What is the point of running marathons?

Honestly, up to today, I still don't see any point of running a marathon(s). Be it 10k, half marathon or even a friggin 42km. Like, seriously. What is the point? Can somebody tell me?

I can't think of anything else besides the "personal satisfaction" and some health factors. Maybe you can hit 10km in your first marathon, got excited, and you wanna see if you can achieve 21km in your second marathon in within "your targeted time". 

Ok. Maybe you stamina will be like, superb compare to others. So what? What do you get at the end of the day besides stamina and personal satisfaction? Marathon runners will always ended up with not-toned, non-hour-glass shape, compare to those who sprint or even lift weights.

In health benefits wise, I believe any kind of sports can improve your fitness level, as long as you keep your heart pumping during workout. But I guess, at the end of the day, it depends on individuals' goals and targets. Yes, I admit that I'm biased here, and I'll choose weights over running any time. Any time at all. 

It's because I see the benefits of lifting weights, which definitely improve my physiques which running can't give. I might not be able to run as good as the runners, but I'm definitely much stronger than them. Plus, when you see a woman lift weights like nobody else, you'll get the attention which will boost up your confidence automatically. 

Weights over running, peeps, weights over running. 

Progress on Day 24 :)))))

See that smile on top? Ha! Hehe.....

I am, so far, quite happy with my results but I still have long way to go. I have only achieve 30% of my goal, but that 30% served as my motivation, because I cannot wait and see what the results will be like if I have achieved 100% later.

I measured myself on Oct 3, 2011 and my weight was 51kg with a whooping body fat percentage of 26.6% *gasp!!* I was at the FAIR level, going to OBESE, according to the scale at the gym. (I really dunno how they judge obese, but I don't really look obese lah, don't you think? Far than obese, but definitely not lean, that I know) Definitely was very disappointed with myself. Few friends actually commented on my Krabi beach pictures that I look "normal" and didn't look athletic. That served as my "wake-up call" hence the diet.

My diet is very simple. High protein low carbs. Very easy to prepare as well, at home I mean, but rather difficult to find outside. I realise that I really need to be mentally strong when I eat outside, especially when I'm with friends. Most people do not understand why I eat this way. So far, if I happen to eat outside, I can only eat Nandos since the chickens are all grilled, or the salmon from Ikea. Hm..what else? I don't really dig steak, plus it's too expensive to eat outside anyway. Not worth the money anyway. 

So my breakfast everyday will be oat 2 tbs + 2 hard boiled egg white. (I added a handful of raisins and 1 yolk in my previous 3 weeks diet, but now not anymore) My lunch mostly is outside since I'm working, so usually will be fish and some vege, no rice. My dinner is usually either 2pcs of chicken drumstick skinless or 1 block of salmon and 1 chicken drumstick skinless, long beans and carrots, all dumped into the steamer. (Just like image below). My only sauce will be Nando's Extra Hot Peri-Peri, for taste. Sometimes I will have mustard, or oyster sauce with cili padi. I will have 1 cheat-meal day in a week, so that I won't go crazy at the end of diet. :P

 My dinner

So after dieting like this for about 2 weeks, coupled with training of 5x a week, I have managed to drop 2% of body fat, and am now at GOOD level. I intend to go until ATHLETE level, which will be around 20%. It's definitely working, doesn't it? So, I'm gonna stick to this diet and workout routine until Dec 10 for Zoukout. Yeayyy baby!! Heheheeeeeeee...........

 

 Me in May 2011

Me in 2nd week of Oct 2011

I wanna be like her, especially her abs. So I still have

long way to go. 70% more!!

And am definitely going to get fake tan later. Tanned skin enhances

the muscles more muahahahaha!!

Progress is not good

It is sad to say that my progress for the last 2 months was not really good. Been slacking, not watching my diet due to loads of open houses, family emergency, bla bla snore. Yeah.. I know, excuses, excuses and more excuses. 

I got a wake up call, a so-called wake up call when few friends, very honestly, commented on how I look recently. They said I don't "look athletic", but rather "normal-looking" and "have shrunk" despite the fact that I'm training more than other people. It was really sad to hear that all my 4 years of hard works have gone to waste in just a matter of 2 months time. 

Ok. Maybe not 4 years. Maybe 2 years. The basic knowledge is still there, but people won't know how much you  know unless they talk to you right? Well not that I'm super smart or anything. Plus, as much as I do not want to admit, first impression does matter. So when I look like "normal people", people will wonder, what the heck have I been doing at the gym? Ok. Maybe I'm making all these up, but this is what I'll think of if I see some girl who doesn't walk the talk.  

Anyway, I have already made up my mind not to get distracted by other things ie hanging out with friends, eating Chillis on Friday nights (just an example. I don't really always go to Chillis anyway), or drinking beer on Saturday nights. One of my weaknesses is I care too much about what other people think of me. But it's good. Whatever negative comments that they have said about me, I'm taking it positively and will promise myself that I will prove them wrong one day. 

It just that maybe the 5x5 training doesn't work for me. For some of you who doesn't believe in functional training, surprisingly, during that 2 months of the training sometime in March, I was in my best-est shape ever. I've gained muscle mass and my body fat percentage went down. Maybe this type of training works for me. I dunno. I need to start experimenting again what works best for me and what is not. 

I am only in 3rd day of diet and so far, I still can managed. I dunno what will happen after 2 months though. hehehe.....everyday I eat the same thing. Morning oat + 1 egg + 1 tbsp of raisins. Lunch fish + vege. Snack 3 egg whites + 1 fruit. Dinner 2 chicken steam + long beans + carrots. Post workout tandoori chicken. Still not so bad for now. After all it's only my 3rd day. So.....

Well, wish me luck! Hope I can prove them wrong by December 2011. Toodles~!

The Types of Muscle Fibers

I came across a website that talks about muscle fibers. And surprisingly, it is kinda interesting to learn about it. Some previous blogger wrote about it but I had a hard time understanding it, but this website makes things rather easier to understand. Or maybe I'm just too dumb to understand complicated things :P

So now I know why some people can run longer without panting while some can lift weight more than the others. Our body consists of two types of muscles fibers - Slow Twitch and Fast Twitch (type I and II).

