Desperate Measures

Hot Child in the City

So I was really proud of myself.  I didn't smoked a single cigarette in Iran and, as soon as I got back to Manila, I jumped right back onto the Paleo wagon.  I did two days of kettlebell and Krav Maga training (Tuesday and Wednesday) and finished my last FTX session on Friday (one set of Gladiator's Zone - I was tired and running late for dinner).

And then I went to a party.  At last half a dozen Red Horse beers and half a pack of cigarettes later...

I don't drink light beer.

Yesterday, I had sake, more beer (Dos Equis) and more cigarettes.

Needless to say, I fell off that Paleo wagon with a heavy thud.  (Ouch!)  I think I gained more weight this weekend than in the entire time I was feasting on lamb and rice in Iran.

And now has to be the worst time to be feeling heavy in Manila.  The heat and humidity are overwhelmingly oppressive.  It's so bad that, when I towel off after a shower, I can't tell if my skin is still damp from water or sweat.  Last night, it was so hot that I got out of bed to take a shower at 3 AM.

I hate wearing clothes.  It takes me such a long time to get ready for anything because I can't bear the thought of anything touching my skin.  I think I'll just refuse to go anywhere where I can't wear shorts or loose dresses.  Of course, it doesn't help that most of my clothes are black.  Urgh.

On the bright side, my skin is back to being properly hydrated.  After Iran, it was so parched that, for the first time ever, I bought a body scrub to slough away the dry skin.  After two days of scrubbing, and with the intense humidity, I think my skin is almost back to normal.

But, in the heat of the moment, I've decided to TRY doing some raw food version of the Paleo diet, and maybe just have one cooked meal a day.  (Yeah, right.)  Seriously, it's too hot to keep eating meat.  I ignored lunch today, which was lechon, and I NEVER ignore lechon.  I had two oranges instead.  (WTF, right?)

Now, I'm snacking on the trail mix I put together in Iran (walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazel nuts, pistachios, dried apricots, raisins), and maybe I'll have the maid boil some eggs before I leave for kettlebell/Krav Maga.

I hope this "resolve" lasts at least a week.  Fuck, what am I talking about?  I hope it lasts the day!  I'm just not hungry now because I went into a food coma last night from too much Japanese food and ice cream.

Anyway, in the unlikely event that I do push through with this highly restrictive diet, I can't let it be too restrictive now, can I?  Usual exceptions will apply (traveling, any of my food group's events - which has now been expanded to include anything that involves any of my fellow foodies involved in that food group, new restaurants - er... which also has been expanded to include old restaurants I haven't been to in at least a year and any items on the menu I haven't tried).

Good grief.  I'm such a fake.

It's so freakin' hot!

***

27 April 2012

Update:  Well, that lasted all of two days.  Not a bad effort.  But the raw food thing was too hard to sustain so I decided to just get back to doing proper Paleo (hence today's post) - yes, minus all the clauses.  But I had two days to go absolutely bonkers before starting the diet.  Hehe...

My Emotional Rescue?

It's been one emotional roller coaster ride of a week.

And I've been comfort eating.  Eek!

Last night, I was in need of a milkshake and a girlfriend.  Sandy was sweet enough to indulge me.  We went to Lugang Cafe for their peanut smoothie, on the recommendation of a Facebook foodie-friend.

Lugang Cafe's monster of a peanut smoothie.  Sandy and I couldn't finish it.

Very peanuty, but not quite what I had in mind.  It was more of a sorbet than a shake and I wanted something with enough lactic acid to make me explode.

We went to Charlie's.

I love love looooove Charlie's.  I still think that they have the best burgers in town.  And then there's their cheesesteaks, hotdogs, fries...  And their milkshakes.

I've always gone to the original diner at Kapitolyo but, last night, Sandy took me to the new branch along Ortigas Avenue so that I could check out the new, funky, artsy building where it is housed.  

