Week 1 Update

I am getting off to an abysmal start. I very nearly removed this blog and gave up yesterday. I did well last Tuesday and Wednesday but then did nothing Thursday through Sunday :( I went to class last night though and got up this morning and did crunches/push-ups. I have to keep telling myself that my goal is where I want to be in six months, not what I can do now.

The reality is that I can do about 25 crunches or 5 push-ups at one time so I've been doing a small set of crunches alternating with push-ups until I reach 150 crunches (a mere 30 push-ups). But I can't even do one true push-up at the moment so I am having to work my way up! It will take time (I have to keep reminding myself of that.). I mean, I really am in quite bad shape, especially compared to where I was one year ago. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do 150 push-ups but that's the goal.

The 300 jumping jacks goal has proven extremely difficult. I've attempted it once--after being forced into it in class unsuspectingly the night before--and it tore up my calves. I was only able to do 150 and that was by doing three sets of 50. I was so sore the next few days that I partly blame my lax attitude to the project on to that.

Yesterday, I got the book in the mail so I need to read through that and start in on the 12-week diet/exercise program. The reviews I've read of the book say it has a lot of good stuff in there but some is just silly random crap so use what works and chuck the rest. I need to start incorporating weight/resistance training into my routine and this will help with that part at least.

Is it bad to say I'm looking forward to DoubleDave pizza rolls tonight? I mean c'mon, they're 2 for 1 on Tuesdays. It's so tasty...

It's time

I'm the type of person who tends to internalize a lot of my frustrations until I get to these breaking points where I feel trapped, angry and miserable, unable to do anything to change it. But I am an optimist (I couldn't have made it this far if I weren't) and I do believe I can change; I just haven't found the right way or the right time.

I am a person who has a need to document things so I thought starting a blog and tracking the changes and transformations I want to make might help me. This morning I did a Google search for "training for black belt" because I am in sorry shape and wanted to find some sort of program that might guide me over the next few months up to my black belt test in Tae Kwon Do. I read about this program called the Ultimate Black Belt Test that seems quite awesome to me with a lot of good ideas and I intend to use it as a basis for my own personal growth. I would even like to go through this program one day but I am not at that point yet (never mind the needing to be a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu). Life is a journey and I'll get there one day.

I really think one's goals need to be written (or typed) so that they are a reality. Just having thoughts in my head hasn't proven to be very productive. I need concrete goals and a time table. I am starting with six months (182 days including today). What can I accomplish by 19 May 2008?

1. Lose weight: 50 lbs. I am hovering around 200 lbs which is very disappointing because last year I lost about 20 lbs and have gained it all back. I have been struggling with being overweight since I was about 20. In weeks I have started having major back pain because of the weight of my breasts.
   
   
2. Get in shape. I just purchased the book Body for LIFE by Bill Phillips. It's a twelve week program for diet and exercise.
   
   
3. Crunches and push-ups - 150 every other day. I know the benefits of these exercises!
   
   
4. Jumping jacks - 300 every other day. My TKD instructor, Chad, suggested this one. It's a good way to get the heart pumping.
   
   
5. Daily meditation - 15 minutes every day. This is another thing that I know has great mental and physical benefits but I have not been doing.
   
   
6. Read at least one book each month. I've been saying for years that I want/need to read more but haven't been doing it. Admittedly, I've read one book this entire year and I have a book that's been sitting on my shelf here at work since June.
   
   
7. Attend every Tae Kwon Do class ~ four classes per week. Last year I went to TKD religiously but have let it slide to the back burner this year. In part I have gotten bored with the curriculum. But if I want to improve myself, I must improve my situation and mold classes into what I need them to be.
   
   
8. Journal daily. This is something I started a few weeks back and need to continue. I'm keeping a personal journal with entries about my feelings.
   
   
9. Blog weekly. At a minimum, I will write here about my progress each week.
   
   
10. Improve my diet by cooking dinner. No more fast food! I must make every effort to plan my meals better and eat more fruits and vegetables. At the moment, I eat an apple at breakfast and grapes at lunch. Now I need incorporate the veggies.

Let's see where this takes me!

Capacitor Requirements

Now that we have our power source determined, we can figure out what size our capacitor needs to be. First, we need to get the impedance value for our power source so we can plug that into the equation for calculating capacitance:

• Output voltage (V) : 12000 volts
• Output amperage (I) : 0.03 amps
• Calculated impedance (Z) : 400000 ohms (Ω)

Next, we'll plug the Z value into this equation:

• Frequency (f) : 60 hertz (Hz)
• Capacitance (C) : 0.0066 micro Farad (μF)