New beginning near the end of the year

To achieve my goals, I've always talked about dieting blahblah, exercise blahblah, but never really got around to doing it. After effectively arranging my time recently, I have managed to procure a diet and exercise plan, of which I've managed to do quite well the past week.

To become lean/cut build, a strict diet is to be adhered by, one that requires consumption of a lot of protein and fiber. Topped by a good exercise plan, determination and patience, I intend to reach my goals hopefully in 3 months time. That shall be my 2013 year end/2014 new year resolution for physical fitness goals.

So how am I doing so far? Well, no significant changes in limbs size, but my waist shrunk by a bit. It's a good start. Let me share my training tips and diet tips.

Nutrition:

N1: For days where cardio and strength training are done in the morning:

• Meal 1 (0600): 1 serving of ON Amino Acids (pre-cardio)
• Meal 2 (0700): Oatmeal and raisins and coffee/tea w/o sugar or creamers + 1 serving of ON Whey Protein (for post cardio/pre-gym) + Banana
• Meal 3 (1000): 1 serving of Marigold HL Milk + 1 serving of ON Whey Protein (for post-gym) 
• Meal 4 (1300): Lunch
• Meal 5 (1530): 1 serving of fruit
• Meal 6 (1900): Dinner
• Meal 7 (2145): 1/2 serving of Marigold HL Milk + 1 serving of ON Whey Protein (for sleep recovery)

N2: For days where cardio is done in the morning but gym is at noon:

• Meal 1 (0800): 1 serving of ON Whey Protein (Post cardio + statics) + Oatmeal, raisins and banana
• Meal 2 (1030): 2 slices of wholemeal bread with peanut butter spread and cinnamon honey spread
• Meal 3 (1230): Lunch (Pre-gym meal)
• Meal 4 (1530): 1 serving of ON Whey Protein + Milk (Post-gym)
• Meal 5 (1715): 1 serving of fruit
• Meal 6 (1900): Dinner
• Meal 7 (2145): 1/2 serving of Marigold HL Milk + 1 serving of ON Whey Protein (for sleep recovery)

The above are rough plans I followed to cater to workout timings. Lunch and dinner are main meals, and they usually consist of 1/2 serving of carbohydrates (either brown rice or oats), 1-2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of lean protein, which can be eggs, chicken breasts, turkey breast or fish. Other alternatives are Subway sandwiches, and homemade salads. The point is to keep the lean muscles fueled with enough protein, so they can burn off the fats automatically. Meal 1 is important because after a whole night of fasting in your sleep, your body needs to absorb protein into your muscles first thing in the morning to energise them. Meal 7 is to help your body recover from muscle fatigue as you sleep, as sleep is when you repair your muscles, and the protein will help during the process.

Next is the workout program. Generally, I work out at least 5 days per week. This consists of at least 3 days when I go to the gym (2 hour sessions each) and  5 days for cardio. 

For gym, I usually train specific parts based to which days I go. I'll divide muscle groups into categories.

G1:

• Upper back
• Biceps
• Shoulders

G2:

• Chest
• Triceps

G3:

• Middle/Lower Back
• Abs
• Legs

G4:

• Biceps
• Triceps
• Abs

G5:

• Back
• Shoulders

So everytime, before I go, I'll choose one of the above programs to utilise, so that I won't be a lost lamb. As for cardio, it's easier to split; usually I'll do 3 days of intervals and 2 days of long distance runs. Intervals are usually done pre-gym/post gym depending on timing. Days where long distance runs are done are usually coupled with simple statics to keep the muscles warmed up. Splitting them into their categories, we have:

C1:

• 8-11KM Run
• Statics 

C2:

• 8-11KM Run
• Gym

C3:

• Intervals
• 10 x 1 min or
• 8 x 400 m or
• 16 x 200 m or
• 200/400m mixed intervals
• Gym

C4:

• Intervals
• 10 x 1 min or
• 8 x 400 m or
• 16 x 200 m or
• 200/400m mixed intervals
• Statics

So far, adhering by the above program, everything is going well. Temptation steps in from time to time, but quoting myself: "Never compromise your determination and your goals in the face of temptation."

