Six pack by summer

For anyone who is reading along, you know that tomorrow is my first deadline. Also – you may know that I didn’t achieve my first goal of a four pack.

Before I get to the meat of this post, I want to take a quick jaunt down memory lane. When I started this endeavor, I put up the money for two reasons.

1. To keep myself motivated
2. To get other people (strangers and friends) to follow my progress.

I thought I’d get a ton of blog links and make a big site about my progress. I also thought the attention would bring some revenue in and I’d split that with the “Jury” when all was said and done.

Neither one worked out exactly like I planed. However, I ended up with something MUCH, MUCH better! Four of my good friends and one stranger who has been an enormous help took it upon themselves to alter the terms of this project. From what I hear, they’ve been in talks for a while now and came up with the following conditions:

Mr. Erik Kastner:

I’m writing on behalf of some the key contributors to your fitness blog “Six Pack By Summer”. We have all followed your quest, more or less since it’s inception, and have been inspired by the general enthusiasm with which you have pursued your goal. While we do intend to collect our dues from this venture, we would like to offer you—in the same spirit of chance with which you undertook this enterprise—an opportunity to both recoup a portion of your losses and follow through on your goal of achieving a six pack.

As I’ve mentioned, we intend on holding you to payment as promised, though in part not in whole. What we intend to collect is 20% of what we would otherwise be apportioned. The remaining 80% is to be allotted to yonnage as he will be acting as the treasurer for the remainder of this challenge. As you may have guessed, our challenge will afford you an opportunity to win back this 80%.

Winning back this 80% is contingent on the terms below, though a $50 penalty will be deducted from the pot for each week that you have not meet with the terms and conditions of this contest. While the aim of this goal remains your achieving a “six-pack”, we have modified it’s definition by requiring you to achieve a certain Body Fat percentage. This challenge will not end until a professional has measured and verified that you’re have attained a Body Fat percentage of no more than 8.5%.

Our requirements:
1: Minimum of one picture update per week.
2: Four gym days a week.
3: Five hours of cardio a week.
4: 250 pushups a week.
5: 300 situps a week.
6: One TaeKwon-Do session a week.
7: Six blog-updates a week (blog-updates must contain weight, Body Fat [if measured since your last update], waist size, and exercises completed).
9: Body Fat percentage measured by a professional at least once every two weeks.

Terms and conditions are subject to change at the collective discretion of the fiscal contributors to this challenge.

Feel free to post this missive, as well as your response, to your blog. We intend to begin this challenge immediately and request your answer by tomorrow. Thanks and good luck!

Your friends,
Jason, Ché, John, Greg, and Dave.

First, my response. YES! This is awesome. The only point I have a possible issue with is #6 – sometimes I won’t be able to go to class each week – would you guys be amenable to having a possible sub for that one?

What they’ve done is made the exact type of challenge I’ve been trying to make, but have been unable to. I now have a discreet set of deliverables that have small, but lasting effects on my progress (and bottom line). This is similar in spirit to the Ultimate Black Belt Test and what I envisioned for trackstat.us – but didn’t quite get right.

Now one more point. If you feel you are owed moneys from this site (and aren’t on the list above), email me (kastner @ gmail.com) with your paypal address and what you felt you’ve contributed to the community that has grown around this site. To the “Crew” (we need a name for you guys), I’ll wait to see if anyone comes out of the woodwork, then I’ll be sending out the money. The 80% to the Treasurer will be transfered after the next paycheck (It’s ok, he knows where I work).

Any questions, comments, concerns or quips?

P.S. Thanks guys. If I wasn’t sitting 3 feet away from another man writing this, I’d be balling like a baby. I can’t express how much this means to me. You’ve made it impossible for me to fail and slink away. Thank you, thank you, thank you!