Fitness Journal #6

I've been lifting weights for about a month now, and have been on my current training program for about 3 weeks. (The first week of weights was like random) The program of choice is Stronglifts 5x5, and it looks like this:

Workout A
Squats 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Rows 5x5

Workout B
Squats 5x5
Shoulder Press 5x5
Deadlifts 1x5

So you basically alternate between A and B every workout, adding 2.5kg each workout.

For the first 2 weeks + or so, I felt I wasn't really benefiting much from the workouts, because the weights were too light (It is recommended that you start with an empty bar, 20kg). I would leave the gym feeling having accomplished something (like some psychological effect), but my body wouldn't feel tired at all.

Recently, the weights are getting heavier, so I do feel a bit more tired after each workout. My current weights are posted here (all + about 2.5/5kg since that was a few workouts ago).

I've began to modify each workout abit to add in some accessory exercises because I am a vainpot and I want to have nicer ____ (fill in any body part). For example, I end off every workout with some arm work which can be forearm curls, bicep curls, tricep curls, etc. I've also replaced Barbell Rows with Chin ups, because they basically train the same area and I feel I'm somehow not doing Barbell rows with proper form as I don't feel the strain on my back at all (but more of my quads).

I've also taken to adding ab-work every workout, as well as doing benchpress every work out (instead of every other workout). Come on body bulk up!

Cardio is a bitch really... I would gladly do twice the lifting than do a session of cardio. But I need to do cardio because of this stupid blob of flat called my tummy/belly/paunch. I will be alternating between HIIT (30/60 sprint/jogs) and 20 min jogs. Hope to be doing cardio 3 times a week... though it's soooo tempting to just skip one, unlike weights which I will never skip because of lack of discipline because I enjoy it!

 

Sorry for really boring blog posts haha I'll try to write more interesting stuff next time. But I do want to chronicle my progress and process, thus all these Fitness Journals! Next post probably has to do with something personal, so stay tuned for that ;)

 

NUS AY 11/12 Semester 2 Results

So... this morning I received the SMS of Doom ™ , and that was after I had woken up at 6AM for god knows why (stupid insomnia) and couldn't sleep for the next hour... and bestie whatsapps me at 6.54AM which jarred me out of my semi-consciousness... and the SMS finally came at 7.10 AM.

This post contains my grades and stuff so if you want to see it read on.

[Insomniac] The Five Stages of Results Day

Another article I wrote for FASS Insomniac:

Results are coming out tomorrow, and that means grief for some. Alan Teo will take us through the 5 stages of grief of results day... and perhaps a silver lining?

On the morning of the 28th, many NUS students will awake to the SMS of Doom™. After just a month of summer vacation, this blissful break is rudely interrupted by your results. For some, the results may be good. However, for many, it tends to be below expectations.

Thus begins the first stage of receiving your results – Denial. As you roll around in your bed groggily, grasping your phone, staring at the SMS that you have received, you’re telling yourself: “No, this can’t be happening. Not to me. I’m still dreaming. Yes, a dream. That must be it.” You put your phone down, close your eyes, and will yourself back to sleep. You want to get back to the ludicrous dreams you were having of flying around the world on clouds,  saving your romantic interest from fatal situations, or getting into the Dean's List.



You wake up several hours later, feeling more refreshed, alert… and BAM! You remember that odd dream you had earlier of receiving bad results. “What a bad dream! Lucky it was only a dream! I should have gotten at least a B+ average given the effort I put in!” You reach over and pick up your phone and have a look for the SMS of Doom™.

Your bad grades stare right back at you.

“Noooo!” You let out a bestial roar which no one in your house notices because you make that sound every morning when you wake up anyway. You toss your iPhone into the corner of your room as you enter the stage of Anger. “Why me?! I worked so hard! It’s not fair!” Then you remembered that you’re not using a Nokia anymore and rush quickly to check if your iPhone is alright. Then you go back to punching your pillow to vent your rage.

 

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