Ramblings and Frustrations

Jason Ferruggia's latest entry hits the nail squarely on the head. It is true. If you don't have a good reason to take good care of yourself, no amount of good advice will transform you into a lean, healthy person.

I've been approached by several friends who ask me questions on health and fitness. I tell them what I know but what is the point of me wasting my breath if they continue to eat junk, live a pathetically sedentary existence and keep making excuses after excuses for not improving their diet and lifestyle.

Then they weigh themselves on the scale and surprise surprise! They gained another 10 kilos. Then they get all depressed. Then they make themselves feel better by stuffing their face with chocolate cake and then they gain another 10 kilos and then they stuff their face with more chocolate cake. And the vicious cycle continues. Why they have a scale at home in the first place, I don't understand.

Frankly, I think these people are just plain lazy. Until they find that one profound reason to change their lifestyles completely, they shall remain fat and unhealthy. I'm sorry if some readers find my statement offensive. But it is the truth.

You become overweight because you didn't take good care of yourself. Don't blame your genetics. Don't blame your physical limitations. That's pure crap. Admit it. You abused yourself for years by overeating and under-exercising.

For those who are overweight and have found your profound reason to turn things around: I salute you and I wish you all the best in your quest to become healthier.

For the rest of you: Screw it. I couldn't care less.

Harsh but true.

Things Gyms aren't supposed to sell

What was the management of the gym thinking stocking their fridge with stacks of Coke? Previously they sold mineral water, soy milk and 100 plus which is pretty okay. But when I visited the gym last week it was brimming with Coke. And when I went there again yesterday, half of it was gone!

It means that the members are actually buying those soft drinks. I don't know about you, but I find this quite disturbing. The very place that represents a healthy lifestyle is selling something so unhealthy. And I bet you, it's those gym goers who spend aeons on the treadmill that buy the very thing that made them overweight in the first place.

Admittedly, I am guilty of chugging on soft drinks too. But the thing is, you don't actually expect a gym to sell those. It's exactly the case if the gym sells cigarettes. But hey, it's possible. Whatever churns the money, eh?

Weight Machines: No No

The more I think of it, the more I'm convinced that commercial gyms are not for those really looking to build a better body but as a place to socialize. It even acts like a pick-up joint sometimes. I go the clubs and bars for that.

For 1.5 years I have spent my time at the gym going on those elliptical machines, crunch machines, leg extension machines, preacher curl machines... you got the idea... and although I saw some improvement, I plateaued quite quickly and didn't see any significant gains in strength, let alone size after awhile.

In my quest to improve myself I bumped into DailyMuscle.com and later on I had a meeting with the good man behind the blog who mentioned something about bodyweight training. I didn't jump on the idea immediately but once I knew how effective it was, I didn't look back.

Weight machines aren't natural. I have often wondered how I could lift 40kilos using the Glutes machine but lunges and squats while holding a meer 5kilo dumbbell would make me whimper like a child.

The thing is weight machines work muscles in isolation instead of working the total body (which is more ideal, especially for beginners and intermediates). You don't get much functional strength if you workout with machines. Using bodyweight and free weights would make you stronger faster.

I will never let myself near any weight machines ever again. The free weights area is definitely my cup of tea.

P/S This little entry is purely based on experience. I can't back it up with research although I'm pretty sure there are a lot of studies out there that can support my claims.

Under the Weather

Sigh. I'm feeling under the weather. Must be because I didn't complete my antibiotics course when I had a slight fever a few weeks ago. I've always hated taking my meds. Plus, it's been chilly these past few weeks and it doesn't help that I've to walk a fair bit in the cold morning air to get to the office (I usually arrive at work by 7.30am). Evenings are more tolerable although I'd be pretty much miserable walking in the rain with my feet getting soggy.

When you have a history of asthma, weather changes can affect you greatly.

I've been feeling a bit feverish all day. But the funny thing is I feel much better after having a meal. But then the feverish feeling starts again. Weird. Most probably I haven't had much of a rest. Weekdays are hectic with work and weekends are jam packed with activities galore.

The body is telling me to cut it some slack, I guess. So yeah. Tonight I won't be doing any workouts nor will I stay up late to just hang out with my friends. I will turn in early and hopefully, my body will be happy and won't act up again tomorrow.

Meathead C and the Substitutes

Just finished Workout C of the Meatheads programme and it has left me sweating quite a lot. Been feeling a little tired this weekend so I didn't end the workout with a finisher. Working at home definitely has its pros and cons with the most glaring con being I don't have access to a variety of weights.

Enter the TRX. I've substituted quite a number of exercises that requires dumbbells with the nifty gadget. Examples listed below:

1. Chin-ups - Substituted with TRX Back Row
I can do chin-ups but not as many as I'd like to. So for the warm up phase instead of doing chin-ups I did back rows. For the actual sets I reverted to chin-ups.

2. Dumbell Lateral Raise - Substituted with TRX Y-Shoulder Raise
I have a pair of 10lbs dumbbells at home and I've to confess it's hard for me to execute the lateral raise with them. My form will be compromised. Hurrah for the TRX! The Y Shoulder Raise works pretty much the same muscles that the Lateral Raise focusses on.

3. Incline Hammer Curl and Barbell Curl - Substituted with TRX Bicep Curl
I don't have a barbell. Neither do I have an adjustable bench. Thus I couldn't do the moves due to logistical constraints. Forget the 10lbs dumbbells. They're too light in this case. Having said that, I wanted to cry when I did the TRX Bicep curls. Feels like I'm curling 10kg dumbbells. Which is definitely cool.

Alright. That's about it. Tomorrow's Workout D of the Meatheads programme. Lower body workout. Not my favourite, but a necessary evil.