The Bird's Nest

Alright, the challenge begins tomorrow

2011-05-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
So I have picked a perfect workout plan, got the right stuff for the diet and got my game face on. Alright tomorrow onwards its go time.

Charles

Prototype 2.0

2011-05-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
So I have been quiet for a while mainly because of the lack of internet, but anyways lets cut to the cake.

I tried on my db jersey today, and I felt that I reversed some of my previous success. Hm, not too good. Anyways, first regatta being end of this month gives me just enough time to shape up. That means, working out every morning, no more junk food, no more bad food. Its gonna be all working out, swimming, basketball and dragon boat. So anyways, will be back when I start this Sunday

Later Days

Continued Prototyping

2011-04-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello World!!!
Alright so now that I am done exams and back home (oh Happy Easter btw!), its time for me to start planning out the next 4 months. No not my activities but rather my workout routine, goals, etc. From my 6 pack in 60 days journey I emerged with a 4 pack and 30 lbs lighter. Not too bad I guess, but all that just probably made me more fit and thats about it. From where I stand, I have no significant advantages in any sports (advantages that arise out of body physique that is). As of right now, two major sports I am involved with are dragon boat racing and basketball. The later more than the former mainly because I am already experienced(to a minor degree atleast) in basketball. I also want to get involved in some Muay Thai and Parkour. So my goal for this summer, is to build my body in a way that would help me out perform others at these sports (yeah even though db racing is more team based, you do need to be in good shape to paddle). So that would mean, significantly cutting down fat from all over my body, packing some muscle in my arms, chest, core, back, calves and shoulders. Also keeping the current size of my quads while at the same time increasing explosiveness at the legs.

Numeric Goals:
Row 700m in 2 mins
Bench max weight in 5 reps-200lbs
Bench max reps 100 with 100lbs
Max Pullups in a row-50
Max Pushups in a row-150

I am planning on starting May 1st and I shall upload a list of my most recent measurements then.

I have already gained some weight due to exam tension, burger king + Pizza craving and mostly my parents delicious food. Ah...how can a step backward be so tasty?

Anyways, until next time.

Happy Days!!!

The Human Prototype 18/18

2011-03-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Hello World!!!

K first ima go through all the workouts i left out:

Day 11: Stair workouts, about 6 laps round a hockey tracks stair case doing varying stair workouts.
Day 12: Ab Ripper X, 20 pushups+30 situps+40 Mountain Climbers (40 on each leg)+50 squats for i think 5 rounds battle for time...had best time :P, Kickboxing Cardio workout, Swim
Day 13: Rest
Day 14: Rest
Day 15: Rowing for 6 mins with 1 min rest for 2 reps, some ab exercises, rowing practice
Day 16: Murph with a 20 lb vest (1 mile run, 100 situps, 200 pushups 300 squats, 1 mile run again, took off vest only while doing situps), Sprint pyramids- 60m, 100m, 200m, 400m and back down.
Day 17:100 burpees, super extreme ab ripper x i.e 35 reps instead of 25 ...yea we boss :P, yoga.

Damn i messed up the days...well whatever one day doesnt make a difference.

Anyways, i am saying good bye to you guys with this post.
The journey thus far has been solely based on the motivation of the fact that being part of dragon boat, I see myself as the weakest in the team and since I did not want to slow my team down I stepped up my game. Competitive tryouts coming tues...fingers crossed.
Another factor is that I wanted to try mma, and being 153 lbs with my strength abilities seems pretty advantageous for me, although I have seen many people much better that I can hope to be.
Finally I want to reach that point where I am not limited by my bodies capabilities, so this whole journey has been more minds over matter.

Next steps: Focus on clearing this term with decent grades and then back to the gym, I am hoping that if I can lose 15 lbs fat and gain 10 lbs muscle I'll be in pretty good stance. I also plan to read the book the 4 hour body, because it seems to have gotten good reviews and well the youtube trailer for the book just pumps me up :P,

So until next time,

Happy days

The Human Prototype 5/18

2011-03-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hello World!!!

The Human Prototype- Day 4- Rest/Recovery Day
The Human Prototype- Day 5- Fran Crossfit workout (21-15-9 Thrusts+Pullups )- Pullups were done at 20-13-8 because I was too tired, 10 Burpees +10 Box Jumps +25 Situps for 3 sets, A couple of 150 m sprints with 10 pushups+10Squats+10 situps, 20 sets of 5 pushups +5squats+5 situps, some more 150 m sprints and planks, some more pushups and situps, a little more ab exercises and plyometrics, finished the day with a swim.
The Human Prototype- Day 6-7- Participated in a Relay for Life against Cancer. Lightly jogged
about 300 laps, track was kinda small so it is hard to estimate the total distance, maybe 200-300m? 100 situps+200pushups+300 squats, 50-40-30-20-10 Jump Squats + Situps, 40 Pushups+40 squats+2 minute planks.
The Human Prototype- Day 8- Paddling Practice, no biggie
The Human Prototype- Day 9- 60m-100m-200m-400m-800m-400m-200m-100m-60m Sprints
The Human Prototype- Day 10- GI JANE (100 Burpee Pullups in 14:51),800 workout (100 Wide pushups, 100 crunches, 100 squats,100 diamond pushups,100 Jump Knee tuck squats, 100 mountain climbers, 100 Inch Worms/caterpillars, 100 cross legged situps) and just to end it all with a nice cool down 90 pushups (50-20-20)

