FFC fit study follow up!

Today was a great day!!  

I began the morning doing a little soul searching and think I've stumbled upon a new positive outlook on life and some pretty amazing goals to reach along the way.

This evening I had my exit interview from the 3 week fitness study to analyze my results and test to see if I accomplished my short-term fitness goals...  Well great news!! I improved all tests by MORE than I had initially set out to do.  My mile time improved by 1:15, I increased my sit-ups by more than 50% and was able to do more push ups than I ever thought physically possible.  

After we re-tested all of the entrance exercises, we met with a representative from the club and discussed various membership options.  We also provided feedback on our experience throughout the fitness program.

Overall, I had an extremely positive experience and would recommend the study to friends if the club were to offer it again.  Even though there isn't a drastic change in my appearance, I feel more in shape and overall healthier than when we started.

I think to join I will really need to incorporate this into my life and make it part of my weekly routine.  With the fit study we were encouraged to participate in at least 4 workouts per week.  If I decide to join the gym, I would strive to maintain the same weekly frequency.  There is also an FFC just down the street from my apartment, so that's an added plus!

Closing thoughts on this post: Continue to set goals for yourself no matter how big or small they might be.  Having something to work toward will only continue to build and shape yourself into the person you want to be.

Revenge Addict

After my brother Charlie set us up with a temporary Netflix account, I immediately got hooked on Revenge.  I know I am a little late to jump on the Revenge bandwagon, but starting a new show in the middle of a season is never appealing to me, so without the ability to start from the beginning I had no interest in watching.  I can now say that I watched 44 episodes in only 21 days... yes there were several Revenge marathons during the last 3 weeks where I would watch anywhere from 6-10 episodes throughout the day.  I'm not proud of this by any means, but can describe it only as how a drug addict must feel toward their poison of choice...yes you read that correctly, I just compared myself to a drug addict.

That being said, I am now counting down the days until the season 3 premiere on September 29!!  One concern is that I will no longer be able to go on Revenge binges by watching multiple episodes in one sitting.  Instead I will have to wait a WEEK in between episodes...another concern is that Revenge airs on Sunday nights... which unfortunately interferes with the NFL, and living with a football fanatic will be interesting to see who gets to the remote first.  Needless to say, I would be willing to DVR Revenge and then watch the following day, but then there's Monday night football.. it's never ending.  This will be a LONG fall.

Favorites collage

Fall is back!!!

Had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season this morning and it was GREAT!!  It was the perfect start to my morning despite the fact that the projected high is 94 today, my office building is closer to 60 which made my decision to opt for the hot fall beverage seem appropriate.

Apparently this week is the last of the hot weather here in Chicago, so as the temperatures begin to dip, thought I would share a quick an easy crock pot recipe for a tasty fall football treat.

3-Ingredient Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1. 1(1) 2lb. pork tenderloin
2. 2(1) 12 ounce can of root beer
3. 3BBQ sauce of your choice

Directions:

1. 1Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
2. 2After pork has cooked, drain and discard the root beer. Shred the pork and place it back in the slow cooker. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine. Serve immediately or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns.

3 week fitness study at FFC

I just started a FREE fitness study at FFC gym in Lincoln Park.  One of my colleagues mentioned it to me and I was lucky enough to be one of the first 50 participants to sign up and get accepted into the program.  

Basically you get full access to the FFC gym and can take as many classes as you would like from today until September 29th (3 weeks).  

Yesterday we had orientation which consisted of a basic fitness test and tour of the gym.  The trainers divided us into groups and explained the requirements of the study and also recorded our weight, mile time, and # of sit-ups/push-ups during one minute intervals.

At the end of the study, we will go through the same fitness test to determine our progress.  FFC is hoping that the results will be positive and will reinforce the effectiveness of their classes.  It is suggested to participate in 4 classes of our choice each week.

I plan on taking full advantage of this opportunity and will try to attend as many classes as possible.  In addition to the workouts, I plan on eating healthy for the next 3 weeks and cutting out all dessert :(  This is not going to be easy, but luckily I have 4 friends participating in the study and will hopefully lean on them when I need motivation.

I will report back in 3 weeks and let you all know how it turned out...stay tuned!

Petition to Amend the Trademark Opposition Process

Please take 30 seconds of your time & sign this petition to reform the patent and trademark opposition process.  My brother put 2 years of his heart & soul into a start-up company he built from the ground up, only to have it crushed by a multi-billion dollar company claiming trademark infringement.  There is something wrong with our system if he cannot even defend himself because of limited funds with no guarantee of legal restitution if he wins.

Link to petition:
United States Patent & Trademark Office: Amend the trademark opposition process

For the full account of this story please visit my brother's blog:
Square Inc. Files 12th Opposition, Ends Indy’s Free Squarejive App in Federal Court

Divvy - Chicago's New Bike Share Program

This past weekend my boyfriend and I decided to try out the new Divvy bikes.  For those unfamiliar, Divvy is a bike share program that launched in Chicago a month ago.  With 4,000 bikes and 400 stations throughout the city, the purpose is to allow users to rent the bike as an alternative travel method to get from point A to point B.  Here are my thoughts on the system....

Positives:

• Given that the program is new, the bikes are in great condition and easy to use for inexperienced riders such as myself.
• There is an accompanying App to download on your phone that identifies all of the bike docking station locations in relation to where you are via GPS.  If the station is full, the app identifies the station in red so that you know you need to find another location to return the bike.  Or if you are looking to rent out a bike for the first time during your trip, a full station means that you are in luck and there will be plenty of bikes available to check out.
• Divvy operators travel to the various stations continuously moving bikes around if stations are full or low on bikes.  This helps maintain an even number of bikes across the various stations throughout the city.
• All bikes are equipped with a basket to hold any personal items you may have.  Bikes also have lights to ensure safety if riding at night.
• The cost to rent a bike for 24 hours is $7 which keeps the system an affordable means of transit.
• Divvy can be operated 24 hours a day for 365 days a year (not sure how much it will be utilized in Chicago during the winter months but we shall see...)

Negatives:

• Divvy's model is to provide transit from point A to point B and is great for short trips.  However, the system requires riders to check their bike into a station every 30 minutes of use.  For lengthy bike rides, this amount of time is to short and we found that it almost took away from the enjoyable experience of riding along the lakefront.  We were constantly checking our watch to be sure we did not exceed the half hour time limit.  If you do go over this amount, additional fees will be incurred.  Another negative associated with the 30 minute trip duration is if you run into a situation where the bike docking station is full and you cannot check in your bike, you must continue on to the next station which may or may not be full.  Again, the operations team is out in the field monitoring the bikes and moving them amongst the stations, but friends have mentioned exceeding the time limit due to multiple full stations.
• Every docking station has a kiosk for riders to submit initial payment for the day and to receive a different code each time a bike is rented.  One negative is that the docking stations only have 1 kiosk, so popular stations get backed up with 1st time riders and riders that have checked in their bike and need to wait to get a new code to re-check out another bike to continue their trip.

Suggested Improvements:

• Extend the trip time from 30 minutes to 1 hour, or allow riders the option to pay $8 versus $7 for 24 hours to guarantee an hour trip time without penalty.
• Create an additional kiosk at the docking station to allow great efficiency for those who are first time renters versus simply checking in for the 30 minute mark.  Another option would be to allow riders to use the same code for the 24 hour period.  That way, if they check in their bike after 30 minutes they could immediately access the bike again without having to wait in line at the kiosk for a new code.

Overall I think this is a great system that will allow commuters another method of travel outside of the CTA or driving.  I was recently given a subscription for a year long membership and look forward to using the program again in the near future.