Stuff and Other Stuff

My Routine – Revised

Written by Alex | Published on July 18, 2010

I’ve tweaked my weekly routine a bit. The last one I posted is definitely overkill in some areas, and I’d hate to have someone follow it to the letter and hurt themselves, so I’ve decided to post an updated version of what I do.

Day 1 – Legs

5-6 sets squats
3-4 sets deadlifts
4-5 sets standing calf raise
3-4 sets calf extensions supersetting 3 sets leg extensions
4 sets seated hamstring curl
3 sets lying hamstring curl

Day 2 – Arms

5-6 sets preacher curl
4 sets alternating grip chin-ups
4 sets standing hammer curl
5 sets overhead tricep extensions
3-4 sets dips or skullcrushers
3-4 sets tricep pushdowns
3 sets declined weighted situps
3 sets oblique crunches
3 sets hanging leg lift

Day 3 – Shoulders

5 sets overhead dumbbell press
3-4 sets military press
3 sets lateral raises
8 sets of rotator cuff lifts at different angles
4 sets wheelbarrow shrugs
5 sets dumbbell shrugs

Day 4 – Back

5 sets lat pulldowns
3-4 sets low row
3-4 sets pullups with alternating grips
3 sets dumbbell good-mornings
3 sets bent-over lateral raise supersetting 3 sets standing rope pull
Abs stuff, see above

Day 5 – Pecs
I can’t do barbell presses this summer because I don’t have a spotter.

5-6 sets dumbbell press
3 sets incline dumbbell press
3-4 sets pushups
3-4 sets lying dumbbell flys

Cardio whenever.

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Then and Now

Written by Alex | Published on May 17, 2010

Not bad for year one. Here’s some stats:

Weight: ~168 lbs

Max bench: 175 lbs (need to work on this)

Max squat: 225 lbs

Max leg press: 520 lbs (triple my body weight!)

Max overhead press: 100 lbs

Max preacher curl: ~100 lbs (not sure how much the bar weighs)

That, and I just got my ISSA personal trainer certification. I’m pretty happy with my progress so far, but I need to keep improving and somehow figure out how to gain some mass. Believe it or not, I’m approximately the same weight in both of those pictures.

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My Routines

Written by Alex | Published on April 15, 2010

Since I keep getting asked, I’ll just put my two workout routines up here so I don’t have to keep writing them out.

Beginning Maintenance Routine

This is the routine I recommend to anybody who is trying to lose weight or just starting out at the gym. It’s designed to be simple and something you can do without a spotter. It emphasizes high reps over weight. Most of these routines can be knocked out in an hour, and ideally cycled through once per week with a day in between each session. For cardio, I encourage the use of the stair climber, but my order of preference is stair climber>treadmill>stationary bike>strider>elliptical. The elliptical is garbage and should only be used if you’re extremely out of shape or have joint problems.

Day 1 – Legs. This routine hits the quads, hamstrings, and calves. Do 12 reps for the first set and work down to about 8 with on the last set (increasing the weight for each set if possible). Give yourself about a minute in between each set.

4 sets squats
4 sets seated hamstring curls
4 sets seated calf raise
3 sets leg press
3 sets lying hamstring curls
3 sets standing calf raise
3-4 sets declined situps (start with a flat bench if you’re out of shape)
3 sets hanging leg raises
Skip cardio on legs day.

Day 2 – Pull. This routine hits the biceps, upper back, and lower back. Do 12 reps for the first set and work down to about 8 with on the last set (increasing the weight for each set if possible). Give yourself about a minute in between each set.

4 sets preacher curl
4 sets lat pulldown
3 sets standing cable curls
3 sets low row
3-4 sets lower back hyperextensions (do not do these if you have lower back problems. Talk to someone at your gym for advice)
3 sets assisted pullups/chinups
20-30 minutes cardio

Day 3 – Push. This routine hits the pecs, triceps, and shoulders. Do 12 reps for the first set and work down to about 8 with on the last set (increasing the weight for each set if possible). Give yourself about a minute in between each set.

