saints row again

So i have taken a break from skyrim and picked up Saints Row.

Saints Row is a really fun game.  I have been watching the newest Saints Row on youtube and it just looks so ridiculous.  The first game in the franchise was a simple rip off of GTA, you become part of an upstart gang that wants to make the city better by eliminating the other gangs in the city.

the game is fun because you complete side missions to be able to access the main story line.  the side missions that you have to do are really fun because they are not very serious, you can steal whores from pimps, or try to stay away from the press while a guy in the back gets his freak on.

The real idea for going back to saints row was to look at how ridiculous it is in comparison to the new game.  I found that the old game is very.... bland? I dont want to call it bland because it is not, its just bland in comparison to the new game.  

Christmas puppies by Steadyeddie

power to weight

there are several types of strong.

There is conventional strong, which is being able to move large amounts of weight.  there is also the person who cant move that huge amount of weight, but can do chin ups till the cows come home, while the conventionally strong person cant do that.  both of these people, are strong in very different areas.

In my humble opinion the person who can do both of these things, move lots of weight as well as being able to do chin ups and dips for ever has achieved physical perfection.  This is because if a person can move lots of weight, they have a lot of muscle, but if they can do chin ups, that muscle mass, is made up of lean muscle.  

I named this post power to weight because the as soon as you hit a power to weight ratio of 1:1 then you are moving your own body weight.  I think that this is a very big goal for any one to shoot for. for a big person to get to a 1:1 ratio, they must loose weight, and a thin person has to add muscle.

lions, father and son by Cami

my leg workout

I talked about my upper body stuff the other day, now time to talk about my legs

I did leg presses, Zercher squats, and seated calf raises.  all of these things i do for a reason.

Leg presses are good for making yourself feel good.  No thats not true, but you do them for working the muscles in your thighs.  Leg presses are just a little bit like squats, they work the same areas but squats work more muscles.  I still like to do leg presses because you are able to press alot and it feels good afterwards.

Zercher squats are squats where instead of putting the bar on your shoulders, you put it in the crook of your elbows.  Doing it this way you get the same benifits as if you were doing a regular sqaut without putting pressure on your shoulders.

Seated calf raises are good for your calves.  i like to work on my calves alot because i have shin splints.  i have found that working on calves helps with the pain of shin splints.



cute cat from here

hoarding in Skyrim

I havent been playing skyrim for very long, but you just want to hang on to everything.

I mean there is so much that you can do.  you can be a blacksmith and forge great arms and armor. to make those weapons even better, you can enchant them with mystical properties. and then to stay alive, you can create potions and poisons.

But to make these really cool things, you need to collect a bunch of soul gems ores and ingredients.  the problem i have is that i collect all of this stuff, and have really heavy armor.  so its impossible for me to be effective in battle as well as get all the stuff i need to make myself better.

This game has turned me into a hoarder! its a giant pain in the ass, but the game is so much fun.


Foxy by Oz-Hb

going to the gym

I went to the gym for the first time in give or take 3 weeks.

yesterday (saturday) i did upper body, and today (sunday) i worked my legs.  for my upper body I did dumbbell presses, bent over rows, sitting curls, and dead lifts and finally dips.  for my legs, I did leg press, Zercher squats (which i feel i did terribly), and seated calf raises.

I do each exercise for a reason, so for the rest of this post, i will talk about my upper body workout and why i do it the way i do.

Now dont get me wrong, i like doing bench press.  HOWEVER,  I feel like you can really put your self in danger if you dont have a spotter.  since i dont have a spotter, i like to do dumbbell press.  I also feel like you get more out of a dumbbell press because you have to deal with balancing each arm. the reason i think that the dumbbells are safer is you have to first get them from the free weight rack to your bench then you have to get them into position.  If you cant do that.... you shouldnt be doing that amount of weight.

I do bent over rows in a super set with the dumbbell press.  I like the bent over row because it is creates balance with any sort of chest presses. bent over rows also work muscles that you work in every day life.  you may not realize it but you use your back for most of the lifting done in a normal day.

Sitting curls are the one exercise that i do that have no real purpose except for cosmetic.  sitting curls isolate your bicep because you block your arm with your inner thigh.  By isolating your bicep, you are working it harder  then if you did curls standing up.  the way that i do curls seems to be much more efficient then standing curls.  with a standing curl, you are able to put your whole body into lifting the weight.  by using your whole body, you may be able to lift a lot, but you aren't improving as much.

i have talked about dead lifts before, but the idea is that you are improving your lower back and over all strength. so they are good.

