cn3wton, Battle log of Ages

[cn3wton]

So it's official. Today I have decided that this week will be my last week in this crappy gym. I am going to cancel my membership.

 

I can now do everything I need at home, and the reason I wanted to stay at the gym is just non exsistent. I feel no sense of community there. So why stay? When the one person I know who works there isn't working, it feels like such a crappy place to be.

 

On top of that I wasn't able to complete my workout there today. I don't know what it was but I started feeling a strange pain in my left arm. I was doing chest stuff. I stopped after 3 of the four circuits. And thought maybe I would try my back circuit. I did the first exercise and Spotify stopped working. Forcing me to listen to the crappy music that accompanies PF (great hits such as wrecking ball... seriously who listens to that shit while they work out?). On top of that this morning when I was working with my grandfather he dropped a heavy wooden overhang on my head/neck/shoulders not once but twice. So I didn't know if maybe it had hurt me more than I thought. So I walked out of the gym feeling like crap. I got lunch (Tenderloin Tips, and some chicken fingers) and went to the book store. Hoping something would make this drive worth it.

 

And there it was. This book. It was just what I was looking for! I wanted a physical book full of bodyweight stuff, and here it is. It was like god extended his arm down and placed this book on the shelf just for me. Well needless to say the day was looking up.

 

Then I remembered something I had been wanting to do in this area for a long time. Visit the local crossfit gym. See this area is about 40-45 minutes away from where I live. So I punched it into my GPS and after a few more 3 point turns than I am proud to admit I was there. I went in and there was two people, doing a workout that brought tears to my eyes. (Not literally, that would have been weird).

 

They where doing clean and presses followed by either ring dips for him, or push ups for her. They where dropping the weight, and listening to loud music. I instantly felt like this was the place for me. So the guy comes over to try and introduce himself and looks at the clock. I let him know I want him to finish his workout before talking. He smiles and jumps right back into it. Afterwards he comes over just as a woman comes in the door. He smiles and says hi Jane. Her name might not have been jane. But dammit he knew her name. Huge plus for me. We ended up talking for a good 10-20 minutes. He told me what they where all about. How they like to tailor the WOD not only to ability levels but goals for each person. They also have tires, atlas balls, kegs, you name it. He said that everything was open for use, so if you wanted to do stuff after your WOD or w/e you totally could. 

 

I liked a lot of what I heard there. The guy was super awesome, and he hit the nail on the head. He said the biggest thing he enjoys about being there is the sense of community. He told me the price. $50 for the 4 fundamentals classes. Then 125 a month.

 

God I wish I had the money. I am going to save up now, with plans to save enough for at least 3 months ($375). Hopefully I will have another part time job so I can stick with it. But I told him that I would hopefully be there by the winter. I want to go back so bad. I can't wait to get the money for it. 

[Ryoko]

I've had that book for several years now and I love it. ^.^

 

And I think it was smart of you to quit you gym membership. You're right; you can do pretty much everything there at home anyways. If I didn't need a pool, I would quit my membership too, as there's no real sense of community at my gym either.

 

I hope your head/neck/shoulders feel better. 

[Trembriele]

I changed up my challenge / routine too when it wasn't doing what I wanted it to anymore. Sometimes is can be almost harder to change because you feel (at least I did) like it was 'giving up' even if the other program wasnt helping me meet my goals. Funny enough, I switched from YAYOG. I was looking for more of a pure strength program, and YAYOG is a good all around program and works in the circuits of HIIT.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I've heard good things about that book; I'll be interested to get your take on it after you've used it for awhile.

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[cn3wton]

I've heard good things about that book; I'll be interested to get your take on it after you've used it for awhile.

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I have decided to try the 10 week program. Ill put creating my own on hold for now. The basic program works on everything I want to progress (pull ups,push ups, etc). And it starts off at 4 days a week, so I feel it should give me some more recovery time, and more time for me to work on other things. I also plan on doing yoga 3 times  week.

[Balthazar]

Dude I got the book on your and Ryokos recommendation

 

I hear you, it is heaven sent. Such a good book and written in the direct no BS manner that I love

 

I am starting the ten week programme asap

[cn3wton]

Dude I got the book on your and Ryokos recommendation

 

I hear you, it is heaven sent. Such a good book and written in the direct no BS manner that I love

 

I am starting the ten week programme asap

 

I am starting the basic one the week after this next challenge. You wanna work through it together? I am taking the remainder of this week and next week "off" to let my body recuperate. That way we know what each of us is doing and can keep each other motivated!

 

Gonna focus on diet, and some other exercise stuff. I wont just be sitting around. But there is also a lot of stuff I want to do around the house and this should give me plenty of time to get that done too.

[cn3wton]

Pretty shortly I am going to be heading to the gym for the last time, to cancel my membership. I am strangely excited about it. I always feared that if I did that I would get lazy at home. But instead of thinking about all the time I will free up for other stuff, instead I can't wait to have the time at home to exercise MORE.

