User:Octygen
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Introduction[edit]
My real name is Octavian Petrescu. I was born in Timişoara, Romania on September 26, 1984. My family and I immigrated to Canada in 1997. I am but a person in this world we share, trying to do my best. I started keeping training programs here on Wikipedia 2022.8.7.
My Biggest Challenge[edit]
My #0P date is 2022-8.2 2022.8.8 2022.8.16 2022.8.18 #0P is a daily battle l have to carry with me for the rest of my life, starting on this day. I have failed countless times, but I probably won't get another child to motivate me. Remember Charlie from Lost. I have a private wiki on tiddlyhost using tiddlywiki to keep track of this. Last check: 56 days #0P on October 14th at 4:45AM.
Primary Objective is Daily Training… but Sleep is the *Perpetual* Priority[edit]
Training Program[edit]
| DAY | Scheduled Training | W1 10/17 | W2 10/24 | W3 10/31 | W4 11/7 | W5 11/14 | W6 11/21 | W7 11/28 | W8 12/5 | W9 12/12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | C25K Day 9 Week Plan (base!) + Kegels for 10m |
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| Tu |
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| W | ||||||||||
| Th | ||||||||||
| Fr | ||||||||||
| Sa | ||||||||||
| Su | Glamour Muscles with DBs
+++ = hold at top for 2s with SR (Scapular Retraction) BS (Belly-to-Spine) TB (Tight Butt) HB (Head Back) the whole time. Mandatory DBs: 8, 15, 20, 25. |
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| L! | If W >= 5 2022.09.13 From Rage in Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell, then put a W, else L | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? | W/L? |
PROGRAM KEYS:
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Training Principles[edit]
- Goal: To lose fat!
- Question: Did you do your absolute best to put a W in there? Each day is a battle. Each week... is a war.
- Motivation: I am on the verge of being obese at BMI 29 and a Body Fat % of 27.3. -August 2022
- No matter what, you have to wake up early and go for a morning walk. That's how you get energy for the day.
- e.g., Door-to-door from 969 Cherrier to the McGill Gym is 27 minutes, 1.2 miles (ca. 2 km), 2700 steps. So return is 60 minutes, 2.4 miles (ca. 4 km), ~5500 steps. You're doing a… taste of a workout. At the middle of it, you're at the gym with people.
- Once you get fit, you can simply run it. You can shorten the time in half if you run it, since the average run for 2 km is 15 minutes[1].
- Gym Morning2022.8.18: Renewed my McGill membership and need to do a walk to the gym daily.
- Since I have to be “in the pool” by 645h, I have to leave home at 600h unless running or biking there.
- Morning! If it's later in the day, you're 10x more likely not to do it. This implies that your "workout starts the night before when you go to sleep around 9PM.
- Alternative2022.8.17. If conditions don't allow or if you had an L yesterday but still want to do the workout, you can switch workouts between two consecutive days.
- E.g., The weather is not good for the current workout the next day, or you simply didn't have time.
- Try to work out in all weather. If it rains, wear your poncho!
- No matter what. Even if you do physical activity X (e.g., bike to work, etc.), still do the workouts.
- Kegel "form".
- LYING down on your back with knees bent up >
- SITTING but with trunk forward with straight back and away from the back of the chair with knees apart (Perfect 90) >
- STANDING with feet apart and good posture good against gravity could look in a mirror to see compression step >
- ALL-FOURS on palms or elbows best for performance!
- KEY: PRIORITIZE STANDING position (#3).
- KEY: DO THE FIRST SET IN ONE position, DO THE SECOND SET IN A SECOND position.
