Showing posts with label lifehacker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifehacker. Show all posts

July 17, 2008

onehundredpushups

I found this site, http://www.hundredpushups.com yesterday through my newsfeed on Lifehacker yesterday. It's a 6-week training program that promises that by investing 3 days a week for a total of 30 minutes per week, you will be able to (or be well on your way to) do 100 push ups in one go.

The beauty of course with push ups is there's no equipment required, and you don't have to go anywhere to do it. That pretty much fits well with my lifestyle.

The site should was down for most of yesterday (they call this phenomenon lifehacker'd, but when it came back on I downloaded and printed out the PDF complete plan.

There is an initial test before you get started. This helps to determine the level of difficulty that you are about to embark on. The training itself has 3 levels, based on where you ranked on the initial test.

Rank 1: 0-5 push ups
Rank 2: 6-14 push ups
Rank 3: 15-29 push ups
Rank 4: 30-49 push ups
Rank 5: 50-99 push ups
Rank 6: 100-150 push ups
Rank 7: 150 & above

It's also broken down by age. Less than 40, between 40 and 55, and above 55. The above scale is for anyone under 40. I guess if you're at rank 5 or higher, you don't really need this training thing at all. I fell into Rank 1, managing just 4 push ups in one go. I haven't worked out seriously since 2000 back in Ottawa, so although getting 4 seemed low, I think it sounds just about right. My arms are much smaller than those days, and I'm also about 15 pounds heavier.

They said that most people fall between Ranks 2 and 3 and not to be discouraged by your rank, because the training will put everyone on an even playing field. They also say it's important you don't cheat or cut corners because it'll just mean you will fail when you go through the training. Push ups are all about the right form, if you don't have the right form you could just be wasting your time, not to mention endangering yourself to injuries.

I plan to start the program tonight.

August 17, 2007

It's not just me

As I've mentioned many times before, I have this thing about bags. I *love* bags. I want to have that one bag that will have just the right number of pockets to fit the many little knick-knacks that I feel I need to carry or else I will die.

Today I discovered I'm not the only one. Lifehacker.com asked its readers to submit their "Go Bag", and a picture of all the items within. The gallery can be found here. It's not just me.

A few years ago I developed a fetish for a good bag. Me and this other guy from work would frequent MEC looking for the ultimate bag. I found it -- in the form of the MEC Pod Sling Pack, but shortly after that I found everyone was getting one, including friends I hung out with. It's important to find that unique look, if you know what I mean. So I had no choice but to move on.

That's when I discovered the MEC Transit 6 Shoulder Bag". I've been using this little guy for the past 2-3 years. It's not perfect, but the fact that it fits everything that went into the Sling Pack, plus a bible and notebook, is pretty decent. It's not exactly the coolest looking bag but it's functional.

There are a few bags out there that are kind of out of reach, such as TUMI bags, which simply aren't available here and well, they cost quite a pretty penny. There are also timbuk2 bags which are also very nice, but again, out of reach for me at this time.

A few months ago I found this bag called the slotBar. It's made by UrbanTool, and it is coming out on September 12, 2007. Due to my own selfish reasons, I've done my best to hide this bag from others because I know that everyone will copy me once they see it. I know how silly that sounds.. but it's true.

Here's a link to what I hope will be the ultimate bag for me.