1 RTCC 2011 // 2 Last year, trying to get a perfect shot while doing box jumps with my BFF. We never got that perfect shot. // 3 All ridden out. Drove the bikes back home. // 4 When I’m at the gym, my cardio of choice is still the bike. // 5 Back at the gym after a month of slacking over the holidays (January 2012) // 6 Back from a cold and wet morning run.

“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.”  – Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Food is nothing but fuel for our bodies, yet it is so much more.

Food brings people together, cultures revolve around food, people look to food for comfort, rewards and pleasure and much, much more. Food is the answer to so many things: do you want to show your appreciation for someone? Buy them dinner. Are you stressed or sad? Indulge in ice cream.  Want to lose weight? Stay away from junk food.

Food is so deeply engrained into our culture that it has become so overly-complicated. Over-eating, under-eating, clean eating, dieting… food should be simple yet we tend to over think it and cause unnecessary stress in our lives.

As I’m writing this, I’m having an immense craving for cheese puffs. I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t have one!! In a perfect world, I would just go get the damn cheese puffs but my mind is telling me to resist because I’m going out for dinner later… and that I’m going to Vegas in 2 weeks and I want to look good… and I had an easy workout today. But I want it so bad. Gimme!! How has my relationship with food turned so complicated?!

But in reality, I just went to get those cheese puffs. Why? Over the years as I slid into this healthy lifestyle and as my philosophy on food and fitness evolved, I’ve discovered a new mindset that now comes naturally:

I don’t let food rule my life.

By setting some simple rules for myself, I eat anything I want. I don’t feel bad. I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel regretful. This makes me happy because I love food.

Here are some basic rules everyone should follow:

• Indulge all you want in anything that grows from the ground or in trees.
• Avoid anything is packaged and contains ingredients you’ve never heard of.
• Once in a while, treat yourself to something “bad” (see above point) if you really love it.
• Enjoy, savor and appreciate every single bite.

Here are some rules I’ve set for myself. This may or may not work for you depending on your lifestyle, personality and many other factors. Everyone has to find their own way and this is my way.

• Eat healthy during the day and indulge at night (because that’s the time I like to eat). People say you should eat more during the day and taper off at night but that’s when I like to chill out and perhaps watch a show while snacking on some good eats. It makes me happy so why not?
• Or eat healthy during the week and indulge on weekends when I usually go out. I’m too busy working during the week anyway so there are less distractions for me to fill myself up with junk. This is when my willpower is the strongest so I’ll use it to my advantage.
• Cook at home most of the time so I can indulge as much as I want and don’t feel guilty when going out to eat. You never know how much butter and fats they put into their dishes.
• Exercise lots. This is easy because I love exercise.
• Never feel guilty about overeating or indulging. I can always push a little harder during my next workout. I love food and like I’ve always said, I will NEVER not eat things I love just because it’s deemed unhealthy or fattening. Knowing I have the discipline to make sacrifices elsewhere makes me feel a lot better about food.

How is YOUR relationship with food like? Are you still struggling with it or did you already overcome it?

I’m going to do 100 burpees!

I sat there fought with myself for a minute because I didn’t want to do it since I was pooped but I already told myself I was going to. I couldn’t back out now! Well… it’s only about 6 minutes of torture then it’ll all be over. I pressed my timer and just did it.

This set of burpees was probably the worst mental fitness challenge I’ve faced in a long time (yes, worst than those Glute Lifts). I didn’t have my music on so every time my knees (and crotch) slammed on the floor, the sound seem to elevate the pain. I was tired. I was hungry. I was hangry. By the time I got to 90, I was on the verge of giving up and the yoga teacher who was setting up for her 1pm class left the room because I was awkwardly making dying/wheezing sounds. She probably didn’t want to be responsible if something happened to me. Although this was the worst set of burpees I’ve ever done (went over my PR by 30 seconds), I finished it! Everything that was going through my mind was mental and I just had to overcome it because I knew I could do it. Well, I did finish it and felt great afterwards.

Okay, I lied. I felt like crap and think I swallowed my own puke afterwards. But after lying on the mat for a good 10 minutes and a nice and long recovery routine, I felt awesome!

Try this challenge: When you tell yourself to do something, JUST DO IT. You can’t change your mind. You can’t take it back. Just do it.