 

I dropped down MFP to lightly active. Which I don't believe is accurate, but it wants me to stay below 1800 calories. Which is (according to my calculations) just below what I burn every day. So since I am taking the rest of the week, and next week, "off" I am going to really focus on staying below this. I will still be doing my exercises for the challenge, and yoga. But I want to give my body time to heal after the beating it's taken over the past 3-4 months.

 

Again I am not sure where MFP determines it's numbers. By being lightly active for my bodyweight and height it says that if I eat below 1800 calories a day I will lose 1.5 pounds a week! That just does not sound right... Regardless I like it for its calorie tracking. I will have to see how I fair with this weeks weigh in.

[cn3wton]

So this morning I went and canceled my gym membership. I thought it would be harder. I mean I see these people almost every day. Thought maybe they would try to convince me to stay. Nope the woman just went through the motions, and I was in and out under a minute. This is a woman I have seen almost every day for the past 4 months. Good riddance if they care about their members so little.

 

After a lot of thought I have decided to take a break for the rest of this week, and next week. I will still be working on the exercises for my challenge, and yoga (maybe even more yoga!). But the pains in my arm are back, and I know that if I try to push through them they will only get worse. So I am going to be careful.

 

So for the next 1.5 weeks I am going to do the following things.

 

-Yoga, avoiding my front planks for now, and anything else that puts too much stress on my arms

-Keep practicing the Donkey Kong for my challenge. May try cartwheels and handstand work next week, but for now I am going to take a break from that.

-Focus on eating less than 1800 calories a day. Get my diet really on track.

-Increase my time spent working on art, while decreasing time on computer.

-Organize and clean. I have been running around like a crazy man, time to declutter and get organized so I have good work space.

 

And good news, this being day 1 I have already started out well. I made myself a healthy dinner, found a scale to ensure I am correctly weighing my protein. I have spent time on the drawings for my friends wedding, and feel I am getting close to being done with the first one.

 

It's like my own mini challenge!

[caolan]

I like how you are turning lemons into lemonade.  Good luck with your new mini-challenge.  I am sure you will nail it.

[Ryoko]

Agree! You are certainly making lemonade. Have you done any more work on the portraits yet?

[cn3wton]

I like how you are turning lemons into lemonade.  Good luck with your new mini-challenge.  I am sure you will nail it.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Agree! You are certainly making lemonade. Have you done any more work on the portraits yet?

 

I have. Hopefully I will finish the first one tomorrow! 

[Ryoko]

I have. Hopefully I will finish the first one tomorrow! 

 

Yeahhh! Awesome!

[Muscle Professor]

Sounds like you got a battle plan!

[Muscle Professor]

Your taking some great steps in the direction of your fitness goals. I expect to see some amazing posts once you come back from your break.

[Balthazar]

Get yourself rested up dude, because soon it will be a our 10 week body weight challenge!

[cn3wton]

So I am almost done with one of the portraits for my friend...

 

Im happy that I am almost done and that hes liked it so far. But to me all I see is mistakes. I havent done pencil portraits in like, a year. And it shows. Different techniques everywhere mish mash into this thing... I ask that you critique it. HARSHLY (im not a baby). And please dont read what I find wrong with it until you take a look at it  yourselves.

 

 

GOD THOSE TEETH! I hate teeth. The problem with mose portraits is that they outline each one. And thats actually not a good thing. But I just cant make the mouth look right.

 

I just texted my professor and he says its coming around ok. He pointed out that her mouth looks a little big. May have to check that out. And that maybe just adding darker shading to the sides of the mouth (inside where the teeth are) might make it look better. 

 

I don't want to blame alot on the picture but the lighting in it was tough. A very bright flash in a dark room... On top of that I had to crop the picture so that i could focus on the faces. Making each of their faces like an inch? Its really hard to blow something up. From that small a scale. At least for me anyways.

 

On top of that I tried to get really dark, which I just couldn't do. So the dark lines you cant erase just stick out...

[cartwheelskeleton]

Wow... Okay, incredible drawing skills, my friend! Really, that's fantastic. Are you making this portrait from a previously taken picture? If so, could you post a picture of the original?

[ChristArtist]

Thanks for asking me(not his professor!)

My thoughts - totally hate to have to do it from such a photo as you are describing - a friend wants me to do a portrait of a baby that passed away - and add wings - I admit, I'm stalling!

 

I love the softness of the shading in the faces! Awesome!

now, the teeth in the middle of the room! ;-)

I hate teeth, too - everyone expects them to be perfect bright white - and they are not(or they are going to look fake) - but shading white that people have preconceived notions about is sooooo touchy!

 

I agree with your prof(I feel good about that!) - get some of the dark value - like that at her lash line, edges of her nose, shadow of the edge of his ear and glasses - into the BACK area of the mouth - think about what areas should be about the same level of darkness.  Don't mess with bringing it forward just yet - because you need to make sure you don't over do.  

 

So, I'm going to suggest some places to add some darkness - because if you add darkness, the lights will seem lighter, right?

 

Can you add a bit of darkness to his hair, glasses and eyes? Can you add some darkness into the the part of her hair that you see that is behind her ears?

