August 2014 Archives

I got the email. After over 5 years going and I got the email.

I have been tethering my iPhone off and on for years. I’m still grandfathered into an unlimited plan that doesn’t allow it, but I have been tethering since before it was even supported on the iPhone. I’ve never been one that has used it heavily or completely relied on it for my day to day use, but it was a nicety to have for use with various laptops over the years.

Until the last few months, I hadn’t tethered in quite some time. My recent reason was for my Android tablet, and I’ve only used it maybe a couple times a week at no more than 30 minutes each session. This time was a bit different and maybe this is what caught me.

There have been many ways to tether over the years. The first I can remember was a short lived App Store app named PDANet that later went to the jailbreak side (Jailbreak Tethering - 01/2009). I used it briefly, but mainly for testing purposes. My go-to for years has always been the MyWi app even though it was always on the more expensive side, and this is where I may have gone wrong. I gave up the MyWi app for convenience with the TetherMe app so that I could quickly toggle it on and off through the iPhone control center screen. I read up on it beforehand and all looked good. Well, 2-3 months later, I have now received the “we caught you tethering without paying for it” email.

On the soapbox stance, I hate that I’m paying $xx/mo for data that I can’t use the way I want. This has forever been the fight so many people have been dealing with. Having to pay an extra $20/mo to use my data in another way is stupidity (or greed) at its best, especially when it forces me off of my unlimited data plan, but this is why I give up.

Here I am, over 5 years later fighting the same fight, dealing with the same greed, and nothing has changed. The cheapest plan for me to switch to will increase my monthly bill by close to $25. I’m not quite sure I have given up enough to do that, at least not with my current provider. Instead, I believe it is time for me to look at other options. Switching carriers is one option considering the iPhone 6 will be out soon and I’m due for an upgrade, but another option would be getting a standalone tethering device of some kind. Although it may be the more expensive route, it may prove to be the more reliable.

For now, tethering will remain off on my phone. Carrier, you won this round.

A couple weeks back, I decided it was time to get back to the gym. I have put on about 10-15 lbs from where I cut down to over the course of a couple of years, and I also lost a good deal of muscle in the process of being lazy for over 6 months. No more excuses.

THE BACKGROUND

At my largest I was somewhere in the 260-270 range. I don’t know exactly since I stopped weighing myself at that point, but I knew I had to be above the 260 mark since I was larger than a point in my life where I knew I was 260. Over the years since college, I had tried weight loss here and there by hitting the gym with running, other cardio, and weight machines (but never free weights). Although I felt my diet was also adjusted, in reality it wasn’t since I would use the workout excuse to eat more or “cheat”.

In the summer of 2011, one of my closest friends made a very harmless comment to me that changed my life. Although I had been hovering in the 250-260lb range for over 10 years, and now peaking over 270lbs, it wasn’t until this moment that I truly saw how my weight and overall unhealthy appearance was holding me back from so much.

I began by cleaning up my diet and cutting back on empty calories. I decided to put my condo’s gym to use in the only way I knew how, by hitting the treadmill. I quickly learned the same thing I had always learned after starting at a gym, I hate to run, but I pressed on out of determination. I still remember the first time in the fall of 2011 when I was able to run for a solid 30 minutes without stopping. It was a first, but around this time, I wanted to put my focus elsewhere before I gave up entirely due to my dislike for most cardio activities.

As I normally do, I went into research mode. I had always despised the meatheads at the gym and out around town, but I knew that if I wanted to get my body into the shape and appearance I desired, I’d need to hit the weights. At this point my sole focus was appearance and vanity. Since my condo’s gym only had dumbbells, I found an all body dumbbell routine at Muscle and Strength. I also worked in a lot of body-weight exercises. Reading through a forum about this workout, I quickly discovered that the meatheads weren’t the only ones hitting the weights, and I fell in love with the routine and kept at it. This is when I started to take notice of the changes. I was gaining strength, and fast! I was going through notches on my belts. People were starting to notice and giving me compliments. I had made it over the hurdle that I had never been able to do before, and this made me want to go further.

During the dumbbell routine and further reading, I came upon a site called Nerd Fitness. I honestly can’t even remember how, but that doesn’t matter because I found a great community like I had never seen before. This started phase 2 of research mode. I started reading about Starting Strengh, Stronglifts, and discovered deadlifts! I knew my next goal. Having done the dumbbell routine for about 6 months at this point, and having outgrown the 60lb dumbbells in my condo’s gym, I needed to find something else. I had a gym at work, but what I didn’t know at the time was, it had a full free weight section with a squat rack.

This is when I started my Stronglifts 5x5 program and started lifting heavy.

Part II will be my progression through Stronglifts and fun competitions with new friends…