My best friend and I do it all the time. We’ll spontaneously come up with exercises to add to our pre-planned workouts or switch it up with harder variations and once it slips past our lips, it’s finalized. We almost always regret saying it but for some reason, we keep on doing it… maybe because we always finish a workout.

“Let’s add 30 burpees with a jump tuck in between the 20 Wall Balls and 40 kettlebell swings.”

*gives each other a scared look then proceeds to write it down*

“Nooo wait, I’m just kidding. Let’s just do 10 burpees.” *scared look*

“Too bad! You already said it.”

“……………………” *sulk*

Although out workouts makes us want to kill ourselves, we feel amazing afterwards because we know we worked hard and pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone.

I wrote about getting into the mindset before but let me reiterate it again because it is so important. How you think will dictate how you make choices and if you tell yourself you suck at something, you will suck at it. If you tell yourself you can do it, you will do it.

Doing 100 kettlebell swings or pumping out 100 burpees sucks but I did 90 last time. Why can’t I do 100 today? It’s only 10 more. In my lifetime, I want to run in a marathon, do the Grand Fondo, complete an Iron Man… I know I can run 5 miles. I know I can ride 150 miles. If I can already do those things, I know I can do even more.

I’m no longer unfit, weak and self-conscious. I persevered. I believe in myself.

I have no fear.

That’s why I love exercise.

People don’t like to do things because they’re either lazy or it scares the shit out of them.

That’s how I was with running. It always caused me pain and I never thought I could run for long so I hated it and I never did it. One of the things I wanted to start doing was to do stuff I suck at (or hated) and this was one of them but I forced myself to do it anyway. Now, I love it.

The other day we were running up a hill and my legs started to burn— and I mean burn, but I remember thinking to myself, “man, this feels good.” Erasing the fear makes you embrace it. And I really meant it when I said it felt good!

These days, I look forward to everything and fear nothing. Sure, the thought of doing hours of climbing uphill on a bike scares the shit out of me because I usually want to kill myself while doing it, but when I sign up, I never think about the journey but only crossing the finish line.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. – Lance Armstrong

So how do you make yourself love exercise?

Let go of the fear that you won’t be able to run those 5 miles… that you won’t be able to bike up that hill. Stop being afraid of what you THINK you can’t do. And just do it.

Sigh, dad, sigh.

He was actually planning on riding up to Whistler a couple years ago but never got around to doing it and thinks he’s too old now. I hope he comes with us on our upcoming Squamish ride.

You are never too old.

Especially when you’re as fit as my dad!

I overhead at Bikram’s last week that the second class is always the worse because you know what to expect, and it takes about 5-6 classes before you really get into it. My first class was meh; I thought it would be a lot harder. My second class was horrible; I was bored and couldn’t focus. My third was the “it” class where I really got into it and pushed myself. My fourth class got even better.

• I always go to Bikram’s after days of super intense workout sessions so I get some killer foot cramps while doing some of the standing poses.
• My flexibility has improved even more and I added some of these stretches to my daily post-workout recovery routine.
• During the first couple classes, I discovered what horrible flexibility my ankles had. Must. Improve.
• The heat doesn’t bother me anymore (my biggest fear in the beginning)! I usually forget that it’s even hot when I’m in there… that is until I’m blinded by the sweat dripping into my eyes.
• I use to get bored but now I fight the boredom and make myself focus by reminding myself that I need to focus to make this beneficial.

I’m liking Bikram’s so far but it’s still a once-every-couple-weeks thing for me. Trying to fit in biking, running, swimming and lifting weights/gym is hard enough already and yoga is still at the bottom of the list. I like the feeling of relaxed muscles at the end of a class but it still doesn’t compare to the feeling after a kill-me-now workout! I have 2 more classes to go then I’m going to try Power Yoga at another studio for variety. I will be back at Bikrams if I come across any good deals though.

Meet my new baby; her name is Liberty, inspired from the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas. She’s a beautiful, sturdy and fast Cannondale-built monster. Today, I took her for her first ride around our lovely green city, making use of all it’s wonderful bike lanes. The 40km was such a short ride and I wish we had time for a longer one but we got to do one of our favorite routes (the Marine Drive/UBC stretch) and the weather was on our side. This is why I love riding so much— you get to see so much more and go so much further, as opposed to running.

