Well, okay, March didn't go exactly as planned. Not to make excuses, I could have been better about going to the gym when I was well, but I have been horribly sick for the last week and a half. I missed five days of work and had such a persistent fever that I finally went in to see a doctor, where I was diagnosed with having pneumonia and a urinary tract infection. (I apologize if that's TMI). I've been taking antibiotics and I'm going in tonight for a catscan, so hopefully my iron-pumping ways will soon be back to normal.

Lonely blog sad.

Where is Mark?  he promised he'd be going to the gym on March 8th, but I have yet to get a verification.

Technical difficulties?  Or Mark just not making it to the gym?

Well, until Mark's absence is explained, here's some interesting links/images.  Over brunch a couple weeks ago, I joking said to Mark that I like to measure inflation with the cost of Little Debby's.

Mark pointed out that food was not a good indicator of inflation, for two reasons:

1.  Food subsidies.
2.  the food industry's aversion to raise prices.


I'll agree with him on the subsidies.  But the food industry only has two options to prevent raising prices:  cutting profit margins and repackaging. They can only cut the profit margin so much, and repackaging typically means shrinking the amount you get in a standard unit.  For example, take a look at your peanut butter jar next time it's empty.  You'll notice it has a divot in the bottom.  Peanut butter jars didn't always have that divot.  They added it.  So it looks the same as the old 16 oz  jar, but suddenly you're only getting 14.5 oz and paying the same price.

However, repacking doesn't mean the food price has stayed steady- you're paying more per ounce than you were before, even if you're paying the same amount per unit.

So my claim about little debbies- kind of right, kind of wrong.  Prices have gone up, and portions of the snack cake have gone down.  However, due to subsidies, it has not kept pace with inflation.


Recently, I found some interesting articles that illustrate this- and  maybe explains why American have become such fatties.

Until we hear from Mark, please enjoy these pictures/articles about food prices.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/whats-wrong-with-this-chart/

Both found via the Consumerist.

Visit 10: Gettin' ripped.

Mark stopping by the gym on his way to be an extra in the Sopranos reunion special.  His character's name is Dan "Dancin'" Mancini.

One Down, Eleven to Go

February's in the books, and March should be even easier considering that I no longer have a beard and as a result am lighter and more aerodynamic. One thing I've learned over the last month is that it's better to go to the gym after 8pm. Before that time, the locker room is crowded three deep, all the elliptical machines with functioning TVs are taken and the hot tub is overrun with sad-looking middle-aged guys. As someone who is quickly becoming a sad-looking middle-aged guy, I find this especially depressing. For some reason, at 8pm, all this seems to magically change. The lockers clear out, the ellipticals and weights are deserted, and all the dumpy middle-aged guys flee the hot tub, presumably in order to get home in time to watch CSI.

February Results

Congratulations to Mark Russell.  He has officially earned $10 dollars for faithfully visiting the gym during the month of Feburary.

Good job, Mark.  Although don't get cocky.  It's still early.  And you have many more visits to the gym in front of you...

Gym visit #7

To celebrate Mark's seventh visit to the gym, I would like to post this picture of Mark working hard at the gym, apparently in the "hoops" section.

 

Two more visits, and you're the big winner for February... 

Visit #5

You can add number 5 to your little calendar, Todd, as I phoned in my latest visit last night. I am finding that later at night is my favorite time to go to the gym. The place is emptier, sometimes I can have the basketball court or the pool all to myself, and it cuts down on the number of 70 year old naked dicks I have to look at in the locker room.

I am quickly settling into a routine. I start out at the weights, then I move up to the cardio room where I usually use the elliptical machine for half an hour, then I do a light shoot around at the basketball court followed by swimming a few lanes in the pool and ending everything with a nice soak in the hot tub. My visits usually last about an hour and a half to two hours.

The worst thing about going to the gym is the locker room, which is usually crowded and poorly provisioned. At any given time, about half the showers seem like they're out of order and since they don't let you keep a permanent locker, you're always having to haul stuff in and out of there. There's barely enough room to get dressed, so I usually try to go to the gym already dressed in workout clothes. The second worst thing is the assinine workout music they usually play over the loudspeakers. Are there any studies that indicate that listening to C&C Music Factory improves muscle reconstruction? I doubt it.

On the whole, though, I've been enjoying the gym. It kind of reminds me of the Roman baths of old.

updates

Mark called in his 4th visit to the gym tonight- and I wanted to call attention to a new feature. I am logging all of Mark's visits on the calendar on the top left hand of this blog. Now we can all quickly see how many visits Mark has made to the gym.

Stats

Dear Mark,

Congratulations on making it to the gym! As far as verification, I would love a picture of you to post on the blog. Preferable in workout attire.

After hearing this news, I ran some numbers, and I though I would share them with you.