I have also talked about dips,  they work a lot of muscles, triceps, the middle of your back. they are good, just like dead lifts.




attitude kitty by Volkan
kitty with a mouse by Ethnicwibes

smithing and dwarves

I want my orc to be a blacksmith.

since my orc uses single handed weapons and enchantmens, i want to get some good weapons and armor.  To get good armor, you need to be able to smith stuff. smithing is a skill in the game, and the only way to improve on it is to make more stuff.  An easy way i found to improve smithing fast is to craft rings and leather braces.  As you improve smithing, you get to make better stuff.  Currently, i have the ability to craft dwarven weapons and armor.  The only way to craft dwarven stuff is to collect dwarven relics and smelt them into ingots.

The problem with finding dwarven relics is they are in dwarven cities, which are well defended and high in the mountains.  So i went on an expedition to locate so dwarven metal to create so bad ass armor.

The expedition was a success! i got a ton of metal and was able to make a full set of armor, along with a shield and axe.  I even have left over metal which i will stow away so that i can make more at a later time. 

I think the next quest i shall go on is to complete more of the main quest.

cat smiling by Kanaszta

skyrim daily blog

So i continued on my epic adventure that is skyrim.

what did i do.... well i went around and gathered sidquests.  that is always fun.  basicly the way to get sidequests is to talk with people, normally the people who are talking when you arent trying to interact with them. In white-run, there are a bunch of side quests that you can do aswell as the skyforge.(the best forge in the game that i know of)  Aside from picking up about 12 quests, i also completed about 3.... not a very good ratio, but good for 2 hours of game time.


OH YEAH! i also killed my first dragon.  that was fun.  because the dragon can fly around and hit you with fire, a good strategy would be to utilize some sort of ranged attack.  Since i am playing an orc, his main attack is with an axe, which you cant throw.  so i had to resort to using a little magic and when the dragon landed, wailing on  it with my axe.  Not an efficient strategy, but it worked.



Man Vs Dragon picture from here

Skyrim first impressions and orc play through

I got a hold of skyrim just the other week.

The game is so much fun.  I havent been able to complete the game, but who has.  You are able to do so much different stuff.  From being able to forge different weapons to creating poisons to enchanting armor and weapons.  Aside from the great game play, the game looks great.  i mean you have a great world that has different environments.  The people and creatures also look really good. (it probably looks better on a PC)

I started playing as an imperial first just too see what the game is like with both magic and melee.  I now want to play as an orc because the orc starts with a bunch of points put into hand to hand as well as forging.  I find that i really enjoy creating weapons, and the orc starts with points in that.  he also has points in enchanting, so it sounds perfect.



skyrim orc from some ones blog

Rainbow six: patriots

I love the rainbow six series.

I first read the book a few years back, and it was awesome.  I have played most of the games and my favorite being Vegas 2.  That game was a blast. I really enjoy the premise of the games,  you are an elite force who is called upon to take on terrorist activities.  In the book, the force takes on a many scenarios culminating with the destruction of a cult that wants to destroy civilization.  Tom Clancy has always seemed to create scenarios that seem hyper plausible. And the new game is no different.  due to the recession, you are taking on a home grown terrorist organization who desires a new government.

I read about the new ranbow six in "Game informer" (I love the magazine btw)  the new engine is retrofitted from the one that runs Assassins Creed. (another game i love)  I am really looking forward to smarter teammates, as well as the hard decisions that the game is supposed to make you make.  the breaching system was fun to control in the previous games, but now it seems like you will have many more options, and that will be a blast. It also seems like there is going to be a lot more replay-ability.  The game does not stop you from killing civilians which allows you to try many different things. in other games where you have civilians, you have no option but to save them, otherwise its game over.  from what i read, you can make a choices, and there will be repercussions from what ever you do.

I think some shooters keep the game on rails far to much. what i mean is that you have to do a certain objective and there is only one way of doing it. I really hope that Rainbow Six will get the balance of freedom and straight forwardness right.


Rainbow Six image from game rant
Tom Clancy from B and P book dealers 

I finished the story for ACR

I finished playing the main plot for Assassins Creed Revelations.

Its a really fun game.  I havent completed all the side quests and such, which will take quite a while.  i still have to find all the collectibles, and complete a few side missions.  I already completed the side dungeons which were very fun, I like the platforming that assassins creed uses. 

I felt that the story was a bit short. I mean, if one wanted to beat the main plot, you could do it very quickly.  this may not be true at all, because i spent a lot of time playing the game.  but the short story is made up for in the side stuff that you can do. 

image found here

separating workouts

i like having 2 or 3 workouts that work all parts of the body.

