EPTA semi-weekly blog with tips and advice to improve your health, image, and professionalism - all while still being manly
Hello Team Liquiders, and welcome to _SkY’s semi-weekly blog about simple ways to improve your health and lifestyle, as well as branching out your interests! Briefly, this blog will be organized into different sections that will be focused on various topics to help enhance your lifestyle, image, health, and even your professionalism. I hope that you will enjoy this, and please leave comments at the end for ways to improve this column and things that you liked about it.
Self-Improvement:
Since StarCraft II released on July 27, we all know that you’ve logged almost 500 games. It’s true that you, and 95% of the rest of this fantastic community are allegedly 700+ Diamond level destroyers of Zerg scum (except for me) – probably because you drop your Siege Tanks on the cliff overlooking the natural expansion on Lost Temple, every single time - and for goodness’ sake, if you don’t play another ten games before bed, you might lose your #1 ranking. I get it. We all get it. As amazing as this game that we all know and love is however, it’s really not conducive to good health. In fact, so much StarCraft is likely to turn us all into lazy, fat, alcoholic assholes with an utter disregard for productivity and a lack of concern for our general well-being, or that of our family and friends.
However, if you want to have fun and improve your life along the way, then keep playing a ton of StarCraft II, but just make some small, simple changes throughout your day as you do so (these are just a small taste – more to come in the future):
1) Stretch out for 30 seconds between games.
If you’re anything like me, you probably spend a lot of time at your computer, and you probably have pretty pathetic posture that you’ll definitely be paying for later in life as some sad, old, arthritic bastard. However, according to Alan Hedge, Ph.D., a professor of ergonomics at Cornell University, stretching for 30 seconds after every half hour of sitting at your computer will do wonders to improve your circulation and posture, and will even reduce your fatigue, so that you can stay focused on your micro when you are cheesing your friends (on a side note, check out more of HunterStarcraft’s videos on YouTube – he has a great voice and does a nice bit of commentary, focusing primarily on Korean and other upper-level plays).
A good stretch to do between games is to get on your hands and knees and curl your back upward (like a cat), and then the opposite, thinking of being able to place a bowl in the small of your back as a reference to the proper form.
Another simple and quick stretch is to lie on your back on the floor. Take a towel and roll it into a log shape. The thicker the roll the more stretch you will get. Place the rolled up towel under your back along your spine (the long way), so one end of the towel roll is between your shoulder blades and the other is hitting about your mid-back. Place the towel far enough down your back that your head can comfortably rest on the floor. Lie down over the towel and bring your arms out to your sides in a “T” position with the palms facing up. Lie here and breathe into the stretch for as long as comfortable.
The plain and simple truth is that you should be conscious of your posture and do your best to improve it while you are young and able, as it has been shown that poor posture (mostly as a result of sitting at your desk and spamming waypoints) can lead to serious problems in muscle flexibility and strength.
2) Fight your unhealthy snack cravings.
This one is another no-brainer. It’s easy to eat nothing but unhealthy junk while you mash out on the Ladder or rage because all Terran players are noobs that abuse such an imbalanced race (myself being one of them). However, unless you are playing StarCraft II while running on the treadmill or riding a fixed bicycle, then any fat and excess calories you consume are festering in your ever-growing love handles. For goodness sake, I can see them from here. However, you should throw out all of that horrible crap that you love to consume, and learn a bit about your cravings and your refrigerator.
According to researchers at Cornell University, you are 2.7 times more likely to eat healthy snacks if you place them on the middle shelf of your refrigerator, than when you hide those suckers in the crisping drawers in the bottom. So, after you finish reading this wonderful article, go move all of the soda, beer, nacho cheese, pizza, cake, and Red Bull from the middle shelf, and stock that bad lad with fresh fruit (apples and nectarines are a good choice right now), veggies (baby carrots and red peppers), juice, and Swiss cheese sticks for better quality snacking and happier health overall.
EDIT: On a side note, one poster noted something very important that I failed to mention originally. If all you eat are fruits and veggies, you'll end up not consuming any calories, and your hunger won't be satisfied. It's important to understand the difference between healthy, calorie-dense foods, like almonds and trail mix, and unhealthy, calorie-dense foods like pastries. It's okay to indulge in these delicious treats from time to time, but if you do a lot of snacking while you are inactive (i.e. playing StarCraft 2), it's not a bad idea to grab a healthy snack more often than not. Remember though, you still have to eat! Just keep the idea in the back of your mind, that if you are consuming more calories than you need each day (this can be calculated using different spreadsheets on the internet), eating a pepper and a handful of nuts rather than a bag of chips might be the way to go.