Slow Twitch muscle fibers are usually used in endurance training which requires a lot of stamina, such as marathon, swimming and etc. This muscle fibers do not increase in size, hence you'll see a lot of marathon runners or other endurance athletes look rather slim and with no definitions.

These people mostly train with high reps and light weights for better conditioning as slow twitch muscle fibers do not increase in size. They also tend to have higher ratio of these type of muscle fibers, which explains why they are better runner than others. The down side of it is that, they might have to work double hard if they want to build muscles at the end of the day.

Marathon runner

Fast Twitch (type I and II) muscle fibers are used in all the explosive training such as sprinting or other explosive weight trainings. These muscle fibers, though cannot increase the amount, can increase in size. Hence these muscle fibers are put in good use during weight training. They tire easily but are capable of much more powerful contractions.

Fast twitch fibers are further classified into two subdivisions: type I and type II.   Although considered a fast twitch fiber, the type I fibers are often referred to as an "intermediate" fiber type, since they have the potential to be explosive, but also posses a degree of aerobic ability. Type II fibers on the other are the most explosive, powerful muscle fibers in the body, and have no aerobic ability.

The best way to train these muscle fibers are definitely through low reps and heavy weights in order to activate them. These people with higher ratio of Fast Twitch muscle fibers will definitely gain muscles faster than those who have lower ratio of it, and will definitely excel in explosive movements ie sprinting, relays, and etc.

 

Relay runners

Now I know which type of muscle fibers I have more compare to the other, and that explains why I still can't run like any other marathon runners. But I believe, maybe I can still strike a balance between endurance and muscles, probably 70% muscles and 30% of endurance. I mean, it's not like I wanna be a marathon runner or whatnot, but I just wish that I can last for about an hour when it comes to do explosive trainings.

But wanna know what I think? I'd prefer to be a sprinter than a marathon runner. It just bores me to death if you ask me to run for 10km.

What about you? Which muscle fibers do you think you have more?

Training for Beginner?

I had a catch up with my dear cousin recently and she told me that her sis (also my cousin) commented that she has grown "wider". Her sis went off for some trip for about a month and came back only to give her such comment. Well, obviously, as a woman, we all never like the word "fat" applies on our body. It will definitely feel like somebody has just slapped on our face and said that "geez, you are ugly." Well, something like that.

So she raised her concern to me and said that, "Do I really have to do the weights training already? Really cannot escape?" You see, her workout styles will be going to classes, RPM, and lotsa cardio. A typical woman who wanna lose weight by doing all sorts of cardio exercises. (Sorry cous, not bad mouthing you ar. hehehe)

Plus, she told me that she only goes to gym once a week, on Saturdays. But she does realise that it is just now enough to do once a week coz she's experiencing some DOMS, even though she said that she has been "exercising". Glad that she realised that. :)

So I told her, "You see, doing weight training helps you in increasing your muscle mass. And when you have muscles, your metabolisme will definitely increase, and that's when your body burn fats during your non-workout hours. It doesn't burn fats during the workout. Instead, during strength training, it breaks down the muscle tissues for the specific muscles that you are targeting. And when your body realises that your muscle fibers need to be repaired, that is when nutrient comes in. That is why you always hear people say 'take more protein' because it helps in muscle recovery. So your body will only build muscles during your rest period. That's why people always say rest at least 48 hours after a training."

I also told her that by doing tonnes of cardio do not help to promote fat loss. "You don't go from treadmill to stairclimber to cross trainer in 1 hour."

"No meh?"

"No lah of course. First it BORES to death. Second, it doesn't help in fat loss coz your body burns only during the cardio. Thirdly, our body is not designed to do a continous slow, same pace of cardio  for hours. It's just purely wasting time. And it just doesn't work. Otherwise, why would you see no difference in your body even after hours of cardio? Plus, we women will not be a she-hulk after weight training. I'm the closest example that you can see. Do I look muscular to you?"

Another thing that she told me was that, she was told to do an elevated mountain climber by a personal trainer. She immediately felt dizzy after 5 reps. I'd say that mountain climber is definitely an intermediate workout, and I don't think it's the right time for her to do that workout. Yet.

So she asked for my help in writing a workout programme for her. I hope I've planned the right one, and I need input from you guys. Let me know what you think.

Warm-Up - back to back without rest
Can be used everytime during warm up

1. High knee run in place x 30 secs
2. Prisoner squat x 10 reps
3. Push-up on knees or elevated push up, whichever easier x 10 reps

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

Superset A - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. Dumbell Row x 12 reps
2. Dumbell shoulder press x 12 reps

Rest 1min and repeat for another 2 more sets

Superset B - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. Bodyweight squats x 12 reps
2. Dumbell deadlift x 12 reps
3. Stationary lunges x 10reps each side

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

Superset C - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. Plank x 30 secs
2. Side plank x 15 secs each side

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

...................................................................................................................................................

Superset A - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. Dumbell Step-up x 10 each side
2. Dumbell chest press x 12 reps
3. Dumbell lat raise x 12 reps

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

Superset B - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. (Machine) Lat pull down x 12 reps (weigh accordingly)
2. (Machine) Seated row x 12 reps (weigh accordingly)

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

Superset C - back to back without rest for 1 set

1. Lying reverse crunch x 12 reps
2. Seated abs crunch x 12 reps

Rest 1 min and repeat for another 2 more sets

So, is it ok?

Sometimes their comments are just plain stupid

I dunno whether to feel insulted or take it as a compliment when someone said, "Are you a guy?" *rolled eyes*

And I always hear these type of stupid comments at, yup, the beloved commercial gym. I know it's rare to see a woman deadlift (a merely) 55kg and squat 60kg (which I don't think it should be something to be proud of coz I've still got looonnnnggggggg way to go) but come on! Women don't dig insults. Women dig praises! You can tell a guy that he squats like sissy and deadlifts like a baby and guys will still be ok with that. In fact, they'll improve and come back stronger than before. Unlike men, women (I dunno about others but it applies to me), hates being "challenge" and I don't think it's just the right way to motivate a woman by telling them that their bodyweight squats sucks. (happened to my previous trainer, who thinks that by bringing me down will motivates me) Or giving stupid comments like they look just like a man. Just like Jason Ferruggia said, guys respond well to criticism. Girls don't.