Benchmark- Chest explosiveness has increased incredibly, pushups have become pretty easy for me. Today did 100 Wide Pushups in a row (Wide not normal so these are easier). I can also do 70+/-20 regular pushups depending on my chest fatigue. Basically, I think about back in the day when I was proud of doing 30 pushups and now I just feel so happy I surpassed that.
I am though, by no means strong. Infact, once the easy part of the 800 workout i.e squats was done, I started to struggle. I remember feeling my heart painfully thump my chest at the jump knee tuck squats part (should I get myself checked?).

People have also asked me about supplements. Guys and girls, I dont take any. I will probably be hypocritic in the near future and take them, but as of now I dont believe in artificial proteins. I mean, how did the cavemen do it? How did Arnold Schwarzenegger do it? Dont answer that :P

I do however take fish oil pills 3 times a day and B-Complex pills twice a day. I get my calcium from milk and protein from tuna or cheese sandwiches and chicken curry. The Pita I use for the curry and the bread for the sandwiches more or less covers my carbs and calories. I wont lie, I have cut down on fruit lately. Why? I dont know, just feel too lazy to eat fruit.

Alright, so I have 8 days till my challenge ends. I have gone from 184 lbs in December to 158 lbs right now. No muscle loss because I can still bench the same, if not more. I think I have successfully developed lean muscle. DB competitive tryouts are few days after my challenge ends which is why I am going extra hard right now. I take the metal analogy while approaching body building. You want to develop muscular endurance, work hard for 5 days, rest 2. But I am going harder on myself because I can recover faster. So after my challenge ends, I am going to stop working out. I will continue dragon boat practice. Maybe visit the gym once in a while, but I need to give Mr Physics and his friends Chemistry and Calculus some extra attention. And many of you may not know, but I am a freelance applications developer and I do have that side of my life to take care of. Yeah, its hard being a student trying to be an athelete :P

Alrighty then, nappy time,

Happy Days!!!

The Human Prototype 3/18

2011-03-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
It feels great to be back. Sorry, had exams, had to study. But yes, I did workout as well. Mostly with UWDBC, but I have been exploding on my workouts and giving it a little extra.

So anyways I am almost done my 6 pack in 60 days, so far I have a 4 pack and I have an annoying layer of fat covering my bottom 2 abs. That being said I doubt I'll have fight club Brad Pitt abs by the end of the next 17 days, but hey cant stop trying.

So What is the Human Prototype? Well basically since my 6 pack challenge ends in 17days and the end date coincides with the UWDBC fitness test for the competitive team, I have decided to follow a workout that would get me ready to hopefully help me lose a lot of weight but mostly condition my muscles.

Method of training? UFC Condition workouts and Crossfit workouts are the two main ones I am following so far. I'll post the workouts I do as often as I can. Sorry, I am a university student and I am starting to feel what full course loads weigh -_-

So lets cut to the chase
The Human Prototype (1/18)- The 600 Workout (in 24:32 secs with half assed pushups and body rows, I am going to run this again in a week as a bench mark test)
The Human Prototype (2/18)- Half track sprints+Walks, 3reps for sets; 6 reps (jog at 50% and sprint at 70%) [not too sure if it was 6 reps, in of both or 3 reps of both :S] and the middle of the MURPH i.e. 100 situps, 200 pushups, 300 squats (in 12:00 mins, bad I know I can do it in 10 if I wasnt so tired)
The Human Prototype (3/18)- 100 jumping jacks+75 Squats+50 pushups+25 Burpees (4 mins); 10 reps of 30 second pushup plank + 30sec static chair squat; 7 rep squats + 7rep Burpees for 7 sets (4 mins); 7rep Pushups + 7rep situps for 7 reps (1:50 mins; bad, I wasted time in the situp by going all the way up, trust me, it doesnt help); 2 sets of Randy Couture's Workout (1st time dint let go of the bar, second time I did as I went up from 45 lbs to 65 lbs...too ambitious I know); 2 minute row (561m BAD!!!!!!!!!! I am so disappointed in myself, my goal is to get this up to 590m at least; because if I can do 590m in a tired state then I should be able to hit 650+ in an explosive, fresh state)

Yeah I am going hard. Also I read up on overtraining, it turns out that different people have different thresholds. So for me I tend to recover really quick after workouts due to a long history of weight training (yeah I dont look like it because I trained the "wrong way" from grade 8 to 11; years I can never get back).