We have so many rides and so many destinations planned but the problem is time! I’m also going to be doing my first solo ride next weekend— from downtown Vancouver to Richmond and back. I want to show Liberty off to my dad since he rides a Cannondale too. But there is a reason why I don’t like solo rides through the city that are more than 10km… I have NO sense of direction. I always let the guys plan the routes and I just follow and never bothering to remember the street names. Which I really should start doing. I get lost when I go running okay… even with GPS and maps on my phone because my mind doesn’t process maps either. This ride will only be a uber short 30km ride but it may be longer because I may end up in Langely. That may not be a bad thing though!

I did 100 lifts per leg and the entire time, I was wishing I was doing burpees instead. This was harder than doing 100 burpees?!! I couldn’t even believe how much of a mental struggle it was to finish these reps. I swear there were holes in my butt cheeks by the time I was done. Seriously. I think it was because of the slow speed of the exercise and the fact that you are lying down, whereas when you do burpees, you are continuously moving your entire body, which makes it’s easier to push yourself when you already have all that momentum behind you.

Next time you’re at the gym, try these if you want an extremely satisfying, butt-burning exercise!

[I did these with a bosu ball instead]

Notes on how to do One Legged Glute Raises effectively:

• You should only be using your glutes and hamstrings. That’s why you need to FOCUS.
• FOCUS on squeezing your glutes together to drive your leg up towards the ceiling.
• Never let your back completely touch the ground between reps.
• Do as many as you can without resting to feel the burn.
• You should feel MAJOR ass burn afterwards, especially if it’s your first time. If this isn’t your first time, you need to keep on adding more and more reps.

Now or never.

If I’m stuck on a rep and too tired to move forward.
Now or never.

If I rested for too long and couldn’t get myself moving again.
Now or never.

If I have 2 more laps to swim but the thought of another stroke make me want to purposely drown.
Now or never.

If I’m thinking of doing something but I keep on putting it off.
Now or never.

I signed up for my first half marathon: The Sea Wheeze.
Now or never. 

Exercising with others is such a great idea. Why you should form a group, join a group, or join our group:

• It makes you commit. I’ve planned many 6am runs/workouts for myself but failed 99% of the time because I just went back to bed. With the run club, I have too much pride to sell out without a valid excuse… because I like to be known as someone who keeps their word.
• You learn and progress. If you stay committed, you progress. I’m only learning how to run and everyone’s had great advice and stories. I don’t even get shin splints anymore.
• It’s fun. Running 10k alone is boring and agonizing for a new runner. Running 10k with a group passes by amazingly fast and seems so much easier.
• You meet new people. Some of us know each other. Some of us don’t. Our easy runs are a great way for people to get to know each other because we have great conversations… and everyone has a different story.
• You get to do different things. With so many people with different interests, we can also plan speed work, plyo circuits, long bike rides, hikes or even hit up a Crossfit gym together.
• It keeps you motivated. Because everyone else is motivated! We bounce positive energy off of each other.

All of that happened within 20 minutes and as Winnie, said, you just have to do it because you can keep on talking about it, but it may never happen.

JUST DO IT. That is my favorite saying too.

Of course, our group is open to anyone (just leave a message). We are all friendly Run Bugs.

Here are just a few top tips which you can follow in order to ensure that you always drink enough water.

Make it your daily routine.

Why not try keeping a glass topped up or a bottle fill next to you throughout the day? That way, whether you’re working on your latest project or relaxing with a game of Binguez , you will always have water close at hand that you can sip throughout.

When I started my healthy lifestyle regime years ago, the first thing I did was drink more water and I was surprised at how much better this single change already made me look and feel.

After a while, drinking water throughout your day will simply become a habit, and you won’t event have to think about doing it.

Remember that you shouldn’t simply take a bottle of water with you when you go for a run, or when making a trip to the gym. If you spend much of your time on-the-go, where it may not always be possible to sit down and have a glass of water at frequent intervals, then it can be well worth packing a bag with a bottle of water in. I bought a protein shaker bottle and when I wasn’t drinking shakes, it was always filled with water. The bottle holds about 800mL of water and I refilled it at least 6 times per day and carried it with me everywhere.

It is recommended that you drink at least eight glasses of water a day but this number really depends on your lifestyle. The safest thing to do is to drink as much as you think you need.. and remember that most of us underestimate how much we need. So always drink a little more! Especially if you are active.