Anyway, I always corrected these dumbasses, that instead of saying that I look like a man, I'll say that I have a strength like a man, but body like a woman. They must be plain blind for not noticing my obvious curves. I'm not bragging but these fuckwits sometimes really just get on my nerve. It's so obvious that they dunno shit.

Oh. And another common comment from them, which shows how shallow-minded they are, is, "Man! You look so small! How the hell you carry that weight?"

Don't challenge me, bro, don't challenge me.

Finally getting the rhythm

Last time, about a year ago, when I decided to enrol in the Original Bootcamp (OBC) at Padang Astaka, I lasted only 3 sessions which started at 5:45am. Only God knows why I enrolled that time. So semangat. And with no friends to tag along with. Basically nobody to give me a wake up call and motivate me to go to the camp. Lone ranger. Yeap. That has always been me when it comes to fitness. 

Anyway, I lasted 3 sessions mainly because :-

1. The daily onset muscle soreness (DOMS) was really bad. Before my muscles even managed to rest and recover, already I had to do another rigorous training. 

2. It's just too friggin' early lar. Enough said. 

When my friend, Jasper Chai, said he wants to start another outdoor morning camp, I kinda hate it deep inside because I know I'm not really a morning person. I may wake up early but not as early as 6am. But I have already promised my friend that I will support his camp and that I'm interested in trying out his trainings. 

Again, I think I lasted 2 weeks only, even though his time is a bit different, ranging from 6:15am to 7am. Guess my body still need time to adjust to the new schedule. Then I gave up, for about a week or two, till Jasper tried to convince me to try again because he said he sees the potential in me.

You see, I'm the type that works hard if the right people motivates me, coz I give up easily. Bad trait, I know. True enough, when I returned back to the camp, I was more than ready, mentally and physically, to follow his schedules and trainings. Waking up at 5:30am is no longer a problem for me. I don't even need to take a nap after workout anymore, unlike last time. (After my first session, I went back home for shower and it was only 830am, didn't know what to do and a bit too early to go into office, so I decided to rest a.k.a nap a while. Wasted the whole morning coz I woke up at 12pm :p) 

The reason why I'm still joining the camp is because :-

1. The workouts are all about fun but at the same time are very effective in terms of muscle endurance, increase stamina and muscle toning. When I say fun, it doesn't mean you can laze around, rest for 5 mins and etc. Hell no! You'll hear his loud voice ringing in your ear, pushing you to your maximum before he lets you rest. 

2. It actually involves with some equipments rather than just using our bodyweights to train. Bodyweights exercises are good for beginners and fat loss, but intermediate or advanced fitness enthusiasts will definitely prefer training with equipments, mainly because you will challenge your muscles by doing different weights with different workouts. Training with equipments will also allow your muscles to grow and pushing yourself to achieve a higher and bigger goal.

3. This camp derives from the crossfit idea, where you do certain exercises within the stated time. Kind of like a combination of bootcamp with crossfit. Hence the equipments. Definitely fun, if you ask me! :)

Oh yeah baby..work it!!

If anyone of you wanna join this camp, just PM me! Will be glad to give you the details. :)

It's a lonely world here

The problem with some people is that, if you do things that is uncommon or unusual, they'll say that you are doing something wrong. Or that they'll say that you are a freak, for repeating the same thing everyday without fail.

That's what happened to me at the gym. Regular gym goers know what my first workout will be. I always start with squats. Then on with dealifts. Then some assistance workouts. Nobody does that routine other than me, and maybe these 2 other guys. I observe the way they do their workout and it's exactly like mine! I have a strong feeling that they are doing Strong Lifts 5x5. The difference is that they increase their weights in every sets. I thought you are suppose to load up in your next training and keep it that way in the 5 sets? Hmmm.... But anyway, it's the feeling that other people are doing restless workouts with their trainers while I doing my 5x5 routine. It feels pretty darn lonely, if you asked me.

Like I said in my previous post, it's not because of what people comment about my routine, but it's what I feel. Ok, yes, I might have gotten stronger and I can tell you confidently that I can beat 70% of the guys there with my squats' weight. It's not because I'm good but it's because they never train on their squats before. However, in terms of cardiovascular and endurance, I feel like that I'm not improving any. Hence the morning outdoor workout with my friends. The routines are really cool. Not as tough as the OBC (Original Bootcamp, coz I lasted 3 sessions only and it was friggin' early ok?) but at the same time, I'm feeling all my muscles being worked on. So it's really a great feeling.

On to the diet. I'm feeling definitely, particularly "lonely" over here when it comes to diet. You see, nobody does the diet unless they are needed to. Like me, I might have a beach trip soon sometime in Oct, so I need to look real good in my bikini. Like real good. Hence the crazy diet. No rice, no sugar, no coffee.

Surprisingly, I can live without coffee. When there's no coffee, there's no sugar also, because that's the only drink that I need to have sugar with. Other than that, I usually drink water only. So who would want to have such crazy diet with you, even though you always hear your friends saying, "aiya... I need to diet lah."  and then the next day, you see them indulging in beers or pancakes or McD. Who, I ask you?

No one.

Plus, the fasting month is coming. I can bet you that there'll be big feasts in this 1 month, given the fact that I have tonnes of Malay friends. I have even turned down a house warming invitation last week. Their meals were pizzas, jelly and KFC. It's not that I dislike the food, hell no, but it's because I'm on diet. So better avoid than having the food shoving onto your face right?

That's why it's a lonely world here. Ya hear me?

390 Workout

Since I am bored with the current 5x5 lift, I decided that I wanna do a different routine for my training last night. It was actually a routine from a friend of mine, Jasper Chai, which he trained me last week. It is an Outdoor Crossfit concept which, I think, will be launch soon. (That'll be another story)

So here's the workout (2 sets) :

Squat Jump x 30 reps

DB Overhead Squat x 30 reps (5kg)

DB Deadlift x 30 reps (2 DBs 8kg)

DB Hang Clean & Press x 15 reps (2 DBs 8kg)

DB Swing x 15 each sides (8kg)

Push Up x 30 reps (on knees. I still cannot do 30 reps on toes. Max is 20)

Crunches with Body Rotation x 15 each sides 

Total reps : 390

Related post : Aizan (So happened that I wanna talk about strength and conditioning also)

I have always been a fan of conditioning, so to speak. To me, if I sweat like water tap in a workout session, I'll feel like I have already accomplished my "fitness mission" and I actually feel good after every workout. Then a trainer told me, and I quote, making yourself breathless just for the sake of being breathless is pretty useless. And he also said that, for body building, I will only need 100reps per week. And then I found 5x5 Strong Lift. Fits the criteria perfectly. And so I did 5x5 and 5x5 only for the past 2 months.

