Day 433: Tickly throat

Day 433

I didn’t do any sightseeing over the weekend, but instead opted to rest and catch up on my sleep. I also took the opportunity to get a haircut on Saturday evening. Unfortunately, the power went out in the shop just as my barber was starting to thin the hair on the top of my head! The staff apologised and advised me to come back the next day, as they had no idea when the power has going to come back! Good thing that not much had been cut from my hair yet, and what was cut was on top. I would have been loathe to depart the shop if my cut was trimmed on one side only!

This early morning I awoke with a somewhat tickly throat. I hope that it’s not the onset of an illness, so I made sure to drink lots of water throughout the day in the hope of getting any viruses out of my system.

I did feel a little bit slower to recover my breath after particularly hard sets while on my evening training session. Most of the sets were 4X10 with 60 seconds rest in between, so there wasn’t much time to dilly-dally. I did have to take a few more seconds particularly after each set of the front squat to push press / reverse lunge combination.

Hopefully some good rest tonight will help me get me back to tiptop shape.

Day 430: Heavy day

Day 430

Today was the 2nd low-volume, heavy weight training session.  Jump squats (5X3, 75s rest), pullups alternating with barbell overhead push presses starting with the bar on the floor (5X5, 90s rest), supine hip extensions alternating with Bulgarian split squats with the front foot elevated (5X5, 90s rest), and then finally crunches (2X20, no rest) alternating with three-point planks (2X60s, 60s rest).  I was able to increase my loading on almost all the exercises, so I felt good about myself afterwards.

After a busy busy week at work, and three good training sessions, I am looking forward to the weekend.

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 428: Influencing others

Day 428

Today’s training was focused on strength: low reps with longer rest periods. Barbell clean pulls (5X3, 75s rest), barbell push presses alternating with reverse lunges (5X5, 90s rest), seated cable rows alternating with dumbbell flat bench presses (5X5, 90s rest), and then finally reverse woodchops (2X15, no rest) alternating with side planks (2X60s, 60s rest).  As this was the final training day for 5X5 on this particular set of exercises, I really pushed myself on every exercise so that I was able to add more weight to each of the weighted exercises.  I was also pleased that right after I finished my barbell clean pulls using the one and only (and rarely used) olympic bar in the gym, one of the bigger guys decided to do some clean pulls with the olympic bar himself.  He has been seeing me use the olympic bar every other training day, and though I’ve seen him (and others) interested in what I am doing, this was the first time that I’ve seen someone else use the bar.

So you see, even without saying a word, it’s possible to influence other people!

Eat right, train hard, be a good influence, and expect success!

Day 426: Recharging at the gym

Day 426

Today I was back to the office after a mini-holiday over the weekend.  My coworker and I booked an overnight tour of the Mekong River Delta, which is a little less than 200km from Saigon.  There we visited two floating markets, where farmers bring their produce through the river from their farms down to the towns downstream.  We also visited a few cottage industries, and cruised through some small distributaries to see village life of the people in the river delta area.  We started our trip early in Saturday and got back in the evening of Sunday, lucky to have generally good weather until some heavy downpours caught us on the bus on the way back to Saigon.

As usually happens with weekend breaks, the following workday was a bit difficult to get through.  It was still a very busy day for me, but there were times that I wished I was resting or catching up on sleep.  To be honest, I doubted a bit if I would have the energy to do my best at the gym, but at the same time I looked forward to it.

I need not have worried, as my training session turned out great.  It was the second part of the high-volume, short rest-period training days, using jump squats (at 5X3/75s rest the only exception), underhand grip pulldowns alternating with barbell push presses (2X20/45s rest), supine hip extensions alternating with Bulgarian split squats with the front food elevated (2X20/45s rest), and then finally crunches (2X20/0s rest) alternating with three-point planks (2X60s/60s rest).  In contrast to my previous training day, today I was able to stick quite closely to the prescribed rest periods while at the same time making sure that I was able to use more resistance compared to my previous analogous training day.  It was all good and I feel recharged and ready to face the week!

