Category: Productivity

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Mental Toughness

As we’ve touched on previously, the ability to be fit and strong really comes down to a mental struggle. Everybody wants to be fit, right? But it’s work. And not everybody wants to work. So how do you become fit if you’re reluctant to work? How do you become strong if you’re… weak?

Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? We live in an age where the hardest thing we overcome is whether we want White Mocha or Pumpkin Spice lattes.

How can you expect to succeed in a heroic effort if you have nothing to fight for? Sure, going to the gym is hard, physically, but its not exactly life-threatening. And doing aerobics or riding your bike to work isn’t going to earn you a Purple Heart.

There can be external motivations, but they’re fleeting and easily forgotten. The real motivation, your intrinsic reason for doing it, is because you want to be that hero. You have to crave being that strong person. Because if you don’t want it… you’ll find any excuse not to be that person. Continue reading “Mental Toughness”

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30 Days Without Coffee

Well, that’s not entirely true. I did have coffee. It was just decaf.

Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s not “real coffee.” But when you’ve been drinking a whole pot of dark roast a day, you kind of get into the habit.

I quit caffeine cold turkey for a few reasons. I wanted to sleep better, and I wanted to feel better when I wasn’t sleeping. Excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar can cause what’s called Adrenal Fatigue. That’s when your adrenal glands are so overworked, you always feel exhausted.

So far, I’ve slept much better. For a week or so, I’d get a small headache every time I walked by the coffee machine at work! But those are fading, and I find I’m not as awake in the mornings, but also not as tired in the afternoons.

It’s also helped lower my blood pressure, which I didn’t really think was that high, but for someone of my size (I’m a skinny dude- there, I said it) it was still high.

I’ll post updates on how this is going over time. For now, I’m just getting used to sleep working the way it’s supposed to.

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Geek Fitness Blogs

I’m intrigued by so-called “Geek Fitness” blogs. Technically, I guess I’d fit into that category, but not entirely. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three geek-oriented fitness blogs that have started and failed (gone silent) in the last year or so.

I think the major reason they’ve failed is that they don’t have enough content to really make it as fitness blogs, and not enough geeky stuff to keep people’s interests.

As much success as I’ve had with being a physically fit nerd, there’s only so much new information I can post. And I’m also pretty frugal, so I won’t be doing tons of reviews on expensive fitness toys. I mean, have you seen the price of cycling power meters?? Yes, I have an exciting weight loss story, but I haven’t really needed to start anything new. I’m still just riding my bike, and watching what I eat, like when I started five years ago.

The key to a regular fitness routine is: find something that works for you. Something you enjoy doing. Things like: Continue reading “Geek Fitness Blogs”

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Fitness Check Today

I’m starving.

Well, I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, and I’ve been trying to work all day on an empty stomach. I’ve gotten to the point where I fell pretty bad if I don’t eat… which means I don’t have a lot of spare energy stored in the form of fat.

In about an hour, I’m going to get my company-provided health screening, and I’ll be able to see my BMI and body fat%, plus cholesterol and blood pressure. And of course, I had to fast for the blood tests.

I’m hoping everything comes out well.

UPDATE- The results are in. The numbers look good: Continue reading “Fitness Check Today”

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Saturday Shennanigans

First off, sorry for not posting this Friday. This is the first time I haven’t posted on a weekday in about four weeks.

This morning, I went for a nice, long ride with some friends at the local university. The team coach (also an English professor) invited me to come ride with the college students, to help teach them about group riding, and just general cycling form and etiquette.

It was really fun, though a bunch of people showed up, and I ended up pushing myself pretty hard. My Surly Long Haul Trucker weighs somewhere around 32 pounds, maybe more. All the other riders were rocking sub-twenty-pound bikes. I had to turn up the power to just keep up with them, much less do anything else. I pulled for a while, but as I expected, I ended up dropping off the back (that’s cycle-ese for “I couldn’t keep up and got left behind”). Even so, I made a personal best record for a ten-mile stretch. At one point, I was averaging 22 MPH, which for me, is huge. I normally can only maintain a 15MPH average, maybe 18 for short bursts.

It was both discouraging, and encouraging. I knew I was going to get dropped, because my bike is just so heavy and bulky. But on the other hand, I didn’t expect to last as long as I did. It was kind of cool, and I ended up going back to the group, riding hard for a while, and getting dropped again- a few times, in fact. But once I rested my legs, I was able to crank it up to 20MPH again for a mile or two at a time.

This ride has basically got me thinking about 2 things:

  1. I really need to practice pulling harder efforts, and
  2. I could really use a faster bike when I ride with groups!

Screenshot - 09052015 - 08:28:52 PM

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Ulnar Nerve Pain and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

Over the last year or so, I’ve been fighting a particular problem with my elbows. Mostly my right one.

There are two main nerves that go through your arm: the Radial nerve, and the Ulnar nerve. Your Ulnar nerve is the one that passes across the outside of your elbow and down the outside of your forearm, ending in the hand next to the two smallest fingers. This nerve controls your sense of touch in your pinky and half of your ring finger. It also controls part of the wrist function, and so on.

I first started noticing it when I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and my two smaller fingers were numb. I figured it was just asleep, like when you sleep on your hand and your whole arm goes numb from lack of circulation. But that wasn’t it.

I finally connected the dots while attending a Hand Safety class at work, and the presenter mentioned Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, and then said the first symptoms were when your two smallest fingers go numb. I talked with him after the class, and he recommended using elbow braces, put on backwards, to keep me from flexing my elbows in my sleep and putting stress on that nerve. Continue reading “Ulnar Nerve Pain and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome”

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Monday Motivation

As of yesterday, I weighed 165 pounds, which means I’ve lost approximately 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I think I’m going to focus on nutrition and building muscle mass at this point. Even though I could probably lose a bit more weight, I think I would be better served by increasing my strength and endurance, now that I’m within a few pounds of my ideal weight.

Here’s some music to get you moving on this Monday morning.

[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVZJEeq2Ms”]

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Upgrading The Trucker

I’m stuck here. I’m debating on what to upgrade on the Beast of Burden. It has to be sturdy, reliable, inexpensive, and functional.

My Surly LHT is currently using Tektro V-brakes and Tektro R520 levers (which work well). It has 7-sp downtube shifters which are problematic for shifting while sprinting through intersections. It has a custom built (by me) dynohub front wheel and a 7-sp cassette rear wheel (still rolling well). Cheap Shimano Deore/Tourney derailleurs (which work well).

I guess my real dilemma is that I want to get the bike lighter, and modernize it somewhat, but without having to buy a whole new drivetrain. I don’t really need more gears. I want to be able to commute on it, and use it for group rides. This will require me to get a separate wheelset… keep the dynohub for commuting, and a lightweight set for charity group weekend rides. I can just strip off the rack and lights, and ride it with light wheels.

Do I just upgrade shifters and keep it 3×7? Future wheels can use a cassette spacer. I’m okay with that. But that requires going to mini-V brakes, which rules out fenders and fat tires in the future. (I won’t do cantis or Travel Agents… they just suck. Too complicated.) Continue reading “Upgrading The Trucker”

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Blood Pressure Check

After a month of riding my bike to work, my blood pressure has dropped from 140/90 to 110/80, and I think it will keep going lower.

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While riding mountain bikes with my Scout troop this past weekend, I did manage to drop my bike’s chain, causing me to smash my left knee into the handlebar. I’ve got a nice fat knot the size of a golf ball just above my kneecap!