We’ve had the Stealth Board here at the house for quite some time. And although we’ve played around with it a bit over the past year, I haven’t had a chance to really dive into what it can do. However, that changes today.
It’s not that I’m lazy. Seriously, it’s only 10 minutes out of my day. My problem is that I keep forgetting that I want to do the case study for the unit.
I suppose that’s what happens when you get wrapped up in several projects each day while trying to make sure all of your clients are happy.
Ah, the life of a work-at-home freelancer.
Anyway, today marks the beginning of my 28-day Stealth Board case study.
I Set This Up Back in May?!?
As I was planning out this article, I decided to look back at when I set up the cast study for the Stealth Board. Can you believe that I wrote that article back in May? Not only that, but I left it open-ended so I could simply update it with the results.
I completely forgot that’s how I published the piece, which makes it extremely embarrassing that I haven’t done this yet. In fact, I haven’t used the ab crunch machine at Planet Fitness this whole time because I didn’t want it skewing the results.
Maybe people are right…I’m simply trying to take on too much throughout the week.
Well, I guess it’s better late than never. Though, this does put a little more emphasis on me getting it done. After all, so far, 164 people have read that article.
That’s 164 people I’ve disappointed without having the rest of the data.
Sigh…
Changing Things Up Slightly
I plan on doing a bit of rewriting on the original case study post. Instead of focusing on the ab crunch machine, which was from more than three months ago, I’m using a different exercise for the baseline.
For this, I’ll perform a maximum number of sit-ups, a one-minute break, and then a maximum number of lying leg raises. Will using the Stealth Board improve my performance with these exercises? If so, by how much?
Yeah, I’m a bit of a dork when it comes to data.
I’m also tracking a few new things I didn’t list in the original post, such as calorie burn-per-minute. I doubt I’ll burn a ton of calories, but it would be interesting to see if it makes a difference.
I’ll also show a graph of the improvement in the time I can hold a plank while playing the Stealth Board games. Of course, this will be embedded in the Google Spreadsheet I’m adding.
Setting My 10:30 Alarm
As part of my routine, I take a break at 10:30 am. I had to start setting the alarm and forcing myself to step away from the computer. Otherwise, I would keep hammering away at the keyboard.
Anyway, for this case study, I’ll label that 10:30 am alarm for the Stealth Board. This way, I’ll remember that I want to use the device during that particular break.
In the past, it’s been very difficult for me to adhere to my alarms and step away. I simply just swipe to turn it off and continue with what I was doing.
Lately, I’ve been doing pretty well at taking my scheduled breaks on time. It’s made a vast improvement in my efficiency throughout the week. And since I changed the time at which I start my day to 9:00 am, I’ve been hitting some amazing numbers for productivity.
Normally during my 10:30 break, I’ll walk around the backyard for a bit. So, using the Stealth Board during that time instead is still a good use of time for working on losing weight and whatnot.
Ending on October 4th
Since I am starting the case study today, the 28 days will end on October 4th. This means I’ll edit the case study post with the results the following day.
I might also write a follow-up post on my experiences.
I’m kind of excited to see if the Stealth Board does what it claims. That’s why I do these case studies in the first place, though. What works perfectly for one person may not be all that grand for someone else.
If I stick to my damn diet, I have no doubt that I’ll look pretty good in the pictures by then. And yes, I did take a series of “before” photos earlier today.
Because I am sticking with my diet, though, it means the pics probably won’t be a good judge of how the Stealth Board works. That’s because my diet and my trips to the gym are going to greatly affect how I look anyway.
That’s why I am testing out core exercises. If I am able to increase the number of reps I can do for sit-ups and lying leg raises, it lends to the Stealth Board’s credence of being a viable unit for exercise.
Remember, I’m not doing any other intense core work during the next 28 days. This is to prevent other exercises from having an impact on the data.
How Do You Gamify Your Workouts?
I’m a huge fan of gamification of any kind. For me, case studies and collecting data is incredibly fun. I could spend hours toying with a spreadsheet…and I have.
In any case, gamifying workouts is a great way to keep you engaged and going back for more. Because once you deem an exercise as boring or start dreading the appearance of a weight machine, you’re far less likely to continue.
People have stacks of workout DVDs collecting dust in a closet because they got bored of the same thing over and over again.
Find a way to make your workouts fun.
What kind of exercises do you immensely enjoy?