Since buying toe socks isn’t my style, I’ve been trying to find an alternative to washing my 5 finger shoes every 2-3 days (as I’m running out of reasons to wash clothes…pun not intended).

After googling the interwebs, I came across this tip by Get The Funk Out:

Efferdent Tablets This product is normally used to cut through bacteria within dentures, but doubles as a deodorant for Vibram FiveFingers. The Vibram website recommends using this product to eliminate tough odors that develop within the FiveFingers. Place Vibrams within a large tupperware container, fill with water and add 1-2 tablets. Allow 1-2 hours to pass before removing the Vibrams to air dry.

You can pick this up at your local Walmart, although you might want to explain why you’re buying it to the cashier and spectators lest you receive awkward glances.

Update (10/3): Reduced image size. Thanks for the tip Bradley!

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So after running/walking in my 5 finger shoes for the past couple of weeks and stumbling upon WW2 fitness test, I’ve finally come up with a workout schedule that will:

• Test my physical limits
• Help me catch up to my workout-holic brother
• Build up endurance/strength minus weights

I’ve also decided that I’ll train with my camelbak as since I drink water like a fish (yeah, I’m a waterholic).

I’m going to exercise 6 days a week, and for accountability use FitFu & Runkeeper (which appeals to the geek in me).

• Sundays: I’m going to run 4-5 km, as well as do pullups (with the end goal of accomplishing a minimum of 20 consecutive pullups).
• Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Will be pushups (4 sets of 125 consecutive reps) and bicycle crunches (2 sets of 250 reps).
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Dips (10 sets of 50 consecutive reps) and Jack Knives (500 consecutive reps).

I’ll take Saturdays off to rest my body, lest I wear myself out completely.

Update: Fixed funky code do to USER ERROR: ID10+

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According to man legend, the warriors from War World 2 were a lot more fit when compared against the average GI, and believe it or not there is an official workout to prove it!

I’ve skimmed through the list of exercises which include pull ups, push ups, “cross over” knee sit ups (what I call them), squat jumps and lots of running.

While I’m confident that I could easily pass the running tests (since I’ve run all my life thanks to track, football, and fun running in my new shoes), it’s the other tests that have me worried a bit.

Pull Ups 

According to the scoring sheet, I’d receive a “fair” grade as I can only do 8 out of 20 push ups. While this isn’t exactly failing according to the chart (at least as far as I know), however receiving a score of 52/100 isn’t passing in my book, so I’ll be working on getting up to 20 in the not so distant future (especially after finding a decent pull up bar in the park which is mocking my 8 reps).

Squat Jumps

I haven’t done these in a long time (since football years ago), so at best I can only give an estimate of how well I would do on a test (I say 50 at least). 75 is perfection according to the vets of old, so that will be my overall aim (although I’ll strive towards 50 at first).

 Push Ups

I’ve done push ups for almost as long as I’ve run, and apparently the WW2 score sheet considers 54 push ups to be excellent. The most I’ve ever done consecutively is 220 push ups (which I will not repeat as I was in pain throughout the week) but I can do between 100-150 push ups before my arms feel like they are on fire. I guess this is one test I pretty much pass with flying colors!

Cross Over Situps (in 120 seconds)

This exercise seems like a cross between situps and bicycle crunches, and I’m pondering whether this exercise is even safe to do (as it seems to strain the back). Regular situps I can do with no hassle (550 was my all time record), and I’m consistently pushing out 200 bicycle crunches too (despite my abs being on fire). I’m hesitant about doing cross over situps (again what I call them as they are different from traditional situps), but I might practice these as well in the not so distant future.

What About…

I’ll continue doing other exercises such as bicycle crunches, Jack knives and dips, although I’ll strive to ace these test scores and blog about the results later on.

(Props to Art of Manliness for tracking down these exercises, Image Credits: German Federal Archive).

 

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After receiving a gift card to the Mast General Store from my brother (it was a belated birthday gift), I decided to pick up a pair of 5 finger shoes (by Vibram for those wondering).

After testing them out in the store for 15 minutes, then running/walking/trotting upon running trails, streets and enormous water pipes in the park (note: kids don’t do the latter in as you could fall and crack your head open) over the next hour, I am now officially ashamed that I have worn traditional sneakers for so long instead of 5 finger shoes.

The only thing I don’t like about 5 finger shoes is that it takes a lot longer to put on than traditional sneakers (as you can see from the video below), but aside from that I’m probably only going to purchasing 5 finger shoes in the future due to how natural they feel upon my feet.

I’m planning on purchasing another pair (5 finger boots for those wondering). However if I could find a pair of 5 finger dress shoes, my feet would be complete!

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So after discovering FitFu earlier this year I’ve forced myself to get into the habit of exercising frequently throughout the week.

While this might surprise some of my friends, I actually do not enjoy exercising, or rather (as I like to put it) the “act of exercising for the sheer pleasure of straining ones muscles.”

It’s not that I think exercising is silly, dumb or a waste of time (as not exercising can be catastrophic upon one’s mental and physical health) it’s just there are hundreds of things I’d rather do than exercise (such as eating, sleeping, geeking, or chilling with friends).

To make matters worse, I can not eat any food before I exercise (lest I vomit the meal I ate up to four hours ago) and I need to drink at least one liter of water before I exercise (lest I pass out from dehydration).

Although this causes me to skip breakfast early in the morning (not a good habit to acquire in my honest opinion), I love the results of exercising (and I’m not talking about body appearance here).

Aside from reduced stress, I’ve noticed that I’m able to withstand the blazing heat outside a lot longer than before (by several hours) and I’m also a lot more restful when I sleep (despite receiving less than 6 hours a day).

Currently I exercise every other day (or 3-4 times a week) and my routine usually consists of doing 300 push ups (3 sets of 100 push ups), 300 dips (3 sets of 100 dips or 6 sets of 50 push ups), 500 jack knives and 300 bicycle crunches (2 sets composed of 200 reps and 100 reps). Debating about throwing pull ups in the mix (pending on whether I have enough energy at the end).

I’m still trying to figure out what I should do in between the times I do not exercise (as I want to give my muscles some rest lest I tear them down from overuse), although it looks like running is quickly becoming an option.

Note: Does anyone know any social exercising apps on the iPhone? Runkeeper is okay, but I’m looking for something that doesn’t rely entirely upon Facebook or Twitter to build a social community.

Image Credit: Fitfu Blog

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So not too long ago I downloaded this app called FitFu in order to help regain some of the youthful stamina I had when I was younger.

Although I’m technically still in shape (I still have a six pack), I needed to find a way to stay active in order to avoid gaining a watermelon belly in the future.

While FitFu is fun to use (I’ve already broken past a few personal bests) I’ve realized that I need to improve the number of pushups, crunches and squats within a minute.

Personal goals are:

60 crunches/minute: I use to be able to do that when I was younger without breaking a sweat. I’m doing about 30-40/minute which is pathetic as it means I’ve slacked off.

50 push ups/minute: When I was a child doing this was easy. The fact I can’t even reach half way there in 60 seconds means that I need to spend more time doing this.

Squats: I’ve never been into squats (I prefer running instead), but according to FitFu I’m suppose to wait 2 seconds between each squat (so 30 in a minute is the most I’m suppose to do). I think I’ll concentrate on endurance with this one.

The only thing I loathe about FitFu is that you have to unlock pushups by performing other exercises (like knee pushups?!!), although there are in app upgrades available if you want to skip over some of the silly exercises.

Between FitFu & Run Keeper, I think I’ve found a fun & affordable way to stay in shape without having to pay out the wazoo every month for a gym membership.

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