Anyways, my coffee is wearing out, my eyes are getting heavy and I have an "interesting" physics lecture tomorrow to attend to.

So until next time,

Happy Days,

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 4- Day 25

2011-02-19T21:16:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
Today was a tough day man, like starting hardcore working out after that tough exam break. Alright so this is what I did today:
4 sets of 6 minute rows with 1 minute rest for a total distance of 5659m....my target 6000m
Body Rows- about 40 (5 sets 8 reps)
Barbell Rows (4 sets 5 reps 80lbs I know I can go higher but the other weights were taken and well I hate waiting, thats why I hate Windows Vista *zing*)
lat pull down (90 lbs 3 sets 12 12 10 reps *soft* target- 160lbs cos thats how much i weigh, unless the weights were in kgs :S hm, in that case I iz beast?)
Seated cable rows (45lbs 40 reps)
And lastly I killed my self with some ab exercises.

So I am almost half way through and well I have lost 20 lbs in a month so I guess I am making progress. Now whether I achieve my goal or not in 60 days I will continue to work hard. I thank all you for your support on this journey although I only almost half way there.

Gah, enough of that soft talk, here is what I want to look like end of Spring:

Yee boii, the actor is Scott Adkins and the movie is Undisputed 2 and 3. I would recommend watch all 3, they are amazing if you like good fighting movies.

This is what his workout plan looks like:

I do think he works out much more than that though. Anyways, thats it for today. Until next time,

Happy Days!!!

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 4- Day 24

2011-02-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
Guess you all have been missing me heh? Well my exams are done (for now) and I have kept a good diet since day 19. Less exercise though. However I did drop 4 pounds (yay?!?) So I went from 184lbs in Jan to 160lbs in Feb (Yippeee!?) Well I am still muscular so I guess no major muscle loss.

Gosh its windy out there, I feel as though my windows are gonna come flying in at me. I am gonna change things up a bit. I shall blog twice a week (dunno when) but if you check back often you'll know. Also, Ima put something interesting on followed by my workout routine. So you dont have to read a whole page of me talking about myself(although I know you ladies and gentlemen out there enjoy it :P ). I shall also not record foods that I eat because I have come to a point where the food I eat is pretty repetitive.

Joke of the day that I dont get: What do you call a sheep with no legs? A cloud
Really? A cloud? Last I checked clouds dont give me wool to keep myself warm (and goddamn I love me some wool at this time of the year). Another thing, clouds can fly, a sheep with no legs cant even walk. You know what I call a sheep with no legs? Mutton Chops.

Thats it for todays ramble,
Todays workout- A good mid to high intensity game of basketball.

Yep thats all folks

Happy Days,

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 18 and 19

2011-02-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
K so I gotta get back to studying so I'll keep this short:

11-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 18: Chocolate Milk Breakfast+Chicken Curry Lunch+XL Pizza dinner (Exams...)

12-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 19: Chocolate milk breakfast+Rec Basketball (to burn the pizza from the night before)+UWDBC Practice (see below)+Pizza slice lunch+Chicken Curry and one pita bread lunch 2 and same for dinner.

UWDBC Practice:
A couple of pushups, leg raises, hip rock and raises, dips and planks. Broke a sweat and t'was a great workout.

Milestone: 30% done, YIKES!!! Time flies. But I feel stronger at the core and all my other muscles are gaining definition. I promise, I shall push my limits in my workouts during reading week.

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 16 and 17

2011-02-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
So I have been pretty busy with exams this week and will be busy again this coming week.

09-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 16: Cereal Breakfast+Cheese Sandwich lunch+Cheese Sandwich snack+Salami Sandwich Dinner (Exams...)

10-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 17: Chocolate milk breakfast+Cheese Sandwich lunch+Some rowing, body rows (about 50+) and Ab Workouts+UWDBC Practice (see below)+Chicken Curry and one pita bread dinner.

Rowing:
569 m in 2:00min
1000m in 3:40 min
1434m in 6min
553m in 2min

A little Advice: Stretch before you row -_-
When I started I was'nt warmed up and well, I felt pain in my legs from the rowing. I could have killed it otherwise. Lets see, I shall push my limits on the rowing machine come end of exams.

UWDBC Practice:

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Did exercises to workout the entire body from explosive pushups to pushup dips to mountain climbers to Kickboxing knockouts. There were 24 exercises in total in groups of 8. Did 2 sets of 2 groups and 1 set of one group(since we were all tired down we only went halfway through). After workout a few of us went bouldering. It was fun.

Lately I learnt that few of the principles of working out that I follow are wrong or even questioning. Most of it is to do with this challenge I have undertaken. I found this link here that basically explains some misconceptions and gives some guidance towards getting and maintaining a six pack. Enjoy.