4 sets dumbbell press (bench press with dumbells)
4 sets of tricep extensions
4 sets overhead dumbbell press (shoulders)
3 sets incline dumbbell press
3 sets tricep pushdowns
3 sets overhead barbell press
20-30 minutes of cardio.

Day 4 – Cardio. Just cardio on day 4. 20-30 mins, be sure to stretch.

Doing the same exercises each week will quickly result in stagnation, so feel free to swap out one lift with another every once in awhile.

My routine

This is the routine I follow. Do not follow this routine if you are new, you will probably hurt yourself. This routine focuses on low reps, high weight, and is intended for strength and mass building. Some of these lifts require a spotter. The numbers given are not exact since I usually just go until failure.

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Magic and Fitness

Written by Alex | Published on March 17, 2010

I didn’t do so great at the tourney this past weekend. Against everybody’s better judgment, I decided to play Red Deck Wins and promptly proved the name wrong. I went 3-4 before dropping (out of 10 rounds), although I probably would have done better with a little more playtesting. I got stomped round 1 by Vamps (the irony is delicious), won round 2 against BW Control, won round 3 against something I can’t even remember, lost round 4 to Spread’em (the guy went on to place 2nd), won round 5 against Mythic, lost round 6 to Vamps (joy of joys), and very narrowly lost round 7 to BW Control (although swinging in for lethal with his own Baneslayer game two made it worth it). I then proceeded to do something better with my time (ie, go play DDR in Circle Center for an hour). I’m still shocked that I didn’t see Jund all day.

There’s another tournament in Chicago next month that I plan on attending, and I’ll be using RDW again. My only real concerns right now are Baneslayers and Kor Firewalkers, since Spread’em is fairly uncommon. I’ll be adding a few man-lands to deal with the Firewalkers, and I can only hope that nobody runs Baneslayer main deck. Mark of Mutiny is a nice way of dealing with them, but unless you can swing in for lethal that turn, it’s counter-productive.

Basically, I just need to lrn2play.

On the fitness front, I’m about 1/3 of the way though my personal trainer certification course. I’d really like to get this wrapped up before summer, since I already have a place to advertise and I’d like to snag a few clients early on in case an internship doesn’t pan out. I’ve developed a couple of different general routines and made my rates very affordable, so hopefully I’ll be able to appeal to my target audience. If I can’t land an internship with a federal agency, I’d really just like to train people all summer while volunteering at the local PD.

That is, of course, unless I manage to hit a jackpot at Rick’s bachelor party this weekend. If that happens, I’m just going to travel all summer.

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Oh Yeah, I Have a Blog

Written by Alex | Published on February 1, 2010

I guess I should update it every once in awhile.

Research

I’ve decided to be more proactive in my area of research since literature review isn’t really doing much for me. As soon as I can find a copy of Twilight Princess, I’m going to attempt to create and document a method of extracting data from a Wii. From there, I’ll need to figure out how to process the resulting data, and determine what (if any) is viable for forensic analysis. Also, I’ll be using my own Wii since I doubt I’ll be able to convince my department to buy me one, so here’s hoping I don’t brick it.

School

Is boring. Nothing worth writing about.

Work

I’m working 16+ hours per week at the local police department as a digital forensics intern. I’ve worked on two cases so far, one of which proved frustratingly elusive and the other of which shattered my poor little mind. I can now say that I’ve seen 90% of the worst stuff imaginable. At least it’s for a good cause. I can say with confidence that case #2 bad guy is going away for a very long time.

I occasionally get to do less mind-breaking work too, such as determining ownership for lost computers and the like. It’s interesting work.

Summer

I really need to find an internship or something.

Japan

The plan right now is for me to take another trip to moonland next Christmas for a couple of weeks. As of right now, I have no idea how I’ll be able to afford that considering I’m living off of loan money (and I somehow doubt that a theoretical summer internship will be able to foot that bill). My rather sizeable tax return would have paid for about 50% of my trip, except I’m probably going to have to use that money to buy health insurance in March when my current plan runs out. I’m hoping next year I’ll be able to land a TA or RA position with the school so I won’t have to worry about such inconveniences.