Although my strength has improved for the past 2 months, I also notice that my endurance has significantly dropped. My stamina has never been good and with  lesser endurance training lately, it has just got worse.

So sometimes, I'll fit in some Crossfit WODs, just to get breathless a bit. I think I'll add in more assistance workouts and conditioning in my future routine. 

Everytime I go to gym

1. There are 2 workout "stations" that is always empty - The infamous 2 Squat Racks. So you really can't blame me for always starting my workout with squats or deadlift. There was one time where I wanna train on my back instead of the usual Squat routine, but couldn't because that back machine area was swarming with tonnes of guys. I also can hardly do some cable flyes because, yes, it is surrounded by the fitness wannabe. 

I don't like to ask these people halfway when they are training whether we can share or not. I just don't. Not that I don't like to share, but just..... dislike. You have to change the weights every time you share with other people, which I find it a bit, ma fan. (leceh. How do you say leceh in English?)

And I hate to say this but, really, the population of using the squat rack is like 1%. Maybe I can only see 1 guy doing squats (NOT the Smith Machine, please) in like, maybe 2 weeks?

Even the trainers commented, "Your squat is already very good lar. No need to do everyday." As usual, I just rolled my eyes, smiled and walk away. 

But why?? Why on earth does these guys never do squats? All they do is just bicep curls, bicep curls and more bicep curls.

Squat Rack 1

Squat Rack 2

2. I hardly see any guys do deadlift. I might not be at the gym 24/7 but every time I go there, I just don't see many do deadlift. But the population of doing this compare is squats is higher. Probably like 5%? At least better than Squats, I must say.

3. I always see the most famous workout of the universe - Bicep Curls!!! Ya. Why oh why? Yesterday I even saw 1 guy doing EZ Bar bicep curl with a strap? Do you really need straps for bicep curls? That was really new to me. Never seen anyone does that. 

You may be wondering why am I observing so many things that you'll start to wonder whether I'm actually training or kepochi-ing. Well, there are mirrors everywhere. And there is the rest time. I'm sure you know what I mean. If you are observant enough, you'll see much much more. 

Phew! I'm back!

Yes yes yes. I know. Been a while since I last updated my blog. And I miss my blog too!!

And I know that I owe you guys an explanation on my bet with Aizan, which was supposed to be on June 18. To summarise, it was kinda sad to say that I didn't manage to hit the target - 62.5kg - of deadlift. I totally forgot about me going to Hong Kong for a week which was kinda affecting my performance. Only now I realise that my performance will drop drastically if I rest too long. Honestly speaking, I rested about 2 weeks before I started my training back.

Damn it sucks I tell you. It was like going back to square one after training and sweating and getting calluses and all. I had to start from 45kg of deadlift and slowly gained back my strength. My last record was 60kg only. The difference is, a month ago, I can do 5RM easily. But last Thursday, I can only do 3-4RM. Gggrr.... It was kinda frustrating. But can't do much also. Gotta slowly gain back my strength lah.

I haven't trained for my squats yet. Just did some lighter weights with higher reps to get back the "rhythm". And now I got sick. Gotta rest few more days again before start training back again. *sigh*

And the sad news is, when I got back, I couldn't chin up! Not even 1! I was like, f*** lar. After so many years of hard work training my chin-up, just because of some break, now I can't even do 1. Shheesshhhhh....  Frustrating ain't it?

Anyway, what have you guys been up to?

Away

Hi peeps. I will be away from tomorrow onwards until next Wednesday. So that means no training for the entire (almost) 2 weeks. Hopefully all those walking and walking will help to burn some calories :p

In the meantime, my diet sucks for the last 2 weeks due to functions and trips. Hopefully I can catch up on my diet after I come back. No more holiday for me, but I am definitely looking forward to it. Clean diet! Yeeehhhaaaaa!!!!!

Ciao peeps. Don't miss me. :)

New PR (again) and Chin Up :)

Have wanted to update last week but something happened to blogspot which I can't log in. Here's the progress :-

Squat : 60kg, 5RM (Last Friday, 13May2011 )

Deadlift : 60kg, 5RM (Last Tuesday, 17May2011)

I remember it was only about 2 months back that 60kg of squat was impossible. I was even struggling to grunt and grunt to get that friggin' 1RM of 60kg. And last week, amazingly, I can already do 5RM of 60kg squat. Funny how our body works eh?

As for the deadlift, I am actually still struggling at that 60kg that I knew I wasn't up there yet coz I had back pain the very next day. Probably due to the breathing. I notice that breathing is quite important during lifting. It does help. A lot. In fact, breathing is important in other workouts too, especially yoga and jogging/running. Now I know why people always "Don't forget to breath".

Another update was, I can finally do full range of chin ups! Twice! Honestly, I didn't practice my chin up / pull up in more than 2 weeks. The bar at home is just sitting in my rack. So yesterday, I wanted to put it back up at the door frame, and curious, I wanna try and see if my chin-up have improved.

Damn I can finally go all the way up with my shoulders touching the bar. Haha! And the weird part is that, I have never trained for chin up. I always train for pull-ups only. But yea, chin up is easier than pull-ups. So if you can do full range of pull-ups, you can always do chin-up, anytime.

People always say (including myself) that if you wanna do chin-up, the best way is to do chin-up itself. But also, there are some other guys said that we can do other assisted workouts to help on the chin-up. Well, I'll say that both helps. I think.