I like being able to alternate my workouts. So i mean that I like having my exercises split up so that i work my upper body one day, and my lower body the next.

So for my upper body, i like doing something for my chest (typically fly's) then shoulders, which now a day's is assisted chinups.  Then i work my Triceps, i dont work my biceps mainly because i worked them a lot when i was younger, and you work them when you do chinups.  i also work my back (tycically bent over rows).

For lower body, i like to do squats, lunges and then stuff for my calves. I feel that these are the three basic exercises that you need to do to make your legs stronger.  there are probably things that i am missing, but you can add those in as you want.








This picture just made me laugh


THank you DrLagos for the pic here

first look at Assassins Creed Revelations

So i just picked up the new Assassins Creed.


I have only played for an hour, and i have to say, I am having a blast.  The story is great.  It feels like the story hasnt missed a beat going from 2 to brotherhood, and how revelations.  I am really looking foreward to learning how it all plays out.

I really like the look and the feel of the game.  It feels like not a whole lot has changed.  If it aint broke dont fix it.    They have added a couple of things.  the hook blade and bombs.  I havent had a chance to try out the bombs very much, but the hook blade allows you to scale higher buildings and get places faster.  For me, getting places was half of the fun.

the game looks very similar to the other ones, but it looks really good.

All in all, i have to put more time into the game,


 but i love it so far




old ezio here

looking foreward to Assassins Creed

I loved the first 3 games, and now cant wait for the next one.

from what i have read about this game, its going to be concluding the story of Ezio and Desmond.  just like in brotherhood and assassins creed 2, you get more weapons then the game before it.

I am really look foreward to playing the game again because it was the first game to get free running right.  you could jump from building to building fluidly.

its going to be so much FUN!!!!








female assassin by Wizzzzz

WATER

water is the most abundant resource on the planet, and yet we try and make it better.



Yet we still try to augment it to make it better. In my opinion, you should do nothing to water.  If you are eating a complete diet then you dont need to have all the sugar and other additives that Gatorade and other companies are putting in water.  




The sports drinks are nothing more then water with a little salt.  NOW I am not a chemist or have any kind of  background in anything, but I know that when i drink Gatorade, all i want to do is drink more.  and i dont even feel refreshed.  the flavor component is also really lacking in those drinks, it feels like they dont add enough of the flavor.  Like the red powerade.... it taste like red.  Your choice of drink doesnt matter, it will never quite satisfy your thirst.  its the same trick that soda companies play,  they add salt so that you need to drink more to "satisfy" your thirst, but you never really will


I just hate it when people advertise sports drinks as better then water, because nothing can replace water as the perfect beverage.






drinking from a river by Nazca

dead lifts

the dead lift is a good exercise for your back.

the dead lift is core movement for power lifters.  The exercise consists of lifting a barbell from the ground to your hips.  you are lifting with your legs, and when you stand up straight, you are using your back.  I really love to do this exercise. This is because it works your lower back and your forearms.  I use the move to build power, there is a huge difference between strength and power.

Power is overall strength, while strength is more isolated.  an example of this is some has very strong arms or shoulders.  but then you have some one who is powerful.  if you have strong arms you dont necessarily have strong legs.  while a powerful person, is more well rounded.

I would rather be powerful because, from there, you have a better base to become strong in an area.




sleepy lion by Syxxsevn

gaming gear

Now that I am a young adult, I have gotten more gear to make my gaming fun.

I use a big TV, wired controllers, and a nice set of headphones.

My TV is a 55" LED Samsung.  The picture is solid and looks really good. my one problem that I have with it is that you need to be in a completely dark room so that you can get a really good image.  the problem that i am encountering that i am having is that there is a mad amount of glare.  but now that I have black out curtains, the picture is getting better.

I prefer wired controllers to wireless only because, I dont have to change batteries.  i hate when i have long gaming sessions and im in the heat of battle, and then the screen stops and says reconnect your controller.  I HATE THAT.  plus, I dont sit very far from my TV, so I dont have to worry about cord length.


and my head set, is the steelseries 4xb.  I really like the head set. and my favorite thing about them, is the retractable mic. besides that, you are able to adjust the volume of the game, and your team mates on the fly.  the headset comes with this thing called a live mixer.  It allows you to use a dial to adjust sound.




I like my gear, but i need a good chair. something comfortable, that all i need.







tron controller here
steelseries pic here

assisted chin ups and dips

chin ups are so hard.

so now I am starting to do assisted chin ups. chin ups are a really good thing for your strength. The reason that this exercise is really good.  what chin ups do for you is it works your shoulders and back more then anything.  it also works your biceps, but to lift your self up, you use your shoulders more.

