A Little Motivation

Although I've been doing this longer, I still haven't achieved the same success as Julia (a.k.a. MissChievous) but I think this is an excellent video to share with everyone who has struggled with weight loss and has found the change to be overwhelming at times.  Julia is a YouTube Beauty Guru who resides in Switzerland.

During the course of getting in shape and losing weight, I find it important to find inspiration and motivation be it in oneself, a book or in other people.  YouTube is a great way to find such inspiration and motivation.

I admit I've been inconsistent with my workouts and have not been as good with my eating habits either. As of late I've been falling sick practically every other week which has been such a hindrance to exercising.  I'm also still struggling with my sleep patterns which still ends up with my sleeping at 4am and waking up at 11am.  Very unhealthy, I know.  So far my weight hasn't changed much but some clothes are beginning to fit better.  I'm not as flabby as I was say 4 years ago despite being lighter then.  My biggest concern remains to be my midsection since a large number of our internal organs are in that area and it's not the best move to have them cushioned in fat.

I'll try to get more posts up here as much as I can. I just realized my last one was over a month ago!  Feel free to share what motivates you too.  *smiles*

Gastric & Inconsistency

Looks like my journey has been hitting some speed bumps lately.  Between squeezing time for gym, getting proper rest and eating right, I've been struggling with keeping at my fitness, health and weight loss goals.  Losing weight and increasing fitness levels isn't an easy task to take on.  It takes a lot of effort and focus and more often than not, I tend to stray.  Regardless of all the hitches, I still intend to keep working at it until my target is finally achieved.  It's taking longer than I expected but I have to keep at it for as long as it takes.

For me, when I'm working I tend to ignore my hunger pangs and just go ahead and finish as much of my work as I can.  For someone with a sensitive stomach, that's not the best move to go by.  My office isn't near any eateries and with my kind of gastric problems, I need to eat every 2-3 hours.  When I work, even lunch hours gets pushed to 3 or 4pm (if at all).  Again, not the best thing to do.

Lately, the acidity of my stomach has been pretty high and it scares me.  Certain days, I can feel the fumes up my esophagus and not only is it uncomfortable, it makes me feel sick.  I'd feel like throwing up but can't.  This is especially difficult for me when I have my training sessions with my personal trainer.  Weight training truly engages a lot of muscle area in your body and workouts that require a lot of lower back and core muscle coordination induces dizziness and gastric for me.  I'll have to take breaks between reps (yes, reps and not just sets) to catch my balance and make sure I don't end up fainted on the gym floor.  Fortunately my personal trainer is understanding of my condition and finds ways that I can workout while keeping those issues at bay.  The squat-shoulder press (free weights) combo is one of those workouts that triggers my gastric.  Not sure why really.  With several sessions I'd had to rush to the ladies because I felt like throwing up.

Apart from that, my personal trainer keeps pushing me to "raise my heart rate" which to me is kinda ironic cos my heart rate is pretty much real high during our sessions.  I have to regain my composure to avoid passing out.  Haha.  But it's all good.  I find that it's what they do.  Push you to places you probably wouldn't dare to push yourself to.  Plus, he'll support you when you've reached your limit.

Since starting this journey, I honestly haven't been able to go to the gym consistently.  Sometimes I'm just too maxed out for the day and sometimes it's cos I'm travelling.  Yes, I do enjoy travelling and for me, travelling in itself is a workout cos I'll be moving around non-stop every single day.  Haha.  That aside, it also means I would have to miss my personal training (PT) sessions.  Plus side?  I still have more sessions for when I get back.  Haha.

Okies.  Til next time.  Keep gyming and stay healthy.

Boxing Day

OK so it wasn't exactly boxing day per se (as in not December 26th) but last night's training included some kickboxing exercises.  Needless to say I was very excited.

Image from Microsoft Office Clip Art

Warm Up

• 12 minutes brisk walk (4.5) on the treadmill (Incline: 0%-10%)

Training

• 60 reps / 2 sets on the step board
• 100 reps / 1 set of bicep curl & shoulder press
• 15 reps / 1 set jogging up and down a flight of stairs
• 10 reps / 1 set walking up and down a flight of stairs
• 35 reps / 1 set of jumping jacks
• 15 reps / 2-3 sets of walk-reach-plank-and-back
• 10-15 minutes of basic kickboxing (jab, punch, hook, uppercut, stance & kneeing)
• 25 reps / 2 sets of basic crunches

How I Felt

Up til now, I can definitely feel an increase in strength and endurance from how far I'm able to go in my workouts without having to pause and how quickly my muscles recover.  I'm very happy with the progress I've had so far and am excited to keep at it still (which is always a good thing).  I'm still feeling challenged and yes, I still have moments when I am breathless and need a longer rest.  I find that I'm still not doing very well with the stairs routine but I'm positive it'll improve in due time.  Boxing for the first time was exhilarating and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  When my trainer asked me to grip my hand inside the boxing gloves, it felt weird since I couldn't fully clench my fists.  In karate, we used to have our fists fully clenched with our thumbs overlapping the fore and middle fingers so this was a totally different experience.  I felt that it did require a bit more focus on my part to stay quick and alert to his instructions as well as deliver a proper punch.  The whole bouncing around got me pretty tired and I had to pause a few times.

Takeaways

• The step board exercises are a lot more do-able if you keep at it at your own pace instead of rushing the steps.  It will still be challenging as long as you're not going at it too slowly.  Once you grow stronger, feel free to speed up the steps.  Another reason to not rush the steps is you could potentially miss the step board (or slip) and sprain your ankles.  Paying attention to your breathing is also important.  Swing your arms (as if you were running) while stepping up and down the board for better balance.  I find looking down at my feet helps as well.
• Always remember to work your abs when doing crunches and not your neck or lower back.  Breathe out during the crunch and breathe in when releasing the muscles.  Again, try to do this at a steady pace. Here I find focusing your eyes on an object on the ceiling helps to keep the right posture for this exercise.

Have you tried kickboxing exercises? Love it or hate it?