Quote of the Moment

I'm bad at describing smells... it's either "good", "bad", or... "onions". -Sam
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I’m making a note here: huge success

13
April
5 Comments

I finished my Celsius workout study yesterday with the completion of a second day of max testing. After 10 weeks of training, I was ready to see results. And I did! My…

  • Body fat dropped by over 2%
  • Oxygen utilization effectiveness increased by over 15%
  • Resting heart rate dropped by 15 bpm
  • Muscle mass increased by over five pounds
  • Wrist got shaved… again :(

This really was the most life-changing thing I did this year, easily. Exercising was never really a burden because of the time or effort committment; instead, it was just because I really didn’t know what I should be doing to exercise effectively. Now I know!

Celsius Exercise Plan

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Cardio training. 35 (increase to 45 by Week 20) minutes at 65-75 (increase to 70-80) percent of heart rate reserve.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Strength training. 8-10 reps of 75% of the 1-rep max for the following:

  • Bench Press
  • Military Press or Overhead Press
  • Lat Pulldowns
  • Leg Press or Squats
  • Prone Leg Curls
  • Bicep Curls
  • Tricep Pushdowns
  • Sit-Ups
  • Back Extensions

Spreading the Lurve

About halfway through my training, I started going to the gym with two of my RA friends, Val and Becky Jo. I would work out earlier in the day at the training facility, and then go to the student gym with them later to take them through the same sort of exercises I did. Now that the study is over, they’ll be my workout buddies!

Newegg is beautiful

7
April
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I went to Newegg last week and bought a Corsair CMXAF1 fan for my RAM to keep it nice and cool. It worked well to keep the temperatures down… my RAM went from being hot to the touch (uncomfortably so) to feeling room-temperature. After I installed the fan (and my new eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 512MB!) I closed up the case and forgot about it.

Last night, though, when I turned on my computer, the fan started grinding like mad. Oh no, bad already? I contacted Newegg to ask for an RMA, and to ask if I could get a prepaid shipping label since shipping the fan would cost a good chunk of the fan’s value anyways. Rather than bother with an RMA, they just said “here, have a refund… throw the fan away or RMA it with Corsair, whatever you like.” Wow! So a free fan that I can pay a few $ to ship to Corsair. Sweet!

Twofer

4
April
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Each semester, every student meets with an academic advisor from their particular college to discuss what classes to take the following semester, graduation progress, etc. I had my meeting this week.

My major is in Microbiology, with the “Professional” option (higher requirements, but looks better when applying for research programs). Because I came in with so many hours, I could have graduated in two-and-a-half years. Instead, I added several minors in different areas of study: French, Computer Science, Chemistry, and the History of Science. (Minors have to be attached to a major degree; they don’t stand on their own. They’re a way of telling future employers / grad schools “Hey, I am a well-rounded and multifaceted individual.”)

Even with all the minors added and such, I was still struggling to look for classes to take next semester. It’s my fifth year, and all of OU’s degree programs are designed to graduate you in four years with one major and no minors (about 120 hours of credit). After this semester, I’ll be pushing 180 hours.

When I met with my advisor, I mentioned that I was completely running out of courses to take. He looked at my degree sheet for a little bit and then pulled some papers out of his filing cabinet. “Let me suggest something: why don’t you take these three classes… and get another major!” Wow! It was about 10 hours of extra work to turn my Chemistry minor into a full-fledged Biochemistry major. I can take one of the courses this summer, and then one each in fall and spring. However, after a little more looking, one of the courses conflicted with my preexisting Microbiology major. So we switched it to a straight Chemistry major, which is actually slightly easier on my schedule.

I went to the College of Arts & Sciences to let them know what I planned to do. My A&S advisor informed me that I actually couldn’t double major in Microbiology and Chemistry because I had too many hours. The solution? Earn a dual degree instead. It’s actually cooler; instead of getting a “B.S. in Microbiology and Chemistry”, I get two separate diplomas, and two Bachelor’s degrees!

I figure this is my reward for starting college early and coming in with so many hours. Instead of using that advantage to graduate early, I’m using it to do as much as I can during the short time here. Not too much time left at OU…

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