My Soleus Activity Tracker

 

Soleus Activity Tracker is a very useful device. The band has to be worn on the hand all the time except when charging which is once in 5 days.

Initially you need to feed the details about you. Your name, sex, weight, age, height. You must also set the right time and date.

After this you need to press buttons suitably 4 times only. First, exercising Start. Second, exercising End. Third, Sleep Start. Fourth Sleep End. I have not used the Alarm facility in the band till now. However I always keep it paired with my Android Phone and hence I come to know when a call or message arrives.

The Soleus App in my phone can be paired with Soleus Health Band any time. Pairing requires pressing of buttons in Health Band. And also in the Soleus App in phone.

You can see the data generated today. The state is as at 2 pm approximately. I did exercising today. Weights for about 30 minutes and cardio for about 30 minutes. I had walked 6686 steps totalling 5.71 km. I had spent 1797 calories till 2 pm. (These data includes exercising data). I had slept OK. For about 5 hours. 3 hours were deep sleep. 2 hours was light. I woke at 3 am.

I have to improve my sleep style. I normally sleep at 9 pm and wake up early. This I need to change. Also this device is made for aerobic (cardio) activities. The 66 % calorie targets achieved is based on my height and weight, I think.

Go ahead and buy this health band. It is very useful. But make sure you have an Android Phone before that.

Marathon 2015

I shall participate in a marathon in the year 2015. That is a promise I have made to myself.
I shall call myself ready if I manage to run at 12 kmph speed for 10 kms every alternate days regularly for 15 days. This will be my benchmark for participation.
As a first step, I have made plans to reduce my weight by 8%. This I shall do in 45 days.  I shall be also doing weight training with a aim to strengthen my muscles and make them efficient.
I also plan to improve my lung power by breath control exercises. I plan to close my nose and mouth for 1 - 2 minutes.
At home I am planning to include squats with 10kg pair dumbbells. I shall also do squat jumps.
As a mental relaxation and rhythm building, I shall do dafli playing for more duration. I shall sing a bit more loudly. I shall allow myself to be in dafli beats and singing to build rhythm.
Currently, I do 1 hour of gym everyday. I spend about 350 cal of energy. I have 4 slices of peanut spread bread for breakfast. 3 chappatis with vegetables for lunch. Two cups of rice with vegetables and yogurt at dinner. I have two protein drinks sessions.  I went out of control a little last week with festivals around. Now I am back with discipline.
Exercises include pec fly or chest press, shoulder lifts, Lateral Pull down, Leg curls lying or leg curls sitting, Abs pull down or abs exercises on decline bench, dumbbell biceps or dumbbell forearms. I also do two cardios for 15 minutes each.
I had stopped dumbbells at home. But I shall start them again soon. I shall also do foam rolling if needed.
I am not worried about energy during marathon. Because Energy Gel bars are normally made available on the way.

Half Forgotten Rail Journey

With flights available for travelling from one place to another, many upper middle class Indians have forgotten rail journeys. If not fully forgotten, at the least half forgotten.
It is said that if you get into bodybuilding, you forget the food you ate earlier, prior to bodybuilding. Also the image of your body in your mind is no longer the same. It changes and in my case I have half forgotten my earlier days.
Another point that I want to write about is of soy protein. Is it good? It is great to a very large extent. Especially for vegetarians and vegans. And for people who are not likely to be affected by claims that soy protein has compounds similar to estrogen and may cause "man boobs". Soy Protein, to vegans and vegetarians is absorbed by body just like any other routine food. A vegan or a vegetarian bodybuilder feels normal when having soy protein in a larger quantity.
Is soy protein as effective like Whey Protein? In my case, where I experience a little pain in muscle joint at the back side of knee area (calf muscle joint); I found Whey protein to be better and more soothing. Also I get better sleep on days I have Whey protein only.
I must also mention the importance of dal (pulses). For yoga enthusiasts and dieting individuals, dal is likely to be good. The aim here is not to build or develop muscles. But maintain health of internal organs like stomach, intestines etc. Dieting may cause repair of these organs and it is necessary to build them up. Dal and a glass of low fat milk is likely to act like a boon for them.
My aim is to make 12 kilometers per hour speed as my base speed( about 8 miles per hour). I manage to run at 10 kmph speed for 5 minutes at the max at present. I am more comfortable in elliptical and cycling. But it is cardio activity that inspires me more and my body feels at ease with speed activities. I do not like flexing and flaunting muscles. Maybe it is due to shyness.
But weight training is better for reducing body fat than cardio, as written in bodybuilding.com. And maximizing strength to fat ratio is athleticism. But is there a role for strong arms and strong chest in running better ?