The Ronac Art Center along Ortigas Avenue.  (Internet file photo.)

Very hip and happenin', for sure.

But I really just wanted a milkshake.  Okay, and a hotdog.  And some duck fat-fries.  No?  Okay, I'll have the truffle fries, please

Did I mention that I had just had dinner?

It's been that kind of week.

But I have been working out!  Here's what I did:

• Tuesday:  FTX (two sets scaled-down Gladiator's Zone)
• Thursday:  FTX (one set each: Chairman's Express, FTX Express, Strongman)

• Friday:  FTX (two sets Marvin's Extreme Express)

• Saturday:  Krav Maga (two sessions:  10:30 AM  to 12:00 PM, 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM)

That may look like it should be enough exercise for the week, but not with the way I've been eating.

I should be getting back on track tomorrow, but I have a long, boozey lunch date that may extend to the next morning, and then, on Tuesday, it's the ninth day of the novenas for my late uncle and my aunt is having her nephew-chef cook us an amazing dinner, and then, later on in the week, it's my dad's 70th birthday and that can only mean more eating.

Must.  Learn.  To manage.  Food.

I can't breathe.

Kangoo Jumps at FTX

So I managed to drag myself to FTX yesterday, despite feeling ill after my visa appointment with the French Embassy.  I was feeling so bad that I only did two super scaled-down sets of Gladiator's Zone.

I'm not sure what it was.  Maybe the combination of a highly emotionally-charged day, running around in the rain, freezing in an air-conditioned room, the lack of sleep and poor nutrition.  (Since my uncle died, I've been eating whatever is on hand when I'm hungry, which means a lot of stuff that I am not supposed to have.)  So energy levels were very low and I was almost sure I was going to pass out.

Just as I was about to hit the locker room, I asked about the strange-looking boots I'd been seeing around the gym.  They look like some droids in a Star Wars movie might be missing some footwear.

(Internet file photo.)

They're "rebound shoes" called "Kangoo Jumps", I was told.  Developed by a Swiss engineer, they're designed to cushion the impact running has on the body's joints, especially the knees.  (They supposedly absorb 80% of the shock on the joints.)

(Internet file photo.)

Reijo, one of FTX's master instructors, got me into the shoes.  They felt like ski boots around the ankles so I definitely needed his help getting up.  Holding onto him, we walked around the gym a little.  When I was comfortable, he let go and I could jog in them, but I found them too heavy to do the side-to-side kicks he wanted me to do.  He said I was too light for that pair, so he got me into another one (a pink one - yikes!) and, this one, I could run in.  But instead of landing with the ball of the foot first and then the heel, he wanted me to run with the full foot hitting the floor.  It was pretty cool.  I liked the spring on them.  I tried it out for a while and worked up a good sweat.

Reijo said he ran 10 k. in them.

Kangoo Jumps are only available at FTX.  They're P14,000 a pair.  If I ran, and if I had the cash to spare, I'd buy them.  Hell, I'd buy them even if I don't run.

They're pretty cool.  I'd probably wear them at concerts or anywhere where I'd need more than five-inch heels to see above people's heads. 

 

 (Uh, please shoot me if you ever see me wearing shorts like those.)

Eight Days

I finally worked out for the first time this month.

But, I swear, I had every intention to work out.  Everyday!  Well, almost everyday.

Let me explain...

1 March, Thursday
It all started when I went to meet Teresa.  She was in town from the States and was leaving in a few days, and she was looking to sell her apartment in Salcedo Village.  Since I hadn't seen her in ages and I'm sortakinda in the market for an apartment, we set up a meeting.  I told her I had an appointment (with the gym) at 3 PM.  She said she could meet me at 2.

She was late.

And then she asked her driver to get us some beer.  I should have known that that was the beginning of the end.

A few beers turned into 5:30 AM in a Black Hole somewhere with a much larger and stranger cast of characters involved.