Thats it for today

Until next time Happy Days,

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 13, 14 and 15

2011-02-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
Gahh...Too much work.

Summary for the last 3 days:

06-02-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 13: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+Chicken Curry Lunch+Cheese Sandwich Pre-workout+Rowing Workout +Salami Sandwich Dinner

07-02-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 14: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+Chicken Curry Lunch+Cheese Sandwich Evening snack+Chicken Curry and one pita bread dinner and 2 Energy drinks due to pulling an all nighter (exams -_-).

08-02-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 15: Cereal Breakfast (damn all outta eggs)+Chees Sandwich Lunch+Burger King Snack (Dont hate me -_- )+Kickboxing Cardio Workout+Chicken Curry Dinner.

Gahh exams means less focus on food and more on studying. I have even turned down on weight training. I really need to focus on education though.
Week 2 critique: I can do 50 pushups in a row, easy (well i do get tired at 50) but dont hate, haha. Feel more athletic, feel stronger, faster, lighter and more agile. Coordination improved by a lot, but still gotta work on it.

K, until next time.

Happy days

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 11 and Day 12

2011-02-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!

So far, I am at 20% of the program. Geezus!!!

Lets cut to the chase:

04-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 11: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+Cheese Sandwich Lunch+Thai Chicken Curry and one pita bread Dinner. No Workout today =(

05-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 12: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+UW DB Practice (see below)+Salami Sandwich Lunch+Chicken Curry and one pita bread evening lunch/snack and half a cantaloupe+2 Salami Sandwich dinner.

UWDBC Practice:
Short distance sprint+10 pushup dips on bars approx 60 cm off the ground+Short distance sprint+10 crunches and 10 squats. I did this entire routine 8 times.

Critique so far: I felt hungrier today and urged for "bad foods". The pamphlets and coupons lying on my dinner table did not help a bit. For now I will keep fighting :) .
Physically, I feel my upper core muscles to have become tighter. I feel halfway towards my goal especially since I do have a 6 pack but it is buried under a thick belly :(. I do the P90X program up 95% of the total reps. So no surprise there. All this belly is fat, is just whats left of me from 3 years ago (when I weighed 180lbs of pure fat).
That being said, I would say my main focus is to lose belly fat. But since spot reduction is no possible, I guess its a whole body focus thing. So cardio+strength training.
Athletically, I feel much better than I did a month ago. I feel stronger, faster, agile and I can even last longer on the track. Progress? Lets hope so. Also, I measured my weight on 23 December and I was 184lbs. I then measure my weight before embarking on this journey and it was 180 lbs. Now I weighed myself and I am 164lbs. Yippee. Oh and I can still do the same weights I used to at 180 lbs so I am guessing no muscle loss =)

Anyways, I am in university and I have 2 weeks of exams coming on (do I hear boos?). So I will have to hold off on strength training for now (now I hear boos) and I may miss a practice or 2 of dragon boat (k now I definitely hear boos). I'll try my best to make practice, but now my main priority is to stay in school, so yeah.

Once midterms are done, I'll post some interesting stuff. Any suggestions? Maybe workout music, movie reviews, album reviews,... lets see.

For now wish me luck on my midterms, and I wish everyone writing midterms good luck as well.

Stay Cool and Stay in School

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 10

2011-02-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
Gonna make this another short one.

03-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 10: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+Tuna Sandwich and Banana Lunch+Thai Chicken Curry and one pita bread as pre workout snack+Workout(see below)+ Salami Sandwich with cantaloupe and apple.

Workout:

Quads and Hamstrings
Quads
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Squat - Power	4	5 120lbs
Leg Press - Muscle	3	12 270lbs
Dumbell Squat - Muscle	3	12 45lbs dumbell
Leg Press - Burn	2	40 180lbs
Hamstrings
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Romanian Deadlift - Power	4	5 125lbs
Leg Curl - Muscle	2	12 75lbs
Leg Curl - Burn	0	0

Dragon Boat Practice Workout: 5 Minutes mixed variety of pushups- Went all out and went hard. Yeah I feel like a beast :P
P90X's ab ripper x, but a softer version; i.e doing 15 reps instead of 25, gah I wanted to do 25 :'(
Sprint up stair and walk down. 2 flights of stair about 10 laps...yeah, if my quads could talk, they would swear at me.
Oh but thats not all the quad torture; 5 minutes plyometrics (YIKES!!!) and that was followed by 5 minutes, I would call it agility training but it was basically jumping over tiny hurdles sideways, hopping over them and then jumping sideways doing a pushup and so on, each one 2 times.
That was followed by a sweet cool down (I am always so fresh when we reach this part, I feel like I wanna keep going).
Now just for today and I think I'll make this a routine but I shall do swimming after ever practice for half hr to 45 minutes. I feel so fresh and energetic now :D

Until Next time, Happy Days!!!!