If you don’t like drink water on its own, try mixing with honey or lemon and then slowly incorporate pure water into your diet. Before my water addiction started, I would drink a lot of pop, juice, bubble teas and other drinks overloaded with sugar but now my taste buds have changed so much that I can’t really handle too much sugary drinks any more.

It IS possible to train yourself to love and crave for water.

Starting a new task at work.
Starting a workout.

There isn’t enough time in a day to do all the things we want to do so we’ll find ourselves never starting that one thing …because we want to do something else.

But once you do start, don’t stop.
If you stop, you’ll have to just have start again.

When I get tired while working out, I’ll slow down or stop the exercise but still move in place. I never completely stop moving or I’ll have a very hard time pushing myself to start again.

Just 5 more seconds… just 10 more seconds.

That’s what you’ll tell yourself when you are resting and soon enough, the round will be over AND YOU HAVEN’T MADE MUCH OF AN EFFORT.

Slow down… but NEVER STOP.

During circuit training, there are some exercises that scares the crap out of me— especially when you have to do things like swing a kettlebell 30 times over your head, after 10 overhead squats or 20 burpees and there are a couple more exercises after… then repeat everything 5 times. To make it worse, I have a mindset to push myself to do all the reps continuously so when I do these exercises knowing I can’t rest until I’m done, I’m this close to peeing my pants.

When I stop, my mind likes to instill fear in me. It persuades me to rest for 10 seconds. I do. Then it reminds me how I tired I am and how my arms are so close to snapping off. I feel anxiety. I rest for longer because it feels so much better not move.

It’s so much easier just do to nothing.

That’s why I never stop.

If I’m still moving, hopping in place or even walking around the room, my muscles are never completely resting and my heart-rate decreases slower. I never let myself be comfortable because when you are comfortable, it’s so much easier to give in.

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

Successful people are fit.
Fit people are successful.

Why?

Because they have discipline.

If you are already leading a healthy lifestyle, you know how much focus, planning and discipline it takes to keep up it up. You need to fit in work, eating right, exercising, free time and sleep— all in one day and with our busy lives, that’s not easy. If you aren’t organized, you’ll eventually succumb to breakdowns, exhaustion and illnesses.

The solution?

Get fit.

Fitness develops mental strength to get you through those tough workouts, and helps you stick to that clean-eating habit. Mental strength develops discipline so you stop wasting time, focus and get your work done. Being disciplined is a reflection of your lifestyle and how you are able to handle your priorities wisely. Being fit keeps you going.

So what are you waiting for?

Here are the three simplest things you can do to start developing those healthy habits. It’s so easy to do and you really have no excuse so start turning these into habits.

Drink more water.

Water is the best detox you can do to for body. Try a glass every morning right when you wake up and finish it by the time you are out the door. Buy a water bottle and carry it with you everywhere and make sure to keep refilling it. I have to have water with me at all times, to the point where I’ve developed a mild case of water-addiction.

Cut out as much processed foods as you can.

You may not be able to get it all, but cutting out at least 80% of it will make a huge difference on how your body looks and feels. Start with the sweets. If you’re craving for something sweet, go eat a piece of fruit. What about a baked yam? Or a fruit smoothie? God, smoothies are good. The secret to making smoothies sweeter naturally is to add a banana.

Move more.

Walk. Take the stairs. Do some walking lunges to your kitchen. I started taking public transit to work this month and I’m grateful for the extra exercise. Sure, it only takes me 5 minutes to walk to the train but I speed-walk (which I apparently already do naturally) or walk in heels. With a heavy bag. All those factors mean more calories burnt!

My biggest motivator are results.

If you start doing these simple things, you will start seeing results and you’d just want to delve deeper into the healthy lifestyle. It’s addicting!

Probably the toughest event on the planet.

Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile race with 25 obstacles designed by the British Special Forces to test strength, stamina and mental grit. I say: BRING IT ON.

How fit do you need to be? Basically, you should be in good physical condition – complete slackers need not apply. At a minimum we recommend that you are running regularly (2+ times a week, working up to 5 miles per run), able to do 15-25 push-ups in a row, able to bang out 6 pull-ups in a row (especially the dudes), and able to swim 50 yards without stopping (although you can skip the water obstacles).