2 March, Friday
Which meant that anything the next day of was out of the question.  I crawled out of bed for lunch and then, later on in the afternoon, tried to look semi-human for my niece's baptism.  It obviously didn't work as my cousins kept saying how tired I looked.  (Ya think?)

Despite my tiredness, my insomnia still kept me up that night.

3 March, Saturday
But, as the sun was coming up on Saturday, I went to meet Rosan and her Austrian energy healer-friend, Moni Platt, for the trek up Taal Volcano.

That trek should count as exercise.  So I'm not such a hopeless slacker after all.  (Small hooray.)

Taal Volcano's crater.  The famous lake within a volcano within a lake within a Doonesbury cartoon panel.  (I made that last one up, just in case you didn't know.)

I had climbed Taal twice before and wasn't impressed but, for some reason, I thought that, if I joined Rosan's group, that maybe we'd take a different route up the volcano or that we'd go to the crater or just do something that I hadn't done before.  I assumed that Rosan, Ms. Outdoor Adventure herself, had been up Taal before, and I couldn't imagine why anyone in their right mind would ever voluntarily want to do that again.

Apparently, that was a first for her.  And the same old, sun-drenched dusty trail for me.

Faaaark.  Why do I keep forgetting that it's a volcano, not a mountain?  Not only is it hot, it's steaming!

Rosan and I at the summit's lookout point.

So that completely wiped me out.

And yet the insomia persisted.

This isn't entirely true.  For me, at least.  While I can - and do - wake up, if I lack sleep, it's just a little harder to find the courage to get up and work out as I should.

4 March, Sunday
On Sunday afternoon, I left with BFF, Susan, for Cebu because (A) she had just gotten back from Oz and we had a lot of catching up to do, and (B) it was her birthday the next day.

Although I didn't have anything planned that day, I needed time to "acclimitize" to Cebu.  So I spent the evening writing till very late.  And, when I still couldn't sleep, I played FreeCell.  (I rue the day that someone told me that there was a FreeCell iPhone app.  It has since replaced Sudoku as my favorite iPhone game and, because I have it set to the hardest setting - only one free cell - it is constantly driving me bonkers.)

BUT - just as I had brought all my gym stuff with me when I went to meet Teresa - in Cebu, I brought my swimsuit, my swim cap and goggles, and I sent a message to the swim coach saying that I would be at the pool everyday at 6 AM.

Well-intentioned, I tell ya.

5 March, Monday
At 12 o' clock the next day, it was obvious that that wasn't happening.

I met with the maid (- I am hardly ever in Cebu so I don't get to chance to inspect the house often) and then I did the groceries and had lunch with Nicolas, who had just returned from Siargao.

(For those of you who just tuned in, Nicolas is my boyfriend.  He's French and lives in Cebu.  I live in Manila, sort of.  And we're building a house in Siargao.)

After lunch, I rushed off to Harold's Hotel, where Sue was staying, to babysit Lily, her five-year old, so that the Birthday Girl could have some quality Me Time to herself.

Now, babysitting may not be CrossFit but it does require a lot of energy.  And I do mean A LOT.  Lily and I jumped up and down the bed (-- Ssssssh!  Don't tell!), played hide and seek, sang nursery rhymes, argued about crayons, and tried to put a Lego truck together.

It's a good thing Sue gave her daughter advanced notice that her Tita Gai is just as much of a kid as she is.  Although a tad bigger.

Then we found somebody else to sit Lily and took off for a nice, girlie dinner at Anzani.  Yes, I stuck to the Paleo diet, although I did have to have a slice of Sue's birthday cake and the complimentary cocktail that the Anzani's attentive waitstaff so kindly offered.

Me, Susan and Christine Wong at Anzani.

6 March, Tuesday
Early the next morning, ever so slightly hungover, I hopped on a ferry for Bohol.  But not before I threw some short ribs and carrots into a crockpot for that evening's dinner.  (See full recipe here.)

