Desperate Measures

"Due to Lack of Interest, Today Has Been Cancelled."

The ennui is setting in.

I have about half a dozen drafts of blog posts that I can't finish.  Blog posts, for god's sake.  You'd think I was up for the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature.  I'm surprised I can even finish a sent...

I have been swimming everyday.  Well, except last Thursday.  But I really must get out and do other things.  I did bike a little last Wednesday.  And a few kettlebell swings last Saturday.  (Not enough to warrant a massage, apparently.)  And the TRX is off the shelf.  (And on the floor.)  I just have to set up and use the bloody thing.

I'm blaming it on the rain.  We're coming to the end of Siargao's rainy season and I guess we should welcome the rain while we can.  God knows it won't be long before I'll be blaming it on the heat.

Yeah, I'm going back to sleep.

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HTFU!

I did it!  I finally did it!  After procrastinating for four days, I am now back at CrossFit.

I was actually dressed and ready to go twice last week and, one of those times, I was already out the door.  But I kept finding excuses not to go - my shorts were too short, it was too late, I thought I had sore eyes...  When the simple truth was that I was terrified of going back in the box.

I don't even remember when my last real workout was.  I would have to say that that would have to be my last real kettlebell session at the now defunct Phil. Kettlebell Training Center.  Which was too long ago.  (9 May 2012, going by my blog posts.  Everything I've done since then I consider play.)

And then, of course, I've been eating like a pig since Christmas.  (Weight as of 8 AM today:  56.6 kilos.  that's .6 up since I got back from Australia, and I am officially 1.6 kilos over my acceptable limit.)

Last Saturday, to ease myself into working out, I enrolled myself back in barre3.  It was just my luck that my first day back had to be at an advanced class.  Needless to say, there was no grace or fluidity in any of my movements as I clumsily struggled along.  It was hard not to notice since there were only three of us in the damned class.

Today, I thought I was ready for CrossFit.  Until I finally got to the Libis box which, apparently, had undergone some renovation.  New box, new coach, new faces.  I felt disoriented.  It's a good thing the receptionist recognized me and I saw two guys whom I knew from sessions past, so the banter helped ease my apprehension.

We practiced the hang snatch.

 

I started with the 25-lb. bar then only ended up adding 7.5 lbs. to each side.  When I added the 10-lb. plates, I couldn't lift the barbell over my head.  Well, I did.  Once.  But I, more or less, pushed the weights over my head, instead of pulling it up, as required.

Metabolic conditioning WOD was 7 rounds of:

• 7 overhead squats (- I just used the 25-lb. bar)

 

• 7 burpees to box jump (18 in. box)

 

Trust me, I didn't look anything like that.

And then... there it was.  The feeling like you're heart is about to give out and death is close at hand...

But that's really just CrossFit for you.

I finished in 12:28.

Oh, I saw the Bootcamp WOD on the white board, and I'm not sure why the CrossFit MNL site says that it is "highly recommended for beginners intimidated by CrossFit" because it looked infinitely harder than the regular WOD.  I would only willingly join a CrossFit Bootcamp session if and when I've completely lost my mind.  Or after a year or so of doing regular WODs but, for now, I've only committed to a month of CrossFit.

I intend to go to CrossFit every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and barre 3 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday/Sunday. 

I also resumed Paleo today.

Gai Olivares is getting back on track.

Now if only I can get my blog posts up to speed as well...  (Yes, I realize I've been remiss.  Sorry about that.  However, if I can't backtrack, I can only move forward.  And that's how it might have to be.)

The Week in a Daze

My last five days in Siargao were a complete disaster.

First of all, I spoke too soon and the weather went from perfect to end-of-days pretty quickly.  Also, I got the body pain that I had been craving and couldn't do more than swim on Monday and Tuesday.  And have massages.  On Wednesday, however, I cranked it up again and went running (2km. only since it started to rain), biking (10.3 km.), then I did three sets of 20 two-hand kettlebell swings (16 kg.) and went swimming (20 laps x 32 m.).  I never did get to do taekwondo again as Dominic got busy with holiday guests at Buddha's Surf Resort, where he works part-time.

Food-wise, even my maids didn't even bother to pretend that I was on some diet or fast anymore and stopped bringing me my morning green smoothies, the cheeky bastards.  Well, their excuse was that they knew I wasn't sleeping much and they didn't want to wake me so early, in case I had finally fallen asleep.  Good thinking, ladies.  Gotta love 'em.

On Monday, I gave in to my burger craving and invited some friends over for lunch, to help me partake in what I call "Gai's Dirty Burgers" - bacon-cheese beef burgers, topped with mushrooms, onions, more bacon and melted cheese.