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 423: Try, evaluate, adjust

Day 423

Today was a very busy day at work.  Though I was seated most of the time, I was working flat out writing and testing a program that will link the system that we are installing with the financial systems of the company.  There is some documentation on the interface that i am writing for, but it seemed that as soon as I solved one problem, another one crops up in an  unexpected place.  I just resolved to work on things little by little, through trial and error, until I finally get the result I want.

I think it’s the same with our fitness goals.  There are many excellent programs out there that can fit our goals and our temperaments.  We find a training and nutrition program that we like, and adjust our lives to follow it as close as possible.  Sometimes, we find a very good program, but due to factors beyond our control, we can only follow part  of the plan.  That doesn’t mean we should give up.  We should just adjust the program to our circumstances, measure, and then adjust some more until we can find a balance between the effort put into it and the results that we are looking for.

Today I did fast-paced, lower-weight, high volume training, using 2X20 with 45-second rest on most of the exercises.  On some of the exercises, I either had to take a little bit more rest time to catch my breath, or stop and resume within the set.  Some days, everything just seems to come together; on others, we are happy just to get things done.  It is consistent effort in the long run which will yield results.

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 421: Namesakes

Day 421

Today I did the second set of exercises for this particular phase of my program, again using mostly a middle range of sets and reps.  There were jump squats (4X4, 75s rest), chinups alternating with barbell push presses (4X10, 60s rest), supine hip extensions alternating with Bulgarian split squats with the front food elevated (4X10, 60s rest), and then finally crunches (2X20, 0s rest) directly followed by three-point planks (2X60s,  60s rest).

I made a new acquaintance at the gym today.  In between sets of hip extensions/Bulgarian split squats, a local guy tried to talk to me in English and so I introduced myself.  Here in Vietnam, I find it’s better to introduce myself as Ronaldo (my real name) rather than Ron (my nickname).  People get a kick out of associating my name with a famous footballer (actually, two!)

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 419: Who said weight training is not cardiovascular exercise?

Day 419

Today’s training was in the middle-range in weight, rest periods, and repetition range.  Barbell clean pulls (4X4, 75s rest), barbell front squat to push press alternating with reverse lunges (both 4X10, 60s rest), seated cable rows alternating with flat dumbbell presses (both 4X10, 60s rest), and finally reverse woodchops (2X15, 0 rest) proceeding directly to side lunges (2X60s/side, 60s rest).  All throughout I tried to stick as close as possible to the rest periods while attempting to increase the loading compared to the previous analogous workout.  I was mostly successful.  After almost every set I was positively heaving with heavy breath and an increased heart rate, that without doing any “cardio”.  I do find this type of cardio a lot more fun!

Eat right, train hard, expect success!

Day 416: A happy ride back from training

Day 416

Today’s training was focused on heavy weight and low reps, using mostly a 5X5 set/rep scheme and 90-second rest periods between alternating pairs of exercises.  Luckily, the weather didn’t turn foul before the work day ended, so I was able to get to the gym early enough.  Not much new to report, but I am happy to say I was able to increase my loading on all my exercises compared to the previous 5X5 training day.

I do want to share something not related to my training.  I was waiting for the bus going to the hotel after my workout, when I was spotted by a xe om (motorcycle taxi) driver who was parked about 20 meters away.  Normally I would not have bothered, since the bus costs just 3000 Vietnamese dong (about 0.16 US dollars) while a typical ride on the xe om would cost me 20000 dong.  I wanted to get back to the hotel early as I had a sightseeing trip planned for tomorrow, so I bit the bait and we agreed at a fare of 20000 dong.  The driver couldn’t be happier, and was singing all the way on the ride to the hotel.  From what little knowledge I have of Vietnamese, I heard he was happy that he could already buy dinner for himself, after waiting for so long to get a fare.  That made me happy too, knowing I made someone’s day (or dinner).

Eat right, train hard, be willing to help others, and expect success!

Day 414: Day off

Day 414

Today, September 2nd is Vietnam’s National Day, so I did not have to go to work today. I had planned to go to the gym in the morning, and then walk around town with my co-worker in the afternoon and evening. I woke up a little later than usual (as if it were a weekend), had breakfast, rested a little, and then caught a bus to get to the gym. Unfortunately, I found out only upon arriving there that the gym was closed for the official holiday. I caught a bus back (which was packed with the locals travelling to and from the city to be with their families), and I decided instead to do a fairly easy 15-minute jog around the subdivision.