My favorite recycled clothes designer (and the only one that I know), Maria Villanueva, moved to Bohol a year ago.  I first met her at the Legaspi Sunday Market where I used to buy some of her unique, deconstructed creations.  I, eventually, asked her to make some clothes for me for Burning Man and absolutely loved them.  Soon, I was bringing her bags full of old shirts and dresses that I wanted reworked.

On one of my visits to her at the Legaspi Market, Maria tried to sell me this odd-looking jacket.  And I like odd.  I'm big on odd.  But this was just a little too odd.  And, besides, I wanted to see what it looked like on me and she didn't have a mirror.

Maria told me that I could take the jacket home and that, if I didn't like it, I could return it the next weekend.  So I went to see a gay friend and asked him for his honest opinion about the jacket.  He was very kind.  He said I looked like a trendy clubber.  From Guangzhou.

My apologies to anyone from Guangzhou who might stumble upon this and be offended.  I confess to never having been there and I'm sure it's a rockin' city that it is very fashion forward but, that's just it, the jacket was a bit too fashion forward.  If it were making a statement, that statement would have been "Misunderstood".  I returned it the next weekend.

So now, I've come to refer to Maria's clothes as "The Guangzhou Collection".  I absolutely love them but not everyone gets them.  They certainly raise a lot of eyebrows.  Especially those belonging to my mom and to Nicolas.

Anyway, on this particular trip to Bohol, I went to visit Maria to collect the clothes I had her deconstruct for me a year ago.

If it isn't obvious yet, Maria is a very colorful hippie chick so, yes, she is a vegetarian, and, yes, she's a single mom home-schooling two, really cool teen-aged skater boys.  I actually really enjoy hanging out with her and her kids.

But, yes, I did say "vegetarian" and, yes, I did have to partake of a vegetarian meal that was set before me.  It was white rice and a veggie meat stew.  Not very Paleo, I know, but I couldn't very well turn it down after Maria had gone to all the trouble of preparing it for me.  Anyhow, it falls under my travel clause free pass so I wasn't breaking any of my rules.

Of course, I probably didn't have to eat as much as I did.  But that was some tasty veggie meat, I have to say.

After lunch, I took the ferry back to Cebu, had those excellent crockpot ribs for dinner, then hoofed it to the airport with Nicolas for a late night, unscheduled flight back to Manila.  (Nicolas wanted to fly back to Paris immediately to be with his ailing father, so I booked our flights back to Manila and had our Siargao tickets for the weekend refunded.)

7 March, Wednesday
Back in Manila, the next day, Nicolas was supposed to pick up some important document and then fly out to Paris.  Which meant that I thought I'd be home in no time, not stuck in some hotel in Makati for two WHOLE days.  Which meant that the only clothes I had packed along with me were the latest Guangzhou Collection.

As it would turn out, the document wasn't in Manila.  It had been sent to Cebu.  Last week.

Right.

After various maneuverings and a whole lot of phone calls, we managed to get the document back to Manila that same evening but, of course, it also meant that Nicolas had a front row seat - the entire time - to my Guangzhou runway show.  Let's just say eyebrows were nearly permanently aloft.

8 March, Friday
After all the drama over the document, we decided to spend the next day - Nicolas' last day in Manila -just hanging out.

And it's not as if I could stroll into a gym and work out in any of my Guangzhou outfits anyway.  Besides, I didn't have any shoes and FTX, where I work out in Makati, requires shoes.

That evening, Nicolas finally flew out to Paris and I finally went home and got out of my Guangzhou clothes.

That was yesterday.

9 March, Today
So, today, I finally worked out for the first time this month.  (I did kettlebells and Krav Maga).

I guess you can say I've been busy.

Fine-Tuning FTX

I knew something was up as soon as I entered FTX yesterday.  There were different people behind the reception desk and there were too many "good afternoon"s going around.  Notably from the guys whom I suspected worked there but acted like they didn't.

