I’ve been trying to either walk or run the 5 mile track around the lake every day that I work, and mostly I’ve stayed consistent about being there, and about staying on my toes. There were a few days where I added a ruck sack into the mix. It was nice, but thats a lot of bulk if I choose to stop somewhere to try and introduce myself to the crows, and also there are spots where aI like to do pull-ups ans push-ups, but the ruck sack is logistically difficult - especially on the pull-ups.
I thought …maybe I could get a weighted vest! I know Temu has great deals on all kinds of stuff…
So I checked there:
…most options were $30 or more, and in every instance I found, you had to fill the little pouches with sand after you received it - so I thought again, but this time I thought - Wait, it’s just pouches with sand in them, and you know what I probably CAN get super cheap on Temu?
…POUCHES!!!
So I bought the 12 pack of 7”x5” drawstring pouches, filled them with sand, and tied the tops off with paracord, leaving a free loop at the top so they can be clipped onto or off of a shoulder strap.
For the shoulder strap part, originally I envisioned like a hand-woven paracord belt, but this is just intended to be some extra weight I can carry during my exercise, so theres really no need to get fancy. With that in mind, I just tied loops on both ends of a short piece of strap webbing and attached half of the bags to each side.
The bags together weigh about 13lbs, and I made up 8 of them…and I think it would take a lot of to get as much weight as the vest on the top right (110 lbs).
pounds/bag: 13 / 8 = 1.625lbs per bag
target bags = target lbs / ( lbs / bag )
target bags = ( target lbs * bags ) / ( lbs )
target bags = bags * ( target lbs / lbs )
target bags = bags
110 / 1.625 = 67.7 bags
…so I’d have to put together 68 of these bags to equate to what that vest says it can do, but the good news is, I think this will be a fun way to get in the habit of carrying some extra weight, even if I csnt get it up thst high in weight.
This will just drape over my shoulders and should be good for adding a few pounds to my walk/run, and my push/pull-ups everyday.
Nothing too complicated or exciting I know, but if you’re looking to add a little weight to your daily routine while keeping your hands free, this is a fun way to do it - plus, I think as an added bonus, the colorful bags will arouse the curiosity if the crows :)
Making changes has been difficult, there are still days when I slip…specifically, there are days when I mess up and smoke weed too early in the day, and then wind up eating a bunch of junk…I’m working on it. …But I’m happy to see myself going in the right direction, and to compare my status with the start instead of the finish.
It’s not all about appearances of course, but they can be a decent indicator of progress. Ultimately, I just want to be strong, healthy and capable - but comparing progress to the goal is a mistake…I’m a firm believer in looking at where you are, with respect to where you started.
Thanks for checking out some more of my work! As always, I hope you enjoyed witnessing as much as I enjoyed creating!
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