I actually did some ghetto chin-up, bench press, lat pull-down, assisted pull-up machine and chin-up during the past 2 weeks. Maybe they really do help. But whatever it is, it's a whole new feeling all in all. :D

Progress Report 060511

Hit new PR for my deadlifts and squats :-

Deadlifts : 55kg, 5x5

Squats : 57.5kg, 3x5

My benchpress is still at the same weight : 30kg. I'm not confident enough to bench heavier if there is no spotter. And most of the time, there isn't one around, and I'm just too shy to ask the trainers' help at the gym to spot for me. So I'm basically stuck at the same weight. Plus, my arms are still "swinging" and "wriggling", so guess I'll just work on my form first before adding on any weights.

I did a finisher on Wednesday. Again, got the idea from Pushmore WOD 041411.

Five rounds for time of :-

200m Run

15 DB swings @ 10kg (No KB at the gym and I know it's too light for me, but ... )

10 Box Jump

Results : 19m21s

Women Personal Trainer - will you hire them?

I had a conversation with a friend few days back about women personal trainer. He has just joined a commercial gym and hired a personal trainer. A guy obviously.

Out of curiousity, I asked him, "If given the choice, will you hire a woman PT or a guy PT?"

"A guy, definitely."

"Why?"

"You see ar, first, all the girls PT at the gym is soooooo skinny that you'll start wondering whether they can "save" you when you can't lift any more weights during the training. Let's say I was bench pressing, and in the last reps, suddenly, I got no more energy to push it back up. Do you think the girl PT can save me?"

What say you?

To me, first of all, and this applies to both gender, that when you are in this industry, it is really, really, crucial that you walk the talk. You are your own advertisement. I'm sure some of you know that some trainers at the commercial gym do not walk the talk. Flabby, chubby, big belly, etc, I'm sure you can spot easily at least 1 or 2 at the gym.

The most basic point - you just gotta look good, fit and toned enough to convince other people to sign up PT from you. If you yourself do not practice the good diet and the right training, how do you expect people to have confidence in you? It's just as simple as that.

So when you are toned and fit, at least you have already scored in the first impression.

Second is, when you are fit, it's obvious that you are strong enough to carry that kind of weights, because you have those muscles to help you out. Plus, it's not easy to achieve a fit and strong body. It requires determination, dedication, commitment and patience to achieve those. There's no way that you can lift heavy on your first day of training when you have never exercised in your entire life.

Do you think this kind of body is easy to achieve?

Unless you have the commitment and dedication,

there's no way that you can achieve this overnight.

Brittany Tacy is on strict diet all year round.

See? Not easy I tell you.

What do you think? Will you hire women PT as your trainer?

A newbie shouldn't have such a big head

Recently, there's this young kid at the gym (not a trainer but works there) who is obviously (duh!) a newbie, who is so damn proud of his growing body, trying to comment on my training regime. Whenever I do my deadlift, he'll go, "Huh? You are doing deadlift again? Why do you wanna just target on your glutes?"

This, at one point, shows just how much he knows. He only know maybe 10% of it. If he's a senior, he wouldn't have said that and instead, showing some respect on my workout. Deadlift not only targets on your glutes, but also your back, legs, arms, shoulder and traps. That is why it is one of the King of Mass Gaining exercises, besides squat.

Most of the time, I'll just ignore what he says but last night was a bit too much. It was non-related to my workout, but he said I was stupid, T.W.I.C.E. It was just a conversation, and do you really need to say that I'm stupid?

Obviously he's the joker in the buff suit. Let me tell you why.

1. He ran from Sunway Giza to The Curve, to and fro for 30 mins, before his strength training workout. He thinks it's correct. Hell no!

If you do a rigorous cardio of 30 mins right before your strength training, you'll worn out easily and you won't be able to lift heavy, mainly because you have already used up all your energy earlier. So you will not be able to perform well and lift heavy. So when you can't lift heavy, will you be strong? Unless you are training for marathon or that day is your cardio day, then by all means run. Otherwise, it's not a good training programme on a strenght training day.

Always do the compound exercises as the first workout before anything else.

2. I have never seen him do any compound exercises ie squats, deadlifts, bench press. He does a lot of bicep curls, some flyes, and more bicep curls.

First of all, bicep curls is just a cosmetic workout. Meaning, it'll just make your biceps look bigger but no quality. It'll not make you any stronger by just doing it. There are sooooo many of these guys at the gym who looovveeeeeeeesssss to do bicep curl, while watching themselves in the mirror, looking at how big their biceps are. When you concentrate more on your biceps at the mirror than the quality of your training, obviously you are not recruiting any muscle fibers which leads to muscle growth.

Doing bicep curls also does not focus on your overall strength, which is why this is categorised under isolated muscles workout. You practically just focus on your, yeah, biceps.

Wanna train your biceps? Go and do pull-up. Any kinds of variations pull-ups. That's pure strength.

3. I rest longer whenever I do my deadlifts or squats of 5x5. Whenever this kid is around, he'll say, "How can you rest too long? It's not recommended." Again, I don't give a damn on what he says, coz obviously, he doesn't know anything, and probably doesn't read. *shrug*

Whenever you are doing your strength training or powerlifting, it's important to rest enough in between sets and not be greedy, according to Pavel Tsatsouline and re-posted by KevL. Pavel said "Power loves rest and does not tolerate rushing. You may feel that you are completely recovered in 2 min. but take a full 5 anyway." 

Again, unless you are training on endurance, you'll want to rest enough in between sets.  

Enough 3 good solid points for me to know that he's just an empty shell.

New PR and FRAN

Did some squats and deadlift last night. I have hit new PR for both workouts.

Squats : 55kg 5RM

Deadlifts : 52.5kg 5RM

Honestly, I am still struggling with my deadlifts at this weights, but I got a schedule to hit. So I'll try to get as steady as possible before I increase my weight to another 2.5kg by next week. People must be wondering why the heck I always do deadlifts. hehehe....

Anyway, after the 2 major workouts, I did some other assistance workouts ie dumbell press, OB bent-over row and few others that I couldn't remember.

And I ended my training with FRAN.

21-15-9 reps for time of :

Thruster (20kg OB)

Pull-Up (I did on Assisted Machine since I still can't pull myself up)

Time : 10mins

Not very impressive because I rested in between, which shows how much my stamina is. It's definitely dropping and I definitely need to catch up in the stamina part.

