Kent Vorkink

You’re Kilting Me!

Nope, not my most original title, but I’m not looking for originality points. (I’m comfortable with the fact that I AM an original.)

Kilt. A Men’s Unbifurcated Garment (MUG). Origins in Scotland, blah blah blah read it on wikipedia. I have Scottish ancestors (Clan McCleod, Septs Bethune and McCaskill) and that’s NOT the reason I wear a kilt. My wife just thinks its a phase, a current obsession, and frequently rolls her eyes when I wear my olive green Utilikilt Original around the house. She was further chagrined to find out (via an egregious display) that there is no liner or modesty shield on this kilt. And that was before I mentioned that I had been wearing it to work in the yard.

Yet “shock value” is not my prime motivator either. Initially I got the kilt (a trade with the guys at Utilikilts) so I could wear it to my first Scottish Festival in Payson Utah last July. I attended with my mother and it was a worthwhile experience and then the kilt sat around, lonely and underused, for much of the past 9 months.  Such a shame! Here I had a fine garment, one of the most expensive that I own, and I’m only wearing it once a year? How can this be?

So I started wearing it around the house. And then out in the yard. And then on an occasional errand.  Yes, I have the natural concerns of a rational heterosexual male in Utah County, but most of those are easily pushed aside with the same logic that I use when considering the sad state of our yard or the cars we drive. So, what’s holding me back from taking the leap and wearing my kilt to work and more?

Photos like these:

Yes, they are bolder than I am and I understand their enthusiasm and passion for their kilts. But they look a bit different than this guy:

Hmmm…of course, this happens all the time in the fashion industry, that is, using great looking models to sell clothes to people who will never look great in them. Yet, how to overcome this phenomenon?  Simple answer…get into great shape! Oh, and find the right shirt, belt, shoes and socks to go with the kilt.

So, while acknowledging that many kilt-wearing men do not have the same reservation that I do (hats off to you boys!) I’m still working on the being in good shape part, much less the great shape.  Is it pride? Maybe.  I’m not completely uncaring as to the image I present. Yet at my age (54 as of this writing) and living where I do (uber-conservative LDS mecca), if I’m going to do it (wear it to Cafe Zupas or Walmart) I want to do it right. Oh that I looked like this guy!:

Alas, Friberg had a talent for depicting studly men whom most of us mere mortals will never come close to matching…but I’m trying.

June Fitness Status

My pursuit toward manliness has been a slow but steady grind and it’s rewarding to wear some slacks that I haven’t been able to fit into for over a year. I’m still tipping the scales at around 235, but am in size 36 waist pants and am much encouraged. Using a weight-related goal can be tricky as it’s hard to tell how much muscle I have put on, so for the short run I am using belt holes as a guide. Not too long ago I was barely into the first hole and now I am using the 6th. Snug to be sure, but on track.

In addition to riding the bike at the gym for 30 minutes (now up to level 14, burning 385 calories and covering 10 miles, averaging 95 rpm at heart rate between 145-150), I’ve been lifting a little, walking, and working in the yard a lot. Yet there are a couple of other factors that have contributed to the improved fitness. First and foremost is the switch to eating more salads. It always takes me some months to improve my diet while working out and it tends to correspond with warmer days. I fully expect to burn off another 20-40 lbs in the summer and hopefully seriously challenge the 200 barrier. Three years ago I got down to 210 for a day and then bounced back up, something I am planning on avoiding this time by continuing to eat healthier and exercise.

Kyani Update - April

Frankly, most network marketers drive me crazy. I am bothered by their lack of attention to detail (especially Policies and Procedures) and can’t force myself to attend Opportunity Meetings where I know exactly what will be said. Yet, I am committed to helping my mother with her Kyani business and I still believe that it is possible to run an honorable MLM distributorship, given the right outlook and sufficient effort. Over the years I have written several dozen blog entries about network marketing that I believe have merit and can be found here.

Hopefully my mom and I will start some Ustream.tv broadcasts for her downline distributors to help motivate them and keep them on track. I made a list of some of the basics that I would like to focus on:
a) Rather than selling product to earn $$$, seek to find people to introduce to the products so their health and quality of life can improve.
b) People will be drawn to Kyani based on one’s personal testimony of the products.
c) It’s not likely that you know all of the details of someone else’s health or that of their loved ones and you should not rule someone out because they appear to be in good health.
d) Be a product expert, not a health professional. Talk about the product in general terms and let them check with their own healthcare professional if they have questions.
e) The attitude (and expectations) with which someone tries the products has a large impact on how they view their experience.
f) Seek to develop as many customers as you can service. Do not succumb to the temptation to sign them up as distributors to provide them with a lower price. A lower price is available to Preferred Customers.
g) It requires hard work and a personal testimony of the products for most people to succeed at Kyani. It is a rare person who can build a successful business by focusing on recruiting distributors alone with income being the primary goal.
h) The competition is not Xango or Tahitian Noni, but the pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers & providers that spend billions to convince people that their products are needed and desirable.
i) This is your own business and you can run it however you want, subject to the policies and procedures of the company.
j) One doesn’t need to recruit hundreds or even dozens of distributors to develop a good business. Finding a few motivated individuals who do the same and find a few motivated individuals is the key, along with working with your own customers.