I deposited my stuff in the locker then went to the gym.  The receptionist followed me, then signaled to Dennis, one of the instructors, to look after me.   Something was definitely amiss.

Since he was talking to someone else and I didn't want to interrupt, I told them I didn't need an instructor and just needed the folder with details of the different circuits.  Dennis came over anyway and pointed me to a pin board on the wall where - lo and behold - there they were:  laminated workout cards.

At first I wasn't sure if Dennis had told FTX about my idea (since I had discussed it with him before) or if the FTX powers-that-be had read my blog.

"So you don't like Justin Bieber," Dennis teased.

They read the blog.

But Dennis thanked me for the constructive criticism and for helping them improve.  My pleasure.  "Except that you guys forgot to print the warm-up behind each card," I told him.  "The idea is to wean the clients off their dependence on you."

Still, it was a step in the right direction.

I did Gladiator's Zone again.

But instead of doing three sets, I did two other circuits, choosing the ones that didn't involve any kettlebells.  I did Tita Cora's Circuit for my second set, but increased the reps to 20.

For my third set, I did Chairman's Express.

I'm glad FTX is open to suggestions on how they can improve.

They could definitely still work on their instructors' orientation skills.  For instance, I noticed that one of the boxing instructors who also helps out at the gym, didn't properly brief a newbie-client. He didn't show him the board or explain the different circuits.  He just announced, "We're doing 'Lose Big Now'".  The client looked irritated since he couldn't understand what the trainer was trying to say.

I just hope that Chelu starts using his voucher while I still have some sessions left (- I have four more to go, Chelu!) so that I can give him a proper briefing and he'll feel confident using the equipment around the gym when he goes on his own.

Making Mountains...

I don't know how I got it into my head that I wanted to climb a mountain.  It's not like I've ever been the outdoorsy type.  God knows I hate bugs.  And I don't think I've ever slept in a sleeping bag in my entire life.

Yet, somehow, I got it into my head, a year or two ago, that I wanted to climb Mount Apo.  No great feat.  I hear it's an easy climb and can be done in a day, if you are so inclined.  (Har.)  Still, it is the highest elevation in the Philippines (at 2,954 meters above sea level).  And I've never climbed a mountain before.

I made some noise about it to my friends and made inquiries with some mountaineers I know from Davao, but I couldn't get a group together so I didn't actively pursue it.

In keeping with my congenital indolence, I believe that if something is meant for me, it will find me.  (No, not the other way around.)

So when Rosan sent me an email about climbing Mt. Pulag, I immediately said yes.

Of course, I didn't know squat about Mt. Pulag, except how to spell it which is all you really need to Google anything.  Sometimes, not even.  

As it turns out, Mt. Pulag isn't just some rinky dink mountain.  It's the highest peak in Luzon, and is ranked third in the Philippines (at 2,922 meters, after Mt. Dulang-Dulang in Bukidnon which is at 2,938 meters).  Of course, in the grand scheme of mountains, it would fall into the rinky dink category but let's not dwell on that, shall we?  I will never aspire to climb Everest (which, for comparison's sake, is at 8,848 meters).  Or anything above molehill category.

Continuing our education about Mt. Pulag...

The mountain has been declared a National Park to protect the flora and fauna endemic to it, like the dwarf bamboo (- according to Wikipedia, the mountain is host to "528 documented plant species"), the Philippine deer, and - whoa, Nelly - FOUR SPECIES OF THE CLOUD RAT.

Okay, no one said anything about rats.

I cleared the leeches issue at the pre-climb briefing tonight (no, we don't have to worry about leeches and, yes, I did three sets of Gladiator's Zone at FTX this afternoon), but no one said anything about rats.  Four different PROTECTED species of them too.

<GAG>

You know how Ace Ventura feels about bats?

 

Well, that's how I feel about rats.  I don't care if their white or striped or are called guinea pigs or cloud rats, if they're rodents, they're disgusting.