I’m not too worried— but knowing me, I’m underestimating the challenge. The biggest obstacle for me is the running part— I can do a 5 mile jog (despite the pain) BUT I hated running (although liking it now that I run with a group) and realized how hard it was for me to motivate myself to keep running. I can push myself to do burpees and bike up hills until my heart is about to give out without thinking twice but I can’t do the same for running. That mental barrier is something I’m still working on but I’m sure my team will make the experience more enjoyable.

Obstacles I’m looking forward to: plunging into ice cold water,  scaling walls, Cliff Hanger and crawling through mud.

Not looking forward to: Death March (that hill looks hauntingly familiar), monkey bars (need to seriously toughen up my bitch-hands) and the electroshock.

Here are some notes from some research I did on training for the Tough Mudder:

Focus:

1. *Running
2. Strength, Endurance and Balance
3. Mental Toughness
4. Muscles used the most in order: Quads, Calves, Biceps, Forearms, Back, Abs, Hamstrings, Shoulders, Chest, Triceps

Training  Plan:

• **Lots of intervals, HIIT and Tabata style training — I think this is the key!
• Incorporate strength training with cardio
• Body-weight & Loaded Weights
• Tons of lower body training (quads, calves…) — will help with uphill running
• Stairmaster to mimic hills — probably with HIIT to save time
• Need to strengthen upper-body and do more pull-ups in a row
• Swimming laps 2x/week
• Running at least 2x/week to condition legs to long distances
• Monkey Bars — I noticed random monkey bars in the corner of the courtyard of my building… I guess this was meant to be!
• Biking to and from work (short 13km per way but hills galore)
• Grouse Grind
• Exercises: push ups, pull ups, squats, lunges, kettlebell swings, burpees, wall balls, balance / BOSU training…

My plan is to continue training as I’m doing now except do a lot more running which may mean sacrificing bike time (boo). This is exactly what I did when I did The Ride to Conquer Cancer last year— I continued my usual workouts and just increased the cardio with lots of biking (mostly with intervals/HIIT/hills). I definitely can’t afford visits to a Canada Drug Pharmacy for meds anymore so I will have to plan this throughly to include recovery days.

Diet:

• EAT LOTS DURING TRAINING! That’s a shitload of cardio you need to be properly fueled for.
• Real foods, good carbs, tons of water and some indulgences are okay.
• Few days before race, maintain a high sodium diet to retain water to prevent dehydration before the race.
• Heavy carbs the night before.
• Light breakfast on day of .
• Drink plenty of water and Gatorade the day before the race.

Other Notes:

• Maintain a good pace. I hope my teammates are good pacers because I suck at pacing.
• Walk if needed but KEEP MOVING. It’s a lot harder to start again if you completely stop.
• Don’t wear cotton as it soaks up water. Wear Dri-Fit.
• Bring workout gloves for more grip during the obstacles.
• Have fun!!
• …and convince Boyfriend to do the race. I’m sure he doesn’t want to do it because he doesn’t want to wait for us. Haha.

Are YOU doing the Tough Mudder? If you are thinking about it and unsure, JUST DO IT. Don’t be afraid of challenges— they only make you stronger. What do you have to lose?

And if you have, do you have any tips?

YOU ARE COMPETING AGAINST YOURSELF… NOT OTHERS.

If you cannot get this ingrained into your mind, you’re better off working out alone so you at least finish these workouts. Group settings are obviously not working for you because you probably feel like a failure but don’t want to look like one. Why are you cheating yourself?

DON’T LIE TO YOURSELF.

Everyone will be at different fitness levels. Don’t compare yourself with others. Instead, compare yourself with your old personal bests and try to beat those to become your own champion.

There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.

JUST DO IT.

What’s yours?

Last night I realized that my biggest problem is that I lack patience. If I’m going to workout, I’m going to workout hard and give it my all. I don’t have patience to slowly condition my body to new training. Why do a 2 minute run and 1 minute walk on repeat when I know I can run for an hour straight? Well idiot, there is a reason why people do that. To prevent injury, dumbass. So from now on, my first priority is to practice.

The night before I was talking to my friend, Rose, who is the ultimate Bikram’s junkie, and she made me realize I need to meditate and concentrate more on my body to get the full benefits of Bikram’s. No more thinking about squatting or tomorrow’s lunch in the hot room! Focus, discipline and patience. Last night during dinner, my sister-in-law chided me for always battering my body as I limped everywhere because of my shin splints. Most don’t understand the exhilaration of pushing your body to the limits but at the same time, recovery is such an important aspect to fitness. I always knew this but I admit, I sometimes chose to ignore it.