Beats "YOLO". I hate that phrase. Always feel it's an excuse for people to find when they want to do dumb stuff they'll regret.

As for cheat meals, my first one will be 4/12 dinner with my university classmates, to celebrate the end of exams. Hope it'll be worth it.

Peace out, guys!

Long term physical goals

I remembered back in BMT, while we were botaks sitting down listening to the "gods" called specialists and officers, they gave one useful advice: Write down your short term and long term goals.

So I'm going to declare them now.

The target

Final aim by end of 2013:

• 67-69kg
• ≤ 10% body fat
• 400m sprints during interval trainings ≤ 1min20sec
• 200m sprints during interval trainings ≤ 40sec
• Become leaner and shredded (as shown at the right) 
• Become stronger

So how I do get to those aims?

I'm rotating a cardio + strength training regime and a high protein, low carbs regime so far, eating as healthily as I can. Cheat meals are only allowed during interactions with friends. 

Nutrition plans include the usage of protein shake (for recovery so I can work out again the next day), high protein (meat, fishes, nuts, the likes), wholegrain (wholemeal bread, oats, brown rice etc), dairy (low-fat milk, yogurt) , fruits (for vitamins to prevent illness) and a lot of vegetables (More greens to burn off excess fat).

As for workouts, I divide them into 2 categories: Cardio and strength training.

For cardio, I've divided it into the following. All cardio workouts will be followed by an "abs blaster" workout.

3 days of Intervals:

• 8 x 400m
• 16 x 200m
• 10 x 60 sec

4 days of Long Distance:

• 8km (fast)
• 8km (slow)
• 10km (fast)
• Casual 1 hour run (slow)

For strength training, I'm still in the process of planning gym workouts and calisthenics in the case I can't go to the gym. But for now, the plan goes like this:

Gym Workouts:

• Biceps (5 sets)
• 15 barbell curls (closed grip)
• 15 barbell curls (shoulder width)
• 15 barbell curls (wide arm grip)
• 15 hammer curls
• 10 x 7 seconds isometric curls
• Max rep till failure
• Triceps (5 sets)
• 15 tricep extension
• 15 dips
• 15 diamond push ups
• 15 cable pulls
• 15 cable pulls (one armed, each side)
• 15 overhead cable pull
• Back (5 sets)
• 15 Deadlifts
• 15 Backward extension
• 15 Lat Pulldowns
• Pull Ups (Max rep)
• Chest (5 sets)
• 15 Bench press (inclined)
• 15 Bench press (flat)
• 20 Kettlebell push ups
• 10 Dips
• Legs (5 sets)
• 15 Goblet squats
• 5 barbell squats
• 15 Dumbbell Lunges
• Shoulders (5 sets)
• 15 shoulder raise
• 15 shoulder raise (front)
• 15 shoulder shrug
• 15 shoulder press
• Core (1-2 sets)
• 15 weighted sit ups
• 15 toe touch crunch
• 10 side toe touch crunch
• 15 knee benders
• 30 sec side twists with weights
• 30 sec sitting hold
• 1 min plank
• 1 min side planks
• 50 weighted sit ups
• 100 crunches
• Core [2] 
• 15 Leg extensions on bar
• 15 leg extensions + twist
• 15 weighted side shrugs
• 1 min planks
• 100 crunches

I'll be using 3-4 of the above mentioned at anytime in the gym. It'll last me about 2 hours. I might go for a 3-6km run before/after the gym workout, depending on body conditions. I'll update this post wit calisthenics plans soon. Stay updated, folks! ;)

Race Against Cancer 2013

So, this year, I finally joined my first official race, the Race Against Cancer 2013.

There were several categories, but I signed up for the 15km Men's Competitive with a few friends. It was illuminating, to say the least. It was a new experience, therefore an eye opener. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

"Constipated face, mistaaaaa!"