Lesson learnt today( and well Tuesday): Dont do chest and biceps on Tuesday and quads and hams on Thursdays. Why? Because on these days of dragon boat practice we actually workout these muscles PRETTY HARD...yeah, try sprinting up stairs after killing your quads with muscle training.

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 9

2011-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
OK, I am gonna keep this one short.

02-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 9: 2 eggs and oat meal and Milk Breakfast+Thai Chicken Curry Lunch+Banana pre workout snack+Workout(see below)+ Tuna Sandwich Dinner with cantaloupe and apple.

3 meals today because I had my sweet sweet 10 hours sleep and had breakfast at 11:30am.

Workout: 400 meter sprints for 10 repetitions. 30 seconds to one minute rest in between each rep. This is the second time I did this workout (first time was last Monday). In comparison, I feel much better and I actually feel I could go for 5 additonal lap sprints. I also managed to keep my time for each lap consistent.

Ahhh too tired...gonna sleep now.

Until next time Happy days.

Break to Build- 6 Pack in 60 Days- Week 2- Day 8

2011-02-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
So I have been asked, what is "Break to Build"? Well if you know me personally you would know I rip off quotes from sports commercials. Well I got "Break to Build" from this one:

Anyways, thats your video candy for today.

As for the real stuff:
01-02-2011 Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 8: 2 eggs and Milk Breakfast+Tuna Sandwich Lunch and banana and apple+homemade chicken and potato wrap and a banana pre workout snack+Workout(see below)+Dragon Boat Practice(See below)+ Light Thai Chicken Curry and brown bread

Workout:

Chest and Biceps
Chest
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Bench Press - Power	4	5,5,5,6 155lbs
Incline Bench Press - Muscle	3	12,12,12 115lbs
Dumbbell Bench Press - Muscle	3	12,8,8 45lbs
Dumbbell Flys - Burn	1	40 20lbs
Biceps
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pinwheel Curls - Power	2	5 35lbs
Standing Barbell Curl - Muscle	3	12,12,12 90(45 each side)lbs
Cable Preacher Curl - Burn	2	40 30lbs

Dragon Boat Practice:
A couple of random ab workouts using an exercise ball. Some of them included pushups and I will admit I did them half hearted as my chest was workout sore because I did db practice right after working out. Then we did the P90X Ab Ripper X workout. I feel kinda guilty that I went full intensity, especially since I did it yesterday and Tony Horton clearly mentions in the workout video to not do the workout everyday. We then did a Tabatha set HIIT workout. So 4 minutes, 8 sets, 20 seconds each and 10 seconds rest, pushups, situps, squats and burpees(yikes!). The lowest score is your final score, so in my case my lowest scores were 8(pushups), 12(situps), 21(squats) and 7(burpees). My goal is to get pushups to 15, situps to 20, squats to 25 and burpees to 10. After all that we did superman ab/lower back workout, for about 15 minutes and then we wrapped it up with some stretching.

Gahh, I write too much. OK,I am going to go back and study chemistry now...

Until next time, Happy Days!!!

6 Pack in 60 Days Week 1

2011-01-31T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!!
So I have this goal, to gain a 6 pack abdominal figure in 60 days. Yes, it is pretty far fetched and I have faced a lot of cynicism. I have being recording my updates on facebook, but now I think I should record my workouts and day to day food consumption here. So this is how my week one has been like:

25-01-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack. Target-60 days. Progress-The journey has just begun
26-01-2011      Break to Build- 6pack in 60 days- day 2: 4 light meals + intense physical exertion exercise
27-01-2011      Break to Build- 6pack in 60 days- day 3: 4 light meals +1 Heavy Meal+ one and half hrs intense physical exertion exercise

28-01-2011      Break to Build- 6pack in 60 days- day 4:Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 4: 1 light meal (breakfast) 1 heavy meal(evening burger king) and 4 cups beer
29-01-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 5: Swimming exercise+2 light meals+1 beer+1 shot

30-01-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 6: Rowing (upper body workout) + 3 light meals
31-01-2011      Break to Build- 6 pack in 60 days- day 7: 4 light meals + semi intense physical exertion+ p90x Ab Ripper X

Week Critique: So yes, if you know me personally you probably approached me asking me-

Am I over my head to go for such a goal under such a short time with such a undeserving physique?
How am I going to achieve this during school time?
Haha Burger King/Beer/Bubble Tea!!! 6 pack in 60 days heh? An Exception eh?

My Responses:

Yes I am a little over my head, but one thing about working out is that you have to set goals for yourself. However unrealistic as it can be, it does force oneself to push themself harder. So yeah...
Good question and a hard way of life it is. So basically I have committed myself to 4 meals a day and minimum 1 and half hour exercise per day. Except on Fridays which I take as a rest day for my entire body to recuperate from the whole days work. I am currently training with UW Dragon Boat Club, which if I may say so myself have pretty intense workout drills incorporating elements from an array of workout routines. That is basically the physical exertion exercises listed. I shall be more specific next week onwards.
Ok, I'll admit I did stuff considered unhealthy/anti-6 pack. The Burger King thing, was done on a day when my only other meal was Breakfast. So no lunch/dinner and it was a Friday so no exercises. The rest I will say I arranged my diet to fully accommodate them.

