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