I’m still not getting anywhere with the language. Rosetta Stone is frustratingly hard.

The Gym

My group of gym-goers has increased from 2 to 5. It’s working out pretty well so far, but any more additions will make it problematic to work with them individually.

To help me track each person’s progress, I’ve created an equation that factors in a number of lifts and body weight to produce a simple numerical value of overall strength (or as I like to call it, their power level). I’m currently at 42.42 (coincidence). Here’s the equation:

((Bench+Squat+Military Press+(Preacher Curl*(1+(#of pullups*.25)))/Body Weight)*10

Each lift assumes the max weight possible at 4 reps.

Wine, Cheese, and Anime Night

It’s going pretty well so far, although I think we might drop Gurren Lagann due to lack of interest. I can now safely say that I’m not a fan of either Merlot or Chianti.

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Super Serious Workout Business

Written by Alex | Published on January 8, 2010

Going to the gym is super srs bsnss. From left to right:

Muscle Milk – Protein shake with lots of vitamins. I might switch to a more general (read: cheaper) shake when I run out. I drink two of these every day.
Amino 2222 – Multiple amino acid supplement (amino acids are the building blocks of muscle tissue). Has 2,222 milligrams of a variety of amino acids per serving. The pills are so huge I have to crush them up and mix them with my protein shakes. I’m not really satisfied with this, so I’ll probably switch back to glutamine and BCAA powder when I run out. I take 4 per day.
Amplified Creatine 189 – Creatine supplement. Increases muscle performance. I just started taking this recently. 2 pills per day.
Jack3d – Pre-workout vascular dilator. Gives the user tons of energy and increases blood flow to the muscles, resulting in better workout performance (not to mention swollen muscles that look really cool). Also produced an odd sense of euphoria and well-being for the first week or two I took it, but I guess I’m used to it now. Two servings per day (three if I really need a kick).
Triple Strength Fish Oil – Omega-3 fatty acid supplement. Has a variety of benefits, but I mostly take it for my skin. One per day.
Mega Men Sport – Multivitamin. Two per day.
Zinc – Like the fish oil, it has a variety of benefits. I take it mostly for my skin. One per day.

I’d really like to reach a stable 175 by the end of the semester. Right now I seem to be stuck around 165, although I’m still making gains in terms of strength. I guess I’ll just have to eat more and hope that my schedule doesn’t cut into gym time too much.

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Google Wave

Written by Alex | Published on December 3, 2009

I have 7 invites to Google Wave. Who wants one?

I really don’t know what to do with this thing. Maybe having a few more people on my contact list will help.

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Next Semester will be Fun

Written by Alex | Published on November 17, 2009

Two exciting things happening next semester.

First and foremost, assuming I manage to climb this mountain of paperwork, I’ll be interning with the Lafayette PD as a blood spatter specialist digital forensics technician. Hooray first forensics job.

Secondly, as part of an independent study, I’ll be working on a new software project. The project has two phases: One, build and populate a database with data acquired from cell phones seized as evidence. Sounds easy until you think about doing that automatically from multiple software toolkits from multiple vendors with the possibility of media formats such as videos and pictures. Two, build a web application that allows investigators to cross-reference data from those phones with newly acquired data, and to also include that new data in future searches. Once completed, the software should make it easier to find previously unknown associations between criminals, and whatever else that entails.

Looking forward to it.

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Totally Unprecedented

Written by Alex | Published on October 6, 2009

I had the most bizarre experience this morning.

When I got up, I found that my Internet was not working. After confirming this on both my desktop and my laptop, and doing some basic troubleshooting, I realized that I’d have to call Comcast. I hate talking to Comcast.

So, imagine my surprise when, not only is my call immediately answered, but the tech support guy on the other end is actually competent. He didn’t even ask the ever-irritating “is your computer on” and “are all your cables plugged in”, skipping straight to pinging my device to confirm it was online and responding. I never thought I would hear the words “MAC address cloning” and “firmware update” come out of the mouth of a Comcast tech. The problem was solved in under 10 minutes.

The implications of these events are staggering. Competent, useful Comcast techs? My entire world view has been altered.

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