i love my biceps!

ok, this is the first of my transformation photos. heh.

my arms didn't get too flabby after 6 months of neglect (thank God!) but after a week of lifting and cardio, i'm happy with what i see. i'd like them to have better form though. we'll work on them, won't we, preciousssssssss?

ooh, i stepped on the weighing machine this morning. i've lost 2 kgs. i think it's mostly water weight, but oh well, who cares, i'm now 2 kgs lighter. hooray!

pregnant fish

apparently this fish is a japanese delicacy and virtually unknown here. i've never heard of it until it was served to me at a cousin's party sometime mid last year. even then, i didn't touch it 'cos i thought it was rather ... ummm .... "fishy". a few months ago, my mom bought a pack of 12 and fried them tempura-style (instead of grilling them) and it was love at first bite for me. the fish is around 6 inches long and an inch thick (fat little buggers) and silvery in colour, quite ordinary. the special thing about it is it's chock full of roe, from tip to tail. if you bite it in the middle, and look inside, all you see is the backbone and a fat sac of luscious, juicy eggs. yep, strange but true.

as my curiousity got the better of me, i did some googling on it and found out that it's called shishamo in japanese, aka as capelin and a close relative of the smelt. these are arctic fish which are widely distributed in the north atlantic ocean. in winter and spring, capelin travel in huge numbers to the coasts of finnmark and murmansk to spawn. it is harvested mainly for its roe bearing females. pretty interesting stuff, huh? ok here's a picture i took with my cellphone. not a great photo but oh well. look at all that wonderful roe (see the right side of the photo).

evil pixie fiona

she's a pint-sized, fully charged, super powerful dynamo. don't let her cherubic visage and girlish giggles fool you. she's tougher than nails. she's hell bent on making your body wince and scream in pain. she seeks pleasure in watching you beg for mercy. she'd push you far beyond your limits. yeah, that's fiona, the evil pixie aka my step aerobics instructor. never before have i seen boundless energy compacted in such a tiny being. i am at least twice as tall and 4 times bigger than her. her waist must have been as wide as my neck. and her body is tight, most definitely enviable. hmmm, i feel a need for a disclaimer here. i love men, and i mean the ones with penises. thank you.

ok, back to fiona. once she gets started, she's just evil. but 'cos i'm a pervert for pain, i just LOVE her classes. today she showed us a new routine called "body step". it was kinda fun though one has to have quick feet and good balance, among other things. but oh well, i'm loving it.

food: i think i did better than yesterday. for breakfast, i had a sausage mcmuffin with egg and orange juice. lunch was 2 fried eggs, 2 sausages, a slice of honeydew and mango smoothie. dinner was again rice *sigh* and "pregnant fish". gosh i just LOVE those pregnant fish. YUMMY!

i can't wait for my sculpt session with tony tomorrow morning! toodles~

monday=rest?

i've decided to do cardio today cos i missed the workout yesterday. my mom joined me and she got a little excited. heh. but my cat was the funniest. she concluded that it wasn't at all normal for my mom to be jumping about and kicking around, so she'd nip her ankles whenever she gets a chance. silly little kitty.

eating: 2 scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. noodle soup for lunch and a teensy portion of rice with fried fish. i know i know, i have to improve on my diet. we'll see, we'll see ...

gosh i miss yoga. gotta try to get some "sun salutations" in after workouts. we'll see, we'll see ...

weight training for girls?? are you nuts?

everyone knows that by combining weight training to our regular fitness program will accelerate weightloss and help strengthen and tone muscles and joints. the main thing to remember is not to over-do with the weights. we start out with light weights and move up from there. always pay attention to your body. if you feel pain or discomfort whilst lifting, it simply means that the weights are too heavy, so lighten the load. and nope, contrary to popular (and ignorant) beliefs, girls will not get hulky bulky when they weight train (whoever gave you that totally stoopid idea??). women are not born with certain hormones that make men bulk up (yes the T thing). so unless a woman is on steroids or any other hormone inducing medication, she *will not* get bulky muscles when she weight trains, capisce?