So anyway, back to running. Last summer I went out and bought new running shoes, a running belt and new workout clothes because I was so excited to start running. Did a couple short runs around my neighborhood with my lazy puppy, a couple of trail runs (or sprints) and that was it.

This time, I’m going to start running and I plan on sticking with it.

So out of nowhere we started a run club and yesterday we had our inaugural run! It was a short 7k and we ran at an easy pace because some of us aren’t runners. My shin splints started kicking in after 3k. We went for a coffee break then ran back to where we started and even though my legs were flaring in pain, I pushed all the way to finish line anyway because I wanted to keep running. I promised myself this was the last time I will do this and I’m going to recover for the next couple days and commence proper run bug training the following week.

This was the stupidest thing I could do but I swear I will train properly from now on … and because I kind of regret it now because we’re going to a music festival tonight and I’m wondering how I’m going to dance the entire night away now with my stiff legs. And not being able to do something because of an injury is the most disappointing feeling ever. And slowing down a group because of it just sucks.

See how ignorance ruins everything? Time for me to stop ignoring the obvious.

The route isn't accurate because I forgot to turn pause/resume the app a bunch of times. We also ran up a 4 block hill as a "warm up" to meet our friend who was last to arrive.

So anyway, I hope we continue our little Run Club because I hated running prior but after our run, I kept on thinking, “I want to run so bad!!” I woke up this morning and was so tempted to throw on my gear. I think I’ve genuinely caught the run bug now and although I still like biking better, it’s going to be included in my weekly fitness routine.

This shows how important it is to surround yourself with people who have similar interests and views as you and in my case, motivated and fitness-minded people. Running with good company made it funner and running with experienced runners taught me so much  more.

Knowledge is motivation.

You wanted to be a princess.
You thought you were a princess.
You wanted to own a horse.
You wanted to be a horse.
You wanted your brother to be a horse.

You wanted to wear pink.
You never wanted to wear pink.

You wanted to be a Veterinarian.
You wanted to be President.
You wanted to be the President’s Veterinarian.

You were picked last for the team.
You were the best one on the team.
You refused to be on the team.

You wanted to be good in algebra.
You hid during algebra.
You wanted the boys to notice you.
You were afraid the boys would notice you.

You started to get acne.
You started to get breasts.
You started to get acne that was bigger than your breasts.

You wouldn’t wear a bra.
You couldn’t wait to wear a bra.
You couldn’t fit into a bra.

You didn’t like the way you looked.
You didn’t like the way your parents looked.
You didn’t want to grow up.

You had your first best friend.
You had your first date.
You had your second best friend.

You had your second first date.
You spent hours on the telephone.
You got kissed.
You got to kiss back.

You went to the prom
You didn’t go to the prom.
You went to the prom with the wrong person.

You spent hours on the telephone.

You fell in love.
You fell in love.
You fell in love.

You lost your best friend.
You lost your other best friend.

You really fell in love.

You became a steady girlfriend.
You became a significant other.

YOU BECAME SIGNIFICANT TO YOURSELF.

Sooner or later, you start taking yourself seriously. You know when you need a break. You know when you need a rest. You know what to get worked up about and what to get rid of. And you know when it’s time to take care of yourself, for yourself. To do something that makes you stronger, faster, more complete.

Because you know it’s never too late to have a life. And never too late to change one.

JUST DO IT

Amen.

*note: the copy is from an old Nike ad

I tried Bikrams for the first time last week and also bought a card for 5 classes [because of a promotion] and will start the Lululemon run club on Wednesdays with Winnie and friends. Although I enjoyed Bikrams, it’s time consuming and not challenging enough for my liking but the benefits outweighs my measly complaints so I swear I’m going to go at least once every 2 weeks. As for running, I have no more excuses not to start because I need to train for Tough Mudder.

Other workout goals:

Continue to hit the gym hard at least 4x/week. At least 2 days intense full-body circuit training, 1 day HIIT cardio, 1 day lower body training, excel pistol squats, get uber flexible and amp up the cardio because I’ve been eating a lot more than usual and refuse to stop.

Budget my groceries.