(Deep breathely...)

GAAAAH!!!!!

Okay, I'm sure I won't see them.  It's not like they'll be actively seeking me out.  I'll leave my trail mix for them outside the tent.  Over at Mt. Apo.

Goddamit.

Pfft.

ANYWAY...

The climb seems to be a piece of cake.

Mt. Pulag's well-worn trail.  (Internet file photo.)

According to Jay, the organizer whom we met at dinner tonight, the harshest thing we'll have to deal with (apart from peeing in the dark with cloud rats around), is the cold.

The campsite at night.  Note shadow of a family of cloud rats getting ready to move into the yellow tent.  (Internet file photo.)

So far, I think I'm ready.  I've borrowed most everything I need.  All I need to do is unearth fleece and sweaters, then pack it all up.

We leave by bus, Friday night, for Baguio and should be back in Manila in the wee hours of the morning on Monday.

Oh yes, I think I just committed to climbing the three highest peaks in Luzon, Visayas (Mt. Canlaon in Negros at 2,435 meters) and Mindanao (Mt. Apo).  Doh!

 

If I Were Managing FTX...

I would:

1.  Endorse each client to a trainer.  It would make such a difference if the receptionist would take a few seconds out of her busy texting schedule to pop her head into the gym and call out to one of the guys, "X, please take care of  Ms. Y.  Ms. Y, X will be your trainer today."

2.  Instruct the trainers that if they see any client on their own, to approach them, ask if they've already been attended to and offer their services.  A much better approach than, say, just lounging around and ignoring the clients.

3.  And, to wean the clients off their dependence on the trainers, some printed, laminated cards would help.  I suggest 10 cards per workout, with the warm-up and cool-down printed on the other side.  Each workout card should contain the following information:

• The name of the circuit,
• Recommended number of sets,
• The exercises and number of reps per exercise.

For example:

Gladiator's Zone

Recommended no. of sets:  2 to 3

• 2 minute sprint on treadmill
• 15 ring chest presses
• 15 pull-ups
• 15 box jumps
• 15 deadlifts
• 1-minute KRANKcycle
• 1-minute rope (See below.)
• 12 sandbag shoulder
• 15 suspended tucks
• 15 bungee cord sprint and reach  

4.  Have some cubby holes built for the laminated cards so that clients can easily pick out what they need.

It really doesn't take much to be more efficient.

My experience at FTX is always the same.

At the counter, I'll ask the receptionist if there's a trainer that can attend to me.  She'll say yes and give me a locker key.  So I'll go and stuff my things into the locker, come back out, and wait around for a trainer.  When no one approaches, I'll try to catch the eye of one of the trainers in the gym.  They'll give me blank stares but won't even acknowledge my presence.

In the meantime, there are guys sitting and standing around who also seem to work there but are maybe off-duty or are supposed to do anything but help a client.  One of them might be the owner or manager, I'm not sure, but he stands behind the counter sometimes and I've seen him assisting a client in the gym.  The others are maybe boxing coaches or personal trainers, but I've also seen them assisting clients around the gym.  None of them have ever offered to help.

Anyway, so I'll go into the gym and warm-up a little, still hopeful that someone will soon approach.  Of course nobody does, so I'll go up to one of the trainers who is busy with a client (at least I'm sure he's supposed to be working) and ask him if he could tell me what I'm supposed to do.

That's what I hate the most.  Not knowing what I'm supposed to do.  And, of course, taking the trainer away from a client he's already working with is rude and they shouldn't be putting me in that position.  It's pretty infuriating.

And this is why I cannot recommend FTX.  Especially to those who are new at working out.  Because their service sucks.  I don't know if gym owners and managers are aware of this but people joining a gym for the first time are, normally, intimidated by the whole experience.  Just showing up for them is already a big deal.  So it's up to the gym staff to make them feel at ease.  And the staff at FTX are really nice.  But getting their attention's a bitch.