Dips are very similar to chin ups, but instead of using your biceps, you are using your triceps. the entire time that you are doing dips, you are supporting your self by your shoulders.  this is also a great exercise because you are using working multiple muscle groups

but since i am a bigger guy, i can't do a full chin up or dip.  So i am using the machine that assists you.  what you do to use the thing is you step up to the chin up bar, and step on this other step thing. The thing that you step on weighted so that it makes you lighter.  I really like this because this makes it possible for me to try and increase the amount of weight that i can lift with just my shoulders.

i am really excited about it.


lazy fox by Light

thoughts on the Joker

I have been playing Batman: Arkham Asylum.


In the opening sequence you have the joker in your car, and you are taking him to Arkham.  After he gets there, they strap him to a gurney like they would with Hannibal Lecter.   I know that in Joker's little character bio (its built into the game) it says that he is abnormally strong, but in no other batman thing have i seen it portray Joker as really strong.  Is this just Rocksteady Studious taking liberties with the Characters?

Or am I not a big enough geek to know that his strength is part of the lore.  Also, Joker seems to use gadgets a lot, and typically, they are long range.  this would lead me to think that he doesn't do well fighting hand to hand. but again in the Bio, it says that he is good at hand to hand combat.  I would seem counter intuitive that he creates long range weapons if he does just fine up close.

I am by no means bashing the game! I love it! Its awesome!  I especially like that the villains are different compared to the comics, and the cartoons.  Poison ivy is very sexy, as well as Harley Quinn.  I like that they made the game more mature.


Joker image by Loki, another god of mischief
Poison Ivy image from Creative Uncut

The Three Musketeers

I love everything to do with The Three Musketeers.

I went and saw the new Three Musketeers.  but before i talk about that movie a little history. I have seen two newer versions of the movie and read the book by Dumas.  I saw the movie with Charlie Sheen first,  then i read the book, and finally i saw the movie "the Musketeer".  All these things were fun. but since I have read the book I really enjoyed this new movie.  This newest movie holds to the book better then any of the other movies I have seen.

The new movie follows D'artagnan and the three most famous Musketeers, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis.  Whats great about this movie, in the book, the characters all end up living together, and they only accept D'artagnan because he has cash. there are many things from the book that make apperances in the movie, such as the musketeers servant, and D'artagnan's bravado. the movie has some fun special effects.  the movie is not supposed to be historically accurate and because of that, there are a lot of cool things that the movie does with guns and such.

instead of giving the move a grade like most people would, I will say either i liked it or i didn't like it.


This movie, i liked










Musketeer logo from here
Like button from here

working out alone

I dont work out with friends.

    I do this for two reasons.  One, I like to be able to focus on what I am doing and not have to worry about anyone else.  And Two,  my friends have memberships to other gyms, so i cant workout with anyone that I like. 

     lets put aside the fact that i have to work out alone, and look at how one can turn this to there advantage.  Working out alone allows you to focus on exactly what YOU need.  With a friend, you have to always compromise, but by yourself, you dont.  another great thing about working alone is that you cut your time lifting weights, but still get the same amount of stuff done.  This may actually be really good, if you dont take very long breaks between sets, you keep your heart rate up and this means your constantly working, which is good.  

     The real reason that i wanted to write about working out alone, not just to tell you that you should abandon your friends, but to talk about how to get stronger with out having a spotter.  you dont need to pump so much weight that you can barely handle it to get stronger.  Most high school kids and young adults just go for more weight when they want to get stronger, but this is not what you should do. You should gradually increase that weight you can do.  for me, if i cant do 8 reps of what ever i am doing, I lower the weight.    As soon as i can do 14 reps no problem, i move up in weight.  This may even be to late, you could move up before that.

lion kitty by Codex

picking up Akham Asylum.... again

I just picked up Batman: Arkham Asylum.

      I love to watch playthroughs  on youtube. These playthroughs are typically done with the new games that come out.  When i first started watching these playthroughs, it was of games that I had bought, or had played.  But now that I am all caught up with those games, I want to listen and watch the comedy that comes out when people play a fun game.  the most recent game that looks like a blast is, Batman: Arkam City.  I havent bought the game, or even beat the first game.  so i thought that i would go back and play though Arkam Asylum.

     I want to go through the Arkham Asylum before I bought the new game, or even watch people playing it.