Goals for next week: TURN IT THE HELL UP!!!!
So exception heh? (Inside thing) Well starting February 1st, I shall incorporate weight training into my routine. I shall train on Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun. The routine I plan to follow is this one: Right Here. I suggest visit this website if you need workout plans/ articles/ diets/ supplements/ etc.

Thats all for today peeps...Wish me luck on Week 2!!!

PS: I'll put up before and after pics end of day 60

Bring on the music

2010-09-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
So lately, I've started listening to a lot of music. And I dont mean music as in Lil Wayne, Sean Kingston, Drake, G-Unit, 50 Cent and might I even say- DJ Khaled. Yes, those were the artists I used to listen to on my mp3 player and ipod. You could also add Sean Paul, Ludachris (the new album), Fort Minor and Linkin Park. My music tastes were a little bad and backward so I decided to check out some other albums that other people recommended me to listen to. The following are the names, followed by my personal opinion of each one.

Eminem- Recovery
I could'nt wait for this album to come out right after I heard 'Not Afraid' (before it was over played on the radio). I also enjoyed 'No Love' featuring Lil Wayne and 'W.T.P (White Trash Party)'. But in the whole album, the songs on the top of my favorite list are- 'Almost Famous' and 'Cinderella Man', although I think the whole album was pretty awesome. I however disliked the song named 'Seduction' for a reason that I myself cannot understand.

The Game- Doctors Advocate
I actually enjoyed listening to this album and I honestly listen to a few songs, if not the whole album atleast once everyday. The reason that I like this album so much is because I feel that the Game has a good flow and method of telling a story through a song and he also has great beats in the background. However, it does get a little annoying after a while when he keeps comparing himself to Dr Dre. My favorite songs from the album are- 'Scream On Em feat Swizz Beatz' and 'California Vacation' feat Snoop, Xibit and some rappers that I dont know the name of. The whole album is great though.

Snoop Dogg- Doggystyle
If you are a rap fan, then you have to listen to this album. I would say that this is Snoops best work. He runs a great beat behind every song, tells a good story and has a sick flow. Its hard to pick a favorite song. Just for the hell of it I'll pick 'Serial killer'.

B.O.B- The Adventures of Bobby Ray
The whole album is great. Good flow, sick beats. Favorite songs- 'Bet I', 'Dont let me fall' and 'Magic'. I would like to say 'Airplanes' as well but I guess it would follow after the ones mentioned above.

Dr Dre- 2001
Well there is nothing to say here except Dre. King of beats, smooth flow (yeah I know I said this for almost every rapper but still) and a nice style. There is a reason he is famous. Favorite songs- 'Still Dre' and 'Forget about Dre'. I am not sure if this is in the album but I would like to add 'California Love' to the list as well, I mean come on, doesnt get better than a collab between 2 Pac and Dre.

I'd say thats about it for now. Albums I am planning to listen to-
2Pac- Killuminati
2Pac- All Eyes on me
Notorious BIG- Ready to Die
Notorious BIG- Life after Death
NAS- Illimatic
I would also like to start listening to Immortal Techique's and Jay Z's albums but I really dont know where to start. Feel free to help me out.

So thats it for today, if you would like to recommend some songs or albums by any artist feel free to leave a comment. Just F.Y.I, I like songs with a good beat, good flow and a proper story telling.

Happy days,

Quote of the Day-I am going to leave this out for today in view of the recent floods in Pakistan. To all people out there stay strong and united, and to all people living a comfortable life, please donate to red cross and charities around you, sometimes even a small contribution can make a big difference.

Image Citation:
Eminems recovery album cover-sickhop.com
The Game Doctors Advocate album cover: http://robertjbrooks.com
Snoop Dogg album cover: http://www.recordsale.org
BoB album cover: http://www.5starhiphop.com
Dr Dre 2001 album cover: http://www.mp3boo.com/

Working out

2010-08-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Sorry its being a long time since I last blogged. I have been very busy the last few days. So I mentioned that I love basketball and working out before. Today I am going to talk about my passion and my workout ethics.

So I was'nt fully acquainted with basketball until I was 18. I came from a country where basketball is barely played and people play soccer and cricket instead. As i grew up I played both of those sports and at one time my passion for soccer was almost as much as it is now for basketball. It was all until I broke my ankle bone. Now everytime I think about playing soccer, I feel pain in my ankles. But enough of that. As for basketball, I started off playing the game on my trustworthy playstation 2 until after I sprained my ankle. That was when I started working out and wanted to expend that newly acquired metabolism on a sport. Here in Canada, Cricket is as unheard of as is basketball in my home country, and as I mentioned about my soccer voes, the only sport remaining was basketball ( I am aware there are many more sports but among my friend circle basketball was more popular, right after soccer).

