300

I know I'm a few years late, but I never felt I was ready to try this until now. On Friday I did the workout the stuntmen in the movie 300 used. I can confidently say it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

The workout is:
25 Pullups
50 Deadlifts at 135 pounds
50 Pushups
50 Box Jumps
50 Floor Wipers with a 135 pound barbell
50 Kettlebell Clean and Press with 35 pound dumbbell
25 Pullups
300 reps total

I was nearly wiped out by the time finished my deadlifts and during the box jumps I thought I was going to throw up. I pushed through and somehow fought through it with as little rest as possible. Andrew Pleavin, the actor who played Daxos in 300, finished in 18 minutes 11 seconds. I managed to finish it in about 43 minutes.

Needless to say, I was wiped out for the rest of the day. In the late afternoon I sat down on my bed and unintentionally wound up taking a 3 hour nap. On Sunday, after taking all of Saturday to recover, I still couldn't manage enough strength for a decent workout. It's now Monday and my back is still sore.

I think I'm definitely going to try this again after another few days to recover and I'll probably end up working it into my regular routine.

In case you're not clear on any of the exercises, this video is a great example of the workout:


For further information check out:
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35

Coe vs. State Schools

In a kind of spur of the moment I decided to make a drive out to Northern Illinois University with one of my friends on Wednesday afternoon. I'm sure everyone knows what to expect when comparing a state school like NIU to a tiny school like Coe but I still found the differences alittle overwhelming.

First of all, the city of Dekalb basically revolves around NIU while Cedar Rapids doesn't take a whole lot of notice of Coe. You can't walk a block in Dekalb without spotting at least a dozen NIU students. In Cedar Rapids I'm almost surprised to spot Coe students off campus.

Second and probably most obvious is the sheer size difference between the schools. NIU has around 24,000 students compared to our 1,500 and we each have campuses appropriately sized to accommodate our numbers. With size comes security Coe has never seen. Every visitor must be signed in and ID'd and every individual floor requires key access from both the elevator and the stairs.

Another big difference is the diversity of the students themselves. Although I'm not sure of our exact numbers, it's safe to say that most Coe students come from white, relatively privileged backgrounds. If I'm not mistaken NIU is approximately 55% black, the rest is mostly white with a mix of everything else.

While NIU may dwarf us with its massive size, there is no substitute for the comfort and familiarity of Coe. I picked Coe for a reason and I'm not planning on leaving any time soon.

Class Photo

After I took photography last semester all I really pay attention to in pictures is technical elements. I realize that it helps me better appreciate good pictures but it makes a lot of pictures I might have enjoyed in the past just look crappy to me.


This is a pretty good example of a bad picture. The lighting is terrible, there is no feeling of depth, and the only action is hand movements. Overall, it's pretty weak and really boring.





This picture is considerably better in my opinion. Despite no focal emphasis, there is a decent depth of field. I can't be picky with focus on a point and shoot camera so this works fine for now. What's more, the lighting is better and the angle is alittle more interesting as it's taken from a different perspective than just standing still and looking at the teacher.






I guess my overall message is that learning more about the art allows you to better appreciate a good picture while at the same time keeps you from enjoying bad ones. It also brings a sense of perfectionism as you can point out every flaw of every piece you do.

Hangover cures?

So I did some research to help college students with a problem almost everyone experiences in some point in college: a hangover. Basically a hangover is the symptoms of dehydration you experience after a night of heavy drinking. Although the only sure-fire way to avoid a hangover is not to drink, there are always remedies in case you decide to indulge.

An easy way to avoid a hangover are to make sure you stay hydrated throughout the night. If you drink plenty of water or gatorade throughout the night it keeps you from getting overly dehydrated the next morning.

B complex vitamins help avoid and relieve hangovers. Experts say drinking alcohol causes vitamin B12 deficiency, which can be avoided by taking b complexes. Vitamin C helps too.

Although sources disagree on its effect, fructose is said to help metabolize toxins left behind from alcohol. A good source of fructose as well as beneficial potassium and magnesium.

Surprisingly, I found that sex is an effective remedy. Although most people aren't in the mood for sex while their head is pounding, sexual activity releases endorphins which helps ease the pain of a hangover.

A hangover is a form of alcohol withdrawal, which can actually be eased with another dose of alcohol. It may not be the easiest on your stomach, but it does help ease the symptoms.

Again, I don't advocate binge drinking but for those of us who slip up now and then, some of these might help fix our mistakes. For further information check out these links

www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/hangover/hangover.html

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_hang.htm

How 'bout this freakin' weather?

There are few feelings greater than pulling your curtains open and having sunlight stream in after a straight five months of midwest winter hell. Over the past two weeks we've experienced maybe three and a half days of paradise and are once again plagued by cold winds, gray skies, and rain showers. The forecast for the next ten days says that temperatures will barely graze fifty degrees and more rain is to be expected. Hopefully warm days and sunshine will be soon to follow

Registration

Registration for classes fall semester of sophomore year is drawing nearer by the day. Now that many of us have picked our majors we wonder what the next step is. Do we pursue our major requirements? Do we knock out our gen ed requirements? What if we go abroad? Many of us are fortunate enough to have helpful and experienced advisers who are happy to steer us in the right direction. Some of us are not quite as fortunate. Thankfully there are plenty of other places to seek help for any questions you might have about. Consulting the course catalog is more helpful than it looks, with a comprehensive and easy to follow guide to every major offered at Coe along with directions on how to create your own. My personal favorite guide to class registration is the advice of friends who have experienced the courses or teachers before. They offer brutally honest insight and critique of each class along with explicit instructions of how vital the class is to your major. Whatever method you find most helpful, there are always helpful guides to how you should handle the coming year.

maiden post

this is where everyone gets to find out what's on my mind. nothing to say just yet so stay frosty and i'll update with something substantial soon enough