DESIGNING BETTER LIVING THROUGH STRENGTH
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EUGENIZATION
a personal training blog

From the category archives:

Random Personal Comments and Asides

A Quick Note.

by Eugene Thong on January 2, 2010

Hey all -
Due to some interesting changes in my personal life, I’ve let my blogging responsibilities lapse somewhat.  My sincerest apologies.  I do look to rectify this situation in 2010 (darn those New Year’s resolutions) but here’s a basic rundown of my new blogging strategy:
- I originally approached this blog as a place to collect [...]

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The Larger Picture of Weight Gain.

by Eugene Thong on September 15, 2009

Chris points us to an interesting study involving circadian rhythm and weight gain (to be fair, Melissa sent it to me first, but she doesn’t have a blog).  In the study, nocturnal rats fed during what would have been their sleeping hours gained more weight than rats fed during their waking hours, despite the same [...]

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Learning To Care, or, Avoiding the Suck.

August 4, 2009

A fellow trainer (name withheld) asks me how I can be so nice to my clients all the time, even when it’s clear they aren’t even trying.
The answer’s simple:  To them, they are trying.  They don’t know how far they are from fulfilling their potential.  In fact, their actual “potential” is as inconceivable to them [...]

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You Are N=1.

July 21, 2009

Most people believe that operating an SUV with the windows open is more fuel efficient than running it with the A/C cranked.  But if you run tests and gather actual data, you’ll find the opposite to be true (legions of sweaty passengers thank you, Savage and Hyneman).
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a field more built [...]

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An Apology, an Explanation, and an Observation.

April 28, 2009

I’d like to apologize to the readers of this blog for my inactivity as of late.  Several interesting changes have occurred in my life recently, two of which are notable enough to me to actually mention:
First, I received my purple belt in BJJ.  To say I was stoked is an incredible understatement.  I refer you [...]

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Don’t Meta-exercise.

April 8, 2009

Yesterday a client asked me if I listened to my iPod during my workouts, to which I responded, “Never.”  Incredulous, she asked how I managed to block out external distractions (like other people, for instance) while strength training, and my embarassingly lame response was, “I don’t know; I guess I just focus.”
Aside: I learned how [...]

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They Just Don’t Get It.

March 11, 2009

Either you hate the new Watchmen movie or you love it.  Some people won’t be able to get past the violence.  Some will be turned off by the full-frontal nudity and the laugh-out-loud ridiculousness of scoring a sex scene with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelulah.”  And some people just flat-out won’t get it.
If you’re attentive (or a [...]

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Trends.

February 16, 2009

For a while, fitness was all about health.  All the writings from the early days of Physical Culture pay tribute not just to the prodigious amounts John Grimek and Abbye Stockton could lift, but to their glowing skin, radiant spirits, and general exuberance of health.
Then, in the 60s and 70s, fitness became all about pushing [...]

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V.P.

December 6, 2008

Good luck this weekend, although from what I’ve gleaned from your wife you don’t need it.

Above: Not your competition (lucky for you).

    

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