I had two for lunch on Monday and one for lunch on Tuesday.  <groan>

On Wednesday, I invited another set of friends over, for dinner this time, and, while I didn't eat too much (- a whale doesn't eat too much compared to these guys), I more than made up for it in alcohol.  Let's see...  We started off with wine and a shot of Patron XO.  Then we moved to a restaurant where they had more food, the pigs, and I had beer, tequila out of my flask, some drink that some guys donated to our table, more beer...

I was dead the next day.  I felt so sick, I couldn't even eat.  Really!  When I can't eat bacon and eggs, especially when I'm hungover, then I must be seriously ill.  

The weather went from bad to worse and, although I love swimming in the pool in stormy weather, there was just no way I could get in the pool and hope to live.  I didn't bother swimming either the next day, before leaving for Cebu.

In Cebu, I declared myself officially on holiday from my madness, and began my REAL descent to madness.

Since then, it's been unrestrained eating and drinking, with absolutely no exercise apart from hands-in-the-air-woo-hoo dancing.

I got back to Manila yesterday afternoon and am still in a bit of a daze.

Weight as of 8 AM this morning:  52.7 kilos.

The Week in Review

FOOD AND DRINK

Last week, I only did IF three times before finally giving up.  I think it's because I'm bored.  I'm isolated with a snail-paced internet connection and no books.  I don't know how I managed to read so many books off my iPhone 3G before (back when Stanza still worked), but I've been trying to read using the Kindle app on my laptop and I can't do it.  It doesn't feel like I'm reading a book and I lose interest very quickly.

So I find my mind wandering to food and what's in the fridge that I can eat or what's in the freezer that I can cook.  Last Monday, I made chili and hotdogs, which went down very nicely with a few bottles of red.  Then, on Wednesday, after having leftover crepes, I decided to try the local pizza that everyone's been talking about.  I've been told it's somewhere near the church in GL, and I don't know what it's called but I have their number (+63-918-338-8961) and, apparently, they deliver.

Thin crust pizza (- yes, there's a thick crust choice, but I've been told the thin crust is better) with bacon, ham and extra cheese, please!

I didn't have to wait too long.  The pizza cost P135, the extra cheese P20, and the delivery P50.  Excellent!  It wasn't the best pizza on the planet (- the tomato sauce is a bit too sweet for me, but it wouldn't be a local pizza if it wasn't, would it?), but it wasn't bad either, and now I'm curious to try it when it's fresh out of the oven.  I ate it like sandwiches and wolfed down the lot of it.  Yes, on my own.

I tried to make up for it that evening by having only raw food for dinner, but then I went out and partied like a frat boy, stumbling back home at six the next morning.

When Nicolas arrived on Friday, I ditched IF completely and ended up joining him for every meal.

Last Saturday night, I decided to put my brain cells to the test and see if I could remember how to make one of my favorite French dishes, oeufs en meurette (eggs poached in red wine sauce).

I first tried it in a restaurant in Paris, but the dish is really from Burgundy, where one of Nicolas' sisters also happens to live.  A few years ago, we went to visit her, and her husband, who - ahem! - also happens to work at Chassagne-Montrachet, made us his home-cooked version, which was excellent.  He introduced us to a couple who, later, visited us in Siargao and they taught me how to do a local version of oeufs en meurette, which I was able to replicate successfully several times.  But since I've been, well, jobless and homeless for the past two years, I haven't been cooking much (- I think the last time I made it was for some friends in San Francisco two years ago) and was worried that I had forgotten how to make it.

Like the chili, I decided to make this using all-natural ingredients (- only real tomatoes for the chili, and no flour to thicken the red wine sauce and no chicken cube for added flavor).  It turned out pretty well.  It could have used more onions and I could have watered down the wine a bit more, but I think I, more or less, remember the recipe.

Tonight, I'm going to let Nicolas try the tahdig with potato.

EXERCISE

While I swam everyday this week, on Friday, it occurred to me that it was my last week in Siargao and, although it's supposed to be the rainy season, we've had nothing but glorious weather with a beautiful, unending sky of blue since the storm, and I had been wasting all that time cooped up inside my room.  I got on my el-cheapo, brake-less, gear-less bike, and with Alice in Chains in my ears, rode to GL and back (total of around 10.3 km).

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed biking!  There's still that tricky section where they're concreting the road (- such a shame!) and I arrived back home all splattered in mud, but I had the biggest grin on my face.

On Saturday, Dominic showed up here before 8 AM and I was forced to do taekwondo, even though I was exhausted from another night of battling insomnia.  I still had a good workout though and, afterwards, invited Dominic to join me for breakfast of fresh fruits with mint and coconut milk.

