THE BATTLING ROPE

Today, I did various exercises - TRX, weights on the bosu ball, and for the very first time, the BATTLING ROPE

BATTLING ROPES are very thick ropes that measure about 10 meters long and weigh about 15-20 lbs (used by average individuals but weight and length may vary). When my trainer demonstrated the exercise, I thought it was going to be easy but when I tried it, it was like doing cardio on weights.  It develops upper body strength, core muscles as well as speed, endurance and balance. It is an intense workout and quickly raises the heart rate and burns a lot of calories in as little as 10 minutes.

I only did 20 seconds per exercise, 3 sets each of 5 exercises so I must've burned all the ramen I ate last night (my new favorite food).

1. Parallel waves

2. Alternating waves

3. Spiral waves using both hands

4. Spiral waves using one hand

5. Burpees and upon standing, one parallel wave.

Here is a sample of parallel waves using the battling rope:

ALTERNATING WAVES

I have no photo of the spiral waves but it is done by moving the ropes side-to-side. 

After my workout, I did a 5 K run, I had a lot of phone calls at 21 minutes ( about 3.6 k) so I walked the last 1.4 K, my time was 43:02. That's still good enough since I did strength training.

We finally watched IRON MAN 3 yesterday, the cinema was still full despite opening over a week already. Since my 18-year old son, JOSH, was with me and my husband (a rare occasion), we decided to have dinner. We had ramen, my new addiction. I know it's packed with calories but I ran yesterday  (TREADMILL: 5K, 9.4kph, 359 cal, 32 min:11 sec. NIKE RUNNING {same time} 5.39K 321 cal) and I told myself I was working out tomorrow (which is today). 

And since I ate this yesterday, today my food choices are high protein, carb-free and low fat. I was too busy and full from yesterday I didn't eat breakfast, for lunch I had chicken adobo and chayote. Dinner is yet to come.

NIKE RUNNING

I have been using the NIKE RUNNING app in my IPHONE since March. I use it when I run in the treadmill and outdoors, the only time I don't use it is when I do HIIT ( high intensity interval training). 

I learned that the distance covered in treadmill at a certain time and pace is not the same as in the NIKE app. I normally do 5K treadmill runs 3 times a week. In the treadmill, I reach 5K at about 31:15 minutes, in the Nike app that will be about 28:30 minutes at a speed of about 9.6 kph. And I generate different times for 5K at 9.6 kph in different treadmills.  

I follow the 5K recording in the treadmill since I think it is more reliable so the distance recorded in my APP is normally 5.4km; 5.38km; 5.48km (depending on my speed) for every 5K run in the treadmill.

5 K in the treadmill is recorded as these distances in my APP.

FOR APRIL:  I ran 75.7 km; pace of 6.05 minutes per km; total of 7 hours; 41 minutes and 07 seconds. AMAZING! 

FOR MARCH: It's 76.7 KM

As I said, I do not record HIIT runs. I do it once-two times per week  and normally the distance is about 4 kms, so if I add that to the number of KMS covered per month, I think I would hit100KMS. I will start recording HIIT too.

Even if I am not sure if 5 K is really a 5K run in the NIKE RUNNING app, I give an allowance of about 400 meters to be sure that I am not exerting less effort. At least, in terms of reliability in recording without comparing it to another device, the NIKE  RUNNING APP is consistent and accurate.

ADVANTAGES OF USING NIKE RUNNING:

1. It is a good enough tool in measuring effort: number of calories burned (NIKE FUEL), and the distance covered in a month.

2. It can be a good motivator to keep on exercising, you can adjust effort by comparing your data covered in the previous month.

3. It is a good measure to know if what you are doing is enough to reach your goals.

Yesterday, I took a good friend from the US, Carlo, to Tagaytay.

Even if I am conscious of my diet ( I try to eat a high protein diet but low carb, low sugar, and low fat), I still know that I can enjoy a day of halo-halo or anything I want without gaining weight. 

HALO-HALO: A Filipino dessert with beans, nata de coco , leche flan , ube, chick peas, jackfruit, macapuno, with crushed ice and a scoop of ube ice cream. Milk is poured over it while eating.

 My BREAKFAST: I opted for high protein even if I know it's loaded with fat. Had one pandesal too:)

 CARLO had DAING NA BANGUS, his all-time favourite aside from SINIGANG na BABOY which he had 3x already in the 3 days I have seen him.

There will be days like this - I kick off those high-heeled shoes to simply ENJOY life and let my heart take me to
where it wants to go.
Exercising helps me do this.

TAGAYTAY 2010, photo credit: Dondi Narciso

Mental game of RUNNING

Today was one of those rare times I ate rice (about 1/2 cup) and chicken tocino for breakfast. It was a real treat and since I knew I had to burn that, I decided to go straight to the gym after work at 12:30 pm. By that time, I was hungry again and I had a protein shake before running and that took away the hunger pangs and gave me the needed energy for my run. I am one of those who cannot run even an hour after eating.