I've also learned my lesson when it comes to ordering their whey protein shakes.  You have to let them know in advance.  Otherwise, they may not have the ingredients that they need and you'll have to wait while they send someone over to the nearest Mini-Stop for some bananas or something.

Good grief.

Yesterday, when I told one of the trainers that they should have the warm-up written down somewhere so that I wouldn't have to bother him with it, he told me that they did have it written down.  "It's in the folder," he said.

"Um, what folder?"

He pointed towards the DJ's booth.  Yes, they have a DJ whom I would say plays pretty good music except that he played Justin Bieber yesterday so, no, he sucks.

Sure enough, there it was.  A folder containing all the necessary information about the warm-up and the different workouts.  I'm not sure who this folder is for.  The trainers, perhaps?  Because, if it's for the clients, then why didn't anyone they tell me about it before?

Anyway, I bogarted the folder, chose one of the workouts and followed it on my own, only approaching one of the trainers if I was unfamiliar with an exercise or needed help with the equipment.

Because of this, I finally had a good session at FTX on my own.

I did "Gladiator's Zone" which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I got to work out with the rope which I had never done before.  It was a tough one.

 

It was also the first time I worked out with a bungee cord.  That was fun.

The sandbags are still new to me too.  I only used them once before during another session at FTX.  What a killer.  I'm not sure what weight the trainer gave me but, for the second set, I chose a lighter sandbag.  Still, doing that and the tucks immediately after totally wiped me out.  I stopped at two sets.

I felt really good afterwards though.

I later told one of the trainers about my idea of the laminated cards and he liked it.  He said he'd be training some guys for three months and they still couldn't manage on their own.

If FTX could just get its act together, it could really be a fun gym.  It's a cool little space and they have all this new, fun stuff to play with.  Their trainers are so-so (I saw one girl doing a sad-looking Turkish get-up but no one bothered to correct her form) but, if you aren't new to working out, it could be the perfect, little neigborhood gym.

Figuring Out FTX

Oncologist buddy, Dennis Doromal, and I bought the same groupon pass for ten sessions at this new gym in Salcedo Village, Makati so I invited him to check it out with me this afternoon, in spite of a heavy night of dancing and double vodkas on the rocks.  (Chelu, whom I gave a pass to for his birthday, was tired and sent his regrets.)

The Reception.  (All photos c/o Dennis Doromal.)

We met at the Salcedo Park and walked into FTX (Fitness Exchange) together.  We immediately liked the funky interiors.  It's a small gym and I can imagine it can get quite crowded during peak hours.  They have one room for their yoga and dance classes, and another room for boxing and martial arts.  The main area contains the equipment for their 15 "signature" circuit training workouts.

While we were excited about the place, my initial impression wasn't very good as the receptionist and the instructors didn't do a very good job of orienting us about the gym and its facilities.  Well, come to think of it, there was no orientation at CrossFit or Plana FORMA either.  Maybe I just expect the courtesies of the bigger gyms like Fitness First and Gold's Gym, where they take you on a quick tour and explain how things work.  I was at CrossFit for what? - six months? - and I still don't know if they provide locker keys.  (I never used a locker and always just left my stuff on a bench.)

But I guess what ticked me off with FTX was that the receptionist was inattentive.  First of all, she took care of the concerns of some foreigner who arrived after us before attending to us.  Then when we asked her about what we were supposed to do, she said that an instructor would take care of us.  ('See, I don't think we should have even asked.  That information should have been volunteered.)

We could plainly see that the two instructors were busy and were kept waiting until I called the receptionist's attention to it (I don't know what she was busy with but she always had her head down and didn't even notice that we were waiting), and it was only then that she called one of the instructors to attend to us and she took over addressing the concerns of someone inquiring about packages.