Today, I went running (4 km., 35:55), biking (10.3 km.) and I did three sets of 20 two-hand kettlebell swings (16 kg.), all before 8:40 AM.  Of course, while on my way back from the bike ride, I stopped to text one of the girls:  "Please make me a bacon, potato, onion and basil omelette."  You gotta love technology!

I would have gone to taekwondo at the Pink House in GL at 3 PM, but Dominic said the waves were looking good and he wanted to go for a surf.  We rescheduled for early tomorrow morning back here instead.

I'm still going for a swim though...

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The Week in Workouts

• Monday:  running (4 km., 31:45)
• Tuesday - taekwondo
• Wednesday - P90X (Chest and Back - very lite), swimming
• Thursday - taekwondo, swimming
• Friday - swimming
• Saturday - running (2 km., 16:00), swimming
• Sunday - swimming

Yes, I've resumed running.  My hip's still shot but I get bored working out by myself indoors, so what's a little pain, right?

But I am stretching now, and I walk the 100-150 meters to the first kilometer marker to warm up and then, again, going back to cool down.

I wussed out yesterday though after eating a big serving of raw avocado chia lime pudding, and only ran 2 km.

I've also finally worked up the courage to start swimming.  'See, the pool is in front of the house, which is under construction, which means that there are workers there almost all the time.  I've started swimming at 5 PM everyday, at the end of the work day and, instead of hanging around the site, now, the workers make themselves scarce when I am in the pool.

I only swim for about 30 minutes, but will try to push it to an hour next week.

And then there's that pathetic attempt at P90X.  Geez.  I haven't done an upper body workout in ages and I'm weaker than ever.  I think I only did 10 push-ups per set, and I still cheated on some.  For instance, I can't do a proper diamond push-up to save my life.

Twice, I tried swinging the 16 kg. kettlebell and I can't even do one-hand swings with it anymore!  So sad, when that's what I was swinging before.

What I really enjoy is taekwondo.  Dominic is a really good instructor and works me hard.  I think he's impressed by how high I can kick (the advantage of having long legs) and, sometimes, Janette gets winded by the drills and has to sit some of them out, so Dominic tends to work more with me.

We get a good cardio workout from all the kicking and we stretch three times, with Dominic constantly pushing us past our limits.  It's not uncommon to hear Janette and me screaming in pain during the warm-up.

Hopefully, we'll get in more sessions in the next two weeks.

***

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Highs and Lows

I finally dragged my lazy ass out of the house and made it to Krav Maga!  I did two sessions too!

Well, I was supposed to meet John at 5:30 for P90X, but he was late and, by the time he got to the gym, the 5:30 PM Krav Maga session had started and we were in the middle of an interesting exercise.  And then Bjorn put us through the wringer in the last 15 minutes of the class and, by the time we were done, we were too exhausted to do P90X.  Well, they were too exhausted.  I did a few kettlebell swings between classes (20 reps with the 24-kilo bell, then 10 reps with the 28-kilo bell, and two sets of 20 hand-to-hand swings with the 30-lb. bell), and then some ab work with John and Mike.  I didn't want to do too much because - ahem - I'm scheduled to do the 10:30 AM Anti-Gravity Yoga class tomorrow.  (Yes, I'm determined to get some control back into my life.)

Then we went on to do the 7:30 PM Krav Maga class.

Bjorn is really an excellent instructor.  He handled very basic subjects today:  the fighting stance and the straight punch.  We've covered these subjects numerous times before, yet he always manages to come up with creative exercises to challenge us and make the lessons seem like new.

I came back home with that wonderful, crazy post-workout high, which I ruined, of course, by consuming a box of Choco Crunchies.

I know.  I feel gross.

There was some attempt to reel in the out-of-control eating at lunch today.  But the resolve quickly went slack at the mere mention of chocolate cake for dessert.

I thought I would make up for it tonight but, after dinner, I swear I could hear those damned cookies calling my name.  It is true.  If you don't have junk food at home, then you can't possibly eat it.  Unfortunately, I have it bursting out of the refrigerator's proverbial seams.

Sigh...

At least I've got that exercise thing going again.

Pfft.

Defying Gravity?

Normally, I'm the one dragging my friend, Sylvia, to boxing, barre3, or kettlebell training...  (Sylvia, by the way, is the one responsible for me starting this blog, so she's the one to either blame or thank for all of this.  I thank her.  Thank you, Sylvia!)

Last night, it was her turn to drag me out to try Anti-Gravity Yoga.  Apparently, she was having a bad day last week and ended up enrolling herself in three Anti-Gravity Yoga sessions while I was in Lisbon.  Last night, was her session no. 2, and she showed up with three friends in tow, me included.

