking in. My back is tight, the hamstrings we focused on today are stiff and I really want to take a nap.

I'll be posting about work outs ever day for the next two months. Yes, I'm doing them in Vibrams.

Until next time, Pro Fitness.

These are not the hackers you're looking for...

I can't comment on this State Press article, so here's what I would have said:

Colin -

I hope your editor and/or journalism professor beats you for quoting Wikipedia. It sounds terrible and offers no flow to the writing. Paraphrase and link that stuff, yo.

Second, Co+Hoots, Skysong's Hackspace and Gangplank aren't hackerspaces, they're coworking spaces.

Next, Gangplank never charges. Co+Hoots does. 

Third, I can't believe you managed to get the copyright statement for the Co+Hoots and Gangplank logos correct, yet failed to interview anyone from either shop. You realize email and Twitter make requesting an interview a 30-second task?

HeatSync Labs IS a hackerspace. They break shit, put it back together, make new things and build stuff. That's what hackers do. They figure out how something works, then use what they found to make something different or better. It's an important distinction.

Do better.

Original article here: http://www.statepress.com/2011/01/20/geekin-it-hackerspaces-what-the-hell-are-they/

Huge pet peeve

Know those industrial-size toilet paper dispensers in most building bathrooms? The ones with the capacity for a roll of one-ply toilet paper that lasts about a week?

I hate those things. I hate that they're mounted sideways, making it near impossible to obtain a flat roll of toilet paper for me to clean up my business. It ends up twisted and irregular and I swear I use about three times as much as I would if the roll wasn't parallel to the wall.

I can't be the only person with this problem.

Need design person for full-time gig in Phoenix (tell your friends!)

Good friend of mine is launching a retail product in a few months. He's looking for an in-house designer to help maintain the website and create and modify packaging for all product lines.

Office is located on Camelback and 32nd-ish.

Qualifications:

-Be fluent in both web and print design, with emphasis on print
-Apply and modify corporate and brand graphics
-Prep art for packaging
-Familiar in working with printers
-Create new packaging as necessary, as well as promotion material, marketing materials, print ads etc, sales sheets, cost sheets, power point presentations etc.

Pay is negotiable and depends on experience.

Interested parties should send a print work portfolio to tyler@tdhurst.com

Please attach PDF or give link for download. Please don't send a bunch of links to individual projects.

Fruit hunting for @meyouhealth

I completed this challenge years ago in the orchards of Eastern Washington. You see, my grandparents had land out there, so they gave us permission to enter, but let me tell you, finding what we were looking for was treacherous.

The parcel of land, lined with tree after tree, made for tough navigation. Once we were in this maze, it was often impossible to see our way back out, and after the sun set we could barely see each other.

We'd often trek through the maze armed only with Capri Sun and a bag slung over our shoulders. My brother and I would run from tree to tree, grabbing our low-hanging prize before anyone noticed. We'd sometimes eat our kill right there, as a celebration of the hunt. Juices would run down our chins, and then we'd take our bounty back to grandma's house.

She skinned, chopped and grinded for us. Sometimes she'd even add spices to the pulpy mixture to make a sort of cider that could be enjoyed warm or cold. 

I often wonder if the trees knew we were eating their offspring so close to where they lived. Thankfully, I hadn't seen Lord Of The Rings yet, so the nightmares about walking trees never surfaced. But sometimes...I dream of it.

Anyway, that's how we got apples for our breakfast. Sometimes we'd go to the store and buy bananas. Those were easier.

Perhaps my best @meyouhealth challenge EVER

Play mini-basketball with a wadded-up piece of paper.

I was born for this challenge.

This morning, as I walked into Starbucks I notice a crumbled napkin on the floor. I glanced around, looking for the garbage can, but the line must have blocked it. Frantic to both get this likely contaminated piece of paper out of my hand and complete the challenge, I shifted into a three-point stance and pump faked.

No one moved. Crap. That usually works. I then swung the hanging strap of my laptop bag over my left shoulder and buckled the top. Confident it was secure, I threw a cursory glance behind me and noticed a lady opening the door behind me. No way in hell was I going to let her catch me on a breakaway!

I fake dribbled, took two large steps (maybe three, but I didn't hear a whistle) and reached over the counter just left of the espresso machine. The barista looked up and our eyes locked. Hers were a mixture of annoyance and fear, my eyes burned with a desire I've only felt on a eight-foot hoop while playing with a women's basketball.

Still leaning, I switched hands Jordan-style and lofted the wad, left-handed, with a little scoop shot. It hit the back of the can and bounced in. BOOYAH.

I lurched back, bumping into a customer in line on his phone and quickly apologized.

I left without ordering coffee and probably won't go there again.

But damn...what a rush.