I realize I spend a ridiculous amount on food and groceries and so I need to be smarter with my budgeting now that I have  mortgage to pay. Despite what some say, real foods are much more cheaper than processed foods so I won’t have to give up quality. I also buy canned tuna and frozen fruits and veggies in bulk so it’s cheaper and I’ll never go hungry.

Transit to work.

I just bought and renovated an apartment downtown [who needs a car?!] so I vowed to stop driving to work and start transiting to save money and be nicer to the environment. I estimate I’ll save about $150/month by doing this and even more as gas goes up in the summer.

Bring lunch everyday.

I love packing lunch but there are days where I get lazy. I now do all my prep on Sunday night and pack 5 days worth of lunches. I usually bring some kickass salads for lunch to keep it light and simple… which also allows me for a scrumptious dinner.

Things I may put in my salads: romaine or spinach, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, fresh strawberries (secret ingredient), avocado, shredded cheese, a protein— basically whatever is in my fridge. The protein depends on what I prepare. Sometimes it’ll just be tuna or egg salad if I’m lazy or slow-cooked chicken breast which I do every couple of weeks and freeze (defrost when I need) or I’ll make a stir-fry tofu to eat on the side.

Other healthy snacks I bring: bananas, baked yams, Greek yogurt, and whatever I have in my fridge that I made a big batch of, such as homemade potato fruit salad or hummus.

What are your goals for this month?

Too skinny? Too fat? Too slow? Too old?

Do you fear the gym because you are afraid of being judged?

Well be afraid no longer by always remember these five words:

NO ONE GIVES A SHIT.

1. Everyone is too busy to think twice about you.
2. The ones who does are the ones who shouldn’t matter anyway.
3. The fit would most likely secretly encourage you because they were once where you were and are are proud of you for pushing yourself to go to the gym. Almost everyone felt the same way when they first step into the unknown of the iron jungle.

But really, if you think people care about how you look or how fit you aren’t, they don’t. I’m sorry to burst your bubble but you reallyaren’t that significant and people have other problems to worry about about. If you really can’t get over this mindset you’ll never succeed in anything so next time, just tell yourself:

Stop caring and JUST DO IT.

Do NOT let your gym anxiety get in the way of your fitness goals because although it is a huge obstacle, it is really just another fat-ass excuse.

I recently finished watching THE BEST REALITY SHOW EVER: Out of the Wild: Venezuela.

Nine ordinary people were flown in, dropped off and abandoned in a remote corner of Venezuela’s southern frontier — a lost world that once lured explorers in search of El Dorado. Now the volunteers, armed with only the most basic supplies, must traverse 70 brutal miles of uncharted terrain back to civilization.

This show is the real deal: no bullshit drama of people getting “voted” out, no million dollars or a grand prize at the end. This is REAL survival, team work, determination and appetite to accomplish something so unrelenting. The survivors battle severe starvation, malnutrition and fatigue as they hike through unforgiving Venezuelan terrain. Rejoicing when they find mere termites to satisfy their hunger, sleeping in the pouring rain, desperation, demoralizing defeats, inspiring victories— this is what you call quality reality television!

I got so into the show as the group grew together and motivated each other to push on towards civilization. It was hard to watch at times because the conditions were so bad but it was so real. There was bickering as would be expected in an environment like this but also raw determination, cooperation, fair delegation and reprieve for weak team members which connected you to the show and made you want to cheer them mentally on because it was a harsh reminder of the tenacity of the human spirit.

This is adventure at it’s purest form.

When we started, I was like I want to do this sooo bad!! Then as the show progressed and I watched all the healthy survivors reduce to skin and bones so I started having second thoughts. Would I be able to survive not eating for days and hiking miles of rough terrain? Would I be able to sleep in the pouring rain, only to get up the next day to desperately scour for food so we have just enough energy for the next long hike?

If I was offered the chance, I would do this without hesitation. I think I may just die but I would love to experience this. Would you?

John Stephen Akhwari competed in a marathon in the 1968 Olympics but he took a horrible fall and badly injured himself. The winner of the marathon crossed the finish line at 2:20. An hour later, the stadium was near-empty but those who remained roared when John hobbled in pain across the finish line.

Later, a reported asked him why he continued running, He replied:

My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.

Without perseverance, you will never succeed in anything.
It doesn’t matter if you come in first or last, just finish.

Tuna. This is my go-to protein for a quick and easy snack or lunch. Tuna salad, tuna sandwiches, tuna patties, tuna everything!