I didn't mind.  I gained two kilos from Lisbon and I haven't worked out since forever.  Neither have I gone back to Paleo.  I've mostly been living on chocolate chip cookies.

Oh, and I tried a new restaurant the other night - Wildflour Cafe + Bakery.  Not bad...  We liked the salads, the ribs, the croque madame, and the desserts, particularly the peanut butter banana cream pie.

Former kettlebell and P90X buddy, John, asked me if I was going to Krav Maga earlier in the week, but I was still reeling from overall lack of sleep (- I can't tell insomnia from jet lag anymore), and the rains were discouraging.

So I was grateful to be dragged out for what was shaping up to be a girlie night out (- Sylvia's friend, Angelu, booked a restaurant, and Sylvia made appointments for foot massages after dinner).

I had first heard about Anti-Gravity Yoga from Monica Eleazar-Manzano, one of Beyond Yoga's instructors, whom I had met in Palawan while I was doing the raw food-yoga retreat at Bahay Kalipay.  (Beyond Yoga is the only studio in the Philippines offering Anti-Gravity Yoga.)

It sounded to me like Cirque du Soleil's JUKARI Fit to Fly, which I've been dying to try but is not yet in the Philippines.  I know FTX has its FLY Yoga, and Movement Dance Studio offers Aerial Silk.  I could be wrong but they all sound to me like they're cut from the same cloth.

So Anti-Gravity Yoga seemed like a good enough place to get acquainted with this sort of thing.  At P1000/session though, it's pretty steep, so we all got the first-timer package of P1500 for three sessions (to be used within a month).

We, newbies, were nervous, which was obvious by the chatter, the giggles, and the confusion with left and right, up and down, etc.  It didn't help that, the night before, Rosan told me a horror story about someone falling off the hammock and knocking out her front teeth.

Plus, I've never been comfortable with falling.  Which is why I sucked at learning how to ski, or to snowboard, or to surf.  I'd always jump off or make myself fall before I could really fall.  Stupid, right?  I hated doing back rolls when I was diving.  I preferred doing giant strides into the water.  If that wasn't an option, I'd ask someone to shove me off the boat, but not before hyperventilating and consuming almost half my air on board.  In Krav Maga, when we have to practice falling forwards or backwards, I always try to break the fall before I should.  So tumbling, back-flips...  No.  Not for me.

So it took me a while to feel comfortable with Anti-Gravity Yoga, and to trust in the safety of the gear.  One time, I wrapped by arms around the cloth so tight that I cut off their circulation.

During our first inversion, I hooked my feet around the fabric and was too freaked to loosen them to align my legs so that I ended up having one leg way up higher than the other and, no, you won't be seeing any pictures of those.

The other girls getting it right.  Left to right:  Bubbles, Angelu, and Sylvia.

Also, it wasn't always comfortable, especially when the hammock was at our hip bone and we had to balance our weight on it.

Woops!

But I, eventually, relaxed, and it became fun.  There were some exercises that were similar to TRX, but getting all wrapped up and twisted in the cloth was the best part of it.  The one I liked in particular was hooking the cloth around the shoulders and hanging upside down like bats.

Flipping out!

Downward dog, Anti-Yoga Gravity style.

"Looking good but not good looking!"  ;-)

Angelu, Sylvia, and Max hanging out.

Sylvia and Max had to sit out parts of the class when they felt faint, and Angelu got a bit claustrophobic while lying cocooned in the hammock during Savasana.

Max, Angelu, me, Bubbles, and Sylvia.  The instructor's the one in red at the back, whose name I forget...

But, all in all, we had a great time.  Of course, we pooh-poohed it and said it wasn't much of a workout but, today, there's an ache in my lats.  And my legs and my butt.  I wouldn't do it as a regular workout, especially since I can't afford it, but a once-a-week thing wouldn't be so bad.

Of course, after the class, we ate like there was no tomorrow at Ryu Ramen & Curry (- loved the food, but the service needs improvement) and had amazing foot massages at Beijing Foot Spa (- P500 for 70 minutes which included a head, hand and shoulder massage!!!).  Then - and this is why I really love living in the Philippines - we ordered frozen sangrias from this place in Blue Ridge, got the driver to pick it up, and girl-talked the whole night while scooping sangrias from a tub.

So, yeah, the yoga was really just an excuse to indulge.  Can't wait to do it again next week!

Please see the rest of the pics here.

