After years of competing in various sports, I found my passion for fitness and strength training. I use it as a device for self-improvement, a way to challenge myself, and a personal therapy. I spent many years as an undergrad weight training, but it wasn't until I started my PhD that I realized all forms of physical activity were enjoyable.

Philosophy

I believe that confusion is the best way to train. Much like adversarial training and concept drift in machine learning, I find that the best way to improve is to challenge myself with different workouts. For example, after weeks of heavy weight training to meet a self-defined quota (e.g., 315 lbs bench press or 405 squat), I will switch to aerobics (PR my 5K time) or calisthenics (PR my push-up or pull-up count). This keeps me motivated and prevents burnout.

Achievements

Personal records across main lifts and other notable marks:

My passion for guitar started in my PhD years as a way to feel at home. I grew up listening to my father play guitar and I often find comfort in just the strumming of the strings. I started with a cheap acoustic guitar on Amazon, but have since upgraded to a Yamaha with much better sound quality.