 

Navratri Steps - Golu Padi

I bought ready to assemble Golu Padi from a south Indian store in Delhi. Giri Trading Agency, Munirka. The set was in 3 boxes and is made of plastic materials. It is suitable for golu padi as the toys are lightweight.
I and my mother started to assemble and join the plastic sticks at about 8:30pm day before yesterday. We managed to get the golu padi ready by 11:45pm.
I am attaching the photo of the golu padi after decoration. The decoration has been done by my wife and daughters.

We have started our navratri celebrations. How about you?

Inspiration for Workouts

The first question is whether workouts? It is Yes for me as I have already sacrificed luxury and tasty food. I will not be eating tikkis, burgers etc. It shall be more or less simple food for me in present and in future. So the food issue has been quarantined. Hence the workout becomes a personal choice.
"Rest when you want to ; Workout when you don't" is my favorite workout quote from bodybuilding.com. If I have to give a nickname to myself as some bodybuilders do, I will choose "PythaShastri". Ha !! Ha !! Ha!!. Because I hope to build strength on Pythagoras beliefs. And I am a vegan.
Habit once formed helps in staying inspired. Even a day lost could become difficult to manage and a person would get back into the habit.
But remember bodybuilding is a costly affair. You have to spend thousands on protein. I find Soy protein to be more suitable to my body. I have got for myself Amway Protein and shall have this instead of Nusobee soy drink.
So have will power and strive to make exercising a habit. Then you need not worry about inspiration.
 

Digital Additions

I have mentioned the status of my Nokia 720 http://www.kirtivasan-powerofyourcompany.blogspot.in/2014/05/bright-future.html . The current status is exactly similar to the snapshot that I posted on 30th June 2014.

But Nokia 1520? I am putting the snapshot of my Nokia 1520 screen here.

 

 

Nokia 1520 is also upgraded to Windows 8.1, now.

I also bought Microsoft Office. It was difficult to make notes and accounting daily expenses etc in mobile. I have Windows 8.1 and Office compatible to it was needed. So I got MS Office. I use Word to jot down notes, Excel for accounting etc. It is more convenient to use than mobiles.

I managed to complete 5th flight game of Level 3 in Flight game by Unity. This is in my Android Google Nexus tab. I have fulfilled one condition to move on to Level 4. However total medals earned is 34 out of possible 45.  The Level 4 can be unlocked only if I improve my medals tally to 40 (the second condition). I have to improve my medals in many games of Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 to get 6 more medals.


 

Who is more hypocrite ? - A short story

Anand yells at Balan. "You have not helped me out. Did you? You could not have spared Rs.200 for me, when I needed it?"
Balan responds defensively and says, "I know you have an urgent need for this money. I do not have much to spare. Also, I may need money at the end of month. I thought my need was more and I decided not to lend you. Am I being a hypocrite?"
Anand decides not to talk on this further. He switches on Samba music and murmurs, "Let me change mood with this favorite music of mine."
Balan says angrily, " Your favorite? When did Samba music become your favorite? I thought you liked pop more. Are you not a hypocrite?"
Anand yells back, " No I am not. Just that Samba is my favorite at this instant."
Caushik who was eating potato chips, was hearing the conversations all the while. He did not stop eating his chips and went to the table to get another packet.
Balan was aghast with the behaviour of Caushik. He shouted at him. He said," Caushik are you not a hypocrite? Most of the poor die due to hunger. And here you are. Chips after chips. Shameful !!"
Caushik resorted. He said, " My eating is not going to harm world hunger. Anyway development work needs a man with full stomach to work effectively."
Balan was aghast with the behaviour of Anand and Caushik. He was also not too happy with Dhanush who preferred to be silent most of the time. Balan thought Dhanush knew only a few words because he would hardly speak 10 words in a day.
Balan says to Dhanush, "Have you seen the behaviour of Anand and Caushik? Disgraceful isn't it? Already the population in our country is high. And we have hypocrites like Anand and Caushik who cause harm to others. What is the use in their being alive?"
Dhanush did not speak. He moved. He picks up machine gun hidden in his back and brings it to the front and fires at Anand, Balan and Caushik, killing them instantly.
Dhanush then says, " I have killed three men. Population has been reduced. Am I a hypocrite?"