***

Anti-Gravity Yoga Checklist:

• Fitted top that won't roll up when you're hanging upside down
• A T-shirt over it to avoid chafing your armpits
• Tight shorts or leggings
• Small towel
• Filled-up water bottle

***

Beijing Foot Spa

• Greenhills:  +63-2-695-3002, +63-932-883-8907
• Blue Ridge:  +63-2-912-9744, +63-922-833-8903
• Pasig:  +63-2-706-1678, +63-922-833-8902
• Quezon City:  +63-2-921-2156, +63-922-833-8909

Linea Sangria:  +63-917-850-7651

Continuing The Losing Streak...

Yup, only two days again this week.  Monday and Tuesday, Krav Maga.  I was supposed to go again last night but then I had a last-minute dinner date that last-minute canceled and then I had to finish the last blog entry and, well, then it was raining.  Sigh...

My friends think I've lost weight.  Muscle mass is more like it.  The last time I picked up a kettlebell was last July 11, when I did five sets of swings with the 28-kilo kettlebell.  Just to see if I could still lift one.  I did a few more exercises but, now that they've dissolved the kettlebell program and since the recent disbanding of the P90X coalition, I've been most uninspired.

Don't get me wrong.  I love Krav Maga but I also need a proper workout with resistance training and not just get beaten up.  (As I write this, I have bruises on my arms and legs, and my big toes haven't quite recovered from the last time I smashed them up.)

Anyway, I'm leaving on another trip tonight so out goes the diet and any more hope for exercise, although I will be doing a lot of walking and dancing while I am away.  Unfortunately, I will also be doing a lot of eating and drinking.

Will figure it all out when I get back.

From Bad to Worse

Well, this week was even worse than the last one.  I worked out twice, but only just.  I have a valid (sort of) reason for it, which I do not wish to disclose but, yes, it was pretty bad.  I could barely do ten swings of the 32-kilo kettlebell.  So, essentially, I just did Krav Maga (Monday and Thursday).  Blech.

I have a skinned finger though.  And all bruises are still in place, with a few new ones on my shins.  My big toes are possibly sprained; at the very least, they are threatening to sever themselves from the rest of my feet.  And there's a strange pain currently traveling between my chest and my back but I think it's happened before and I should be fine by the morning.

Ah, morning...  So far, I've only been managing to sleep in the mornings.  6 AM, 8 AM...

Just when I thought I was finally cured of insomnia.  I had been sleeping well.  I was feeling rested.  My skin was brighter and clearer.

And then, somehow, it all fell apart last week.  What the hell was going on last Wednesday or Thursday?  I'm not entirely sure...  Whatever it was has carried on to this week.

Knock it off already and let me sleep!

This morning, I fell asleep at 8 AM (and I had been trying since 2 AM) and woke up at 1 PM.

Ah, well.  I won't be losing any sleep over it.

;-)

The Week in Workouts

Okay, I'm pretty embarrassed that I only worked out twice last week.  I don't have a good excuse for it.  I got lazy, had other things to do, and there were a few good parties that I couldn't miss.

But I did work out like a freak.

Let's see, on Tuesday, seeing as I was on my own, I commandeered the empty, non-airconditioned room at the gym - so that I could scream and curse freely - trained an electric fan on me, turned up the volume of the iPod - and did 120 two-hand kettlebell swings and 120 burpees.  Broken down into 15/15, 14/14, 13/13, etc.

I screamed and cursed a lot.

I was choosing between the 28-kilo kettlebell and the 32-kilo one but Fred said that anything more than 24 would have been too much.  Truthfully, the swings weren't a problem.  On hindsight, I could have gone heavier.  I should have gone heavier.  It was the burpees that were a killer.  (I hate burpees.)

Afterwards, I worked out some more, as I usually do, to kill time until Krav Maga.  (I did a lot of ab work including medicine ball sit-ups.)

On Wednesday, the guys I work out with, John and Jericho, didn't show up so I was on my own again.  I did the P90X arms and shoulders workout.  And then I braved the 32-kilo kettlebell and did three sets of 15 two-hand swings.  Not too shabby, if I might say so myself.  Then I attempted to snatch the 14-kilo kettlebell, just to see if I could.  I could.  But I didn't want to push my luck since my arms were already tired and shaky so I only did a few reps.  Then I did some planks and jogged around the room until it was time for Krav Maga.

In those two days, I managed to inflict a lot of pain on myself, which is a good thing.  And so have others.  I just noticed that my arms are bruised.  The bruises look like they're from Krav Maga defensive blocks.  There are some new guys in training, which means that they have less control over their movements, so I got knocked around a lot last week.

Except that it's Sunday and the only pain I feel is in my legs from dancing for hours last night in sky-high heels.

I should have worked out more.  I definitely must make up for it next week.