Later, when I informed her that the toilet was out of toilet paper, she told me, like I was stupid, that the paper was in that rolling thingamajig.  "Yes, I know that but it's still out of paper."  She went and checked first - I guess to make sure that I wasn't lying - before replacing the paper.  And, even then, she forgot the key to unlock the rolling thingamajig so it took her a while to get the job done.

The instructors, although friendly, didn't bother to ask for our names or introduce themselves and I thought they were a bit sloppy in their instruction.  Then again, they had to individually address the needs of everyone in the gym so I guess they were spread a little too thin and did the best that they could under the circumstances.

In the end, though, because we had a good workout and were on a post-workout high, I quickly forgot my initial impressions.

Until now, that is.

;-)

Our passes were for the circuit training and the two trainers tag-teamed in instructing us.

We started with a warm up that included mountain climbers, lunges and high kicks so we were already out of breath after those.

We were told that we would start with a program called "Lose Big Now", described on their website as "FTX’s total body workout that burns fat optimally and, at the same time, increases basal metabolic expenditure (BME).  Chest, abs, arms, back, and legs are shaken with occasional visits to the cardio zones."  More importantly, it was supposed to acquaint us with the different training "zones" around the gym and the various equipment that they featured.

So we used rings for chest presses, strange-looking blue "barbells" for deadlifts, a contraption similar to TRX for bicep curls and rows.  We did squats while hanging onto bars, squat cleans with sandbags, then got sent to the rowing machine for two minutes (- if I am not mistaken, I rowed 429 m.).  We also had to do burpees (- Damn!  I thought I was done with those!) into dumbbell overhead lifts and sit-ups on gym balls.

The instructor could tell that I wasn't a stranger to exercise so he assumed Dennis also knew what he was doing and would leave us to attend to other clients.  So I had to show Dennis how to do the kettlebell swing (- this being our first session, I only used the 12-kilo kettlebell; Dennis used a lighter bell) and I would have corrected his cleans (he was doing reverse curls) but he was already straining with the sandbags so I didn't bother.  Reverse curls are a good exercise anyway.

Although I'm not very strong, most of the time, I do have good form - at least, when I don't have to do too many reps or compete with others for time (in other words, when I am not doing CrossFit, har) - and I can transition from one exercise to the next without needing much rest.  When I was doing TRX, trainer, Reema Chanco, had to tell her students not to keep up with my pace after one of them ended up having to sit out the rest of the class after she felt dizzy and faint from trying to keep up with me.  I kept telling Dennis to take his time, and I was speeding things up anyway because I wanted to finish before him so I could help him out with his form but, well, he wasn't keeping count so he'd finish whenever I'd finish, even though sometimes he'd start when I was already halfway through a set.

We only did one set of each exercise.  We did either 12 or 20 reps, depending on the difficulty of the exercise.  Except for the kettlebell swings.  We did 40 of those.  The circuit was fun and I still had enough energy at the end to practice some one-arm kettlebell swings and box jumps.

Afterwards, one of the instructors stretched and massaged us with a medicine ball which is always a nice treat.    

Dennis, waiting for his turn to be stretched.

We felt great after the workout and would have gotten our whey protein shakes from FTX's little snack counter but we didn't know whom to approach (the receptionist, as usual, had her head down and the instructors were busy) so we walked to Greenbelt instead.  Dennis lives somewhere in the area and I had to do some shopping anyway.

I'm still not sure how the other FTX sessions will proceed but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

One down, nine more to go!

 ***

Some things to note:

• They are open from 6 AM to 10 PM, Mondays to Saturdays and from 8 AM to 8 PM on Sundays.
• Because the gym is small and they do not have too many instructors, I suggest going during non-peak hours.  Peak hours are from 5 to 8 PM on weekdays.
• There is only one toilet for both men and women, although there are separate shower stalls for both sexes.
• They provide drinking water, locker keys and small towels.  Well, the receptionist said that they provide small towels but she didn't give us any so I guess you have to ask for one.  There are bath towels for rent for P30.
• Wear comfy workout clothes and shoes.