Exercises in Future Training Programs[edit]
| Exercise | Thoughts |
|---|---|
| Run downhill | Get used to the impact |
| Posture | |
| Skipping Rope Outside (no matter the season) | |
| Pushups 5s*10r with 60s rest | |
| SSET 60s rest (Boxing Squat Left Leg FW 5s*20r +
Boxing Squat Right Leg FW 5s*20r) |
|
| SSET 60s rest (Planks 35s
+ Side-Plank Right 35s + Side-Plank Left 35s) |
|
| SSET 60s rest (Lunges Left Leg FW 5s*20r
+ Lunges Right Leg FW 5s*20r) |
|
| Balance | |
| Masters swimming? | |
| Grip | |
| TABLE KEY: You have the poor tendency to over-plan and under-deliver. Put all those extra plans here. | |
Sacrifices for Training... or Studying (see below)[edit]
| Sacrifice | How much time? | Difficulty | Replace with? |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTG... but be careful since it keeps you away from #0P (there's no denying this!) | 2h+ | Medium |
|
| Screwing around in the morning
(e.g., shopping) |
2h+ | Easy | Put something on while you work out
e.g., Blinkist summary, audiobook, anime, TV |
| TV at night | 1h | Hard | Workout |
| Non-MTG games | 1h | Easy | Workout |
| TABLE KEY: These are mandatory to allow for the below. | |||
Idealistic Principles[edit]
| Keyword | Principle | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Doing vs Studying | 80:20 Doing:Studying is optimal. | In Doing you learn a tremendous amount more than Studying any given topic. Try it right now! Read how to do a pushup. Then do a pushup. |
| Relationships | The most important treasures in your life are your close relationships with other live beings. | Support system. Your most reliable support system is your set of relationships with friends and family. Most importantly, don't forget: you have to constantly maintain each relationship. The needs of those friends and family members change with time. Keep up. Do not be complacent.
Material goods are meaningless when you realize they can all be had for free. Through tight relationships, you can get any thing pretty much free. You need to have some value you provide to others as well. Decide on that value and become excellent at giving it. e.g., You can pay for an expensive hotel room in X location. Or you can know the owner and they let you stay there free Friendship and democracy. "Democracy is the philosophy of making friends on equal terms not of creating master-servant relationships. I want to have good friends, and I want to be a good friend to other people." Alexander Bucock at his death, Legend of the Galactic Heroes I wish someone told me this when I was young: everyone, every single person you meet, is suffering. It is the human way. They may portray an ideal life but, inside, everyone carries their own crosses whether rich, strong, beautiful, successful, fit, well-spoken, etc. Knowing this allows you to be compassionate to all. Help them if you can. "Rare is the man that keeps his promises." Sword in the Storm, David Gemmell |
| Reality | "1. Accept everything just the way it is." Miyamoto Musashi in the Dokkodo | Stoicism. "To avoid unhappiness, frustration, and disappointment, we, therefore, need to do two things: control those things that are within our power (namely our beliefs, judgments, desires, and attitudes) and be indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power (namely, things external to us)." William R. Connolly
Serenity. "God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Alcoholics Anonymous Certainty. "If I've learned anything in my job [doctor], it's that, in life, there are no certainties. Good or bad, there are no certainties." ER |
| Adapt | Adapt to all situations, especially unexpected ones you fear | Management and Leadership are both an art because they involve people. No two people are the same. Do not assume that your new role will be the same as your old role. There will be patterns but most important is adaptability to the context. Take time to understand it. Mind the gap between expectations and reality - this is where most frustration comes from.
|
| Insults and Bullies | How to best take insults
How to best handle bullies |
When someone insults you, the best thing to do is to take that insult, exaggerate it and laugh about it. Be crazy.
When someone bullies you... take it, do not get into fights. Try to prevent another instance by clearly being too strong (overpowering in both intelligence and martial art prowess) for anyone to attack. "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." Isaac Asimov |
| Time vs Health | Time is by far one's most important resource - health ensures you can actually use it |
|
| Self-worth | Self-worth is achieved through discipline | Get self-esteem from inside you not from the outside world. Never let others tell you your worth.
|
| Better tomorrow | "I will do better" | “The most important words a man can say are, “I will do better.” These are not the most important words any man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say.
The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says “journey before destination.” Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we will hurt those around us. But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one. I’m certain some will feel threatened by this record. Some few may feel liberated. Most will simply feel that it should not exist. I needed to write it anyway.” Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson “Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a man in the process of changing.” Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson Find ways to be 1% better every day at the thing you care about every single day. If you fail, try again the next day until you're able. |
| QUICK-ADDS BELOW | ||
| Have friends you can rely on | ||
| Action | 3 simple truths re action:
| |
| Self-appreciation | As the name suggests, this simply refers to noticing and savouring things that we like about ourselves. Many of us have a natural resistance to doing this, but it can be very helpful to do so. It is like selfcompassion for pleasant experiences, and is a natural extension of savouring and gratitude.
