Man Made DIY

You, like any sane person, hate the gym. Of course, you feel great when its done, but the getting there and your presence can be...tough. "The mindless repetitions on the weight machines, halfhearted crunches, daytime TV during the treadmill. Such a sad, unimaginative excuse for a life," when you could be outside or at home, doing the things you love.

"Gym machines are boring, CrossFit is sadistic, and dieting sucks. Luckily, none of them is essential to being truly fit." With a bit of trial and error, and simply thinking smart about what you do and put into your body, its possible to create real health.

Today's is the first sunny, snow-free day we've had since November. Don't get me wrong, it's only 34° F out there, but I don't care. I can see the grass, albeit khaki, and the sun. On the same day. Hallelujah.

So, I'm already scheming about how I can get outside. Anyone that knows me can attest that I'm not much of an athlete, and I'm a total wreck with a basketball, but I'm a pretty active cyclist, and certainly have been jonesing for the roads to clear so I can ride. 

And, in 2011, even the most natural of tasks like using our muscles to move around can take a technological spin. On a bike ride, I have a digital, wireless bike computer that tells me how fast I'm going and keeps track of other stats. And when I'm not riding on the trail, I use GPS on my phone to track my route, elevation, speed, etc. So, while sometimes technology can hinder your desire to get exercise (looking at you, Netflix), it also has the potential to improve it greatly. … read more

Steve Kamb has created quite a to-do list for himself. Besides managing the regular-guy health site Nerd Fitness (duly subscribed), he's created the Epic Quest of Awesomeness, a nine-level improvement plan that doesn't focus on making tons of money, sexual conquests, or other BS men's magazine goals, but on simply being healthy and doing cool things to make Steve and the world a better place. The Nintendo-inspired 'level-up' terminology he uses is pretty apt: each accomplishment is like a four-line Tetris, or a Fire Power flower.

He says, "Welcome to my Epic Quest of Awesome! I’m traveling all over the world, going on crazy adventures, and… read more