Healthy Choices:
More of this fun stuff, this time focusing on exercise and food consumption to a greater degree. As a pre-medical student, I tend to try to live with a perspective on attaining overall good, natural health, thereby preventing complications before they arise. In my opinion, we are living in a world where a pill seems to be able to fix almost everything, and so individuals often sort of “let themselves go”, knowing that a cure from their laziness and negligence is just a prescription and a glass of water away. If I could rule the world, I would hope to make it a place where people take an active role in preserving their health by exercising regularly, making healthy dietary choices, and make taking natural supplements – not chemicals synthesized in a lab that tend to have worse side-effects than the problem that they are fixing. Along that line of thought is a small dose of what I (and many experts) would suggest:
1) Exercise.
Many of us have heard that our beloved Day[9] has been working out lately using a program called P90X, thereby ensuring his continued good health, improving his sex life, and helping him stay more focused throughout the day. I would absolutely like to vouch for his decision to do so, as I, and many of my close personal friends, have undergone wonderful transformations due to the program. It’s not a gimmick, it’s simply a good, old-fashioned workout, combined with a well-engineered dietary plan, that will nearly cripple you, but will leave you amazed by the results. The other great aspect of P90X is that you don’t have to go to the gym to work out, as it is meant to be done in your home. Seriously, I dare you to try it out and be amazed by the results – you absolutely won’t regret it.
One of the biggest drawbacks to P90X however is the price. The program itself isn’t terribly expensive, but the protein and carbohydrate supplements that you need to take with the workouts are costly, and likely out of the price range of most college students. In fact, when I totaled up the final cost (including shipping) to my apartment of all of the gear and supplements (for all 90 days of the program), it came to a staggering $698, which was way out of my price range. However, I wasn’t discouraged, so I contacted a BeachBody (the honest, respectable maker of P90X and a lot of other great workout systems) coach and we worked together to find the highest quality alternatives at the lowest possible price. After working with the coach, I was able to bring the price of all of the gear and a 90-day supply of all of the necessary supplements down to $407 (including shipping) – not too shabby.
If you are seriously interested in the program (which you honestly should be), I’ve done the work of finding the highest quality alternatives for the gear and supplements that you’ll need, at a price that won’t destroy your wallet.
What you’ll need (if you’d like further detail on this, feel free to PM me, and I’ll get back to you ASAP):
Gear:
-P90X workout DVDs, exercise planner, and nutrition guide (suggested seller)
-Chin-up bar (suggested seller #1) (suggested seller #2)
-Resistance bands or free weights (I prefer resistance bands for their portability – suggested seller)
-Yoga mat (suggested seller)
Supplements:
-Recovery shake (you really, really need this to function the next day – note that you’ll need two servings per use – suggested seller)
-Protein supplement (suggested seller)
-Multivitamin (suggested seller)
-Fish oil (suggested seller)
Anyways, that is the gist of what I can suggest for P90X, but my best advice is to do yourself a favor by purchasing the program and making an honest effort and getting into good health – you’ll literally become a better person because of it.
2) Eating.
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about eating is that all tasty food is bad for you, and that if a dish is healthy, it probably tastes pretty horrible. In contest to that, I’m here to show you a huge meal that is easy and cheap for any guy to prepare:
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- lemon wedges
- parsley sprigs
Recipe:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a nonreactive dish and add chicken. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Remove chicken from dish, reserving marinade, and arrange in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Pour reserved marinade over chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, basting occasionally with marinade. Bake without basting for 20 minutes more or until chicken is done. Serve with lemon wedges and garnish with parsley, if desired.
3) Natural medicine.
In a world of synthetic fixes for every ailment or condition, try something natural. The supplement that I’m highlighting this week will help you focus and snipe Reavers like it’s your job (if you’re still playing StarCraft: Brood War). Ginkgo Biloba boosts your mental functioning by increasing the blood flow to your brain, thereby delivering elevated amounts of oxygen to it. If you’re a college student, you should stop abusing Adderall before that big exam, and just take some Ginkgo instead. Ginkgo Biloba can be found in the supplements section of any pharmacy or even at your local Walmart, Target, or Meijer, and I highly suggest taking it as directed to augment your normal diet when working or studying.
Lifestyle:
Now that I’ve bored you to death with tips and advice on how to stay alive past the age of 25, let’s move onto a more interesting topic that could help you land a job, or even a lady friend (but probably not the star of Weeds).
1) Get professional.
