Dirt Cheap Gym

You know how these fancy gyms charge a great deal of money for a year's membership? When I think about it, it surprises me how I could have wasted a whole bunch of money going to some commercial gym where all they have are bloody weight machines.

As I've mentioned before, I recently trained with Kasey Brown for two sessions. I didn't have a gym membership, so we went to a 'Gym Rakyat' in Bangsar. It's only RM2 per entry. Dirt cheap. Sure, the equipment have seen better days but they're still functional. And there is a shower room you can use after you've done your workouts.

The people who frequent the gym are okay as well. At least they didn't give me funny looks or what not. I was given funny looks by the fucking trainers at the gym I used to frequent before I started training at home.

But still, I do believe that everyone has to start somewhere. For me, I started going to a commercial gym first before 'going indie'. For some people it may be a different story altogether. What matters is that we try to be a better version of ourselves.

The Reason

I will be the first to admit that I joined the gym because I had time and money to spare. Besides, it was scary the way I had memorized the programme schedule of my favourite TV channels. To me, it signalled the beginning of the end.

But I eventually started giving weightlifting serious attention. Yeah, it gave me a cute butt (I know because I get compliments. Cheaaaa!!!), but I came to realise that weightlifting impacted my life in many positive ways.

It gave me something to look forward to.

It gave me a quantifiable sense of achievement.

Did I mention I now have a cute butt?

It also gave me this never say die attitude which spilled over to my working life.

Having said that, I am not obsessed about the sport. I mean, I do have a life: hanging out with friends, weekends out clubbing, ehem... the occasional flings (hey, when you have a cute butt people will hit on you). But yeah, weightlifitng gave me discipline and made sure I do not stray towards a more hedonistic lifestyle.

Besides, you know you're doing something right when even the people at the (night)club you frequent starts asking you for tips on health and fitness (yes, the irony is not lost on me). So yeah, weightlifting has had a positive impact on my life. I would go so far to say that it has saved my life from the doldrums.

I'm back. Finally!

You probably have been wondering what the heck happened to me. What's with the long silence.

Well, the gist of the story is my notebook got fried and I had to procure a new one. So yeah, I'm writing this post on a new netbook, freshly acquired.

On the exercise front, nothing much has changed. Still doing weight training.

I heart weight training.

Anyway, my lower back is much better now. And it turns out that it was not actually my lower back that was hurting. It was my right hip that was tweaked while deadlifiting.

A bit of an update, I hired Kasey Brown as my trainer for two sessions. First to check out whether what he claims is true or just lies and second, I was curious to what kind of torture he would subject me to.

Well, first and foremost he actually fixed my deadlifting technique which curiously fixed my right hip problem. After that session my hip felt a lot better. It's pretty much magic. And now I can continue doing my beloved deadlifts.

He also taught me some cool new exercise moves which was simply torturous. I've incorporated the stuff Kasey has taught me into my workout routines. Great stuff!

Anyways, I'd just like to inform you that Kasey also considers taking clients on a per session basis rather than the usual package deal most trainers offer these days. So if you do not have too much cash to spare, you can hire him for as many sessions as you can afford and he can help you as much as he can.

Alright. Enough for now. I need to exercise.

Experimenting... somewhat.

When I first started going to the gym, my biggest problem was not having an exercise plan. I have this rough idea in my head that I have to do my upper body, my lower body and my abs but there were machines galore and all it did was confuse me. I ended up using almost every machine I could get my hands on. I did get stronger. But of course, when you're new at working out you make gains quickly. And then you plateau. And plateau I did.

Then I discovered Turbulence Training, which finally gave structure to my workouts. I also loved the fact that all I need at most is a pair of dumbbells, a bench, and a stability ball to have one kick ass workout. I also felt more athletic. I could finally do a chin up. And I'm more agile than friends 7 years my junior. But then TT was catered more for the fat loss crowd and I started feeling paranoid again.

Enter Muscle Gaining Secrets. Maybe this programme would transform my body to the likes of Jillian Michaels'. Didn't happen. But I could lift a decent amount of weights now. And while I still don't have slabs of muscles I am more 'toned' ... for the lack of a better word.

But unfortunately, I lost my agility. I was surprised how winded I felt doing very basic bodyweight stuff. So hence lies my issue. I want mass, but I also want to be athletic. I want to move fast. I want to be agile. But it does seem like they are two different sets of goals.

So now I think I'm not gonna follow TT or MGS strictly. I'm gonna attempt to do both. I'm gonna do two days of weightlifting and two days of bodyweight per week. Let's see if that'll work. Note to self: No deadlifting. My technique is off, hence the injury (big duh moment, huh?). Squats seem okay, though.

p/s I am not taking anymore protein shakes. But I have ordered a vegan protein shake (brown rice protein) through the internet. Will write a review on that soon.