Category: Cycling

Cycling Backpack/Bag

Carl Setzer

I delight in seeing new bike gear. And I consider Timbuk2 gear “bike gear”. This one looks pretty groovy. (Note: I don’t think I rock the hipster style quite this well.)

Besides the way the back stores your commuting essentials…

…I love the idea of a “ventilated back panel”, especially if it prevents soggy back syndrome. That’s what I’ve always hated about backpacks (and beyond cycling). No air on my back, ooey-gooey-soggy back/shirt. Blech! Yet I like the feeling of carrying gear in a backpack; more comfortable.

So, I hope this works. Whether I’ll pony up the ~$80 for this remains to be seen. I have a rather large collection of bags, and bringing home a new addition has been determined legally justification for kicking me in the shins.

The tyranny of the scale

Carl Setzer

Just weighed myself. To my horror, I’ve gained 6 pounds! Huh? I’ve been diligent about taking my calories, having solid confidence in my data. My pants are another belt notch tighter. I can see better definition in my upper body. “How could I have slipped”, you might ask. My answer: it’s more complex.

Besides running and cycling, I’m into taekwondo. Actually, martial arts is my primary fitness activity. And that’s the main complicating factor. Recently, I’ve focused heavily on core training. My abs, arms and back have been worked hard. I was frustrated by failing to get past ten pushups. And I’m getting results. I can do more, way more pushups and crunches. But muscle weighs more (pet unit volume) than fat. Thus, significant muscle growth often gains weight faster than fat loss will lose it.

So many folks’ single health metric is weight. Really, we should add other pieces: arm, leg, chest size, distance, time, weight lifted, etc… All of these are more important measures of fitness. And, if fat loss is the goal, then BMI.

My goal is better health, to grow fitter. More pushup capacity, to be able to run with joy, and greater endurance with my running and cycling. Over the next year or so, I want to ride the Seattle to Portland, run a 5k, increase my flexibility and crank out more pushups than the twenty-year-olds in my taekwondo studio.

That will serve me better than simply focusing on weight. And my vision is long-term.

Healthy Living : Changing Lives

Carl Setzer

I remember reading Scott Cutshall’s story a little while back (read it here). My thoughts on running, fitness, and all that over the past few days brought it back to the front of my mind. Part of what connected me was his journey, but not just the effectiveness (massive weight-loss). No, what really struck me was a simple truth: he gained health by finding something he loved and letting it pull him along. I’ve long felt the way to a healthy life was to find something physical that you loved. That, even was dripping sweat, feeling exhaustion, facing your next appointment, you keep thinking “can I squeeze just a few more minutes?”

Passion, joy, that’s really what makes this happen. Go and find yours!

More Running Thoughts

Carl Setzer

Yesterday I had a brief post about a new online community for runners. A side note was about my attempts to recapture my love of running. Running, now, is a significant amount of work. 20 years ago, it was fun; meditation in motion. I thought about it and hit one key thought: weight.

I weighed about 175 in my running/cycling heyday. When I started reclaiming this lifestyle, I hit 208. Now at 194, things are more pleasant. But those 20 pounds will still affect my feelings. I’m sure that getting my weight closer to an ideal will really help. And getting my fitness level up will, too.

The other thing I noted: a lifetime of terrible eating habits. Since I lived physical activity and would run/bike for hours, I never paid attention to what I are. At the point in life, eating a good diet is crucial to accomplishing my goals. Actually, I think I need to focus in a great diet.

My fitness tracking tools show a nutrient breakdown of my diet. Truly, it’s sad how pathetically few nutrients I get from food. I need to take a multivitamin to get crucial elements. I want to develop a diet that gets me my fully nutrient load, while also not jamming me full of sugar.

Clearly I have work to do.

New Running Online Community

Carl Setzer1 Comment

Over the past few months, I’ve been working hard to get my fitness level back up. Years ago, I was a hard-core runner and cyclist, with many hours/miles logged. Though I’ve slipped on cycling, it’s still a regular part of my life. However, running has not.

Back then, there was a zen quality to running and cycling. Now, cycling still has that quality. Running, however, is simply work. There are moments, when I run, that I feel my mind slip away into the rhythm of my cadence. Moments, fading into work.

Having accountability, connection, makes the return to this level of fitness much more fun. So, seeing on GeekWire that Brooks and MapMyFitness have started a new community makes me feel good. Run Happy looks like it might really add something to the fitness community. I look forward to seeing how this evolves.

The Everlasting Nature Of Bad PR

Carl Setzer

I noticed this gem trending on Reddit today:Zales Fires Top Earning Saleswoman Because She Needs Surgery. Basics: Zales fires one of their best performing sales staff right after being informed she will need to take a disability leave. However one feels about this, the most crucial piece is that this is from 2009. 4 years later, this is rising on Reddit. You can guarantee that Zales will get hate messaging about this. Reminds me of one of the recurring issues I saw at Starbucks: Starbucks Hates The Military Rumor. This guy kept recycling, often at the most random times. Lesson: be very careful with your PR. Even false accusations will cycle through cyberspace and provide you regular aggravation. True ones will continuously rise up and bite, teeth sharper with each retelling.

Fitness

Carl Setzer

Many years ago now, I was a pretty hardcore fitness buff. The past few months have seen me reconnect with that part of me. Besides taekwondo, I’ve been focusing on time in the gym. Mostly on weight machines and cycling (stationary bikes). The focus on building up my core fitness before I shift to more aggressive pursuits.

My gym of choice: Vision Quest in Edmonds. I love the town, and it’s a decent gym. I wish they’d get new stationary bikes, but that’s another post.

The only beef  right now: weekend hours. For me, it would be great to come in before 7:00 am on Saturday and Sunday. Now, I understand business and that they can’t build around one person’s needs. Can’t stop a guy from wishing, however. And it does make 24 Hour Fitness more attractive. With a LA fitness opening up close by, that might change things, too. However, I love to support the local guy, the home team. So, we’ll see, I guess.

As we move solidly into spring, I look forward to more outdoor stuff. A big one: taking my family on several hikes (Wallace Falls, along with others). And that, too, is another blog post.