But now i want to give an impression of what i remembered about the first game.  The story is based on the idea that the joker breaks every one out of there cells and gives them fear reign of the facilities.  The game was fun, and the combat was fluid.  There was a ton of stuff to do, there are little "side quests" to deal with riddler puzzles.  This is a really cool deviation from the main story.  I remember that i liked the game, but it was really long and couldnt get through all of it in a few weeks. 

    so after i play the game for a little bit, i will come back and give a more in depth review.

Batman image from Desmm

Advertising video games

      There has been a trend to over hype games as of recently.  If one were to look at all the commercials that have appeared on TV or the internet, you will notice that some really bad games have used a lot of ad space.  I would like to talk about "Call of Duty: Black Ops", as one of the culprits of over hype.  I played through the game once, i didn't touch the multiplayer, but I knew from how the game felt during the single player, that i was not going to like it.  The single play felt, forced. the story didn't flow well, it felt like a group of guys got together over a couple of beers and came up with scenarios, then figured out a story that would tie them all together.  The game was marketed as a great story that takes you on a journey.  for me, it was a simple shooter with a crappy story.

            Another game that suffers from over hype is "Rise of Nightmares"  I recently read Game Informer's review of this game.  They didnt like the game at all.  the great thing that was advertised,  was the amazing controls that you would have with the Kinect.  needless to say, the controls need a bit of work.  

I was seeing advertising for both of these games every where.  I just hate to see bad games get a huge marketing budget, when they could have devoted funds to developing the game. 

I was thinking about this because "Saints Row the Third" is coming out, and the commercials look great.  I really hope that they didnt fuck it up.  

advertising image by Flaneur

Jazz band and music

In high school i used to play the trombone.

           those where some of the best days of my life. Sitting in band and playing along with these great musicians.  The kids where great at what they played, we had  trio of trumpets that were fucking amazing.  our sax section was super young and yet so talented.  our rhythm section was so in sync with each other, they kept time like no other.  It was a blast to play music with these people.  With these kids you felt the music and it just flowed.

My favorite jazz music was fast paced songs that were really lyrical.  Fables of Faubus, is a great example of this, it has a very set chorus that you always come back to.  The Buddy Rich version of love for sale by Cole Porter was another favorite of mine.  You cant play that song fast enough.

Now my music tastes of expanded, and i am remebering these days because I am doing one of those 30 day challenges.  i am on day 8.  its so much fun to go back and find these awesome songs that i had almost forgotten.



image by Rustymcgrady

old games. (ish)

I really do love almost every game that has come out for the Xbox.

    All of the really good quality games that have come out, have been great.  Some people would disagree with this statement, but those people are idiots.  My idea for a great game is one that you can play for a long time, and not get bored.  I recently got my hands on Call of duty 4: modern warfare.  That game, although frustrating of the hardest difficulty, is really fun.  And like most games that have come out that had some semblance of a budget, it looks really good.  

      Another example of a really good older game,  Splinter cell: conviction.  that game was a blast!!!!  that game had really good graphics, and a story to go along with it.  There were many games that were like this.  Need for Speed: most wanted, which might actually be the best need for speed game ever, was also a great game. All the Halo games (i havent played halo wars) are tons of fun.  I could go on about all the great games that have come out

if you havent really noticed, i am a total Xbox fan boy.  I cant really get into the PS3, just not my thing.


video game love at here
360 logo here

motivation and a 30 day challange

My GF said something to me today that really made me smile, but then it got me thinking, what motivates us to do better.  My better half made a comment that she ran on the treadmill all for me.  Now I have used this motivation a lot, to be better for some one else.  I have found a distinct problem with this doing for someone else,  and that is that your motivation can go away really fast.  As soon as you get some sort of gratification, you loose your motivation. so what i am saying is that, it is great for the short term, but if you want motivation in the long term you need something else.
cute kitty by inurearms

The motivation that you need to for long term things, is more personal. It has to make you happy, cause, who doesnt like to be happy.  and this type of motivation, is the hardest to find. I still havent really found that motivation myself, but i think im getting closer.



OH and i am doing a 30 day challenge, its based on songs. so i will be posting for each day starting tomorrow.

swimming

I went swimming for the first time in a long time.
     I was raised in The Netherlands, and over there you must learn to swim.  they take you out of school so that you can learn.  so i learned to love the water at a very young age. when my family and I came back to they united states, during the summer we would go to the pool every day.  and every summer, I would also join the summer swim team at the local pool.  This is just a little back story to illustrate how much i loved the water.  Now the summer going into freshman year i had to have surgery on my hand, this stopped my from playing football and swimming.   I basicly have swam since, this is only in comparison to swimming all the time.

