Chengping's Blog

Month 2: The Kettlebell Experiment

chengping — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:24:26 +0000

First a pleasant surprise: my arms and chest have increased about half inch, which is not a lot, however, judging from the base which is quite small, I’d say Kettlebell has the magic.

Right now I follow 2 different sets depend on my time and energy of that particular workout day.

If I feel strong, I’ll do the following:

Right Snatch for 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
Left Snatch for 20 seconds
Rest 10 seconds
Right Clean 20 s
Rest 10 s
Lest Clean 20 s
Rest 10 s
Squat 20 s
Rest 10 s
Squat 20 s
Rest 10 s

It took 6 minutes to complete the above and I can only do about 3-4 repeats of this. (for a total of 18 minutes to 24 minutes)

Conversely, it is easier to do the following because the rest time is a lot longer, usually I can continue for about 30 minutes in total.

Follow the same set above but take every action for 30 seconds.
Rest 30 seconds.
Change to the other arm and continue.

As far as I’m concerned I’m quite happy with the result, in short 2 months. I think I’ll stay put. My short term goal will be pushing the workout to about 40 minutes.

The long term goal is to reach my genetic limit for strength. According to Jacob in ERE, it will take at least one year or two.

Lightning Storm

chengping — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:40:13 +0000

Below is a video clip to show the power of lightning storm that hit Toronto a week ago. That same night, my girl is so scared that I have to lie with her to get her to sleep.

Toronto Lightning Storm from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.

Fast Food Nation

chengping — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:48:59 +0000

Yesterday when I was with my girl in one of the Ontario early years center singing, one of the songs has lyrics like this:

Pizza hut, pizza hut,
Kentucky Fried Chicken,
and McDonalds.

Swiss Chalet, Swiss Chalet*
Red Lobster,
and Dairy Queen.

*a Canada fast food chain specialized in selling white meat.

The audiences averaged about 2 years old. My girl doesn’t even pronounce McDonalds.

I’m pretty sure that this place is Ontario government sponsored, has no affiliation with any of the aforementioned fast food chains, and has all the good intention to entertain kids while educate them. Nonetheless, someone wrote this song to “teach” our kids that when they’re hungry or thirsty, these are the places to go.

After the songs the snack time came. What parents or care givers pack for their dear little ones is 90% pre-packaged, industry-prepared foods. The cookies, the juice, the cheese, all came from big factory with ingredients labels that no one would be able to pronounce, let alone understand.

Incidentally, same thing happens when the day care center requires parents pack a lunch for outdoor trips. 90% of the foods are chips, cookies, energy bars, and juices. The other 10% is banana and non-peeled fruits. My girl got a real cheese sandwich with hard-boiled eggs, tofu and blueberry/strawberry, prepared by her mom in cute little boxes.

We sure look like aliens in this strange world.

Time, Money and Boredom without a job

chengping — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:18:10 +0000

I read Ram’s latest count of not having a job: 5 Myths about not having a job and thought it was pretty good.

A job is about trade your time for money. No wonder Ram’s 5 myths surrounds free time, routine, money, paycheck and boredom. It’s true that not everyone can survive financially without a job, but it’s truer that not everyone can live without a job happily.

One Month: The Kettlebell Experiment

chengping — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:01:59 +0000

If I remember correctly, behavior gurus like to say a habit will form and stay after one month sticking to it. Now that I’ve done my kettlebell workout for over a month, I see more than that.

I used to think that weight lifting is stupid. Why build the muscles you don’t use and get yourself big to consume the food you don’t otherwise need? The answer is that the muscle does more than the weight you lift. When muscles are strong, your posture is better and you get less sore and pain (out of say, computer use).

Beyond that you run better. You lift kids easier. You do chores with ease. And the most interesting thing is that you get instant positive thought boost after lifting weights.

Kettlebell workout is interesting in a way that it is not just the weight training. Most workout using kettlebell has cardio built into it at the same time. For example, I was quite pleasantly surprised that yesterday, I did a 3km run with ease.