Now I know that the economy all-around sucks right now, but people are constantly applying for jobs in an increasingly competitive market, and we are nearing a time of year when students are interviewing for graduate schools and universities, so lets talk shop about how to appear and act professional, starting with some tried-and-true interviewing tips from long-time career coach Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio (you can read her full article here)
-Dress in a fashion that shows that you are prepared for the interview (try on your suit to make sure that it looks nice and fits properly)
-Smell good (don’t bathe in cologne, but don’t have bad breath or body odor, even if that means using clinical strength antiperspirant)
-Sit forward and look the interviewer in the eye when both speaking and listening to them
-Answer the interviewer’s questions completely, and in an enthusiastic and results-oriented manner (don’t use any negative connotations)
-Be self-aware of both your strengths and weaknesseses
-It is very important to have five or six questions ready to ask at the end of the interview to show your interest and that you’ve done some research about the position
If those tips don’t help you get an edge over the competition, then 6-pool them and laugh as their workers try in vain to stop your world domination. If your 6-pool doesn’t work, then you’re hopeless. Naw, relax, I’m just kidding, but seriously, I’m moving on to hook you up with some cool attire to wear on your upcoming date with that girl from Economics 382.
2) Look hawt.
So now that you’ve failed to escape in the morning before she woke up from what she will likely realize was a mistake made by all of that damn Captain Morgan, you better ask her out on a real date to show her that you are a classy gentleman. Don’t worry, _SkY has got you covered, provided you have some extra bones to drop:
-Express’ 1MX Fitted Stretch Cotton Shirt - $29.94 (sale) or $49.90 (regular) – just please don’t tuck it in if you are going to wear jeans with this classy ass shirt.
-Express’ Stretch Cotton Producer Pant - $59.90 (regular) – tuck that shirt into these bad boys, but make sure to wear a belt for goodness sake.
-Express’ Narrow Silk Tie - $39.90 (regular) – pick one that works with your shirt and doesn’t clash with the pants, and the classy-ness will be flooding off of you – trust me, this is a great look.
-Express’ Leather Belt - $39.50 (regular) – make sure this doesn’t clash with your tie and match it to your dress socks to really make the outfit pop (not really necessary to buy this expensive belt from Express, considering that no one is likely to really notice the difference between that and a the one you bought at Macy's - if they do, screw 'em).
-Express’ Dress Socks - match these to your belt and throw on a matching pair of dress shoes (also really not necessary to buy from a designer outlet - they're just socks).
EDIT: A very helpful poster on here noted a very important point: don't purchase clothes just because I said that they are cool. You should feel comfortable with your body and understand what fits and types of clothes will look good on you, and what styles won't. For example, if you are a bit on the curvier side, than you might want to avoid grabbing a fitted dress shirt that would accidently draw attention to your curves. Know yourself, and what you would look sweet in before you invest a bunch of money in a purchase that leaves you unsatisfied and frustrated.
Anyways, I hope that this helps you look and act classy in a hurry – keep that suit around (or buy another with all of that money from your new job), because it really is useful attire for almost every dressy occasion, and believe me, you’ll be the guy getting all of the stares at the event or making that lucky lady happy that she made the right choice.
Media:
This is the section of the blog that I’m going to keep pretty short and sweet, as it is mostly filled with my current interests in terms of media, and my honest suggestions as to things to check out (note that they aren’t always going to be extremely new). I hope that you’ll find something that piques your interest!
1) Books.
-Vintage Murakami by Haruki Murakami – simply put, this is a collection of short stories written by Haruki Murakami that are both engaging and simple to read. The book is pretty cheap at about fourteen dollars (Amazon), and was quite an enjoyable read.
-The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand – if you are looking for a longer book with amazing character development, check out this book. It starts a bit slowly, but once you are 100 pages in, you won’t be able to put it down, and it truly was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve ever read. This book is also pretty cheap, and can be bought for about six dollars (Amazon) or found at most libraries.
2) Movie.
-Moon (2009) - Trailer - Starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey in solid roles, this multiple-award-winning film is a mix of entertainment and suspense. While it is not mind-blowing, it was a very cool film with some spooky elements and impressive visuals. Although it may not be the easiest movie to find, it certainly is worth your time. I bought it on DVD used from Amazon and am quite happy with the purchase.
3) Music.
The following are the five songs that I have recently downloaded and listened to the most. It’s actually a mix from a number of different genres, so I think that there’s definitely something for everyone here:
-Black River Killer by Blitzen Trapper - Video - Overall just a very catchy tune that tells a story.
-Teenage Dream by Katy Perry - Video - Loving that chorus!
-The Catalyst by Linkin Park - Video - I respect this band for continuing to innovate. This new song gets better with each listen.
-Where We Belong by Lostprophets - Video - An amazingly catchy song with impressive power behind the back-up vocalists.
-In One Ear by Cage the Elephant - Video - A cool song from an up-and-coming rock band with a lot of old school talent and swagger. They seem to play only for their love of the music.
Well, that’s it for this week folks! I appreciate you sticking it through this huge blog, and I really hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please leave a comment below as far as things to improve in future issues, as well as things you liked. Thanks again, and remember to take care of yourself – I’ll see you on TeamLiquid and on Battlenet 2.0!