-For you break even (not pay me anything), you'll need to get approximately 28% usage out of your 7-day a week gym membership. To MAKE money, you only need to hit about 5% more!
-Since joining 6 days ago, you have gotten 16% usage of your membership. If you manage to go today or Sunday, that will raise you to your 28% push. Both, and you're on track to make some dollar bills! If you don't do either, your average will be a weak 14%. Do you think you'll work out pre or post Superbowl?

Chin up, buddy! You can still get me to pay for part of February! Just start working out more than once every six days! Well, technically, you'd need to work out more than once every three days, but you get the idea.

One Down...

I went to the gym for the first time last night as per the terms of our arrangement. I think we're going to have to verify my visits in a different way than proposed, however, as the counter was really busy and I didn't really feel like asking to tie up their phone line for some stupid bet of mine. Would you accept a picture of me at the gym with a current newspaper? Luckily, I ran into Christi Richardson while I was there, so she'll be able to confirm my presence last night.

As for what actually went down, I did my core lifts, my bench press, my lat pulls, my bicep curls, etc. Then I spent half an hour on the elliptical machines. I never really used the elliptical machines before because I always thought people looked kind of stupid on them, but the experience was actually far less fruity than I imagined. In fact, it was a pretty good workout. In half an hour, I burned the caloric equivalent of a McDonald's cheeseburger, which is a good thing because I was eating a cheeseburger while on the machine. Well, not really, but the idea did occur to me.

After the workout, Nora and I went to unwind in the hot tub. She brought her latest copy of Bomb, which is an arts/conversation magazine. Her high-falutin magazine piqued the interest of the locals. All the hairy, overweight guys sitting in the hot tub with us gathered around and marveled at her exotic magazine like a bunch of apes who've discovered a coke bottle. Their interest in the magazine developed alternately into conversations about terrorism, 19th century sailing practices and writing.

Then I went home and slept like a baby.

Dear Mark,

Thank you for joining me at the Blazers game last night. I was disappointed we didn't get a coupon for a free Chalupa, but I'm glad I could derail your fitness plan for one more day.

In an unrelated note, would you like to come over and watch the Lost premiere with me?

Regardless, hope you're doing well.

Sincerely,

Todd J. Pangilinan

Accepted.

Mark has responded:

I accept your challenge gladly and look forward to spending your money. I understand your skepticism, but I think you should know that I have been going to the gym three times a week (for the most part) for years now and this wager is only going to motivate me more. Given the sweetener you've added (the promise of joining me and wearing gym clothes of my choosing) makes the opportunity practically irresistible. Right now, I'm leaning towards having you wear an oversized Tasmanian Devil t-shirt, but I suppose I have twelve months to think it over.

The only detail we may need to work out is the verification of my visits. I'm not sure that 24 Hour Fitness will allow me to use their phone, even if a bet is at stake. Would you accept photos of me at the gym holding up a copy of that day's paper?

The Challenge

Dear Mark,

I was glad to hear that getting fit was a new goal for you in 2010. However, I am skeptical about your ability to follow through on this goal. This is not a judgement of your character, but I've seen this sad story before. You will enthusiastically sign up for a year commitment at a gym, go faithfully for a few weeks, and then your attendance will begin to decay until you are paying for a membership you never use.

As a frugal person, I hate seeing you waste your money. I am confident that by the end of your gym membership, you will be another failed statistic. But as a cheapskate, I also love the idea of an easy buck. So let me provide some motivation in the form of a wager. And a public wager at that.

Terms:

*If you hit your target of getting to the gym 2x a week, we'll call that a push. Even better, I'll give you a week off most months. Make it to the gym 6 to 8 times per month, you owe me nothing, I owe you nothing.

*if you go 9 times or more, I will pay you $10 for that month.

*if you fail to go 6 times in any given month, you will pay me $10 for that month.

*all debt will be paid in one lump sum, one year from today.

*you must verify a visit to the gym by calling my cell phone from the gym's phone line.

*for further motivation, progress on this wager will be public via this blog. I will be forwarding this link to people we both know.

Bonuses:

*if after a year your average gym visit per month is 7 or better, I will go to the gym with you, wearing workout attire of your choosing- as long as I can actually work out in it (nothing too tight or restrictive) and not get arrested for indecent exposure.

*if after a year your average gym visit per month dips below 5, you will go to the gym with me in workout attire of my choosing (with the same restrictions listed above).

I wish you the best of luck with your fitness endeavors. As a token of my goodwill, I am attaching a motivational illustration. Think of me as the guy in the black shirt, supporting you and your fitness goals, perhaps assisting with some of the financial burden of reaching success. Although be forewarned, fatty: screw this up, and I'll be dropping a dumbbell of debt and embarrassment on your flabby ass.

Sincerely,

Todd J. Pangilinan