I ran 10 kms in 1 hour 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Warm up for 10 minutes at 6 kph, then I did static stretching. For my 10 km run today:

STARTED at 9. 5 kph for 10 minutes
10-15 minutes 9.6 kph

15-20 minutes 9.7 kph

20-25 minutes 9.8 kph

25-31 minutes 10 kph

31-60 minutes 9 kph (there was pain behind my  left knee)

60-64 minutes 10 kph

The pain behind my knee is where two muscles meet - my gastrocnemius muscle or calf muscle and my hamstrings. Fortunately, it goes away after stretching.

5:30 am run in BORACAY.

It doesn't matter if I do a long run or run a short distance, it always seems like the last 5 minutes is eternity and the last minute is like the end of the world! This is what goes on in my head in the home stretch:

1. It's just 5 minutes and if I stop, I will just sit around and those minutes will go by with me doing nothing.

2. It's impossible the clock will not move, every step, I am closer;  I know this will end and I will be glad I finished it.

3. I look at the calorie counter, for 5 Km, my calories burned is always 362 so I switch it to the calorie counter at around 340 calories. The calorie counter moves slower than the time, 10 calories burned is like 20 seconds already so when I check the time, it seems like it's moving fast.

4. I have to burn the tocino and fried rice I ate this morning and remember the halo-halo you want to  eat later.

5. I know I can do it,  stop telling yourself you can't!

After my run, I went home and got dressed to do errands for Miko, my 23-year old son, who is leaving for Bora tomorrow. I also fitted a lot of clothes, it really feels good to fit into anything, and the best part is most sale items are size SMALL which is my size.

I didn't buy this dress, the pointed cut-outs look ridiculous.

PADDLE BOARDING

 POST BORACAY TAN with the Sex Bomb Dancers and 

my dear friend, Jackie.

I got so addicted to paddle boarding that despite my SPF 100 sunblock, I got burned 

through and through in my recent trip to Boracay. In fact, in our 5-day stay, I only discovered it on our last two days but I did it for hours that resulted  to  this unintentional tan. 

The paddle board is like a surf board which you stand on and navigate with a paddle. For beginners, one can kneel down on the board.

PHOTO CREDIT: DONDI NARCISO, Boracay April 2013

Once you get the strokes then 

you can progress to standing.

PHOTO CREDIT: DONDI NARCISO, BORACAY APRIL 2013

Turning is the most challenging because the board has a tendency to tilt to the side where 

you want to turn especially if the wind and the waves are strong but despite these rough conditions, I only fell once. 

PHOTO CREDITS: DONDI NARCISO , BORACAY APRIL 2013

This is when I realized that 

all the core training 

I've been doing since 

January was worth it.

In the end, all the exercise I do is something that helps me to enjoy life, and discover things that I may never try if I knew 

I was not fit enough to do it. 

PHOTO CREDIT: DONDI NARCISO, BORACAY, APRIL 2013

Plus, I must've been the only 43-year old confident enough to paddle board in a bikini.

GETTING THERE

Weight has a psychological impact for me to stay motivated to workout. Last January 2012, I started working out. After 4 months, I lost about 5 lbs but it fluctuated and there were days, I even weighed more. My trainer explained, it's because fat is being replaced by muscle which is more heavy,  he said to gauge it with my clothes -  if they felt looser then that's more important and they did but weight was something I had big issues with. I eventually lost interest and enthusiasm because my goal was weight loss and I was not getting what I wanted. SO, I quit.

Last July, I was 133 lbs and that was heavy even for my age and height. I am 5'5"; 43 years old.  My goal was to see the weight go down. All I did in the initial 6 months was pure cardio. 

I am now down to 117 lbs, a little bit under weight but it was part of my plan to stay motivated since I said, my goal was to see the numbers in the scale go down.  I have started strength training last January to gain more bulk and I know the weight may start to level off in the 120-122 lbs range. 

Today, I didn't feel like working out because I only had 6 hours of sleep instead of 8 but I decided, I'll just figure it out when I get to the gym. I was there at 6:30 am. It was busy that early.

I had no appointment with my trainer but fortunately, he was there very early and his next client was not coming until 9 am so I decided to do TRX today. My focus was core and toning of upper extremities.

When I was done, just like the other days when I didn't feel like working out, I was glad I did.

" I MAY NOT BE THERE YET, BUT I AM CLOSER THAN I WAS YESTERDAY."

NO SHORTCUTS HERE

A lot of people tell me that I'm so lucky because I'm so thin.

 It makes me uncomfortable because 

I am not thin, 

I am fit 

and

 I am not lucky because 

I work hard for it. 

There are no shortcuts here. 

I have no magical pill that keeps me thin, I have no cook who makes me special meals, and I am not blessed with a very fast metabolism. I am just an example of someone who knows that the key to staying fit is to exercise and eat right.

I am 5'5" and was never considered big but I reached 140 lbs at one point in my life - for a small-framed, Asian woman, this is big. 

Last year, I was on my way to hitting 140 again, I was already 7 pounds shy from that number and I resolved that I will do something about it.

I have no disease-life-changing story to tell that prompted me to change my ways, it's only a decision I made that one way to enjoy life to the fullest is to be fit and healthy.

Photo credit: Dondi Narciso, Boracay 2010