Shotput Update - April

I guess it’s been a couple of years that I have been thinking about competing in the Huntsman Senior Games in the shot put. As a skinny kid I remember watching Terry Albritton (later a world record holder) at Newport Harbor High School and thought it was a cool event, but one that I would never be able to compete in. Nor do I now harbor any ideas that I can compete with the best in my age group, all of whom throw over 45′, with the best being in the mid 50s. (A very rare feat as one gets older, to throw one’s age.)

Still, I have it as a goal to be able to throw 40′, with 43′ being the unachievable-yet-thinkable goal of US Masters Track & Field All American standard. Right now I am throwing around 35′, which is an improvement from last year.

Will I actually compete in the Huntsman Games? Probably not, as it’s not that big of a priority. This is an activity that helps motivate me to lift weights and get into shape and I can practice in the backyard while the kids watch and try and keep the cats out of the way. Hopefully I can be prudent and avoid injury and make some steady improvement. Currently I am throwing every other day, about 30 tosses a day. I am using a side step technique rather than the spin or the glide, mostly because I’m too lazy or coordinated to learn them.

April Weight Lifting Status

Dumbbell Curls: 1 set of 10 with 40 lbs (goal is 1 set of 10 with 50 lbs)

Tricep/Dip Machine*: 1 set of 10 with 200 lbs. (reached goal)

Fly*: 1 set of 10 with 110 lbs. (reached goal)

Reverse Fly*: 1 set of 10 with 70 lbs. (reached goal)

Lat Pull Down*: 1 set of 10 with 160 lbs. (goal is 1 set of 10 with 200 lbs.)

Seated Rowing*: 1 set of 8 with 150 lbs. (goal is 1 set of 10 with 200 lbs.)

(*on machines.) Then I moved over to the Smith Machine**

Military Press: 1 set of 10 with 135 lbs, 1 set of 3 with 185 lbs. (goal is 1 set of 3 with 225 lbs.)

Bench: 1 set of 10 with 185 lbs, 1 set of 5 with 225 lbs, 1 set of 2 with 275 lbs. (goal is 1 set of 3 with 315 lbs.)

One of these days I might get serious and start dead lifting and maybe try the clean and jerk.

**Disclaimer to the effect that I believe that the Smith Machine requires at least 20% less effort that free weights.

February 2011 Weight Check In

Dumbbell Curls: 1 set of 10 with 35lbs

Dip Machine*: 1 set of 10 reps with 200 lbs (the whole stack.)

Fly*: 1 set of 10 with 110 lbs.

Reverse Fly*: 1 set of 10 with 70 lbs,

Lat Pull Down*: 1 set of 10 with 150 lbs.

Seated Rowing*: 1 set of 7 with 150 lbs.

(*on machines.) Then I moved over to the Smith Machines**.

Military Press: 1 set of 6 with 135. (Old Smith Machine…more difficult than the newer one.)

Bench: 1 set of 10 with 185 lbs, 1 set of 5 with 225 lbs.

**Disclaimer to the effect that I believe that the newer Smith Machine requires at least 20% less effort that free weights.

I copied and pasted the above from the June Weight Check In and added current numbers. I’m not doing any lower body weights right now and the curls and lat pull downs are lower due to the injury to my right arm. Overall, I’m happy that I am getting back to where I was last summer, but am also looking forward to getting stronger. Here’s my goals to shoot for by July when I turn 55:

Curls: 6 with 50

Lat Pull Down; 10 with 200

Seated Rowing: 6 with 200

Fly: 6 with 150

Reverse Fly: 6 with 100

Dip Machine: 20 with 200

Military/Smith: 6 with 225

Bench/Smith: 6 with 315

Ok, so I’m probably kidding myself with the last two, but having some crazy strength at age 55 is a fun thought.  And sooner or later I should switch over to dead lifting and add squats. Whether or not I do is going to depend on getting the ProSpot working so I can do them at home.

Oh yeah…I’d also like to weigh less than 200.

Never too old?

While working out this morning at the gym, I was impressed by an older man (late 60s?) who was pulling some pretty good weight on a couple of the machines.  He didn’t look weak, but also didn’t look tremendously fit. I was encouraged as I realized that in another 15 years that could be me, assuming that I continue to work out.  I wondered what he had done over the years and what kind of shape he had been in while still young, or even at my current age of 54.

