Gym Time

Is it time for yet another attempt at a gym membership, because we all know a membership somewhere is required to lose weight? The latest diet fad is the negative calorie food diet. Yes, you can eat the fat away though there is no scientific evidence that any food is truly negative calorie.

Living in fear will most likely cause you to gain weight, so fear not when you hear of terrorist attempts here in Milwaukee. The FBI got their man and he worked at “9 Round Fitness” which I have discovered is an alluring system and a gym that has something I have always wanted in a gym; punching bags.

Now that the gyms will be thinning out, as the new year resolutions wane, it is a good time to research the best gym for you; the resolute. For the rest of you, there is another Hugh Jass Fat Bike Series race this coming Saturday. It is in Waukesha, in Minooka Park, a great venue.

“9 Round Fitness” appears to be a mixture of Cross Fit and mixed martial arts training. You go in, start at one of nine stations, work out three minutes at each of the nine stations with thirty second rest periods in between. Thirty minutes and you are out. The workouts are changed and vary daily; each day designed to give you a full body workout. In this way it is much like Cross Fit, which I also find alluring.

Cross Fit, when I checked this Summer was $125 a month. 9 Round Fitness, from what I could find, though I didn’t get it from them directly, is $49 a month. My former gym, Blast Fitness, has sent me an offer to rejoin for $15 a month. Their more expensive packages include child care while you work out. My wife wants to join a gym and talks often about Planet Fitness which is $10 month if you want to restrict yourself to a single location, or $20 a month for nationwide access and free message chair usage.

Cross Fit offers daily varied workouts for free on their website. Varying your workouts is the latest craze that in fact is considered very effective for fitness and health. Medicine balls and such equipment can be more expensive than one imagines, but for $125 a month if you have the space at home you should be able to create your own Cross Fit training area in three or four months; the rest is frosting.

I imagine from my research that 9 Round Fitness supplies trainers and motivators with the greatest interactivity for the price. They also boast the availability fitness monitoring tools.

I am losing weight now that the holidays are over. I believe a meal plan would be helpful as when we have no planned lunch I tend to munch throughout the afternoon. We don’t eat breakfast. We have the Bulletproof Coffee. The Bulletproof Coffee was initially successful at losing weight. It feeds good gut bacteria that thin people have  a lot of and discourages bacteria that tells your body to store fat.

I believe the addition of kombucha, a probiotic, has provided more good gut bacteria. It is just my opinion, but I consider it a reinforcement of the Bulletproof Diet. More on kombucha in the future; …really. And 3D printers.

The $130 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

So Much To Do Saturday

And I am not talking the Winter’s Farmers Market, though that is a great way to start a Saturday; plenty of food vendors if you want something to eat on the spot.

The truly epic events this weekend are the Ray’s IMBA Weekend, where IMBA members can ride two for one; Buy one entry and get a second for a friend free (friend need not be a member) or buy one day for yourself and get the next day free. Become a member on the spot. Riding at Ray’s is worth the experience and with gas prices down it doesn’t matter as much how far away you are.

So… I heard that after you make this epic hill climb on your Fat Bike during the race you have to stop and drive a nail into a piece of wood before you can continue. Sounds like loads of fun if you enjoy objects to ridicule. I can be writing of none other than The Hugh Jass Fat Bike Series. Do you want to see how far you can throw a bike, among other things, than you don’t wan to miss the Hugh Jass. The event is clearly making a name for itself. Next race is tomorrow in Kletzch Park

You can rent a Fat Bike at the Hugh Jass or word is Fixation might have some demos for people to ride. There is also a Great Lakes Fat Bike Series.

The Milwaukee County Parks are reviewing their policy as to allowing Cyclocross races. In one park in particular there seems to be an issue of wear and tear. The biggest problem appears to be riders practicing continuously on fixed routes despite being told not to. So I understood from the last Metro Mountain Bikers’ monthly meeting.

Another question arose as to whether snow shoeing the trail, in order to groom the snow for Winter riding, should be considered volunteer hours. Only if you hate snow shoeing I say. Metro Mountain Bikers put in nearly 1,200 hours of volunteer work on our local trails. There will be an appreciation party.

Seriously it could be dangerous, if you don’t have a Fat Bike, to ride hard frozen trails. That’s my experience. It is also very destructive to the trails to ride them when they are soft, even in Winter.

It has to be on the coldest day of the year thus far. Our furnace n began to underperform leaving us cold, huddled under our blanket. I tried restarting it a couple times. And of course I hit it here and there with this wrench. The spring in the mechanism made sure I didn’t strike it too hard. But that is what we all did back in the day when something broke down; we hit it. Something a millennial may find beyond their comprehension. And it often worked. In our case we had to call the furnace repair man who replaced s sensor. The experience has caused me to turn our furnace way up.

The $129 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

The Wise Men

My wife realized that we hadn’t bought any eggnog this past holiday season. She forced me make my rice pudding on Christmas Day and now she and my mother demand I make more… and more.

The Epiphany and Orthodox Christmas has passed. The three wise men have come and gone. The Christmas tree and lights have come down. There is a common understanding that it takes a lifetime to become a truly wise man. If you want to be a wise man in your home, one’s castle, among your family here is a sure and proven method. Do the dishes. Making a delicious rice pudding doesn’t hurt either.

My rice pudding is delicious; to die for. Restricted to my bulletproof coffee for breakfast my wife sat before me savoring a dreamy creamy bowl for breakfast, watching me as she ate. My wife has a beautiful smile.

If you are a true mountain bike enthusiast, in pursuit of feats of extreme physical prowess, it may be wise to register for your summer events now. If Europe is your destined proving ground The Trans Alp or the Sudety MTB Challenge compete for your favor; each taking place at about the same time in July. The MTB Challenge also hosts a series of events in May.

Closer to home registration for The Ore to Shore event in the Upper Peninsula is cheaper the earlier you sign up, though registration is not yet open. Mark the last week in May if this be your chosen claim to fame. February 1st is when entries open for the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge where the toilet bowls swirl the wrong way; down under. Sign up for the Trans Iowa is closed; the event is full. The BC Bike Race sold out in less than five days. The Tour Divide is open to any rider that shows up with the resources and time.

Even closer to home. The Tour of America’s Dairyland (not California) is growing in stature in the competitive road bike community. Unclear when registration opens but it will be great for spectating here in Milwaukee. And they have a Facebook page.

The Milwaukee Ray’s Indoor Bike Park received some local news coverage. These warm days of sleet are not the time to be riding the local trails. Do it indoors.

The Bicycle Times has reviewed some great mountain bike adventures from 2015 for reference, if you find competition a bit too traumatic.

Preparation, resolutions, reflection and contemplation embrace one as the holidays pass and the Winter confines. The house is being cleaned and organized, determinations made and we hope to get back out to the Winter Farmer’s Market tomorrow.

The $128 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.