As for my diet, I'm trying not to take any carbs ie rice, white bread and the only carbs that I'm taking are oats, pasta and wholemeal bread. Also, I'm cutting down on my sugary drinks especially coffee + sugar. Cannot live without coffee but I managed to not drink coffee for 3 days now. It's not easy since I started my diet on Saturday. Ya know, hanging out friends and stuffs and all the influence, but yeah, somehow I managed to stick on my diet.

Finally, I'm drinking one now. tee-hee. Self-discipline very weak. I know.

Why am I dieting? Cause I'll be going to wear bikini and suntan by the beach Malacca in May, staying in a villa with swimming pools. Got swimming pools means I get to suntan right? If suntan means I gotta wear bikini right? If wear bikini means I gotta look good right? especially at the abs? right?

Ya. That's why. :)

See where you stand in this chart

Source : http://exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

Wanna know where you stand in weight lifting? Check out the chart below. I only choose Deadlift and Squats because these two are my main trainings.

 As usual, I suck at deadlift. I'm considered under Un-Trained category.

That really sucks. But in 2 months time, I hope I can jump

immediately to Intermediate. :)

As for squats, I'm in Intermediate category. Still can do better. :)

So what's yours?

Oh, they have charts for presses, clean and snatch as well. Head over to the link above and check it out. :)

Challenge on 18 June 2011

Related link from Aizan

So last week, Aizan and I chit chat over the internet about two main compound exercises - squats and deadlifts. We both know very well that Aizan scores in deads while I score in squats. My last record of squats was 52.5kg, which was a new PR, while I remember she does 63kg of deads. Pretty impressive for a 47kg girl, if you ask me. My record for deads is only 50kg, to date. And I'm actually already struggling. Plus, I'm bigger size than her!

So, to motivate each other, I thought of a healthy challenge, since we both wanna hit the other party's record. We will both train for 2 months, and we'll meet (somewhere) on 18 June 2011 for the challenge. She'll do squats of 52.5kg 5RM while I'll do deads for 62.5kg 5RM. I'm not sure how I wanna do that because that's a whole lot of 12.5kg to get to. However, at the same time, we will try to improve as much as we can in within these 2 months, since Aizan has injured her right shoulder, which doesn't allow her to train for a week. So no pressure, Aizan, ok? Right now, we just think of improvement. At least 2.5kg increased from previous PR is good enough already.

And here's my workout plan :-

50kg

14 Apr - 5 reps x 5 sets

18 Apr - 6 reps x 5 sets

21 Apr - 8 reps x 5 sets

52.5kg

25 Apr - 5 reps x 5 sets

28 Apr - 6 reps x 5 sets

2 May - 8 reps x 5 sets

55kg

5 May - 5 reps x 5 sets

9 May - 6 reps x 5 sets

12 May - 8 reps x 5 sets

57.5kg

16 May - 5 reps x 5 sets

19 May - 6 reps x 5 sets

23 May - 8 reps x 5 sets

60kg

26 May - 5 reps x 5 sets

30 May - 6 reps x 5 sets

2 June - 8 reps x 5 sets

62.5kg

6 June - 5 reps x 5 sets

9 June - 6 reps x 5 sets

13 June - 7 reps x 5 sets

16 June - 8 reps x 5 sets

18 June 2011 - 62.5kg 5RM

I wonder if I can manage to do that. We'll see how it goes. Wish us luck then. *wink*

Recovery Workout

Last Friday's workout, especially the finishers, has caused me such a pain in my ass sore especially at my lower back (due to deadlifts), my calves (due to box jump) and my shoulders (due to bench press).

Well, basically the whole body, and that sucks. It hurts the most when I woke up after sleeping in the same position for 8 hours. Aw man. Only God knows how I felt that time.

And I even thought of training on Saturday, trying to catch up with the lost time last week, (My last training was on Monday), but since I will be training with Kasey on Sunday, I decided to rest. He said he's gonna do ABC training with me, targetting triceps, which freaks me out actually. But we ended up doing recovery workout yesterday rather than the ABC training. (phew! Thank God for that!)

So, the whole point of recovery workout is to shorten the muscle recovery duration from 1 week to 2-3 days. Or 3-4 days to 1-2 days. Whichever.

How to do recovery workout, you must ask.

(I'm trying to get the point as accurate as possible) According to Kasey, I will need to do the recovery workout only at 20% of the total weight that I did from my last training. 20% of volume and 20% of weight. So I did only 10kg of deadlifts with 5 reps, and bodyweight push-up on knees, with 4 reps.

The key point here is to pump in just enough blood to the sore muscles for faster recovery. And guess what? No more pain at my lower back and shoulder when I woke up this morning. Amazing isn't it? Just like magic, if you ask me. hehehe.....

So yeah, basically that is the thing. 20% of volume and weight for recovery workout.

5x5 and finishers

Sorry for not updating such a long time. The problem is the same : I dunno what to write or update. Anyway, lately, I have been doing minimalist training. Like what Kasey said, I will need a total of 100 reps per week for bodybuilding, doing compound exercises. Compare to what I did previously, I definitely need some time to adjust to this "new approach" as I am used to doing tonnes of workouts with high reps. Not to say that those are not good for me. It's just another different approach if I want to lose weight and get leaned.

But in order for me to get lean, I will definitely need to gain muscle mass before I go to the "cutting" phase. Otherwise, all the so-called lose-weight workouts will eat up my muscles if I do my training vigorously. So, yeah, currently is my "bodybuilding" phase.

When I say minimalist training with a total of 100 reps per week, it goes something like this :-

Monday

Back Squat 5 reps x 5 sets = 25 reps

Deadlift 5 reps x 5 sets = 25 reps

Thursday

Bench Press 5 reps x 5 sets = 25 reps

Overhead Press 5 reps x 5 sets = 25 reps

Total reps = 100

Yeah. That's what I'm talking about - MINIMALIST. Well, because I still need to "reprogramme" my mind from high-intensity-high-rep workout to minimalist training, I still slot in few other workouts such as rowing, lat pull down after my compound exercises.

Sometimes I also slot in the finishers workout as part of my cardio. Aizan said that if I miss doing high-intensity-high-rep workout, I can choose some finishers to do. So this is what I did last night :-

Bench Press

20kg x 5

22.5kg x 5

27.5kg x 5

30kg x 5

32.5kg x 5

Overhead Press

20kg x 5

22.5kg x 4

22.5kg x 4

22.5kg x 3

20kg x 5

So weak on my OH Press. Man I was struggling in my 4th set. I even grunt ok? Sheesshhh...... That's why I reduced my weight. Hopefully I can increased my weight in another 2-3 weeks time.

