Saturday 19 January 2013

My Small Workouts

I have been working out for four days now! (Wow!) Well, I wouldn't actually call them 'workouts', because they're too small. I wish I could come up with another name for them. How about worky or ... small workout? I don't feel very creative. Alright? Okay.

So last Friday, or it would have been some time before that, I thought, man I need to start doing something to stop looking like I am forty. So, the thought was in the pipeline, and I was also googling the shortest and the easiest workouts, and the browser window that contained the workouts stayed open a good four days in my computer too. But well, I didn't quite get myself to do it. On Monday, I met friends, and asked them what's up and all, and a friend told me he's been really 'busy' lately, which basically meant he has not been giving himself time. I told him to workout, and well, told him to do a small workout ® . I told him such a thing can be fitted into the busiest of days, because all it takes is 15 minutes of one's time. And if one is worried one would have to take a bath after it, just because of the workout, well, to that I would say, just do it right before you shower! And those who shower in the morning, can do their workouts in the night, if they're too lazy to wake up Fifteen minutes earlier.

Since I have been reading up on small workouts, and since I had planned two workouts for myself. First I had stumbled upon the one called '55' and since that seemed like too little to have any effect, I kept googling until I came up one 'Beginner Men's Indoor Cardio' workout. So I was thinking I would do these both. And this is what I told Russell about, about 55. That it's a simple workout, and can be done in 15 minutes. And that he should do it. He didn't do it. But I ended up doing it the very next day. See? This is also the blessing of inviting someone to do good, you end up doing it yourself.

So the next day, I was thinking, that I am a lazy ass. Instead of doing the cardio workout plus 55, I will just do 55, which started seeming tough enough once I got down to doing it. It goes like this:

You do 1 squat and 10 push-ups, then 30 second rest. Then 2 squats and 9 pushups, then 30 seconds rest. And so on, till you do 10 squats and 1 pushups. That way, you've completed 55 squats and 55 pushups, hence the name. I liked this because I could do it and complete it within 15 minutes. Secondly, when a guy my weight does pushups and squats with only 30 seconds of rest in between, the workout is automatically a cardio workout too, albeit a very very short okay. But that's okay.

That was it for the first day. On second day, I thought, why not also give those cardio exercises a shot too, which I had initially intended to do along with 55. And main reason was that, having done 55 pushups in 15 minutes (I had never done more than 40 pushups in any one day before that workout) I couldn't even do a single pushup. Sore arms and all. So the second workout was like this: Walking/Jogging in place, Side to side jumps, Burpees, Mountain Climbers, Crab walk. Each to done 25 times in one circuit, and a total of two circuits to be done with 1 minute rest in between. Now, I had already ruled out crab walk, I wasn't gonna do that! And when I did attempt Burpees and Mountain Climbers after the first two exercises, I couldn't do them. They were just too tough for me. So, well. I just kept doing one thing or the other till 20 minutes passed. But then, I knew how to plan my next session.

On Thursday night, I introduced rope skipping to the mix. Well, I am very heavy for it, and there are hurdles I face when doing it. The joints hurt like crazy, coordination is not there, and I am out of breath before I can say 'sixty'... So I thought, I would call it a set if I can do more than 25 jumps in one go. And if let's than that, the set will have to repeated. And I did a new version of 55, my triceps still hurting, I decided I would let them recover some more. I did bicep curling along with squats. And did side to side jumps and walking/jogging in place. I did try mountain climbers again, but couldn't get them to work, so left them alone after 10 reps.

On Friday night, it was pretty much the same as Thursday night, except that instead of increasing the number of squats in from 1 to 10, I just did 10 in each round. I really wanted to hit my quads and hams, but haven't been feeling anything there. And I did military presses this time with squats. The cardio was the same, though I noticed some improvement in coordination while skipping rope.

Tonight I guess I will do the actual 55. Followed by some three sets of Jogging-in-place, side-to-side, mountain-climbers, and rope skipping. And if there's still time remaining, I will more something for the lats too.

I am happy I have been sticking with for at least 4 days now. I am not aiming for quick results, or visible, prominent results. If nothing else, the endorphin feel great.

Friday 18 January 2013

Per Ardua Ad Astra

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rnzaf_roundel.svg The insignia of the Royal New Zealand Air Force is the kiwi, a flightless bird.

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Aku

Some things, you just can't get over. Some favorite childhood cartoons are one of those things. As a child, I absolutely loved cartoons. Loveddddddd them! And I still have a lingering taste for them. The thing is, some cartoons respect basic logic and psychology, and those are the ones you can watch and enjoy no matter how old you are, you can indulge in them, suspend some disbelief, and be in the story. With others that don't do that, and violate their own assumptions, have plot holes (Swat Cats, anyone?), the back of your mind stands up with its arms wide open and says with with a disappointing face "That's not even possible when, even in cartoons!" Anyway, so as a child, I used to watch this cartoon, and I simply Loved it. It's called Samurai Jack. I loved everything about it from the animation to graphics to the dialogues to the story to the characters to the soundtrack! Down to the time it was aired. One thing I really can't get out of my mind was the 'Back-to-Back' soundtrack of it, and the dialogue that's said by The Aku before the cartoon begins. Here it is:

Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil! But a foolish Samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law! Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku!
:)

Sunday 13 January 2013

Gurr ki dallee

Mama, meri gurr ki dallee kahan hai?

Thursday 10 January 2013

Shanghai

Meet me up at Shanghai, I will be waiting for you. Dressed as a clown.

Monday 7 January 2013

FOMO

You’re always going to miss out on something.

So be comfortable with it.

And choose the things you're going to be missing out.





Friday 4 January 2013

Book

I like a book for the company it keeps.

Books keep you company, just like humans do. Sometimes it talks to you in an accent (Lolita), sometimes it talks in kind warm voice of wise old person (7 Habits), sometimes it's a smart and stubborn child telling you his tale (Alchemist), sometimes it's that uncle's friend who can always entertain you over the dinner with his awesome tales (Tarzan), sometimes it's  your cousin who is doing a doctorate in psychology and tells you about her research in a fascinated way and you get fascinated too (7 types of smart), sometimes it's that friend who's a little older, but has lived a hell of life and has so many experiences to share!(Daces with Wolves).

That's what books are to me. They keep you company. Some make you laugh, some make you angry, some irritate you with their dumbness, or worse, cunning. Some are downright fake. Some just talk, and bore you.

I like a book for the the company it keeps.