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Grounded Tiger

digs in her claws and gets fit

In Your Honest Opinion...

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Dear World, what the hell've I gotten myself into?!

So, last night was my first real day of bootcamp. I can say this much: HARD. VERY HARD.

I was mentally dead to the world for the first half hour and physically incapable for the next hour! But it is a good pain. Except for my bruised ankle, but it's feeling better this morning.

We did a whole set of lunges and duuuude, walking hurts. But it's strange that my core doesn't hurt much at all - I might be doing something wrong.

 

I'm glad today is my rest and stretch day. I'll be doing some fundamentals and kata for a bit of light exercise, as well as a ton of stretches.

 

On the bright side, so far, I'm two-for-two on days where I've drunk two bottles of water a day (about 1 liter).

 

Sore, walking like a duck and nicely hydrated,

GT

Back after a Long Delay

So, it's been a while.

Well, I have kept working out, so my count on Twitter should be more around 50 than whatever it's at now. But the better thing is - I'm now enrolled in a Fitness Bootcamp and I'm back at Karate!

The Fitness Bootcamp runs for 6 weeks and meets 3 times a week. I also got my measurements from it, so I can upload those on the other page after I post this.

Karate, now, that's a different story. I'm returning to the same club after 9 years or so of absence. Going back, I'm meeting back up with a lot of old faces - old peers who are now black belts (something like a "graduate") or full senseis (meaning "teacher" in Japanese, and one of the highest ranks attainable in Karate - distinguished by their black belt and black gi or uniform) - and rediscovering my passion for the art. I'm finding now that I can use it as a tool to develop more of a focused mindset as well as developing my self-awareness.

Not to mention I sweat like a pig after one kata (a flow of movements - called the "dance" of karate by my sempai, or "senior" in Japanese).

 

My workout schedule is something I'm getting very excited about.

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
BootcampKarateBootcampRest/GymBootcampKarateRest/Gym

On the gym days, I'll likely just do a light cardio and full stretch routine.

 

Here's to coming back in 6 weeks changed in body and mind!

GT

It's Good to go Back - it's Good for the Back

It's been quite a while since I posted something blog-y, ha ha! And I finally got something worth sharing, I think. Or at least enough for me to take time out of my Econ project to do so.

But first, I need to be honest and admit something.

I didn't work out for three days last week...

GASP! FOR SHAME, GT! FOR SHAME, I KNOW, I KNOW!

Yeah, no.

I hear some people get down on themselves for missing a day at the gym sometimes and they don't just get down on themselves - they freakin' dive into the pitty-potty headfirst and with much gusto! I mean, it's like they wait for the perfect chance to tear themselves down.

I can understand that breaking a commitment to yourself can be a heartbreaking thing - but having the strength of self to say "hey, I screwed up, so what? I can and will fix it" is so much better than just being terrified to break a commitment.

I'm not saying go ahead and skip out on your workouts all the time, no, no. Just don't be so down on yourselves!

And now it just seems like I'm talking to myself, now, doesn't it?

But I can assure you I'm not down on myself. I've worked out 29 times in the past one and a half months - that's more than I worked out for the past three years combined! All in all, I'd say I'm doin' good, man.

 

And going back couldn't be more fun.

Just today, I learned three new names and earlier this week Aussie declared herself my auntie! I've always wanted an Australian relative! XD

Two of the names I learned started with "G" - and the two are both good friends who work out together.

Gee is the older one, but she has the wit and humour of a college student. She's also able to lift more weights than I can, despite being much older.

Gray is the younger one, I think. Though she share's Gee's sense of humour. I've also noted that she seems to be slimming down like mad even with me just seeing her over the course of a month and a half.

Trudy is the third person I've met. She's one of the many teachers who frequent the gym I go to. She's probably near mum's age. She's part of what I like to call "The Book Club" - she always brings a book and reads it as she works out. She's nice and gives me advice on how to use machines so I don't cramp up certain muscles.

 

And now, just one more thing before I shut up, shower and get to bed.

"It's Good for the Back".

After 1.5 months of regular work outs, I've noticed that I'm not only slimming down everywhere - arms, belly, chin and legs - but my muscles are beginning to define me! I'm no longer following the lines of fat, I'm starting to define myself with strong muscles!

I regularly do 30 back-extensor reverse-sit-ups and at least 1 rep of a 30-sec plank.

As a result, my back isn't as flat and squishy as it used to be. My lower back is strong and curves inwards. I must admit, when I turn a bit to the side to examine myself in the mirror, it sometimes looks sexy. >w<

 

Good Night, Sleep Tight, Let Those Dreams Take Flight,

GT

Overheard At The Gym #1: "I don't have a bed!"

So, workouts at 5:30 AM are crazy enough, but workouts with old people at 5:30 AM are even better. The gym my family frequents in the mornings is mostly populated by the elderly in the area, but the amount of weights they lift certainly wouldn't be an indication as to their age.

But what is an indication is their amazing sense of humour.

Here's what I overheard this morning:

Between the wickedest Aussie in the gym - who's also one of the grandma-figures - and the white-haired if-I-were-20-years-younger-I'd-be-on-the-cover-of-Playboy Silver Fox.

Silver Fox: "Good Morning, Love."

Aussie: "Yeah, G'mornin' yerself."

"Man, I go through the trouble of being nice to you in the morning and you're still crabby!"

"Eh?!"

"You should get up on the other side of the bed next time!"

"Other side of the bed? Well, there's my problem - I don't have a bed!"

 

Sure, it might not be Russ Peters, but 5:30 AM, 24 minutes into a Fat Burn cycle-a-thon, it's a welcome distraction.

 

Also overheard:

"It takes more than two days to break an old habit."

And when my mum came to check on my status while I was biking, Aussie came up and said: "Leave her alone, she knows what she's doing. I've been on both sides of this - if you hover, she'll just run the other way."

That was the best advice ever. Let's see how it pans out.

 

Anywho, I've gotta grab breakfast and run - Econ is still giving me trouble.

Good Morning, Good Day,

Grounded Tiger

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-In: Jan 27 '10

Yeah, I deleted the old one... I got impatient when I didn't see it update the Twitter feed on the right. Then I refreshed my Twitter page and boum! it was there.

Lesson learned. Forgive, forget, move on.

So, as I said in my previous post - it's not Wednesday, January 27th anymore. But that's fine. I need a start point to measure from.

Here's the juicy stuff:

  • Weight: 145 lbs
  • Height: 5' 0"

And since I don't have a measuring tape, this is all I can give ya for now.

 

Chin up, feet down.

Grounded Tiger

Hello, 5:30 AM World!

So, this is going to be an online record of my progress as I go through some crazy shit at 5:30 AM.

Namely, this involves jumping out of bed, running to the gym (about 1.5km) and working out for at least 40 minutes every day. At 5:30 AM.

And hopefully I'll also get the chance to do some weekly/monthly reports.

I plan to do weekly Wednesday Weigh-Ins and, if I can get my hands on some measuring tape, some measurements.

 

If I find anything interesting other than my workout stats, then maybe I'll update this with those. But for now, it's just going to be a weekly log of my progress and all.

 

So, 5:30 AM, here we come!