      So back to present day.  I have been trying to get back into shape.  back when i was swimming alot, i was in really good shape.  This could have something to do with the fact that i was doing a ton of other physical stuff.  however swimming is a great physical thing.  I swam for 10 mins straight and was exhausted.  Aside from being a great cardio thing, you work lots of muscles that you dont work normally work when you are lifting weights.  basicly what i am saying is... GO SWIMMING, ITS REALLY GOOD.








image by Northexpedition

horrific ideas

the worst idea ever....
      the worst idea ever is to do part of a paper that is due the next day, and then crawl into bed and say you will do it in 15 mins.  I did this last night at around 8, cause i normally go to bed at 12 or so.  I promptly fell asleep.  The only good thing about this was that i then awoke at 3. this gave me enough time to finish the paper.

    but sleep is a major part of the bodies immune system.  Sleep also helps recover from hard work outs. so you need sleep.

i really like to sleep.  so tonight,  I will go to bed at around 9.  but the best part of it, i wont have a paper due the next day.





cute picture by northexpedition

Achievements

I really like getting achievements.

        I think they are a really fun thing to do when you have already beaten a game.  to just go back and play for the gamer score.  The problem that i have with achievements is that there are some that you cant get unless you play multiplayer.  I dont have alot of friends on Xbox live and thus don't play multiplayer as often as others.  This makes it inherently difficult to get some achievements.   To get the multiplayer achievements, unless you have friends, you have to play the game in the first week. Other wise, the people who are playing the game go back to playing either call of duty, or halo. 

    The second problem that i have with multiplayer achievements is that with an old game, you cant go back and get all the achievements, no one is playing them.  Currently i am playing saints row, and i would expect that people are playing the saints row 2 multiplayer, that is if they liked the first one.  this makes it IMPOSSIBLE to get saints row 1 achievements. which is really irritating.

image by Gillonator

Music

I listen to music just like any normal person.

   the way that i listen to music is on an ipod touch.  but what i am currently liking a lot, is techno music.  the awesome person day[9] has recently introduced me to Blue Sky Black Death.  They are a very ambient and sound nice.  what i mean by this is that the sound of there music is very harmonic (no dissident chords).  day[9] has also shown a couple of other bands that are really fun: Purity Ring, and Ludique.  these bands just like BSBD have nice harmonies.



    Another person that I find fun is Deadmau5.  Although, I am very selective with his music that I like.  the majority of his stuff is very dissident, and thus unpleasing to my ears.  I come from a background music,  my mothers plays the piano and sings, both my sister and brother played instruments.  And in high school i played the trombone, in both jazz band an the orchestra.  So what is pleasing to me, is some jazz, classical, and most of Classic rock.  I can understand how some people like the dissident stuff that deadmau5 likes, but for me... it just doesnt do it.




image by Vegeta

a little change of style

I don't feel like my style of blogging is that effective.  Yeah it may be good if i am writing articles ever once and a while for a magazine, but this is just for me.  If along the way I am able to give some knowledge to some people, that's great. 

So now instead of just talking exclusively about video games and fitness and things that relate to either of those things, I will expand to what I like.  Dont worry, there will still be a lot of stuff dealing with dealing with gaming and working out... mainly because that is what is going to be on my mind.  But i think that occassionly i will talk about music, food, and how bad my fashion is.

Puppy photo by iNGonit

Scheduling and workouts

I want to talk about when I like to workout.

    I dont really have an ideal time when i want to workout.  I just know that I want to have AT LEAST an hour for a workout.  I find this hard in the morning, such as if i need to be into work by 8, that means that i have to be out of the gym by 7:45 to make sure that i have enough time to walk to work. Cause the gym is just across the street from where i work.  But that means that I need to get to the gym at 6:45.  Which means that i have to be up at 6 to get everything ready for work AND the gym.  So the mornings are a pain in the ass.  Now if i wanted to do it in the afternoon, yeah i could do that but my lunch break would be longer then an hour, which is frowned upon. 

     So that only leaves the evening. This is a good time, except that i could be exhausted from work and other stuff that has come up during the day.  So I dont really have a set time when I go and work out, i just try to squeeze one in when ever I can, which is not the best way to do it. 

Gaming

     Just like working out, I have a problem with getting a solid time slot of gaming.  Because all gamers know that if you actually want to make progress in your game, you need to play it for a couple of hours at a time, other wise you get no where. 

