Sunday, September 19, 2010

Back from Bangkok

Finally back from Bangkok and as much as I enjoyed the trip, I really miss home. Also, I couldn't wait to incorporate what I've learnt from the classes I've attended.

The Asia Fitness Convention was interesting. Most of the people in attendance have something to do with the fitness industry and quite a significant number of delegates are trainers. It was pretty intimidating being amongst them.. me, a 'civilian' in the midst of trainers.

But most of the people I meet are nice (and very strong and agile).

Of the many classes I've attended , the one that hits home is the talk given by Fraser Quelch from Fitness Anywhere (the guys that made TRX).

He said that the reason why a lot of people gave up exercising was it wasn't fun. Yes, there are the rare few who actually enjoy lifting weights and doing kettlebell snatches but a lot of people find it intimidating.

The best way to make people keep coming back for more is by making exercise fun.

It could be something as simple as throwing a frisbee in a park. It may not be a total body workout. But at least you're getting some sweat out and that's better than munching on potato chips in front of the idiot box.

It's better to start small than not to start at all.

Another class that I find interesting was the one given by Peter Twist. He said that while weight training is great, it doesn't help someone with agility. Let's face it, with weight training you're only limited to a certain range of movements when our body has the potential to do so much more.

And so, my take home from Bangkok is this:-

I am going to maintain my weight training sessions. BUT for now I'm going to limit it to 2 days per week while another 2 days I'm gonna do more bodyweight workouts to help on my agility and stamina (which has gone kaput of late). Or perhaps I'll replace one of the days for bodyweight training by simply exercising at the park. Take a walk. Do some sprints. Something that has nothing to do with any type of bells (e.g. barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell).

Besides, I tweaked my lower back deadlifting. So gonna stay away from those deadlifts until my back is as good as new.


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