5 tips for guys

He's reading this post. Smart guy!

I couldn't leave the fellas hanging after I did the post for the ladies. Funny thing is, I thought these 5 tips were harder to think up.

1. It doesn't matter how big your muscles are, the real way to charm a girl is by making her laugh. Think of your physique as icing on the cake.

The only other known method that's (accidentally) worked for me was playing with kids. And of course, being me, I didn't realize they were flirting til much later in the day. Go figure.

2. But, that doesn't mean you should be a slob. It's not hard to keep yourself neat and tidy. So, take care of yourself at least a little bit.

A shave every now and then, showers, deodorant, you know the deal.

3. Diversify your lifting for god's sake. I don't know how guys can go in the gym and do the same exact program for weeks. I cycle mine every 12-16 weeks.

Change exercises, reps, anything! Just make it a bit different than what you were previously doing.

4. Know how to cook. (#5 on the list)

Seriously.

If you happen to be one of those guys who has a wonderful gal, but she can't even boil water, it's best that you know how to make a few items.

5. Body hair? Very manly indeed.

But trim that junk. Apparently, women don't like it. I could care less at times, but I always take care of it to be courteous. (to who though? beats me)

My sister always says arm pit muppets are gross

That's all. Have a good weekend everyone!

Kids, obesity, and being a good role model

Eager to imitate.

Children are always looking up to older people. Often, they copy what they see trying to be like that person.

Easy-bake ovens and toy tools aren't played with because kids want to be chefs and construction workers. They want to be like mom, dad, sibling, cool person they saw, so on and so forth.

Where am I going with this?

Role models, and no, I'm not talking about the movie.

Modeling positive behavior is a must. How are we suppose to expect kids to be in decent shape if the adult they're around most barely eats, regularly consumes fast food, and does nothing productive with their time?

Parents who think their child is overweight might even force them to exercise and/or only eat certain foods.

That's awful.

8 hours of school, 5 days a week, and added to the mix is exercise or a diet? You just can't do it.

It's important to give them a warm loving childhood for the best development possible.

We can't fix child obesity if adult obesity is still a problem. Seth Godin wrote a post about fixing the real solution. This is a similar scenario.

Ross Enamait wonderfully explained the same topic recently as well.

Want a kid to be active? Give them a fun activity to do. Any sports, DDR, going to the park, you name it.

The rules are simple.

1) Make sure they're having fun and enjoying it.
2) Make sure it's safe.

That's all there is to it.

I'll end the post with a story.

Last spring, my Infant & Child Development professor told us one visit, she took her daughter to the pediatrician. The doctor said, "your daughter is overweight and something needs to be done."

She goes to daughter and asks her, "do you want to join dance?" She nods her face no.

My professor goes on to say, "well, since she didn't want to do that, I put her in Taekwondo. She enjoys it, she lost weight, and she got her black belt by 3^rd grade."

Simple solution. On top of that, it most likely boosted her self-confidence, enhanced her social well-being, and got her a new hobby.

Not too hard, right?

5 tips for girls

Listen up cutie pie!

Almost didn't post this week, but have no fear, Niel is here! And this post is exactly what the title says. Now, shall we?

1. Buy a men's razor. My sister, grossly, used mine for her legs a few weeks ago. I proceeded to tell her that no woman should do that. But, what she did actually was a good idea.

She bought her own and apparently she loves it.

I use a Mach 3.

There's also Gillette's Venus Breeze Original and Venus Spa, but I have no idea about them. Get what you think is good, but keep in mind, I use my razor to get a baby butt smooth face.

2. Whale tails are not classy ladies. Neither are cracks.

Far too women floss them around like it's nobody's business.

Make sure the pants are up and stay there!

3. Every now and then, I help my dad with random fixing tasks. I've come to learn that the best soap to clean your hands after any job is kitchen soap.

I use Palmolive.

4. Far too often, women overdo it with energy systems work (cardio). It's usually long and drawn out.

Take a tip from the guys and do more weight training. A minimum routine would be 2 full-body workouts a week. At most, a 4-day split (lower-upper) would be enough for most people.

Don't be afraid to go a little heavy either!

5. A lot of guys are worried the woman they marry won't be able to cook.

Heck, I know I am.

Know how to cook, know how to be in control.

Well, that's all I got. Have a good weekend everyone!

She's smiling because she listened to these 5 tips.

What does an athlete look like?

You wouldn't guess they're deaf.

When we think of an athlete, we imagine these rock hard bodies with chiseled muscles.

And then, what do most of us do? We use exercise as a means to achieve that perfect body.

But what if we're wrong? The result?

We're chasing after something that's not even there to begin with.

Athletes put in a lot of work to become pro and do what they do.

Exercise is their job and they better be good at it, or otherwise, they won't be employed much longer.

So, we should see what their bodies really look like.

Go see for yourself here. (thanks goes out to Ryan Andrews for posting this)

Not what you had in mind?

Don't worry, neither did most of us.

Hopefully you won't epitomize their bodies anymore over yours.