Some of the photos compiled of that day.

15KM Finisher medal!  Super shiny stuff.

My results

At the end of the day, I managed to complete my 15KM in 1h 13min 34s. So far, that is my best timing for a 15KM run, so I'm really satisfied. Hopefully I can improve further during my next race, be it a 10K, 15K, 21K or 42K. My friends also did decently, so it was overall a good experience. Would I join this event again next year? Definitely.

As a runner, I'm looking forward to my next race. It'll most probably be the AHM 2013 or the B.I.G. Farm Run and Walk 10K run. Whatever the case, I plan to do my best. :)

Peace out, people!

A little energy protein shake recipe...

Recently, I've seen a nifty little recipe , involving peanut butter and protein shake. I'm deciding to try it out.

As most know, I run, grab breakfast, then head to the gym. So what I'm planning to do, is to substitute in this little recipe as a meal replacement cum supplement. It'll be my post run/pre-gym energy drink and breakfast. I hope it'll work out.

Ingredients:

• CytoGainer (1 scoop)
• 1 large banana
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 serving of HL Low-Fat Milk

Basically, just blend the above stuff with a mixer or blender. It should do for a pretty high energy/pre/post-workout drink.

Nutritional Info are as shown:

Calories: 561

Protein: 32.5g

Carbohydrates: 66.1g

Sugar: 25g

Fibre: 8g

Fats: 19.25g

Now, you'll be kinda telling me, "Dudeeee, too much fats!!!!" But most of the fats come from the peanut butter, and the fats are healthy monounsaturated fats. It only has 3g saturated fats (the bad ones) and 0g trans fat, so start adding it to your list of diet foods. But like everything else you eat, moderation is key.

So yeah, I'm going to start this peanut butter protein shake for a little rev up. Hopefully it gives me the results I'm looking forward to. :)

Thoughts about hiatus...

As someone pursuing fitness, not being able to work out is sheer mental torture. No, I'm not talking about rest days, but hiatus due to certain reasons. Sure, it might be due to external factors, such as haze, stitches due to wisdom teeth extraction reopening etc, but it still feels unsettling. You'll just tend to feel more unfit.

I've just had my wisdom tooth removed on Tuesday, and my gum was stitched up. Doctor's orders were "Do not do vigorous exercise". Well, there goes training. 3 days of hiatus and I feel unfit as hell already. Might be psychological,but still.

Not to mention that all I've been having is bread/biscuits dipped in hot coffee to soften them, oatmeal and bananas, blended fruit/vegetable juice and fish porridge. This just messes up my body system and makes me feel so lethargic due to poor eating. I know, circumstances.

I'm going to have to revamp my system after recovery as well as my training. Hopefully, my body's performance won't have dropped so much by then.

In recent news; Introducing... a new recipe

Hi.

Remember in my previous post, when I said I was doing an experiment? It worked out in the long run, a workout regime. In addition, recently, my gym buddy and I got this protein powder called CytoGainer.

Now, as I mentioned before, my goal is to become leaner, stronger and faster. So, for the past 3 weeks, other from running interval trainings, I've been visiting the gym more often, with the above said supplement in hand. From what I can gather, the regime has been useful. See for yourselves.

"Please do not mind the mess behind that is my room."

So what have I done to gain such results? Keep in mind protein supplements only work when you have an adequate workout regime and a healthy diet. So I'm going to share.

Basically, I have a 5 days workout regime. 