what weight train will do to a woman is give her strength, stamina and lovely, gorgeous sculpted muscles. ok, i'm crazy for those, if you're not, it's probably wise to stop reading this entry now. i advocate weight training because i've seen what it did to my body. now that i recall, there wasn't a point of time in my life that i didn't combine weight training with cardio activities. but i know of many women who'd spend hours and hours, week after week, in the gym sweating on stationary bikes, the stairmaster, elliptical machines, etc etc and refused to alternate those workouts with weight training for fear of bulking up. don't get me wrong, cardio workouts are indispensible to an effective training program and overall general good health. but any good training program will encourage alternating weight training with cardio workouts.

many years ago when i was at the peak of my "fitness freak" mode, i'd be biking 8km, followed by a 2.4km run, followed by 30 mins on the stairmaster, followed by an hour of hardcore aerobics routine, 3 - 4 times a week for many weeks and didn't see any changes in my body. i brought this up with a trainer at my gym and she recommended that i add weight training to my "regime". she said that my body has hit a "plateau" (i'll explain this later). so i alternated my workouts with weight training, working on different parts of the body, using lighter weights in the beginning and doing 3 sets of 12 -15 repetitions. as i slowly gain strength and didn't "lift till failure" at 15 reps, i'd increase the load. after 4 weeks, i could see/feel noticeable changes in my body. i dropped a few dress sizes, my body was leaner and more toned, i had gotten rid of the excess stubborn "flab" all over my body. i also felt stronger and more energetic. the feeling was nothing short of sensational! even though i've always included weight training in my many years of training as a competitive sportsperson, i only knew the true virtue of it's importance that very day when i saw what it did to my body.

i've not been in a gym for the past 2+ years but that hasn't stopped me from weight training. i've been using free weights with the power90 program and even before that. call me crazy or obsessed, but i can't bear to have flabby arms (you know when you lift your arms to wave and your triceps are still waving even after you've stopped?). it's enough to put me in a frenzy. but thankfully, that hasn't happened to me yet. i'm quite anal when it comes to my arms. now, let's do something about those legs, back, tummy and butt, shall we??

so how about flashing 'em sexy, sculpted muscles anytime soon? seriously, add weight training to your workouts. what do you have to lose?

weight training, day 2

my muscles are aching like hell. yesterday's cardio session went really well despite the initial misgivings if i could still do it. it has afterall been more than 6 months since i did the program. i was surprised that after power yoga, my muscles were not screaming in pain, and that i could still do the jacks and run-lunges with comfortable ease. that part of the cardio program was the hardest for me. the knee lifts are pretty easy as they are low impact (and easier to cheat on), but you can either do the jacks, or not. the first time i did the program, i was totally winded, clutching my sides and gasping like a fish out of water. so i'm thankful that this time, i didn't get beat up. i think part of the reason is that i've been doing an hour of step aerobics at work on tuesdays for the past few weeks. somehow my body is conditioned to some sort of a cardio workout. better than nothing, i'd say!

back to power 90, i've always enjoyed doing lateral x, kicking and punching so those were a breeze. for more resistance, i strapped 3lbs and 5lbs weights on my wrists and ankles for the punching and kicking part. tony's abs routine always kicks my butt, but i just love pushing myself to the limit. no pain no gain, sister! amen! heh ....

so much about yesterday's cardio. today i'm back to weights. i could feel the many forgotten, unused muscles aching after tuesday's session. for some reason, i love the feeling (yeah i'm perverted that way, heh). i made sure i stretched properly and was sufficiently warmed up before i started the workouts. oh another surprising discovery, i could still do push ups. again, i was feeling apprehensive about them as i struggled with them when i first started the program. well, yippee-doo-dah! i'm a happy bunny. the lunges and squats really kicked my butt (literally!) and worked my thighs. but i'm lovin' it!

well, i'll see you again tomorrow for cardio/abs, tony. good morning, i feel goooooood!

what's power90 all about??