The rest of the day was spent walking around town and trying out a few new places for food, and doing some window shopping.

Day 412: Rain, rain, and a little bit of migraine pain

My weekend was mostly uneventful. My co-worker and I had a busy workweek, and so we weren’t able to plan on doing anything for the weekend. So after going to Sunday mass in the city centre, I walked around a bit before going for lunch. I passed by some camera stores and at one particular store, someone was testing out a camera he was buying. Unfortunately, I looked at precisely the time that he was testing the flash. Soon my vision started becoming blurry, and I knew that a migraine attack was coming.

Since I hadn’t had lunch yet, and the hotel was at least 30 minutes away if I took a bus, I decided to drop into a noodle shop to have phơ (Vietnamese noodles in light broth). That seemed to help a bit, enough for me to get back to the hotel before the worst of the migraine came on. Once I got to the hotel, I couldn’t immediately go to my room as it was being cleaned, so I had to endure maybe 20 minutes more waiting in the lobby without airconditioning. When I finally got into my room, freshened up, and went to bed, it took me ages to fall asleep as the pain had already gone into overdrive. It took a while before the medicine which I took upon getting into my room began to take effect.

By 7 PM I was feeling a bit better, good enough to grab dinner with my coworker. After about an hour of talking with my family over Skype, I went back to sleep.

By the morning, most of the pain was gone, but it was still a bit touch and go during the day at work, trying to avoid any situations which could trigger another onset. By the afternoon, I was looking forward to getting back into the gym, only to have the rain start to pour down hard when I got back to the hotel. I bravely set out with my umbrella into the pouring rain and was able to still catch a bus early enough to get to the gym at a reasonable time.

There were significantly fewer people at the gym today, no doubt because the rain made it difficult to get around on a motorbike, as most people here in Saigon do. That made it a bit easier for me to get through my training session as I did not have to constantly fight for space and equipment. Today’s training was clean pulls (4X4, 75s rest), front squats alternating with reverse lunges (5X5, 60s rest), seated cable rows alternating with dumbbell bench presses (5X5, 60s rest), and finally reverse cable woodchops (2X15) directly going into side planks (2X60s) with 60s rest after the planks. By the end of my workout, I was soaked in sweat but the migraine pain was forgotten. Unfortunately, I finished my workout perhaps 2 minutes late, as I wasn’t able to catch the last bus back toward the hotel and was forced to take a taxi as the rain was starting to come on again.

By the way, another effect of the strong rain is that the Internet connection in the hotel got cut off again. That’s why this post is a bit late.

Day 409: Leg shock

Day 409

Finally, had my first day this week when I did not have to do (user) training at work!  That allowed me to catch up on other things I needed to do for my project, and I was finally able to make sense of and solve a problem that has been hanging in my head since last week.  And yes, I can blame it on Microsoft!

Today’s (physical) training was back to high volume (2X20), short rest periods (45s), except for the opener of jump lunges which was 4X4 with 75s rest.  On almost all of my exercises I was able to add weight/resistance compared to the previous 2X20 workout; the sole exception being one particularly arduous exercise.  That was Bulgarian split squats with the front food elevated, which allowed for an extended range of motion by letting the trailing knee dip slightly below the level of the leading foot.  The 20 reps really burned my legs, so I had to reduce the weight on the second set after thinking I could add weight on the first.  The increased load on the jump squats may have tired my legs too much by the time I did the split squats.

This weekend should allow my legs to recover from the shock.

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 407: A little audience

Day 407

Today was another long day of conducting user training.  Thankfully, most of the initial issues during the first training have already been ironed out so today went more smoothly, but I was still glad to complete a total of almost 6 hours talking today!