So I started off, as a noob who could barely dribble the ball. Forget shooting, the only thing I was good for was rebounding which is how i gained my nickname "Birdman". So I have being playing ball for a year now, I wouldnt say I got much better, but I am on the road to improvement.

Now for working out. I have been working out since I was in grade 8. It started off with trying to lose my whale-ish physique and now it is for training for basketball. I have worked out for long enough to know bad form from good, however my weakness is my lack of time. As a university student, I dont have time to work out during uni so, I end up taking 4 month rest intervals.

Now when anyone trains, they need to set goals. Do you want to improve your strength? Do you want more muscle? Do you want more endurance? My goals are to last longer on the courts, while at the same time be fast enough to beat my opponent and strong enough to resist the defensive influence of the opponent. Hence strength training. A side goal (as is that of any dedicated baller) is to be able to dunk and strength training helps just with that. I was recommended to to plyometrics or jump training instead but plyo exerts too much pressure on your feet and if it is not strengthened, you will find yourself suffering from jumping pains in the knee, calves, etc. I know this mainly because I tried plyometrics on weak legs and then hurt my feet bad when I jumped with full force. If you are confident of your leg muscle strength, then I suggest you go through with it, but for others remember, PLYOMETRICS IS HIGH INTENSITY, SO DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. There are some type of plyo that isnt bad and you could incorporate in your routines, such as skip ropes and squats.

So where do I get my workout routines from? Well there is this cool website called Muscle and Strength training (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/) that gives you workouts and tips from professionals so feel free to visit and start working out now :).

Thats it for today. Hope my extra long blog made up for not writing for a while.
Happy days

Quote of the Day: "All my life I have dared to go past what is possible. To the place where the possible and the impossible meet, to become... the possimpible." Barney Stinson.

P.S- Enjoy the how I met your mother sixth season premiere

Day at the CNE

2010-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
Yesterday (August 20) the Canadian National Exhibition(CNE) opened. For those of you not familiar with the CNE, it is a carnival with a lot of rides and games. It is a great place to spend sometime with your family and friends. They also have events that you could sit back and enjoy watching, like the Canadian International Air show, Circus Performers, Cultural Performers and many more. Check out www.theex.com for more details.

While I was at the CNE, I was a spectator to many events. One event that really amazed me was this man who was balancing rocks. What he would do is stack rocks one over another in a way that most people would say defy gravity. When asked how he did it, he gave me the following explanation:

"According to Newtons Law, an object will continue to stay still as long as an external force is not applied to it. Similarly a stone will stay still as long as there is no external force causing it to move. Now in order to balance the rocks over each other, you first need to find their center of gravity and then stack them accordingly. Its just that when you stack them it takes a lot of patience to ensure that they are still."

Now that explanation makes rock balancing look so easy that I feel I could balance rocks over each other right now (but alas I failed). This man has pure talent. I believe he also appeared on CTV and CNN for his amazing abilities.

There were other wonders around too. There was this sand carvings that looked like a face and other objects on display.

yea, thats made out of sand...

I find it difficult to build sand castles at the beach, whoever built those sand sculptures are deemed pro by my word. There were other events too which I bared witness to as I passed by them. However my favorite part of every carnival is the rides section. I went along with my dad and younger bro on a Ferris wheel and I took some really cool pictures while I was up there. I also went on this ride which is like a shorter version of the Canada Wonderland's dropzone, I seriously went on that ride twice because I enjoyed the adrenaline rush the ride gave me. I went on a couple of other rides before winding down and heading to the indoor arts and crafts sales areas which my mom is very fond of. If you are into artifacts, precious gems, crystals, paintings or even massage equipment I suggest you give this place a look as they seem to have some pretty neat stuff.

The BMO field

Some of the other rides

Finally after nearly 5 hours of walking we decided to head back home. As we were leaving we got to see some of the fireworks which was pretty decent.

And thats about my family and my day at the CNE.

Quote of the day: Einstein was a genius because he figured how to confuse us in more than one way.

The Best player's in todays Basketball

2010-08-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned that one thing I love doing is playing basketball. I also enjoy watching the sport and today I will share my thoughts on who I think are the best players in the game.

Best point guard in the game- Steve Nash
In my opinion the best point guard or pg currently playing the game is Steve Nash. The Phoenix Suns in the beginning of the season were one of the most underrated team in the NBA. People barely expected it to make the playoffs, let alone make it to the Conference Finals. Nash was one player who at such an old age turned up his performance. Many would agree that last season was probably better than his MVP seasons. In my opinion, you put Nash on a mediocre team and he will make the surrounding cast look like All-Stars. Last season he had the best passing and the best Free throw percentage in the league, which is why I consider him to be the best Pg in the game.