Saturday:

• Morning
• Sprint Interval Training (8x400m/16x200m)
• Core Muscle Abs Blaster
• 15 sit ups
• 15 side crunch
• 15 full forward crunches
• 15 Swimmer Stretch
• 20 side benders
• 1 min plank
• 1 min side planks
• 20 knee benders
• 50 sit ups
• 100 crunches
• Noon
• 3km 80-100% Effort
• Gym

Sunday:

• 7km-10km Run
• Core Muscle Abs Blaster
• 1 set circuit training
• 1 min push ups
• 1 min flutter kicks
• 1 min squats
• 1 min chair dips
• 1 min knee benders
• 1 min lunges
• 1 min wide arm push ups
• 1 min crunches
• 1 min jumping jacks
• 20 diamond push ups

Monday (in camp):

• Morning
• Gym
• Evening
• 5-7km run
• Gym
• Abs Blaster

Tuesday (in camp):

• 5km run + 4x400m intervals
• Gym
• Abs blaster

Thursday (in camp)

• 5-7km run
• Gym
• Abs Blaster

And that's the general gist of things. In addition to the workouts, while I'm at home, I try to eat more healthily. No empty carbs and junk foods... unless I'm socialising or they're cheat meals.

Stuff I've whipped up :)

So today, I shall share another new recipe! It's simple to make, and ingredients are readily available in the supermarket. Best of all, it's going to be made from healthy ingredients, so you can enjoy it without the fear of it being sinful. :)

Previous Sunday, I was viewing through Instagram and realising everyone was eating Egg Benedicts, so I figured I could try poaching eggs. It's just boiling an egg, no extra oil or additives. Next was deciding what it was gonna be on. I hadn't had salmon in a long time, and I had a craving. Then it hit me.

Salmon Benedict™ (self named). What upppppp, people!

Salmon Benedict

Ingredients:

• A piece of salmon
• An egg
• Fresh vegetables (I used lettuce and cabbage, but you can be creative!)
• Olive oil/Low fat margarine
• Vinegar
• Light soy sauce
• Pepper
• Assorted Spices/Herbs (I used some pestos given to me by a friend)
• Mixed nuts

Steps

• Wash the salmon thoroughly with clean water, then proceed to cover it with some salt to season it/sterilise it. Add spices/herbs to marinate. Put it in the fridge for an hour or two.
• Wash the vegetables and cut them to bite size pieces
• After the fish is fully marinated, preheat the oven at "grill mode" or low temperature as salmon get cooked very easily
• Apply olive oil/margarine to a metal plate, then lay the salmon steak on it. This is to ensure the salmon does not stick to the plate's surface
• Put it into the oven and grill each side for 6 minutes
• Now, fill a small pot with some water, add some vinegar in, and boil it.
• When it's bubbling, lower the heat so that the water settles to a simmer
• Crack the egg carefully into a small mug. Be careful not to mess up the yolk.
• Slowly lower the egg into the simmering water. Cook the egg for 2 minutes
• Use a ladle/spoon/scoop with holes to remove the poached egg from the water and lay it on the salmon
• Season the egg with a bit of soy sauce and pepper for taste
• Lay the vegetables onto the plate as well and add some mixed nuts to give it more taste.
• Viola! Your Salmon Benedict is complete.

As a tastier alternative, you can also choose to fry the salmon in olive oil. I prefer oven grilling as it's healthier and there's less hassle cleaning up an oily pan. To learn how to poach an egg nicely, you can search it up. There are a lot of sites that'll teach you how to poach an egg.

I certainly hope this very long post is useful. Stay healthy, everyone! :)

Up to date!

So I haven't updated this fitness log so far. I've been busy. Doing an experiment.

At the start of May, I went to Thailand for 17 days. With the cheap Phad Thai, pineapple fried rice, deep fried pork meatballs, ice cream etc. you can imagine the impact it's done to my body.

When I came back and weigh myself, I was the same weight, but my arms were flabbier, my tummy bloated and my ego bruised.

Then comes my one week break at home. I knew what I had to do.

Training. Healthy diet. With these 2 combined, would it work? That was the question.

And it did.

The entire week, I allowed myself a total of 5 cheat meals. The other days, I just had dairy products, lean protein and fresh vegetables for meals while training myself physically.

Results were apparent. My waistline shrunk, my limbs got leaner, and my stamina got up to date again.

I will eventually post the "experiment" step by step. To everyone, here's to a nice weekend for you!

