200 Sit-Ups in 6 Weeks

The most clicked-on book title from my two previous Kindle Bookshelf posts has, far and away, been 7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups by Steve Speirs.  This book is part of my “Daily readings/reference Books” list—those titles that, by nature of their content, are meant to be opened regularly

The eReader, for most purchasers, was bought for themselves or as a gift with the intent of stimulating increased reading—via cheaper prices of eBooks, the ability to keep numerous books in the palm of one’s hand, quicker reading due to font/spacing/margin options (note: future post on this), instantaneous and mobile eBook acquisitions,  and/or the “allure” using of a new gadget, to name a few. I can attest to my own rise in reading to all of the above.

Now, doing 5-9 sets of push-ups is not everyone’s idea of fun.  Beneficial? Yes. Eagerly anticipated? No.  If I had the hard copy of this book, it would be buried on my desk or stuffed in some magazine rack.  But the Kindle version?  There it is, on the first page of my Kindle’s home screen, constantly reminding me that either today or tomorrow, I am scheduled for some pain.

And that is why I have faithfully kept up with the program—annotating the eBook with my results (day/sets/reps) using my Kindle’s keypad.  The annotations help motivate you as you progress, the eBook’s presence on your “Kindle Bookshelf” remind you of your commitment.

The interesting thing is that Mr. Speir’s program is available for free online.  While the book does offer some extra routines as well as a more customized schedule based on your initial strength, the meat of the program there.  So why pay $9.99 for it?

1) Are you more likely to follow a routine that you have bookmarked on your browser, or is right next to your guilty pleasure (e.g. the latest Dan Brown novel), staring you in the face?

2) Annotations

3) The ability to sync the book to other devices—BlackBerry, IPhone, ITouch, IPad—so that you can perform your schedule routine wherever you are.

…

Also on Mr. Speir’s website are a few other programs.  200 Sit-Ups (crunches) in 6 Weeks is not available as a book or eBook, but is free online. Using the calibre software (which will be discussed in upcoming posts), I converted the program into a Kindle-friendly eBook:

200 Sit-Ups in 6 Weeks .mobi edition
(note: the ebook will be taken down if Mr. Speirs publishes the book or removes the free online content)

…

The purpose of this post is twofold: 1) demonstrating another use of the calibre software as well as the ideal use of such reading materials on the Kindle; 2) endorsing the 7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups program while encouraging authors of such content to publish their works using Amazon’s Digital Text Platform.

…

Directions for Kindle:

Once you have added the file to your Kindle–either via direct download or transfer to the ‘documents’ folder to a Kindle plugged into the USB port of a computer or by clicking the link while reading this post on your Kindle–it should appear on your Kindle’s home screen at the top of your list of books.

Directions for Kindle for BlackBerry:

• When asked if you wish to save the item, select ‘Yes”
• In the ‘Save file’ dialog box, select the folder icon to explore to a new location.
• Select ‘Device Memory’ -> ‘home’ -> ‘user’ -> ‘kindle’ -> ‘eBooks’
• Open up Kindle for BlackBerry (note: if already open, close it, then re-open it). Your ebook will be included in the ‘Home’ screen.

For more information on navigating through a periodical on the Kindle, check out an earlier post for a thorough guide, on Kindle for Blackberry, check out this post.