Frozen fruits and veggies. Fresh is always the best but frozen is just as good because they contain the same nutrients and you don’t have to worry about shelf-life. I always keep frozen strawberries and mixed veggies in stock.

Apples and bananas. Bananas are a miracle fruit for me. If I need an extra boost of energy or something quick to satisfy my hunger, they always do the trick. Apples on the otherhand bloat me up at random times like no tomorrow but they keep me full for hours. I also love apple-anything desserts and will sometimes bake them with some cinnamon and Splenda for a quick treat.

Baby spinach. I always have a huge bag of these in hand. Great for salads, a side or just dumping them in a pot of noodle soup I’m making.

Egg Whites. I LOVE egg whites. I do eat whole eggs too with the yolk but egg whites in liquid form are great to have around. Egg white omelettes with some spinach and cheese, egg whites fried in a tiny but of EVOO with a savoury seasoning like Maggi. So simple but keeps you filled and satisfied.

Napa Cabbage. I’ve been obsessed with napa cabbage for the last couple of years. I love cooking it in noodle soups or with bean thread with chicken stock.

Tofu. Yummy and easy protein.

Whole wheat pasta. I LOVE the taste of whole wheat pasta and I always keep them on hand because who DOESN’T like pasta? I especially use them a lot to whip up a week’s worth of tuna pasta salad for lunch.

Chick Peas. Can I say: HUMMUS?!

Do you ever wonder why you suck at stuff? Whether it’s your core strength, public speaking or everyday things like focusing on a task… you suck at it because you never do it. Do it and do it everyday, as much as you can and force yourself to excel in these areas.

You need to take risks and have the guts to get hurt, to be laughed at, to fail… in order to succeed and become a better and stronger you.

Last night, I finally took the plunge and faced one of my biggest fitness “fears” … BIKRAM’S YOGA!

1. I cannot stand heat. I can barely sit in a sauna for long.
2. I have no patience for yoga. It’ssss soooo sssllllooooowww.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad! Physically it wasn’t hard although I can definitely work on my flexibilty a lot more and the heat wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was definitely more fierce than my apparently “Fierce” yoga class I took before so I’m satisfied. There were a couple times were I was lying there hoping it would be over soon when it started to feel suffocating but it was pretty easy to push away that thought… and think about something else like what I was going to make for lunch tomorrow (tuna salad + baked yams, by the way).

The hardest part of my Bikram experience was being there in the present and not letting my mind wander off. One reason I would want to continue yoga is to practice patience— and of course, to get a good stretch and increase flexibility. Stretching makes muscles long and lean.

The second [painful] thing were the foot cramps during most of the balancing poses in the beginning. At least I didn’t get them in the middle of the night when I’m sleeping. That’s the most painful thing ever.

The third [annoying] thing was that I was making garlic hummus while waiting for my girlfriend to come to my apartment which I ate a little of. Then I was self-conscious that my breath smelled like garlic the entire time even though I brushed my teeth twice and popped mints. Lesson learned: don’t eat garlic before yoga.

My other friend was ranting about how bad her first experience was to me so I was pretty anxious going there but overall, I think I had a good first experience!

Have you done Bikram’s Yoga before? What was your experience like?

Educate yourself.

Internet, personal trainers, friends… there are so many ways to do it. Research exercises and what muscle they target, proper form, stretches for recovery. Knowledge is the most powerful tool.

Always have a plan.

Going to the gym with a plan A (AND a plan B) with all the exercises and even sets/reps you want to do will help you feel less intimidated, and prevent awkwardness of not knowing where to start.

Do things you enjoy.

Hate running? Bike, skip, climb stairs or even elliptical-it. Never hate what you do or you’ll never stick with it.

Ignore those weird machines.

They’re all intimidating anyway. Instead head for the free weights, kettlebells, medicine balls, resistance bands… making sure you’ve educated yourself on how to use them first. Cardio machines are okay if you are doing interval training.

Maximize your time.

Push yourself as hard as possible. Ask yourself: what’s the point in being here if I’m only being mediocre? The gym is time for greatness.

Start small and build up.

If you really don’t want people staring and judging, don’t try to lift more than you can handle. We all need to start somewhere.

Be patient.

Don’t expect changes to happen right away. Good results only happen with time and perseverance.