Perhaps take a moment now to bring to mind THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: qualities you have, or things that you have done well. Imagine what your best friend might say about you. Feel the pleasant sensations in your body and savour these. Perhaps be grateful that you have these qualities or have had these experiences. | |
| #lifetip Person to person interaction is key with mentors. You have to see them. Virtual just doesn't work.
#lifetip Good mentors let you develop your own style and then let you fly free. But they could still do the opposite. You have to be aware. #lifetip Aristotle and Alexander. As was the perfect mentor having mastered multiple fields. Taught Alexander how to connect things and how to think. | ||
| TABLE KEY: I am doing my absolute best to apply all of these in my life, but not chastising myself if I don't. I would only expect the same from you. | ||
Add:
- Don't eat rather than eat at restaurants (ideally!)
- Don't spend money on coffee or tea outside - bring your own in a thermos (ideally!)
- Only watch tv shows when you're sure you won't be disturbed else it's frustrating
- Listen to fiction audiobooks and don't feel bad for missing things - look up quotes later on Goodreads
- Use Pimsleur and the other guy's language learning courses
- Reach out to old friends like Steve, Yvon, Yan and Arto and Dick Boera
- Listen to summaries of business books to get the jist of them (e.g., Blinkist and GetAbstract) - they are usually too poorly written to be worth reading for real
- Keep your bike tuned and your tires inflated
- Go for daily walks, work out daily and
- Study toward a job or opportunity you want AND do your best to get recognized formal certs as a result so you can become part of a small community of people with that cert
- Do Olympic sports. You cut through a ton of BS as a result.
" Your gym, if possible, should be your local uni. You get motivation and you get a community.
What do I think is the key question when it comes to leading one's life? I wanted to start by emphasizing a key question one needs to constantly be asking themselves. If one asks and acts on the answer, one is able to avoid a lot of the unnecessary pain life can provide. Consequently, if one asks and acts on the answer, one can extract infinite pleasure out of life.
Am I currently using suboptimal or unhealthy behaviours to cope with what I am facing? If yes, I am being duped, since my actions allow others to profit off my suffering/fear/stress. Time is my most important and constantly diminishing resource – is it being spent wisely to cope? My health allows me to use my most indispensable resource – am I hurting it? Right now, at this moment, is there a better way for me to cope with what I am facing?
Suboptimal Behaviours[edit]
| Behaviour | Description |
|---|---|
| Smoking or Drinking or Doing Drugs | There is a reason every doctor asks you whether you smoke or drink or do drugs. Because it hurts your health. Don't start smoking or doing drugs and drink in moderation. |
| Avoiding hard things to choose comfort | If you avoid things that are challenging... If you avoid things that demand a lot of your time...
If you avoid things that make you uncomfortable... If you avoid things where you may fail... If you avoid relationships where you inevitably have to compromise some of your "freedom"... ... then you will never do anything worthwhile.
|
| Cheating, stealing and other lies are simply not optimal for mental health. | You WILL be found out and lies cause a LOT of problems down the line. I know from a LOT of experience. It's much better to nip the difficulties in the bud. E.g., When a relationship ends, end it fully. If it's meant to be, you'll end up together. When you move away from her, end things. You can get back together later if there is still something there. |
| Comparing self versus low-fidelity/inauthentic images of others |
|
| Living to be entertained | Games, TV shows, watching live sports, going to concerts, watching movies. They don't add much value alone. You're watching somebody do cool things. You have limited time on this planet. Go do good things yourself or learn how. This doesn't mean never to entertain yourself. It means to do it in a balanced way and, ideally, with others.
