Archives for 2008

Today we often hear the terms Web 2.0 and Social Networking.  These are related issues that I plan to discuss further in this two part series on social networking.

Web 2.0

The idea of Web 2.0 revolves around applications that have interactive features.  Fresh and useful data is the core of Web 2.0.  The primary focus of any Web 2.0 application is participation rather than publishing.  The idea is to trust others to provide reliable content.  Blog comments are one example of this type of focus.  You may have noticed that many news articles now allow you to make comments.  This is a Web 2.0 application.

Social Networking

Social networking applications involve like-minded people who launch a highly interactive service based upon their common interests.  These applications generally have easy to use communication tools.  They link people together so that information is shared.  The idea is to get to know alot of different people.  You gain people’s trust when they get to know you on a personal level and that’s the entire point of social networking.  There are many examples of social networking applications.  The most common applications are previewed below via screenshots.

Facebook:

Facebook is an extremely involved social networking site.  On this site you are able to link up with other people and share information.  I have found Facebook to be extremely useful for both marketing and personal purposes.  I will discuss the marketing perspective in Part 2.  The personal side is obvious.  You are able to link up to other friends and stay in touch with what is going on in their lives.  While this was not my initial purpose for Facebook, I have learned that an important part of social networking is getting to know other people

MySpace:

MySpace is similar to Facebook.  It is more aimed at a younger crowd in my opinion and definitely leans towards personal use rather than business use.

Twitter:

Twitter is an interesting tool.  All tweets (as they are called) are limited to 140 characters.  You follow people and they follow you.  You are able to see the tweets of those you follow.  You can then reply to them or add to them as you see fit.  What ends up happening is a giant discussion breaks out between many different people.  Twitter is a very useful social networking application because it enables you to get to know alot of people on a personal level.  I have made many friends via Twitter.  At the same time, I’ve found some extremely useful information through the tweets that I read.

Friendfeed:

This service combines the feeds from various places (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) into one location.  It makes it easier to stay up with what your friends are doing, but I don’t really like using Friendfeed that much.  The theory here is the same as the other social networking sites—you connect to people who connect you to other people and that just gives you massive exposure.

Hellotxt:

As you get more and more involved with social networking you will want to update your status on a regular basis.  Hellotxt is an application that allows you to update a multitude of social networking sites all at once via the Hellotxt interface.  At the same time, all the previous statuses are saved for your review.  I use this site alot, even from my cell phone. 

Conclusion:

Starting Christmas day I am going to do a brief 2-part series on social networking.  I will discuss the following issues:

    How to increase the positive pressure through the use of social networking
    How to use Twitter to make connections
    How to update your social networking sites from one location
    Why social networking matters
    How to promote your fitness product using social networking

If you are interested in any of those topics, my series is going to be just what you need.  Social networking is a major component of Web 2.0 strategy.  Everyone can learn something from the series I’ve written, so please come back to read up on the topic.

My video podcast this Sunday will be about weight training principles for success.  You will learn about the various methods of weight training and why I use the method that I use.  This podcast will be the beginning of my efforts to eliminate the confusion caused by the so-called internet gurus and the plans they sell to everyone.  Weight training really shouldn’t be so complicated.  It should not be a mystery to anyone.  The principles you will learn will make it possible for you to create your own incredible workout plan and then give you the tools to stick to it.   Be sure to tune in on Sunday.

Matty’s Workout Log:

If my quads don't gain in size after this week they never will again.  This was just one workout from the week's three workouts.  Tomorrow I get to blast these quads yet again.  The feeling I had when I finished my first Giant Set for quads was incredible.  I had never felt such intensity in my leg training before.  I think I've learned a new trick to add to my regimen.  I am always interested in new intensity tricks and I've even used the Giant Set before, but this way was intense.  3 straight exercises taken to failure, no rest in between, what a killer recipe!

The key thing to take away from my comments today is that you need intensity when you lift.  If you go in the gym and just go through the motions you are wasting your own time.  Get resolved to get into the gym and work with intensity.  Let the light stuff be for the other people at the gym.  Your job is to lift heavy, lift slowly and lift until failure.  These things will add up to an intense workout that will show you incredible results.  I keep saying this over and over in the hope that someone will learn from it and apply it.

To start off, you do a Giant Set of Quad Blaster, Leg Extensions and Squats.  After that first Giant Set I was barely able to walk.  I literally had to bail out on the squat rack during my squats.  It was pretty intense.  Matty had the same experience.  The Quad Blaster primes your Quads, the Leg Extensions start to fry them and the Squats just punishes them into oblivion.  After a 20 second rest you do your second Giant Set that consisted of reverse leg raises, lying leg curls and stiff-legged deadlifts.  Mind you, in Giant Sets there is no rest between each of the exercises.  I was breathing like a freight train for the rest of the workout after concluding my set of stiff-legged deadlifts.

I could feel the quad portion of the workout throughout the rest of the routine.  I had to push extra hard to get good lifts.  Everything required extra focus.  The entire time I could feel my quads twitching and shaking.  I could literally feel the blood pumping through my quads throughout my entire workout.  The DOMs were setting in quickly.  We had literally destroyed our quads during this workout.  We both finished our workout with alot of energy and then slowly walked out of the gym.  It was a very extreme experience and one that I do not recommend for the weak minded.

Yes, this workout took alot of mental fortitude.  If you are not ready for pain and suffering at the gym, this workout is not for you.  Matty made me very proud.  This is a kid who only a few months ago was trying his best to act weak and yet he banged out extra reps on every single set.  He looked like he was ready to quit at 8 reps on his lat pullovers and yet he managed to squeeze out 4 more.  He even worked his triceps extra hard (a muscle group he always has trouble with). 

When it was all said and done, as we were leaving the gym, I commented to him that I was having trouble walking.  His response was classic.

"Dad, walking is overrated…when are we back in the gym doing this workout again?"

Matty's Workout Log (Date incorrect):

Today was a great day spent with family.  We took a subway trip from a nearby city into Downtown Los Angeles.  The purpose of our trek was to go to a restaurant called Philippe's.  It is a 100 year old restaurant where the French Dip sandwich was invented.  We ate beef dip sandwiches and just enjoyed the sites.  The youngest children really enjoyed the excitement of the subway trains.  They could not stop talking about that part of the trip.  We also spent some time on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, a famous hispanic area.  I have posted some pictures of the trip below. 

Today I just marvelled in the innocence of my youngest children.  We walked past several homeless people and their reaction was of great concern.  They wanted to know how come these people do not have a home to live in.  They asked how they stay warm.  They wanted to know what these people do when it rains.  It was very touching to see their concern.  At the same time, their innocence showed.  As a father it was an amazing experience to watch it all unfold.

The Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine Video Podcast – 12/21/2008 – Carb Cycling 

Philippe's Trip

Matty, Mitchell and Alison (my wife) on the Green Line train
	Alyssa on the Green Line train.  At first she wasn't too sure this was going to be fun.
Ashley and Chris (Ashley's boyfriend) on the Green Line train
	Matty, Alyssa and Mitchell exiting the Red Line train in Union Station
Christmas tree in Union Station
	Alyssa is checking out the old ticket counters in Union Station
The Midgets in front of the Christmas tree at Union Station
	The sign for Philippe's
My gang (Ashley, Chris, Alison, Matty, Mitchell and Alyssa) in front of Philippe's
	The address label for Philippe's — 1001 Alameda, Los Angeles, California
Dancers performing on Olvera Street
	Dancers performing on Olvera  Street
A pretty awesome head dress on one of the dancers
	Nativity scene on Olvera Street