power90 is a product of beacbody.com and is a 90 days fitness boot-camp led by super-trainer (and eye candy), tony horton. i came across their website one and a half years ago, whilst searching for some kind of a sign that a sexy, toned and lean body can be made (heh!). i was despairing over my expanding girth and bottom. i wanted my thighs to stop rubbing against each other. i wanted my nice, sculpted arms back. i wished my back didn't make me look like the hunchback of notre dame. you get the idea ...

being the totally gullible person that i am, i hungrily took in all the information on that site, went through all the photo message boards of the users of the program (transformation photos) and went to ebay to bid for the DVDs (i won and it's cheaper!). i then realised that i didn't have a DVD player. so without much of a cautious peak in my wallet, i went out the very next day to purchase a DVD player (that sucker can even play bootleg copies, guaranteed! heh heh).

as i waited (impatiently) for the DVDs to arrive, i trawled the chat rooms at beachbody and bonded with some of the seasoned users of the program. they are a helpful and wonderful bunch, dispensing tips on how to do the routines effectively. in the meantime, i tried to clean up my eating habits. oh boy, that was a tough one. i was on atkins prior to discovering power90 and had lost more than 20lbs but couldn't keep it off (we'll talk about food in another post).

anyways, the DVDs finally arrived and i eagerly viewed the program before attempting it. as it is essentially a 30 mins workout, 6 days a week (with one day rest), i decided that i'd start on a tuesday (i have my reasons for making monday my rest day). we were advised to take "before" photos and measurements and that i did one day before the workout. i prepared a 90 day calendar/chart to monitor my progress.

so what is power90 all about??

it's a really easy fitness program that can be used by anyone from the age of 12 to 99. of course people with known health problems should consult their physician before starting any fitness programs. it is essentially a 30 mins workout session, combining cardio and sculpting activities, to be done 6 days a week, for 90 days. easy peasy. 6 days a week, 3 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training.

i started out with the sculpting exercises, using my 2lbs weights. they were a tad too light for me, but i wasn't planning on killing myself in the beginning of the program.

sculpt:
warm up (yoga style)
push ups (oh what a wonderful exercise!)
weight training circuit (back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest)
lunges and squats
cool down

i had expected that the cardio would kill me, but it was simple enough for even my 58 year old mother to follow. the moves are basically low impact and simple and depending on your stamina and ability, you decide on the intensity of the exercise.

cardio:
warm up (yoga style)
power yoga (ouch!)
low impact (knee lifts, open knee lifts, cross knee lifts)
high impact (jacks, running-on-the-spot, run-lunge)
lateral x
kicking
punching
cool down
100 abs
stretch

so there you go. that's what power90 is all about.

working out again

i'm tired of whining about my flabby, bulging tummy. i'm sick of bitching about my vast hippo bottom. i'm weary of complaining about my tree-trunk legs. it's about time all that whining, bitching and complaining STOPS!

and that time is today ...

this morning, after a long while, i fished out my trusty ole beachbody's power90 dvd and worked out with the man, tony horton. it was great seeing him again. it was wonderful hearing his voice. the same old excitement and eagerness i felt when the dvds arrived at my doorstep about a year and a half ago, came in a rush. the feelings are both reassuring and comforting. i had let my body go way too far. i've not been good to it and now i'm suffering the consequences of my inaction.

i'm thankful that many years of being rabidly active in sports and fitness had made my body substantially lean and adequately muscular. so in the recent years that i've not been involved in any kind of competitive cardiovascular activities, i didn't actually balloon into a flabby, sluggish fatso. my body shows signs of neglect and lack of maintenance. it's not nice. i hate it. but it's nothing i couldn't fix.

one and a half years ago, i did power90 for 2 months. my body was leaner and more toned. my stamina was high and i was stronger and more flexible (thanks to power yoga). and i lost 20lbs. i know power90 can make my body that way again. it has worked before so i'm gonna to stay with it till 90 days are up ...

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i wanted a nice skin for this blog but thusfar had found nothing that tickles my fancy. i figured that if i'm gonna wait to post till i find that oh-so-perfect skin, i'd never start journaling this. so this skin will do for now.