Mix it up; Interval Training

Sometimes, running can get boring. Just droning on and on, increasing your distance. When that happens, your performance hits a wall. It's happened to me. I sorta reached my limit.

So, to compensate, I started to alternate between long distance endurance runs and interval trainings.

Now then, google up interval training, and you can see lots of results, benefits etc. 1:1 work:rest cycle. Afterburn lasts longer, makes you leaner instead of just skinnier, boost your VO2 max, metabolism increases overall, running performance increases... the list goes on.

The fun stuff about intervals is this: it's flexible. For example, you can be doing a 6x400m interval today, but next time, you could change it up to a 12x200m. Or you could alternate it. I call that the "mix it up".

So today, I shall introduce to you something I did today that tested my limits out. Now, I am not expert, but intervals can be dangerous and are advised not to be done more than twice per week unless you wish to risk it.

My "Mix It Up" Intervals:

• 5 min warm up run
• 400m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 30 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 10 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 5 seconds)
• 400m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 30 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 10 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 5 seconds)
• 400m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 30 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 10 seconds)
• 200m sprint -> Rest (Work time minus 5 seconds)
• 400m sprint -> Rest (Equal to work time)
• 400m sprint
• 5 min warm down run

This will guarantee a full workout of your heart and lungs, and will not bore you due to it not being, well, standard. Bear in mind to hydrate yourselves before and after the workout, and also, warm up and stretch well before any intensive training sessions like the one above.

Hope you have a fun time with what I offered. :)

Healthy Recipe Number One

The healthy eating begins with dinner tonight.

The previous post, I mentioned that I would personalize a diet plan. This is the start. I plan to do a lot more. But, like I said, this is the start.

Any dieting site would tell you about the many benefits of protein and fibre. Both keep you full and increases your metabolism. Fibre also aids in digestion. Protein helps to build your muscles and helps recover muscle fatigue.

Introducing a simple recipe I just created on the spot: a chicken breast tuna salad.

Photo taken by my lovely sister

Ingredients (Servings for 2):

• 1 chicken breast fillet (approx. 150 kcal)
• 1 serving of canned tuna (approx. 50 kcal)
• 1/2 slice of low fat cheese (approx.25 kcal)
• 1 cup of shredded lettuce (approx. 25 kcal)
• 4 small tomatoes (approx. 25 kcal)
• 2 spoonfuls of mixed vegetables (approx. 35 kcal)
• Various condiments (approx. 45 kcal)

TOTAL CALORIC AMOUNT (FOR TWO): APPROX. 355 KCAL

Recipe:

1. Marinate the chicken breast fillet with salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Leave it for at least an hour in the fridge after cling wrapping it. 
2. Meanwhile, wash the lettuce and tomatoes. Slice the lettuce and soak it in water to get rid of any chemicals of insecticides. Do the same for the tomatoes. Soak for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat the over 10 minutes prior to grilling the chicken. 
4. Put the chicken in the oven to grill. Meanwhile, boil the mixed vegetables and drain. Cut the tomatoes into bite sizes.
5. Put the lettuce, mixed vegetables and cut tomatoes into a bowl and mix.
6. Cut the slice of cheese and add it in the bowl along with the tuna.
7. Add a tea spoon of soy sauce and sesame oil and stir well.
8. After the chicken breast fillet is done, cut it into bite sizes and add it to the bowl and mix well.
9. Your salad for two is ready to be served. Bon Appetit!

This dish is great for those who would love to lose weight. It is low in fat, due to the ingredients chosen. The chicken and tuna provides for the high amount of protein, while the various vegetables provides for the fibre. I purposely did not boil the lettuce and tomatoes to keep its original nutritional value. Due to it being high in protein and fibre, this dish is guaranteed to keep you full. Also, it has a low caloric count, so it's great for friends who are dieting!

For the info of friends and family who wish to know my successful weight loss techniques, I give this site a lot of credit:

http://www.healthycalculators.com/calories-intake-requirement.php

This site tells you how much you need to eat if you need to lose weight, down to the rate of losing. However, don't be too obsessed with calorie counting. Eating the correct composition of things is important too.