Best Shooting guard in the game- Kobe Bryant
There should be no argument against Kobe here. He is simply the best Shooting Guard and in my opinion, the best player in today's game. Why would anyone argue? The Black Mamba had numerous clutch moments last season and not to mention the fact that he lead the LA Lakers to win their second back to back championship. While the formation of the Colossal three in Miami (Lebron, Wade and Bosh) may cause many to have given up hope that true sportsmanship exists in the NBA, many will look towards Kobe Bryant and the Lakers with hope, hope that they will bring down the Miami Heat if they face them in the finals.

Best Small Forward in the game- Lebron James
The Akron native forward Lebron James is the best small forward in today's game. What makes him the best small forward is his body, speed, agility and ability to get the ball to the basket and finish. Lebron James is a beast in the paint and he uses his quickness and agility to beat the defender to the basket. His love for drawing contact on the way to the basket has given him many opportunities at the free throw line. He could have been in the consideration for the best player in the league had he remained with Cleveland or even not joined forces with Wade and Bosh in Miami.

Best Power Forward in the game- Chris Bosh
The best power forward in the game is a very arguable position mainly because you have to consider forwards like Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudamire and probably others. Now I am a supporter of the Toronto Raptors and although it is part of my instinct to hate on Bosh, I have to say that he is the Best PF in today's game. Bosh did not receive much recognition when he was with the Raptors but I doubt he'll receive significantly more recognition with the Heat. While with the Raptors Bosh was their primary scoring option and he holds a lot of records with the Raptors. Around pre-All Star Week I had hope that the Raptors will seize the 3rd or 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, but after Bosh's injury in the Memphis game all went downhill and we missed the playoff by one spot. That itself should prove why Bosh is the best PF, because without him the Raptors could not do much. Now I am not saying that the Raptors are nothing with out Bosh. I have great hope for the so called Young Guns and really hope the Raptors can prove to the NBA that they do not need Bosh.

Best Center in the Game: Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard, two time Defensive player of the year is in my opinion the best player in today's game.While he is no comparison to the Diesel in his prime, at the current day he is the best center in the game. While there are alot of aspects in his game that he has to improve on, his best aspect is his blocks. He has the highest block averages in the league and his ripped physique helps him stay dominant in the paint. He is crazy athletic but I feel that he doesnt show a lot of it during the game. He also needs to improve on getting less fouls during the game.

And that puts an end to todays article, feel free to leave your own opinion.

Quote of the Day- Money doesnt bring you happiness, it brings you crazy happiness - Eminem

My University and My Program

2010-08-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hey there,
Well I mentioned in the previous post that I am in Systems Design Engineering in the University of Waterloo have just completed my first year of university and that I still have four more to go. But I am pretty sure you are asking yourselves "What is Systems Design?", "Why do you have four more years left? Shouldnt it be three?" and "Why are you so awesome?" Ok I cant explain the last one but the other two will be a breeze.

What is Systems Design Engineering?
As per the definition that we were taught in class, Systems Design engineering or simply SYDE is a holistic approach to solving real world problems. What that means is that a systems design student uses methods both inside and outside engineering to solve problems in the real world. This is a broad field of engineering and when it came to making the big decision I felt that this program was the one for me.

Why do you have four years left?
Well as I mentioned before I just completed my first year of university but I still have four more years left. So in total that is five years of study. Unlike most other universities University of Waterloo's Engineering programs (All of them, not just SYDE) are five year programs. This is because we have a systems called cooperative education or simply coop. Now how that works is that you basically study for four months then you work and then you study again and the cycle goes on. While we take an extra year to graduate and we have no breaks we graduate with 2 years of experience. So we are more prepared to enter the real world when we graduate than other students who did not have coop.

Well so thats about my university and all. I'll post something more interesting next time.

Quote of the Day: When life gives you lemons, you sell those lemons and invest the money earned into the global stock markets.

P.S- Yes I am quite original with the "Quotes of the the Day"

Hey there!!!

2010-08-16T22:54:00.001-07:00

Hey there, my name is Charles and I am a university student in Canada. This blog is a space where I will share my thoughts on various topics that interest me. I am a little new to blogging so please bear with me.

Let me tell you folks out there a little about me. I currently attend the University of Waterloo's Systems Design Engineering Program. I am a little happy to mention that I have successfully cleared my first year of university and I still have four more years of university to go (I'll mention why later on). In my free time, which I have very little off, I enjoy playing video games, working out, playing basketball or even just learning something new. My goal in life is to start something, big and revolutionary that will change the world for the better. I am talking about Google or Microsoft big. However, one thing I learn in life is that greatness without humility is a waste. I plan to start some sort of a foundation for the less fortunate once I do reach my goals.

Okay so there you have it...moi

Hope you have fun reading my blog.

Happy Days

Quote of the Day: Life is like a movie written by Christopher Nolan, everything seems so much of a mystery or a puzzle that only comes together at the end.