     School get out in the early afternoon, but then I want to get my homework done right away.  And I have classes in the morning, plus gaming in the morning is just a bad idea.  This is because i get really sucked in to a game and cant put it down, even to eat. 

    This only leaves the evening to game,  But by then the other people in my house have gotten home and would like to use the TV.  so I cant do it in the evening, this only leaves the late nights, or weekends, and typically i have other obligations. Hopefully those will go away.  

killing time by Flaneur, here

Now time by Danilecker, here

Saints and Stairs

Sorry guys that i have not posted in a while. School has been keeping me from posting.

So I have gotten a couple of new games: Dead Island, Deus Ex.  But I have been playing some old games.

I picked up Saints Row and Saints Row 2,  just so that i know what the new Saints Row game is going to be like.

So Saints Row is  very fun game,

Although it is an old game, its still fun and the story is engaging.

     The technical side of the game, like most old games, does not hold up to the test of time.  Saints row came out early in the 360s lifespan. The graphics compared to now are BAD, however not bad enough that you cant play the game, but its irritating.

     The game play is EXACTLY like GTA,  but the game doesnt ever try and hide the fact that its a clone.  You go around killing rival gang members and commenting crimes.  Over time you gain territory and earn money.  the amount of guns and cars that you can get is big,  there are 8 categories of guns and 3 or 4 in each category.  This is a large number, but there are redundancies in each category.  There are alot of guns, but you realize what you like very early on.

     The story is a little different from GTA, where in Saints Row you are fighting a gang war.  The story is about as old as time.  But it seems like it has been presented slightly differently maner.

Over all the game is a blast.  I cant wait to move on to Saints Row 2.

Fitness!!!!!!

     I just got a member ship to 24 hour fitness.  The gym is good and I am really glad that I can start doing exercises with more weight.  having a gym ins so helpful when you want to get stronger.

    Because I want to be a firefighter I have been using the stair master thing.  MY LORD! walking stairs is so hard.  you work up a sweat so fast.  The one problem that I have with any sort of walking type of thing, is that i get shin splints really easily.  The only problem I have with this is because I cant do this stuff for a really long time. 

Damnit shin splints suck alot.

Saints Row image here

stair image found here

Deus EX and a solid workout (for once)

So I bought the game Deus Ex.
It is an awesome game.  but the really cool thing about it is that it offers you several ways to go about beating the game.  At the end, there are several ending you can have, depending on the press of a button. Aside from the really cool endings and the alternate paths you can take to accomplish the objectives, the story is really good.  The story flows very well and is believable.  Some video game stories don't feel right, like they try and fit to many plot twists in, or the plot twist is not a twist but a 180 jump.  With Deus Ex the twists are, not easy to guess, but easy to accept. .

image at here

The graphics are amazing and the style in which they are presented goes well with the game.  most of the game play takes place at night or around sunset,  so there are alot of subdued colors.  this gives the game a slightly edgy feel and makes the game tense.  there are other games that try to make you feel tense, but it doesnt always work, with Deus Ex the story fits with the style which fits with the sound and makes it an all around great game.


WORKOUT!!!!
I was finally able to get a good workout in.  To me a good workout is one in which I feel tired afterward, yet invigorated.  I think the difference between this one and what i have previously been doing is that this one i did a slightly longer cardio.  recently my cardio has been lack luster, this one i did around 20 mins, which felt great.  For the weights I did clean and press with the sand bag, then squats and finally some hammer swings with the tire.  I did all of this in a circuit so there was minimal rest until after i completed all of the exercises.

But it felt really good. I will be doing more of that rotation, just because i know that i can do it and it felt good.

next cardio thing: STAIRS

    image at

IDRA and pushups

VIDEO GAMES!!!
I am currently watching the big american tournament MLG Raleigh.  The one person that I want to talk about is Greg "IDRA" Fields.  He is a very good starcraft 2 player, and was one of the best non Korean players. He plays a very macro heavy style.  macro is making units, while micro is how you control those units. one of the most fun things about IDRA is that he gets angry alot, such as when another person does something gimmicky.

During the most recent MLG, Idra was playing a korean, and lost 2 games in a combined 5 minutes. Both games, he probably could have come back and made the game longer.  But what made me laugh was his reaction.  after the second game, he through off his headset. now with a piece of equipment worth $100 or so, you dont really want to destroy it.

Picture by Mushi









FITNESS
push ups are one of the hardest exercises for a big man.  I am a bigger guy, and the reason that push ups are so hard is when you are doing push ups you are lifting a lot of your body weight.  Aside form push ups being a pain in the ass to do, if you can master the push up, you really dont have to do a whole lot else for your upper body.  The push up works your chest, your shoulders, your back, and your arms.

to get all these affects, you just have to do them, which i have been trouble with.

image by flying mouse

hammers and Zombies

Every exercise I do has a purpose.

