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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

QUIT!! No Way!!!

Quit! That's a big word! What am I referring to, well, it's about going to the gym. You see I wanted to write a post today but was just drawing blanks. After work on the way to the gym I asked my wife and she suggested that I write about the gym. I didn't think it was a good idea because I thought of it before and it seemed lame. However, as fate would have it I left my earphones at home! Now whenever I do my cardio I must have my earphones to tune out and make the time fly. So I was pretty cheesed off because it was going to be one tough hour. However, as my workout started I began to think and pretty soon lost myself in drafting this post in my mind. What am I talking about, well read on...

Rewind to 20 years ago. I used to be pretty darn fit and heatlhy. I jogged regularly. I played soccer, badminton, rugby and basketball. In one incident that I will never forget, I was playing rugby one day and was tackled by an opponent and pretty soon everyone piled on me. In the words of one friend who witnessed it from afar "I saw you go down and then saw them all jump on you and you looked like you were squashed. Then I saw the whole pile slowly start to move forward." Yes, that was me in my heyday, strong as a bull, which also happened to be my nickname, Bull. I even completed the PJ Half Marathon within the timeframe, which was an achievement for me! Basically, I liked all kinds of sports and used to indulge whenever I could.

Fast forward 20 years. After years of being a couch potato and just basically not taking care of my diet I have grown a couple of sizes more to put it politely. All those thing that were in the past are really history now bacause had I taken more care maybe it'd still be the present but that what hindsight is all about! I did try going to a gym before but that lasted a whole six months before I reverted back to my sedetary lifestyle!

The Present. After 12 years we were blessed with our little one. We enjoyed ourselves with her and did all the things new parents do but we were lacking something. Stamina. A young child can be very energetic. Besides before we were hit with health issues we decide to start going to the gym. We started in March after the little ones second birthday. At first we were really struggling to cope because we lacked stamina of course. After a month we decided to engage a personal trainer for myself because I really needed to get in shape. So in April the serious workouts began. At first it was tough but soon got better and better. By the end of May I had lost four kilos. I was really happy! It was a great start and I was even more fired up to get going. Watching my diet and pushing myself was really working! I was even planning to get a more intensive workout because I was feeling "the fire"! Then it happened!

The Vacation. We had to send our maid back to the Philippines for her home leave. We decided to take the two weeks off to spend time with the little one and to also go on a short holiday to Singapore and to see the in-laws in Ipoh (see my earlier posts for more details on the trips). We enjoyed ourselves but we neglected our diet. I still managed to go twice to the gym though. It seemed okay because we were not just sitting at home either but instead were out and about.

The Beast. I even managed to buy a new pair of Brooks running shoes because my old ones were getting pretty worn. I liked the name so much apart from the fact that it fit like a glove and gave me great heel support. It was called the Beast. Now I felt was ready to go the distance. My first session with the Beast was great because I coould do my squats without problem for once. Cool! The fire was burning brighter!

A New Begining. It didn't show at first but when we went back to the gym after the second week, it was almost like starting all over again. It was really disheartening because we had to practically start over. I questioned myself and asked if it was worth it, or should I just quit. If just a short spell of R&R could do this could I succeed. The one thing that kept me going was that I knew that I did it once and I could do it again! After all I was doing it for my daughter and basically it was for my own good! So I put aside the lost progress that was really making me feel sore for "losing it" again and started back on my regular schedule. This time I know that there are no more compromises.

I WILL PREVAIL!

6 comments:

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

Good for you dude :) Keep at it, don't ever give up! I can't afford no personal trainer so make use of yours to the max and hopefully soon, you'll be able to go running with me :)

Mariuca said...

Hello Adrian, awwww don't be so down *HUGS*! You did a pretty good job with those 4 kilos, it's all part of the diet & exercise process. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't but you still need to keep at it. Imagine your exhilaration when you're back to your trim & fit self :) Good luck Homer!

Adrian said...

Bud! You know how many times I've tried before! This time it's different! This time i have to believe! This time I will! It's a nice feeling to see your clothes start to feel a little loose! And there's and extra bounce in your step! And also to start feeling all those muscles that have tured to jelly start to get real hard again! Just feels so darn good! :)

Adrian said...

Marzie you are so sweet! :) Actually it was about 11 kilos of fat mass lost! However, i gained seven kilos of muscle mass! Yeah I know it's strange but you don't only lose weight when you workout, you gain weight as well...but the gained weight is in the form of muscle mass, which is good! :)

Mariuca said...

Homer, I know you can do it! Think positive, think THIN :) Anyway, Homer should not be too skinny, so make sure you don't overdo it :) Have a great day!

Adrian said...

Marzie! That's exactly what I've been doing! I saw review of the book Secret and it said to think "I want be thin" and not "I want to lose weight" which I've been doing. Basicaly just to think positive! :) Well I guess this Homer can be a little lean as long as he's still a doofus LOL