Pornography is especially perverse because it taps into something insidious. The mental effects are only seen in the long-run when it's too late. See articles on Pornography Addiction and Effects of Pornography. |
| Chasing women | Especially if you're doing it to feel wanted or worth-it. The chases consume infinite money, time, and emotions. Chase big goals instead. Find a good one and work on the relationship with her. |
| “La jalousie est une maladie." Bridgette B | All jealousy is trying to tell you is:
|
| When you are bullying, you're hurting someone weaker than you. | It's the most dishonourable activity. Don't do it. Animals are easy to kill. People with disabilities are easy targets. Poor people are easy targets. Don't waste your most valuable resource (time) with such activities. If possible, get strong and stand up to people that bully others. Now that is a good time investment. :) |
| Studying videos | Books are much easier to learn from than video courses. Videos will contain a ton of preamble that is hard to skip since you can't see what is going to be said. In books, you can quickly skip any irrelevant material. |
| Reading weak books | If the book has three messages and the rest is self-aggrandizing fluff from the author, it's not worth reading. Michener can't be summarized. Neither can Jules Verne. Neither can Herman Wouk. Neither can a textbook for psychology. Neither can the Wilderness First Responder books. These are worth reading and learning. The first ones for fun, the latter for intellectual strength. |
| Being “part” of someone else's club (e.g., in university) but not being an exec. Don't be a pawn. | No. YOU create and lead a club, then have other people be part of it. Find a niche people are interested in. |
| Being angry when insulted | Breathe. Be honest. Is the insult true? No? Then let it roll over you, but note down in your mind who said it. Yes? Then pay heed to the negative feedback – it's rare people give it. |
| TABLE KEY: Yes, I have done them all. You will have to do them all. Hopefully you do less than me. | |
ARCHIVE: Training Programs[edit]
August, September 2022[edit]
| DAY | Scheduled Training | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | Walk to Mont-Royal + Stairs*(1+W#) | W! With risk of rain! | W 3 stair climbs and felt great after :) Just right for me in Week 2. | W 4 stair climbs! | L | L |
| Tu | 60m Human 2.0 Run Mobility Optional: box\chair, long pipes, weight | L Bad interview day but that is not a valid excuse. I didn't do my best. I will do better. | L 2022.8.16 Again... no good reason:( Tuesdays seem to be my bad days. Need to mitigate this. I was just lazy. | L no good reason again :( Just... mentally-tired? Worried about mtgs the next day. Messed around re martial arts I could do... some anime, a DS9 ep... Had tons of time to work out :( But I'm staying strong with #0P. | L | L |
| W | Walk to Mont-Royal + Stairs*(1+W#) | D Walk to the office. Walk from work to metro but no stairs. | L Wanted to do yday's workout but got busy with work really no excuse. Would have been easy to squeeze 1 hour in. | W 4 again! I do want to fast till lunch after such a workout... All I should need is water. Saw David Usher at the top! :) Also, I think I should run back in the next iteration of this... Just downhill to have my knees get used to the impact. | L | L |
| Th | 60m Human 2.0 Run Strength Optional: balance beam, strap to do leg extensions | L No real reason sadly. Did not sacrifice the morning messing around on phone. Was too tired after work. | L Tired and definitely did not sleep well. Not an excuse. Feeling very demotivated at work sadly. | L No good reason. Just tired and don't feel like being inside, I guess. | L | L |
| Fr | Walk to Mont-Royal + Stairs*(1+W#) | W | W | D Stairs... then walked to hospital | L | L |
| Sa | Human 2.0 Knee Strengthening Optional: yoga block, medium weight KB | W Felt good? :) | W Replaced with glamour | L | L | L |
| Su | Glamour Muscles with DBs
*hold at top for 2s with SR BS TB the whole time. Mandatory DBs: 8, 15, 20, 25 |
W! | W Replaced with mobility | L | L | L |
| L! | If W >= 4 (change this to 5 in the future like Rage), then put a W, else L | 4W:2L:1D = W :) | 4W:3L = W :) | 2W:2L:1D | 7L | 7L |
| TABLE KEY: (W)in, (L)oss, (D)raw in the Week columns, with commentary. Did you do your absolute best to put a W in there? Each day is a battle. Each week... is a war. | ||||||
| Metric
(in order) |
Start Result
Sunday, August 8th, 2022 |
End Result
Sunday, September 4th, 2022 |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight (lbs) | 225.8 | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| BMI | 29 | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| Body Fat % | 27.3 | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| Muscle (lbs) | 86.7 | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| Bone Mass | 14.1 | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| Body Water | 53% | The results were very good! | Naked, measured on Garmin scale |
| TABLE KEY: What is measured, gets done. What cannot be envisioned, does NOT get done. | |||
- ^ "2km Run Test". www.topendsports.com. Retrieved 2022-08-18.