I believe beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

But before you do, you need to open your eyes so you can truly appreciate it.

Basic equipment, new uses.

Olympic barbell & Olympic EZ curl bar sleeves with various clips.

I've been itching to try and post about this idea for a month or so, but I was at school the last 4 weeks. Let me start with where/who I got my inspiration from.

Idea for the sleeve.

Alternative to prowler/sled.

What did I do with the sleeve?

1) Used it as a peg to do plate pushes. My plates go up to 45 lbs. and when one is stacked on top of the other, it shifts when being pushed.

2) Fat bar dumbbells for grip strength.

Why do it?

I don't own a prowler/sled and it's easier than making my own fat dumbbell handles.

Here are some pics. (click to enlarge)

Two 45 lb. plates held in place with an Olympic barbell sleeve

Olympic sleeve, 3 clips, & two plates

Olympic EZ curl bar, 3 clips, & two 10 lb. plates

Different sized clips and the two different sleeves; EZ curl bar is bottom-left & top-right is from the Olympic-sized barbell.

How to take a sleeve off

• The center has a hole for the screw, place your thumb on that and the rest of your fingers on the sleeve.
• Twist to get it off.
• Make sure the thin part of the bar isn't rotating when you do this.
• To put the sleeve back on, do the same thing.

Set-up for the dumbbells

• You need 3 clips per a handle.
• Slide the first plate on and keep it there with the first weight clip.
• Put the next clip in where you want the next plate to be positioned and put it on.
• Use the third and final clip to keep it there.

The further out to the sides the plates are, the harder it is to keep the handle balanced throughout a movement.

The EZ curl bar sleeve for handles were very small, which didn't allow much room for my hands. I had to use the thinnest clips of the three, which were also the weakest. They didn't move much when I tested the handles out, but it's something to keep in mind if you do attempt this.

Olympic EZ curl bar sleeve weighs around 5 lbs.
The Olympic barbell sleeve is roughly 8-10 lbs.

The plate pushes, just use a sleeve as a peg to hold the weights in place. You can even put a dumbbell on top of the plates for more weight.

Hope you all enjoyed this post and thanks to the Diesel Crew for giving me the ideas to do this.

Have a good weekend everyone.

That's not going anywhere (and it won't fall down either).

Calorie vs. Calorie

Try eating a hundred calories worth of vegetables.

A similar topic to last week's post, but overlooked often.

Let's start with a joke, one most of you are familiar with.

Which weighs more, a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

When you first heard that, you most likely answered the bricks. But of course, when it's explained to us, we realize that it's a ton of each material.

Regardless of what either is, a ton is a ton. It may take less bricks than feathers to reach a ton on the scale, but that wasn't the question.

Now, what's this have to do with calories?

Everything!

It's the same deal. A calorie is a unit of measurement.

100 calories of cookies is the same caloric amount compared to 100 calories of carrots. (first learned this in The Metabolism Advantage)

The difference? You're won't have nearly as many cookies as the amount of carrots.

On top of that, the latter has nutrients useful for your body, while the former will have a negative impact on your health.

There are other factors besides what I've mentioned, but the picture's clear.

If you're starting a more health-conscious way of living, don't worry so much about calories. Usually when people do worry about calories, it's over a poor food choice to begin with.

Don't worry how many calories that baby is.

Miscellaneous pile, 10/02/09

I almost forgot to post today, whoops. Better late than never, right?

1. The last week or two, grains in this apartment have suffered many mold attacks. My brown rice was understandable because I left it out too long, but the whole wheat pitas? I didn't even open them yet. :(

As a result, everything will now be getting tossed into the freezer.

2. Speaking of unprocessed foods, restaurants would be awesome if they made the simple switch to whole grains. Anything in the vicinity is white rice, white pitas, white wraps, etc. You name it, not whole wheat.

3. I mentioned a post of Rachel Cosgrove's a few weeks ago and she mentions black pants. I've recently taken notice of how many girls actually wear black pants. Little do us guys know why they wear them! Ah, further proof we're just big hairy dummies.

4. Speaking of women, all 7 of my followers are just that! What comes across my mind about that?

First, thank you ladies for following.
Second, as a result of the above, I'll try focusing more of my posts towards helping women, despite my luck with them. *rim shot*
Third, does this make me a chick magnet?

Most likely not, but either way, high 5!

I guess this is a polar bear.

Also, I added the followers gadget not for my own glorification, but because anyone else who visits this site can browse other blogs, which, I recommend.

5. Speaking of Rachel Cosgrove, check out this article of hers. If you know me well, then you know I come down hard on long distance running often enough. I should clarify though it's when people only do that as a form of exercise in hopes of achieving their goals. Check out that article to get the low down on why I take the stance that I do.

6. Words, words, words.

superfluous - (soo-per-floo-us) - adj. - Excess of what is sufficient or necessary.

7. Look at this baby go! (my roommate found this, makes me wonder what kind of doctor he's going to be in the future)



Hope you all enjoy. Have a good weekend everyone!