The Challenge of These "Challenges"

Alright… so what is the re-brand? Personally, I just don’t do too well if I’m not actively working towards something. I flounder around if I don’t have structure so thank god for the Apple Watch that tells me when to stand and breath. Anyways, as all three of you know, I was signed up for a triathlon that was supposed to be on Halloween but was cancelled due to the pandemic. The training wasn’t wasted by any means though, I took plenty of shirtless “thirst trap” pics and received plenty of DMs that pretty much amounted to “talking” for 2.5 weeks, and then me… ghosting (naturally). Just adding to the narrative of “Men Are TRASH.” You’re welcome!! Anyways, since my last post, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of the wonderful world of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency (like every douche bag does). Took a few courses on day trading. Completely neglected my studying to become a personal trainer. Paid off my student loans and became debt free and have a credit score of 805. And finally got a haircut! It was a sad day but I needed to cut the quarantine locks.

As you can see, I tend to get interested in something for a few weeks, only to never return to it, yet I pretend to be an expert after my brief studying. A jack of all trades, master of none - if you will. I need some structure. Life was good when I had my stupid pull-up challenge. I knew exactly what my plan was for the foreseeable future, which was literally just pull-ups. Such a simple era of the pandemic, I miss it dearly.

So with that being said, what should my new challenge be? What is something that I can get slightly better than mediocre at? That’s literally all I care about, just being slightly better than the average person. Feel free to reach out to me directly or drop a comment (LMAOOO no one will read this, the comment section is going to be full of cobwebs)

Hey… It’s Been A While

Today was supposed to be the day of my race. Everything is cancelled this year… fun, Ellen DeGenerous… and also… my triathlon. I woke up this morning realizing how NOT in shape I would be for a 1 mi. swim, 25 mi. bike ride, and 6.2 mi. run today, but that’s okay. I switched back to getting caked-up instead of working on my endurance. What is “running far” going to do for me? Anyways, here’s some progress pics.

Evan Boydstun looking to the left like he’s on the cover of a Christian Rock Band album cover.

Evan Boydstun looking to the left like he’s on the cover of a Christian Rock Band album cover.

Current Specs:

Weight: 185lbs (after my morning coffee poo) up about 6 lbs since the start of quarantine.

Hair: needs a trim.

Tan: still got it.

Shadows and shading: *chef’s kiss*

Update

It’s a sad day here in the desert. To give some context, I was lost and lonely after I finished my 100K pull-ups. I had no purpose in life. Absolutely nothing to live for except maintaining these washboard abs. I was in a funk, simple as that. I realized that I’m inherently competitive with myself in anything I do and I needed some sort of competition based event to get me out of this lull. I figured: I know how to swim, I know how to ride a bike, and I know how to run, why not sign up for a triathlon in 8 weeks? Well, that’s exactly what I did, and I’ve been training for it every day for the last 2 weeks. I regret to inform all 3 of you that read this blog, that the triathlon has been cancelled. Not ideal, even though the competitors are most likely the pinnacle of health, but we have to adhere to the rules and regulations. No worries, I’m just going to keep up my training because I like looking like an athlete for no damn reason.

Evan Boydstun with his signature stupid smirk.

Evan Boydstun with his signature stupid smirk.

2mi Is The Standard.

Alright so it’s been almost 3 weeks since I’ve finished my challenge. Not gunna lie, I was just a lost soul swimmin in a fish bowl the first few days because I wanted my body to heal. I only last 2 days of no pull-ups but now I’m not breaking my back just to do 500 in a day. I have a new program I’m doing that is a combination of weight-lifting and endurance training. So I run 2 miles a day at the minimum. Yesterday though, I ran 2 miles with a 20lbs weight vest, but more on that later.

Evan Boydstun with that stupid smirk

Evan Boydstun with that stupid smirk

Epilogue

…10 days later, I’ve lost all my gains.
jk

Evan Boydstun

Evan Boydstun

This picture looks phenomenal in black and white too (see below)

Evan Boydstun

Evan Boydstun

In all seriousness though, I feel extremely liberated now that I don’t have to do 500 pull-ups every day. Yeah yeah I know I didn’t have to do that EVERY day but you don’t understand what this did to my head. The whole thing turned in to a game. It started with 300 pull-ups a day, split between two sessions. Then I was able to do 300 in an hour. Then I kicked it up to 400 in two sessions, and then 500 (300 during lunch, 200 after work). Eventually I got to the point where I could do 500 pull-ups in 40 minutes flat.
Also, since I posted my thirst trap Instagram last week, I’ve had about 40 different people (seriously I appreciate it) reach out to me and ask me about my workout where I jokingly would say “500 pull-ups and a rotisserie chicken. Every. Single. Day.” Which is an absolute lie. Along with the 100,000 pull-ups, there was about 100,000 push-ups to go along with them. At least 10,000 handstand push-ups. Also, if you remember, I built a barbell that I used for everything else. Also also, add in a hike every weekend. Also also ALSO, When I came back to the desert in May, my dad had a full gym ready for me. So add in a few thousand squats and deadlifts. Basically, 100,000 pull-ups help… but I didn’t JUST do that. Sorry, I’m a fraud.

95K

So close. And my fingers hurt so damn bad. Am I gripping the pull-up bar too tight out of sheer anger at myself for coming up with such a stupid yet audacious goal? I hate how when I commit to something, I have to go through with it (sounds like a “so what’s your greatest weakness?” interview answer). Anyways, I was going through some pictures and saw I had a vain back picture from December 13th 2019.

Evan Boydstun

Evan Boydstun

A few things to note in this 7.5 month difference:

  1. I’m perma-tan with WFH.

  2. I haven’t gotten a haircut since February.

  3. I wear a gold chain, thank you Jaxxon.

  4. I eat a rotisserie chicken every day instead of 15 chicken wings.

  5. And self timer is still my best friend apparently.

Lighting Is Everything.

Total Pull-Up Count: 90,500
Once again… and I cannot stress this enough. Lighting is absolutely everything. At about 1:30pm, the sun hits just… about… right… and

Evan Boydstun

Evan Boydstun

However, something important to note… you still gotta put in the work to have the shadows, so if anything, slap a filter on and call it a day. But don’t worry, there’s always summer of 2021 to work towards! I get it though, quarantine hasn’t been the same for everyone. It was honestly the best thing to ever happen to my body (and liver). However, I’ll be the first one to admit that I overcompensate in my personal life for an extra sense of control, since I don’t have the best grip of my professional life. You win some you lose some. Luckily I’m losing this battle with abs.