I was able to get to the gym at a good time today, which is to say, not too late.  Most of today’s training plan was 2X20 (high-rep), lower-weight, with short rest periods (45-60s) alternating between exercises.  However, the very first exercise was 4X4 sets of barbell clean pulls.  That mean today I brought out the Olympic bar again out from its place of hiding in a corner of the gym.  By the time I have finished setting up by putting the large plates on the bar and an extra layer of foam padding on the floor, I noticed I had a small audience.  At first it was only 2 people, but by the fourth set there were about 5 people watching me and talking about what I was doing.  I’ve never seen anybody else do deadlifts at that gym, especially using an Olympic bar, so I would have been an unusual sight.  I think the attention also gave me extra motivation to give my best while doing the deadlifts, as it seemed to me that the sets flew by much more quickly than before!

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 405: Balance

Day 405

Today at work was the first day of end-user training for the software that my co-worker and I are installing. Though there was only one session for today, it was quite a challenge as I had to gauge how well my audience comprehended what I was saying. Most of my audience were not very good with English yet (and some of them are still studying the language), so I had to slow down my presentation in some parts.

So after a long day, I was raring to get to the gym to blow off some steam.  Unfortunately, the traffic was quite heavy on the way back to the hotel, so I arrived a little later than usual.  As soon as I got to the hotel, I simply prepared my protein shake, changed, grabbed two bottles of water, then went to catch the bus.  Thankfully, I did not have to wait too long to get one.

Today’s training was composed of jump squats (3X5, 75s rest), pullups alternating with barbell overhead push presses (both 4X10, 60s rest), single-leg supine hip extensions alternating with Bulgarian split squats with the front foot elevated (both 4X10, 60s), and then finally crunches alternating with 3-point planks.  While doing my sets, an acquaintance of mine at the gym (one of the few who could speak English) asked me why I do such difficult exercises for my legs, and work them out often.  He wondered whether I specialized in a sport which required me to strengthen my legs.  I replied that I just like working out my legs.  I should have added that I also want to achieve balance in my physique, as so often you see people at they gym with very good upper bodies but weak lower bodies.

Knowing that I arrived at the gym a little later than usual, I tried as much as possible to stick to my planned rest periods.  That kept my training session fast paced and by the end of it, I was suitably wiped out.

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!

Day 403: Weekend training

Day 403

My planned training was postponed by a day as our client invited us for a Friday night out for dinner and drinks.  We had a nice meal at a Japanese restaurant, and I kept myself to just two drinks.  After dinner we headed for a bar with a good Filipino band playing to a packed house.  I just had Vietnamese coffee, perfect accompaniment to the thumping music.

After catching up on sleep this  Saturday morning, I went to the gym to do my training.  Today was barbell clean pulls, front squat to overhead push press alternating with reverse lunges, cable rows alternating with dumbell bench presses, and then finally reverse woodchops alternating with 3-point planks.  Most of the exercises were 4X10 with 60 seconds rest.  I tried as best as I could to stay close to the rest timings, but at times it was very difficult and I had to extend the rest a bit.  The hot humid weather during the day didn’t make the training session any easier.

My coworker and I then had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant where we were able to sample a good variety of food which we have not tried before.  There were lots of vegetables, rice, barbecued chicken and pork, and some traditional desserts, some of which reminded us both of the food back home.  After watching a movie and walking around a bit, we then had dinner at a creperie where we had both savoury (chicken) and dessert (fruit) crepes.

With all the good food today, I think I have to do some cardio work tomorrow, either a swim or a HIIT run!

Day 400: Getting better at the exercises

Day 400

Today’s training was set B of Built for Show’s Spring program, phase 2.  There were jump lunges (3X5, 75s rest), pullups alternating with barbell overhead push presses (both 5X5, 60s rest), supine hip extensions alternating with Bulgarian split squats with the front foot elevated (both 5X5, 90s rest), and then finally, crunches (2X20) alternating with 3-point planks for 60s (no rest in between).  Both the supine hip extensions and the crunches were supposed to be done with a Swiss ball, but there is none available at the gym I am currently going to, so I substituted simpler exercises.  Today, I also forgot to bring my watch with me to the gym, which somehow allowed me to finish my workout faster than I thought I would.  That’s a good thing for all but the 3-point planks; I think I counted a bit too fast on that particular exercise.  On one set of the barbell push presses, i accidentally hit myself with the bar below the chin—my head was in the way, hehe.  Overall though, I think I am getting better at execution of the new exercises.

Eat right, train hard, and expect success!