After a month, I’m pushing my original workout to 5 repeat of this:

20 Swing
13 Clean (right hand)
13 Clean (left hand)
10 Squat (kettlebell on right hand)
10 Squat (kettlebell on left hand)

I highly recommend this workout. As far as I know, it cannot get simpler, more efficient or cheaper than this.

Happy Birthday, Canada!

chengping — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:56:01 +0000

Earlier this year I got my citizenship. It’s a conscious decision and I’m proud of being a Canadian.

Today is my first Canada Day as a citizen. Let’s celebrate it! And let’s be grateful that we’re living in this enormous yet humble country.

Happy Birthday, Canada!

Week 2: The Kettlebell Experiment

chengping — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:42:01 +0000

Nothing magic happened, though I have a better sense how to do a good clean. I focused on getting the set into 30 seconds activity and 30 seconds rest.

20 Swing
13 Clean right hand
13 Clean left hand
20 Squat

Usually I’ll do this, take a shower and have dinner. I have not tried to do it in another time like after waking up.

This week I do have one incidence of using this workout to kill a headache. It’s pretty successful, way better than painkiller.

Week 1: The Kettlebell Experiment

chengping — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:48:52 +0000

While I’m adapting to the new workout schedule, I noticed that my appetite gets better. By reading The two year fitness program and chatting with ERE’s Jacob, I have changed my set.

In exactly this order, I repeat the whole thing 5 times:

20 Swing
12 Clean right hand
12 Clean left hand
20 Squat

The key here is to make every item exactly ONE MINUTE. i.e. do 20 swings in 30 seconds and rest 30 seconds. Do 12 right hand clean in 25 seconds and rest 35 seconds etc.

So the 4 bullets will take 4 minutes to finish. For now I repeat 5 times and it takes 20 minutes. I plan to push to 40 minutes, i.e. 10 times of it in the near future.

Also, I do this only every other day. I still jog, walk or bike when weather permits outside.

PICO IYER: The Joy of Less

chengping — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:13:39 +0000

In Paul Theroux’s latest book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Iyer was in the center of Kyoto chapter. Paul described him content, thoughtful, and very good at listening. He especially like the fact that neither of them travel with notebook computer.

Iyer talked more about his 20-some-years life in Kyoto on a June 7 New York Times Opinion piece, under the title, The Joy of Less.

It’s a great way to peek into one of the best contemporary travel writer and how he voluntarily lost his job with Time Magazine and the Park Avenue apartment, pursuing a way simpler life out of Kyoto, Japan.

Read it! It’s good for your soul.

PS: The writing generated more than 700 comments so far. NY Times has also published a separate excerpt page, Simplicity at a Price.

The Kettlebell Experiment

chengping — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:44:14 +0000

I have not exercised regularly for the longest time since the little one was born. Part of the reason is that I’m trying to come up with a cheap solution that will work both in snowy winter and sweaty summer.

I have no desire to spend couple hundred dollars for exercise, let alone “drive to work out”. How ironic is that sentence. Wouldn’t jog to the gym back and forth fulfill the workout, and one can save the gas, the car and the gym membership fee all at one?

I have also been very reluctant to fork out thousands for a home exercise machine. The sheer idea of comparing the functionality, price and then decide among tens if not hundreds of choices makes me freaking out.

Besides, when I have to move, I like to think that I’m still nimble enough to stuff all my belongings in a couple suitcase. The treadmill or elliptical will break that illusion for sure.

A couple days ago, I think I finally found the solution. I bought a 12KG(26 pounds) kettlebell and it cost me only $45. With a complimentary DVD, I’m very excited about my 20 minutes workout.

Kettlebell has the legend that KGB and Russian athletes train on it. The workouts “are intended to increase strength, endurance, agility and balance, challenging both the muscular and cardiovascular system with dynamic, total-body movements.”

I started doing 3 times of these:

30 Swing
12 Clean
5 Press
20 squats

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