I watch a lot of mixed martial arts, AKA MMA.  The great thing about MMA is that the workout that the athletes do is completely designed to increase power and speed.  every exercise that fighters do has a purpose, nothing is just for show. A fair number of exercises that a person can do at the gym a useless in the real world.  If you want muscle that you can use, you have to challenge yourself.

       image at

So back to MMA, i watched a fighter use a sledge hammer to hit a truck tire. Now to me this was an intriguing exercise. So i went out and found a truck tire, bought a 8 lbs sledge at my local hardware store, and went to town on the tire.   The workout that i came up with for hitting the tire was,  10 to 20 over head hits from both shoulders.  then switch, to swinging the sledge like a baseball bat, alternating sides. do 3 to 4 sets of each, or til i cant do any more.

The thing i like about this workout is that you get a great back shoulder, and core workout, but you get to release stress. with this workout, another thing that you have to worry about is your form.  You need a solid base, with all the movements, you need to keep your feet planted.

VIDEO GAMES

A great game to play with friends is Left 4 Dead 2.  you get to kill zombies.  I am trying to think of another insightful thing to say about the game, but its just a fun game.  The graphics are good. the attention to detail that valve put into the game is huge.  there are several types of zombies, some that have special attributes. there are several types of weapons that you can choose from, which is fun.  Overall the game is a blast to play.  the game can be very frustrating but the amount of fun that you get from killing hordes of the undead makes up for the difficulty. 

image by samsteria

Form and old games

Lets talk about form.

The only way to get the most out of the workout that you are doing is by using correct form.  For example if a person is doing push ups, where your arms are positioned changes the muscles that are being worked.  Having your arms hands width apart works your chest and back. while moving your hands in, works more of your arms, specifically your triceps. 

(love this picture found it here)

The most important thing to remember is that you should always try and keep correct form for the muscles you are trying to work.

My last workout I did 2 super sets back to back.  The first one was squats and lunges, 3 sets of both exercises alternating between both.  The second set was pushups and kettle bell swings.  This second set is a lot harder then the first one.  This is because a kettle bell swing is a compound exercise and, well, they are hard.

image at 

RETRO GAMES

I recently went through my pile of video games. The game that i pulled out was Splinter cell, the first one.  Splinter Cell was an amazing game when it first came out.  It the ORIGINAL stealth action game, it was genre defining.  Game mechanics and good story telling made this game one of the best games ever.  

The game follows Sam Fisher as he tries to save the world from WW3.  Fisher is a super spy of sorts,  he uses stealth to achieve his goals.  The mechanics of the game revolve around light and sound, Fisher can hide in the shadows and move around and not be detected if you move slowly enough. 

I had forgotten how hard Tom Clancy games can be. When I first started playing the game, I thought that i could blast through the first couple levels, because what i remember about the game was that it only got really hard after the first 4 levels.

I will talk more about the game in another post as i progress though out the game.

cardio and racing

Lets talk about cardio.
My method of cardio is riding my bike on a trainer.  I dont think that this is the best method of cardio but it is the only one that i can bring my self to do at this moment.  Running takes a lot of dedication and will power to go and run for 1 mile or two. For me with biking, I can sit on my bike and read a book.  with running, it is hard to get your mind off of the pain that does occur.


 Another good exercise for cardio is jump rope.  but again another problem with jumping rope, you have to concentrate very hard to keep your form solid.  However a giant benefit from jumping rope is you dont have to do it for as long to get the same type of benefit.


Image link

VIDEO GAMES!!!
Currently i am playing a racing game, Need for speed: Most wanted.  I really love this game. It's a ton of fun, it is based on the premise that you are a street racer who is trying to get to the top of the food chain.  To get to the top you have to win races and get away from the cops a certain amount of times.  After you meet these prerequisites, you get to a boss type race. during the career you get to upgrade your car and customize it a lot. To me a lot of customization is "i can pick the body kit, spoiler and color of just about everything". the amount of customization is enough that there are a lot of options, but it is not over whelming.


another fun thing about the game is that it is not a simulation, but it is not quite an arcade game. there is a bit of precision needed to control the car, but if you play alot, you get good and can do really well.

This is a REALLY old game. It came out when the companies where making games for the 360 and original xbox at the same time.  But its still fun and looks amazing. I LOVE IT.                                      
                                                                                                       this car i found here