Happy dieting, people! :)

Long term goals...

As I have stated, I would be on a fitness mode after ORD, when I would actually have my own time and freedom.

To succeed, you need to state what you really want, and specify steps to attain the goals. So it's goal setting time!

Long term goals:
1) Six Packs Abs
2) Lean body build
3) Able to finish a full marathon in 4 hours
4) Maintaining of IPPT Cat X Gold all the way till end of NS reservist.
5) Body mass to be strictly at 67-70kg

So let's go through the goals one by one and decide what to do for all of them.

Goal 1 and 2 are linked with each other; in other words, other from the workout regime, a healthier diet is required. From various research of various healthy diets, I have modified the Paleo Diet to my own convenience for testing. This means:

• 2 days of cheat days per week to eat other stuff. Fast food only permitted once per month
• 5 days will include healthy diets consists of salads made from lean meat, fish and plenty of vegetables, wholegrain products, nuts and fruits. Only sweet drinks allowed will be herbal tea, fruit juice, milk, coffee, tea and soy products.
• 5-6 meals per day, consisting of 3 main meals and 2-3 snacks in between.
• Meal will vary from 2000-3000 kcal per day depending on intensity of workout.

As for workout regimes, to support the goals, will consist of:

• Monday: 7km run + statics
• Tuesday: 8*400m intervals. 3-6km -> Gym
• Wednesday: 6km run
• Thursday: 10km run + statics
• Friday: 6km run
• Sat: 16*200m intervals. 3-6km -> Gym
• Sun: 1hr urban run + statics

This regime is meant for supplement current weaknesses and to boost my stamina. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays' runs will be a no stress-type; in other words, they'll be leisure runs with no timings to meet for rest and to burn off excess lactic acids in the legs. Other days will be serious training days. 2 days of gym per week will be implemented to get my body leaner.

The above training program is still a first draft. Swimming might be added in, and also, the trainings might be adjusted when objectives needs to be met, such as for IPPT periods or marathons.

Doing this won't be easy, but I hope to see results eventually, and for it to go well. Discipline will play a big part.

What this blog is for...

Alright. Here goes.

Humans are never satisfied. I was once a fatass. Back then, I would have just been content at the thought of losing weight.

Back then, I had just wanted to lose weight based on BMI measurements. I saw that the Ministry of Health's definition of a normal BMI as 18-22.9. And I vigorously trained just so I could be in that range, losing weight like a mad man. It was to such a point that dinner was a single apple, I lived my life counting calories, and I ran 7-10km daily. I did. ultimately achieve my goal.

Aloha, people! Greetings from 3 of me!

The complacency then stepped in. I had never known in my life what was classified as "normal" eating. To me, it was the extreme side of both ends. Fat Zi Hao would've vacuumed 5 packs of instant noodles AND a Double McSpicy the same day and have seconds. Anorexic Zi Hao would've counted every calorie and stuck to a 2000 kcal/day regime. Once both turned into Fit Zi Hao, I was at a loss. So what classifies as a normal healthy meal?

Initially, after I lost weight, my 6 pack abs started showing. I was happy, but at the same time, I sought even harder for them to appear more. However, part of me was way too content. After I got my IPPT Gold for both NS years, the complacency increased, and I started saying goodbye to Tiffany, Lara, Jolin, Krissy, Kara and Alicia. Just kidding! I obviously aren't crazy enough to name my abs after girls' names. *rolleyes* But yeah, they started to appear and disappear at random, and I know why.

I maintained my weight due to the heavy workouts I'm still undergoing, but performance-wise, it's been fluctuating. And it's all because of the way I am eating. I need to start eating healthily if I want my abs to show again. And I need to start as soon as I can.

So for me, it's time to start planning. After ORD, to be healthier and fitter. This blog will be documenting my workouts, both success and failures, from IPPT trainings, running, gym and diets. Hopefully, results will eventually show. Adios. ;)