When one is on the downhill leg in life it is a question of just how fit one can be, the dance between building muscle and losing muscle mass. Have I already reached my peak? Is it still possible to increase my strength before the inevitability of age puts a cap on what I can do?

For thousands of years men have sought a fountain of youth, a way to turn back the clock on Father Time and regain or retain their strength and vigor. (Little blue pills aside.)  Although, a discussion about motivation is in order: Fame, power, ego/confidence , money, sex, or personal satisfaction? I should google it and see if any research studies pop up.  What if the magic elixir of life was nothing more than testosterone?

I’m happy to report that my sore right forearm is about 95%. I’m doing all my lifts again and the numbers are going up. I’m still behind my highs of last summer, which in part was the purpose of this post, wondering if my ceiling is dropping or if I just need to work harder to get back to where I was.

Currently curling 40 with the left arm, 35 with the right, 150 lat pull down (just started again this week), 130 on rowing, 135 military on the smith machine, 195 bench press on the seated machine, 100 fly machine, 60 reverse fly, 200 shoulder dip machine.

A Matter of Belief

Recently in one of our local newspapers there have been  a  couple of articles attacking MLMs and those who participate in them.  While I am hardly endorsing every MLM or MLMer–for even a cursory review will yield many horror stories–I am defending the right of individuals to believe that their company or products are the best.

Belief–personal belief–whether it be about religion, politics, companies, sports teams, actors, cars, or any on myriad other areas that we touch in life, rarely can be changed with “facts,” as if facts weren’t subject to error and bias.  Certainly eyes will roll when someone makes an all-encompassing statement about the health benefits of this or that product.  These are statements of belief, of passion, of commitment, and shouldn’t be interpreted as statements of fact.  No, not everyone will receive the benefits that the speaker has promoted, even though they believe it passionately.

A friend of mine has dubbed these kind of statements as “American Idol Syndrome.” He, like many of the rest of us, scratched his head at some of the contestants over the years who truly believed they were gifted singers, when in fact most were awful singers, so much so that the producers of the show highlighted them to make fun of them.  While we might not agree with their self-assessment of their singing ability, certainly we should defend their right to believe it.

The water gets muddier when someone’s statement of belief is the cause of our spending money or committing our time and energy, like when joining an MLM. This is why most reputable MLMs have policies against making statements about income or health benefits, without adequately qualifying them so as to be clear that they are opinions or beliefs and not statements of facts. Sadly, most MLMers ignore these policies and brazenly make statements that they might believe to be true but technically are forbidden from making. (The main reason being that the various state attorney generals have required MLMs to forbid these type of statements, else the company will be censured, fined or shut down.)

So, how can one know if the product will have a beneficial impact on their health? Try it.  And that might only be after checking with one’s physician if there are any out-of-the-ordinary health issues to be dealt with.  Hopefully the products carry a money-back guarantee so as to reduce the financial risk.

And those “wild” statements you hear at opportunity meetings and elsewhere? Just accept them as passionate statements of belief and don’t put too much credence in them…after all, YOU get to choose what YOU believe in life.

A Real Workout

We’ve had 3 major snow storms so far this season and I’ve spent, 2, 4, and 3 hours respectively clearing our sidewalk, driveway, and the street in front of our house. Toss in several other 1 hour sessions and I have been getting some great exercise! Conversely, I haven’t made it to the gym as much as I might have otherwise.

Not to worry. Lifting weights, jogging, and riding the bike are great exercise, too, but it makes more sense to me to spend my efforts in doing something useful that also provides good exercise, even if it’s not as muscle specific as some of the lifts, etc.  The very fact that I have been able to shovel snow for an extended period of time is a testament to the benefits of a regular exercise program and one of the good reasons to try and stay fit.

Having said that, I’ll admit that I am not a fan of snow or cold weather (17 deg. at the moment, up from 2 last night) and I’d much rather live somewhere with more moderate weather.  Yet, I haven’t had much success working outside in 80+ deg. heat and prefer temperatures in the 45-55 deg range for extended outdoor work.

No question in my mind…shoveling snow is a valuable step in my pursuit of manliness!

Jogging and Biking Update

Oh, it’s so easy not to pursue manliness! And with the weather getting cooler, now is when I usually pick up a few pounds as working out becomes a bit more difficult.

I gave up on the running program that I had seen online and reverted back to what felt more natural to me. So, for the past few weeks I have been jogging 6 laps at the track in 15 minutes. Not exactly burning it up, but I am focusing on my technique and I feel like I am making positive strides. (pun intended) I hope to eventually work my way up to 8 laps and then maybe 10 or 12,  and hopefully bring my lap time down a little. Ideally I would be running 3 miles in about 25 minutes, 2-3 times a week.

Since I don’t have a gym membership at the moment I’ve been wanting to do some bike riding and fortunately my brother gave me an old GT Avalanche to ride. After a few mishaps with tires I finally got it rideable and rode it to work this morning. Good times!