And here's my finisher as part of my cardio (I did Pushmore's WOD 040411. Also this video by Jaquelyn Kay)

5 rounds of :-

9 Deadlifts (30kg)
12 Hands Release Push Up
15 Box Jump (jumped on bench, dunno how many inch is that)

My time = 13:16

Damn I felt good! :)

He's one helluva trainer!

There are just so many things that I wanna highlight to you guys about this trainer whom I have just hired. Met for the first time after few months knowing him through his blog and other fitness junkie.

His name is Kasey Brown. I know his name stirs quite a few emotions to those who knew him before. But emotions aside, I also know that he's a very knowledgeable trainer (you can tell from the way he writes his blog) and through Aizan's recommendation, I decided to give it a try and hire him.

Throughout the whole 1hr session with him last Sunday, he projected the professionalism of which a trainer, or any trainers in Malaysia, should have. First, he did not even touch his handphone, let alone sms or call, unlike some trainers I see, especially at the commercial gyms. This shows the high level of commitment and attention that he's giving to me during the training.

Secondly, he listens attentively to my questions, and answers one by one, leaving me satisfied and understood them.

Thirdly, and most amazingly, by just correcting my form and teaching me about potentiation, I can already lift my 1RM in just 1 session, in which I have never thought I can or able to do so.

He did potentiation with me, and my record for back squats increased from 42kg to 60kg.

He corrected my form in deadlifts, and has definitely increased my record from 30kg to 60kg.

Of course he taught me other stuffs as well, but these few points are already sufficient enough to make him one helluva trainer!

p.s. Stop rolling your eyes. Seriously, he doesn't pay

me to write this blog. It's all from the heart. :)

Is that possible?

How do I gain muscle without looking fat, especially at my round face? Honestly, I have been eating 5 meals a day. Not very clean but not very 'dirty' also. I have not been eating rice for 2 days, and targetting on eating more protein, since the last 2 days were non-workout days.

But ya, though I have gained some muscle last week, but the comment that I got was, I look fatter than before. Not 1 person ok? Three!!! In a week's time!

Does that mean 5meals a day doesn't work for me? Too much peanut butter and wholemeal bread? Too much green tea? Last I remember, green tea works well for me. Sugar? I am reducing my coffee intake and didn't take creamer. Reducing the sugar also.

Something's wrong somewhere. What is it? Siiiggghhhh..... I really hate people say that I am fat. Really hate it.

What is wrong actually?

Here's what I think

"You shouldn't do slow, steady-paced cardio for more than 30-40mins because it will increased your cortisol and can caused muscle loss."

"This workout is too much coz it's definitely affecting your CNS."

"You can take carbs within 3 hours after your workout."

"Low carb on non-workout/less-intensity workout day, high card on workout days."

"Must count your calorie to make sure that you don't overeat."

"Sometimes, you gotta do HIIT. Sometimes you do slow-paced cardio."

All the above has their own truth in it. It really depends on individual's experience. For me, I usually will do some research on some issues, then sometimes discuss with my fitness junkie friends, then I'll usually try it on myself. But sometimes, the "experiments" didn't last long enough for me to see the results.

For example, I've tried carb cycling before. I knew that on the low-carbs day, I was feeling so pooped out during my training that it has actually stopped me from trying it again. But on the other side, my body shape has changed. I was actually feeling lighter, slightly leaner and I love what I saw in the mirror. So does that mean the theory is wrong?

I don't think so. I will just need some adjustment on this diet and I'm good to go coz this diet is really working for me. So are all other famous fitness enthusiasts around the world said. Look at this guy, Kane Sumabat. His diet is very high in protein and fats, but yet he can still do advanced trainings. It's all in the mind, and I gotta train my mind to think differently.

I'm still in the midst of doing HIIT, but my trainer told me that, I should combine both HIIT and slow-paced cardio into my workout. He even suggested me to run for 45mins and not less than that. Which is why, I ran for 30mins last night.

I also know that functional training for 1hr works best for me. Otherwise, how do I manage to gain 1.7kg muscles in withint 2 months time? Something somewhere must be working right for me. And as far as I remember, I did mostly functional training with my trainer for the last 2 months.

My point is, don't believe what you read. Do it, experiment it, and you'll know what works best for you and your body.

HIIT Jump Rope

Time to change to another HIIT routine. Previously, I did so-called sprint of 30secs and 90secs of normal jog for my HIIT workout. I gotta admit, sometimes I was kinda lazy to do sprint/jog, so I did jogging instead. Yeah. I'm that lazy.

I haven't tried HIIT Jump Rope before. The previous 1k Jump Rope with cousin didn't really count as HIIT. Maybe I'll try it tonight. But do you think it's a bit weird for me to bring my own rope and jump at the gym? It's kinda embarassing, especially when nobody skips at the gym.

Come to think of it, why doesn't gym provide rope? The only place that provides rope is Pushmore.

Here's a sample of workout routine from Ross Enamait and his video (crazy man!) :-

(a) Sprint In Place

(b) Double Unders

(c) Sprint In Place With Criss-Cross

(d) Double Unders With Criss-Cross

(e) Crossing The Rope In Front Of The Body For Transition

p.s. I dunno how to do Criss-Cross, yet.
Maybe I'll just do routine (a) and (b).

Another Intense Workout

Last night workout was really intense, for me. I'm not sure whether it was me who is really unfit or the workout was too intense. Let me know what you think.

One Arm Squat Press

Set 1(a) : 6kg, 20 each sides

Set 2(a) : 8kg, 10 each sides

Bent Over Row with Plates

Set 1(b) : 10kg, 20 reps

Set 2(b) : 20kg, 10 reps

Bulgarian Split Squat with Jump and Hands Touching The Ground (I know, sounds cheesy eh?)