 

Now, a question about tools - do you have one of those moldable erasers?  one that would be able to be molded into a pointy position?  

Kneaded eraser - with the cleanest part you can find. Then, I would go in, and erase in some highlights onto the teeth -  highlight the front four teeth of both of them as much as you can - and then maybe a touch on the third ones back - on the lighted side.  try to leave the shading you have on the edges, because it matches the medium value in the rest of the drawing.

 

I hope that helps - that is what I would do - but other than getting a few more darks in - and then pulling out those bright lights - I'd be afraid to add in a white pencil - since this is mostly graphite...

 

And, I'm going to say this - if we were given this gift, just as it is - I would be so touched, and abundantly blessed - but then, I'm an artist - and I've drawn teeth! LOL.

 

No, seriously, - if you can pull just a little light into the teeth, specifically hers, I"m sure that they will be thrilled!  And you will feel better!

[cn3wton]

Wow... Okay, incredible drawing skills, my friend! Really, that's fantastic. Are you making this portrait from a previously taken picture? If so, could you post a picture of the original?

 

I dont feel comfortable uploading a photo of them. As I don't really know either of them. While the odds are slim that they would ever see this post, I'd rather not take that chance.

 

thank you for the compliment!

 

 

Thanks for asking me(not his professor!)

My thoughts - totally hate to have to do it from such a photo as you are describing - a friend wants me to do a portrait of a baby that passed away - and add wings - I admit, I'm stalling!

 

I love the softness of the shading in the faces! Awesome!

now, the teeth in the middle of the room! ;-)

I hate teeth, too - everyone expects them to be perfect bright white - and they are not(or they are going to look fake) - but shading white that people have preconceived notions about is sooooo touchy!

 

I agree with your prof(I feel good about that!) - get some of the dark value - like that at her lash line, edges of her nose, shadow of the edge of his ear and glasses - into the BACK area of the mouth - think about what areas should be about the same level of darkness.  Don't mess with bringing it forward just yet - because you need to make sure you don't over do.  

 

So, I'm going to suggest some places to add some darkness - because if you add darkness, the lights will seem lighter, right?

 

Can you add a bit of darkness to his hair, glasses and eyes? Can you add some darkness into the the part of her hair that you see that is behind her ears?

 

Now, a question about tools - do you have one of those moldable erasers?  one that would be able to be molded into a pointy position?  

Kneaded eraser - with the cleanest part you can find. Then, I would go in, and erase in some highlights onto the teeth -  highlight the front four teeth of both of them as much as you can - and then maybe a touch on the third ones back - on the lighted side.  try to leave the shading you have on the edges, because it matches the medium value in the rest of the drawing.

 

I hope that helps - that is what I would do - but other than getting a few more darks in - and then pulling out those bright lights - I'd be afraid to add in a white pencil - since this is mostly graphite...

 

And, I'm going to say this - if we were given this gift, just as it is - I would be so touched, and abundantly blessed - but then, I'm an artist - and I've drawn teeth! LOL.

 

No, seriously, - if you can pull just a little light into the teeth, specifically hers, I"m sure that they will be thrilled!  And you will feel better!

 

 

I knew you where the person to talk to!

 

I do have that eraser. And I did add the darkness into the teeth. That made them look much better.

 

I think the picture makes the teeth even worse, or maybe they are better now. I did some other small adjustments, then I spray fixed it. 

 

I tried pulling the darks into his eyes, but idk it just made them pop out too much for me. But when I look at this picture again that I posted, his eyes do seem alot lighter than hers. That is not the case in the finished one. I can't remember if I darkened them or not before I spray fixed it.

 

Thanks again for the comments guys. i will definitely be posting more art. 

[cn3wton]

Oh I should mention that one of the first things my professor/friend (I graduated so is he still my prof?) is that I should have painted it. That the lighting makes this drawing alot harder... 

[Ryoko]

Wow this is really, really good, cn3wton!

 

You are incredibly talented. I would love to see more of your artwork. ^.^

 

Your friends are going to be so touched to get this as a gift. It's stunning.

[RxLady]

I think the portrait is coming along nicely!  As someone with NO artistic skill, I have no room to judge or critique.  But I have sifted through some of your other work and it all looks great, this included.  I'm a big fan of the Bioshock art, just as a side note.  

[ChristArtist]

Oh I should mention that one of the first things my professor/friend (I graduated so is he still my prof?) is that I should have painted it. That the lighting makes this drawing alot harder...

Originally, all i did was draw. Now that i paint, I hey so frustrated with drawing! Pen &ink...ink enjoy that. ..maybe a water color wash on it if I want. .. but I've gotten used to blending my own colors.

I need to practice a bit before I do this little girl angel!

Send me the finished one pm if you don't want to post it public.

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[cn3wton]

I just "finished" it after work. I took it in and somehow the mouth had gotten smudged again. So he said he liked it but I could tell he was looking at the mouth. I told him that I would fix it and he said I didn't have to, but I want to make sure its good. This is for his best man after all.

 

I may paint the one for him and his wife.

 

I will post it tomorow.