Monday, August 17, 2009
Health care reform - Dave Ramsey's thoughts
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11:49 PM
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Thursday, August 13, 2009
Don't forget about inflation risk
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azphx1972
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2:21 PM
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Labels: investing
Friday, August 7, 2009
Retirement planning
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azphx1972
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5:14 PM
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009
U.S. Government Stages Fake Coup To Wipe Out National Debt [The Onion]
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1:18 PM
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Monday, August 3, 2009
Budgeting...
"What does that mean in terms of money management? It means I learned how to spend what I needed and save the rest. While “tricks” of money management assume that you are incapable of controlling yourself, that if you have money, you will spend it, taking off the training wheels means facing up to your own ultimate responsibility for your finances. It means facing up to the fact that you are a conscious, reasoning human being who can choose to spend or not to spend. It also means learning that once you have the true necessities covered, enjoying your life has remarkably little to do with how much money you spend." - Holly Ordway, Spending Wisely
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12:54 PM
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Thursday, July 31, 2008
My workout routine - part 2
In my previous post, I described the cardio portion of my gym workout routine. Before I get into the remaining details of my workout, I want to talk a little about gym etiquette. The rules that I observe as most frequently violated are:
1. Bring a clean towel and wipe up after yourself. No one likes to use a machine that's drenched in someone else's sweat. I use a towel not only to wipe up my sweat, but to also act as a barrier between my skin and potentially germ laden equipment. In addition, it's probably a good idea wash your hands (or use hand sanitizers) before and after your workout.
2. Don't hog equipment. Be courteous of other gym members; their time is as important as yours. That means not dawdling at a machine chit chatting or texting, especially if the gym is busy. If you're doing multiple sets on a machine, allow people who are waiting to hop on if you take long rest breaks between your sets.
3. Rerack weights after you're done with them. Don't assume the gym staff will pick up after you. Return your weights to the rack after you're finished using them, so that other members don't have to go hunting for them.
Those are my personal biggest pet peeves. About.com has some other good tips on the subject.
While there's some uncertainty regarding the timing and benefits of stretching, I perform stretching exercises to improve my flexibility, and because it feels good. I use a stretch trainer which makes it easy, but here's some information and slide show from the Mayo Clinic for doing it manually. I stretch for about 5 minutes after cardio, and before weights.For my strength training, I utilize a circuit training program using primarily weight machines. As stated in my previous post, my goal is to stay lean and toned, not to get big and bulky like professional bodybuilders, so this method works well for me. I try target all the major muscle groups, and the machines at the gym make it easy to perform the exercises safely. I perform one set of 15 reps per machine, and set the weights to reach exhaustion on the last rep. To eliminate rest periods and shorten my workout, I alternate between upper and lower body exercises. Here's what my circuit routine looks like:
- seated row (trapezius/upper back)
- seated leg curl (hamstrings)
- biceps curl (biceps)
- leg extension (quadriceps)
- chest press (pectoralis)
- ab crunch (abdominals)
- shoulder press (deltoids)
- back extension (lower back)
- tricep extension (triceps)
- leg press (gluteals)
- lat pulldown (latisimus dorsi)
- ab curl(abdominals)
- seated fly (pectoralis)
- calf extension (calfs)
- hanging leg raises (I do them slowly for maximum effect)
- unassisted pull ups
- push ups

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azphx1972
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5:36 PM
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Friday, July 25, 2008
My workout routine - part 1
So I promised to document my gym workout routine that I've been following (and tweaking) for the past 10 years. My fitness goal was simple: to become and stay physically fit, which to me means excellent cardiovascular health and strong muscles & bones. Looking built was not a factor in my motivation--in fact I'm not a fan of the bulky bodybuilder look at all. I prefer being lean and toned, and am proud to say that I can still fit into my old college clothes from the early 1990s (without sucking in my gut either!). My body fat level has stayed in the 6-8% range for the past several years, and although my diet has a lot to do with that (which I plan to blog about), it has exceeded my expectations.
Anyway, here are the details of the workout program that I've developed, via my own research and experimentation, and it has worked extremely well for me, but may not be for other people. As always, beginners should check with their doctors before starting any form of exercise if they are extremely out of shape or have medical conditions.
I used the following criteria in mind when choosing activities to include in my workout:
1. Safe. Above all else, I wanted to minimize the risk of injury. For me, that means no running (since it tends to be hard on the knees, which I want to preserve as I intend to be mobile for a very long time), and using machines instead of free weights. While machines offer a limited range of motion compared to free weights, the risk for injury is also far less, so it was a trade off that I was willing to accept. Also, I've never used steroids, drugs, or supplements, as I wanted to achieve my healthy results naturally. Again, the focus is on my health rather than how I look.
2. Effective. I wanted activities that emphasize the three key areas which I consider to be crucial for my well being: my cardiovascular system, core muscle groups, and bones. So the exercises that I selected had to offer a direct benefit to those areas.
3. Efficient. I enjoy the results I obtain from working out, but I didn't want to turn into a gym rat to get them. If it takes longer than 3 hours a week, I would probably lose interest in any exercise program. Currently, I go to the gym 3 times a week, for about an hour per visit. I usually go every other day (Mon/Wed/Fri or Tue/Thu/Sat, depending on the week), giving my body a day to rest between gym visits.
My workout currently begins with 30 minutes of cardio (though recently it has been extended to 35 minutes to reach the 400 "calories burned" mark--at least according to the exercise equipment that I'm using). Some say that doing cardio after lifting weights makes for a more effective workout. I've tried doing it both before and after using weights, and haven't noticed a huge difference. Lately, I prefer to just get the cardio part over with as I enjoy the resistance training more. Alternatively, you could do cardio and strength training on different days, but that means more trips to the gym, and I'd prefer to keep that to a minimum.
I do cardio primarily on the exercise bike and elliptical/crossramp trainers, alternating between them as I get bored with one. I like these machines because they offer safe, low-impact, and effective cardiovascular workouts, although sometimes I will do a brisk walk on the treadmill, play racquetball, or swim for a switch.
When I started doing cardio workouts initially, I couldn't do more than 15 minutes at a time--and at a pretty low intensity level at that. However, I stuck with it, and very slowly increased my time and intensity level. I didn't set specific goals though, because I didn't ever want to feel bad for failing, which may cause me to quit altogether (I've gone through several workout partners that stopped going to the gym once they suffered setbacks, and I didn't want to have that happen to me). Any time that I can make it to the gym--even if I end up doing a light or partial workout--is a victory in my book. It prevents the feeling of guilt for missing workouts, which in my experience also keeps a lot of people from sticking to a fitness program because they feel that they can never make up for lost ground.
Cardio is all about keeping your heart healthy, and to that end I've started using a heart rate monitor to help keep my heart rate in the anaerobic zone, or 80-90% of my maximum heart rate. I find that I sweat a lot when my heart is working that hard, so I always make sure I drink plenty of water to stay hydrated during and after my workout. However, I deliberately avoid energy drinks because of dental health concerns.
In my next post I will go into the second half of my workout program, which includes stretching exercises and muscle training.
Note: I've been hearing a lot of buzz about interval training lately, and some people claim that it's better than cardio. The key is to do what works for you. My workout has worked well for me, and that's all that really matters. If at some point in the future I stop getting the results that I want, then I'll change my routine.
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azphx1972
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6:21 PM
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