Set 1(c) : BW, 15 each sides

Set 2(c) : 4kg DB, 10 each sides

Modified Crunches

Set 1 (d) : BW, 20 reps

Set 2 (d) : 2kg DB on Leg, 4kg DB on hands, 20 reps

BW Plyo Push Up

Set 1 (e) : 15 reps

Set 2 (e) : 15 reps

Squat Jump

Set 1 (f) : BW, 20 reps

Set 2 (f) : 4kg DB, 20 reps

Modified Bent Over Rear Delt Raise

Set 1 (g) : 4kg, 20 reps

Set 2 (g) : 4kg, 20 reps

Modified Grasshopper Push Up

(For my record : Right leg cross to left side of the body and not touching ground, left hand lift up, torso rotate at the same time)

Set 1 (h) : 10 each sides

Set 2 (h) : 10 each sides

Finish with 15 mins cardio

I couldn't do the cardio. I was too pooped out to do anything but lying on the bench. But I might wanna try it sometime this week. Probably on Saturday. By that time, I should've recovered from these absolute soreness that I'm feeling right now. 

I still remember Adela Garcia, the Fitness Olympic Champion who tried out Crossfit. And my trainer said to me last night, "You can't just do strength training and strength training only. You must train your speed, stamina, agility, then only you'll be champion." 

Being strong doesn't mean you can breeze through functional training. Able to run 1hr without stopping doesn't mean you can lift heavy. It's all about balance.

Yyeesssss!!!!

I've gained 1.7kg of muscles in 2 months time. Maybe it was not that  impressive, but I was surprised that I have actually gained muscles rather than fats. Well, the bodyfat part, on the other hand, not impressive at all. I've dropped only 0.3%. Which means, I really, really gotta do more HIIT now.

I was kinda depressed when I weighed myself last night before going to gym and saw that my weight has increased from 50.4kg to 53kg. (I know, I still can't help feeling all paranoid when my weight has increased on the scale) I was really hoping that I gained muscles rather than fat, because lately, my pants and clothes feel tighter, especially at the thigh, biceps and back area.

It's time to step up the weighing machine at the gym and measure my progress. While driving to gym, I did some pep talk. I told myself not too get disappointed in case the tightness that I felt was due to fat, and that I will work triple hard to get back in shape.

Oh well, guess it's all clear now, and I'm smiling from ear to ear. Working out double hard last night because of the "motivation" and whatever I did, it's working. I do realise that I have been eating quite a lot lately, small meals. So, Aizan, you are right about eating right after workout.

I never eat my post-workout meal. Usually hit the showers and sleep coz, yeah, I'm afraid that I'll get fat. But guess not!

So more muscle gain means more fats are burnt. And I'm definitely loving it!

Let the burning process begin!

THE Gym Etiquette

1. Please stop reading or texting or talking on the phone while doing your cardio at the gym. First, you are just wasting your time doing that because obviously, you are not concentrating on every fibre of your muscles working out, but rather checking out FB who's doing what and where and how. And you even have the guts to update your status : Cycling hard at the gym now! Seriously? If you are training hard, you won't even be texting at the first place.

2. Please don't grunt as if you are giving birth to an elephant. I don't find that sexy. It's uber irritating. What are you trying to prove anyway? There's this Iranian-look guy that does that everytime he does his Incline Bench Press. Gggrrrr!!!

3. The usual one - Stop hogging the machines. Enough said.

4. Can't you like please stop staring at the girls with hot butt? I think we women does that (staring) better and more discreet compare to men. Don't you think so? After all, what are the mirrors for? *wink*

5. I had been approached by few guys who came over and told me that my form is incorrect. Please don't do that. Though your intention is good, but I don't find it.... well, just mind your own business.

My favourite workout

Pull-up - My MOST favourite workout
Push Up.
And among other workouts.

I dunno about you guys, but to me, I'm always impressed by people who can do pull-up (full range and not kipping or swinging) mainly because that represents upper body strength. Not everyday that you can pick anyone from the street and ask them to perform a pull-up. Even I haven't mastered the full range pull-up.

This compound pulling exercise targets on the Latissimus Dorsi muscles. You will also definitely need strong shoulders, biceps and cores all together to pull your body weight all the way up against the gravity. That is PURE strength, if you ask me.

I still remember how I was being introduced to pull-up. 3 years ago, I always go to the Assisted Pull-Up Machine proudly and do my thang. I thought I was doing good job, ya know, pulling myself up and stuffs like that with all the (little) muscles popping out. Of course with the machine, my chin was over the bar, with 15reps all the time.

One day, a trainer approached me and said, if you wanna do this, it's better that you hit the pull-up bar. Try to hit for 3 pull-ups as a beginner. He said he'll support my leg. So, he taught me with all the posture (start at deadhang position, knees bend with ankles crossing, with a slight bend at the elbow, and start pulling myself up).

As soon as I pulled myself up, I knew exactly what he meant by that. And of course, I couldn't even do one stinking pull-up. From there onwards, I promised myself to take up the challenge - train myself for pull-up. But sad to say that, till now, I still can't do one friggin' pull-up. Not in full form. Damn.

When I say full form, it means your chin is at the bar, at least. Or better yet, your shoulder, just like the image below.

But this image is a Negative Pull-Up. One of the way to train for pull-up.

You start from top and slowly lower your body down, as slow as you can,

feeling all your muscles working.

Few other ways to train for pull-up are Negative Pull-Up, Human Assistance (like how the trainer supported me), Jumping Pull-Up, Static Pull-Up and Half Pull-Up.

Push Up (on toes, not knees ok?). A total body exercise that targets chest, shoulders, triceps, back, abs and even the legs. Enough said.

Worry about your bye-bye arm? Do Push Up.

Want define shoulders? Do Push Up.

Want nice abs? Do Push Up.

Last time, I couldn't do push-up on toes. And again, always impress by people, especially women, who can do push-up on toes.

Finally, out of nowhere, dunno how, I can do it on toes. And I was very proud of myself that time, which was probably 2 years ago? I don't quite remember. But this is much, much easier to achieve than Pull-Up.

Among all the other modified Push-Up that I have done, I find that these 4 workouts are the most challenging one.

1. Weighted Push-Up on Toes. (My heaviest record was 15kg)

2. Push-Up on Stability Ball, 1 foot on ball, another "hanging in the air"

3. Weighted Elevated Push-Up

4. Renegade Row

Women who can do these, especially Pull-Up, I totally respect them! *wink*