random sweaty stuff

for the past months, i have been buying workout stuff instead of the usual casual/office clothes, and i have discovered a few cool items fit for the gym.

first, the best thing that has happened to energy drinks -- getting themselves powdered! presenting, gatorade thirst quencher powder! now isn't this more convenient than buying and bringing a bottle of gatorade everyday? just put a scoop of this in your water bottle and add cold water when you get to the gym :) plus, it's cheaper too! you get the whole container for around Php290.00 and can make around 7 liters of gatorade. that's just about Php21.00 per 500mL! if you buy the 500mL bottle, it costs around Php 32-35. thanks florian for introducing this to me!

second, revlon colorstay liquid pen. the good: it really is smudge-proof! it stays on even after a Body Combat class with all the sweat and hot lights. i can even line my lower lashes without looking like a zombie an hour after. the pen tip makes it easy to apply too. the bad: is there really liquid in there? you have to shake shake shake the pen before a good amount of color can come out. but all in all the pen is pretty good. although for non-workout days, i still prefer my revlon kohl eyeliner (syempre revlon parin haha!). it's a lot more pigmented and it makes my eyes pop out more :D

third, everlast PINK handwraps! need i say more? LOVE!

aside from the cool purchases, what else have i been up to recently?

- BODY COMBAT 48! kicks, kicks, and more kicks! one of the most challenging releases yet. booyah!

- once launching season is over, i can't wait to try the new release of Body Balance. from what i have seen/heard, it looks freakin hard. WOOOHOOO!

- strength training. ok, so REALLY don't like weight training. i prefer cardio any day. or yoga. unfortunately, i need it. kelangan magpa-lakas. but i don't know anything about it. good thing my strength-training-addict friend, mik, is now training me! we've had 3 sessions so far, and MAN do i feel the burn!

- i started painting my nails again! neon pink, then dark blue, then maroon, then coraly-blue-green :)

- i really really really need to continue writing. i should make time for this :(

- i became a year older! :) thank you Lord for another year. for the blessings, family & friends, for the progress, for Your guidance. i am praying that You would continue to shower me with your blessings, and that You would take to where i need to be. saka po sana yung iba ko pang request, Lord. hehe alam Nyo na po yun :) Amen.

Body Combat, anyone? :D

my writing has taken a backseat for a while (my reading too, actually). it feels like haven't written for so long! 

fortunately, i do have an excuse for that. my hands have been busy punching instead of writing/typing and my brain has been busy memorizing instead of brainstorming for ideas.

so far, this year has been quite a ride for this Little Lady. you see, since late january this year, i have been slowly treading a new path - becoming a Body Combat instructor. 

my friends know that i have loved this class for YEARS. this was my stress-release. my break from hours of sitting and thinking and typing at the office. my chance to live my superhero childhood imagination. but i never thought i would have the chance to become an instructor. i mean, yes my officemate/combat-buddy and i have talked about this years before. how it would be awesome to be on-stage and share the class with gym members. how "work" would mean doing something that you really enjoy doing. but i never imagined that it could actually happen in real life. how come, you ask?

because the only "work" that i knew how to do meant endless thinking and analyzing, not moving around and breaking a sweat. because as i have mentioned in my previous post, i have been quite sedentary for most of my life. for years i have been on the heavy side. i wasn't strong. so being a fitness instructor was definitely not on my mind.

well apparently, with the help and intervention of a few people (you guys are angels!), i discovered that being a fitness instructor IS possible. you really just have to work hard for it. myself especially, given my previously un-fit lifestyle and having no martial arts background at all. plus, it's not just your physical strength and endurance. you have to think while moving too. it's physical and mental work. so for the past months i have been busy training, practicing, trying to get the hang of it - on top of my day job.

honestly, i feel good with what my body has achieved. i mean, it's a far cry from what i was a year ago. i have accomplished 90% of the fitness goals that i've set last year. BUT given this new responsibility, i feel like i have to take my fitness level a notch or two higher. i still need to increase my endurance and strength, and i could do with losing a few more pounds. so yeah, i do celebrate what i have achieved so far (yey to new clothes!), but at the same time, realize that there's a lot more room for improvement. i'll be setting up my game plan for the second half of the year soon. wish me luck! KIYAH!

PS. special thanks to the following: my mentors - teacher ben, kerwin, mark, jon. your comments are very much appreciated and welcome. the one who started it all - winnie :) fellow evils, BC47 batchmates, combat-buddies, friends, mom and dad for the endless support :)

social butterfly. not.

nope, i am not a social butterfly. actually, i am quite the contrary. i really don't talk to people who aren't my friends (unless they talk to me first, then we become friends hehe). when i'm at a new office, it takes me around 3 months to warm up to the people. i can't even hold eye contact with a stranger. that's why i always get the "suplada" or "exclusive" first impression. and why i only have a small group of close friends. but once people get to know me, they realize i talk and laugh a lot. it's not that i don't want to make friends. i'm just really shy... at first :)

however, with my new "engagement" (i really don't want to call it a job), i think i should at least try to change this. i have to practise looking at people in the eye, and not look away after half a second. i have to learn to smile at strangers. ang hirap kaya nun!

i'm glad that i met a couple of friendly people already. when random people talk to me in the locker room or in the elevator, it makes me want to do better. when i realize that there are some people who actually remember me without me even trying to, i feel that i have to step it up some more.

i'm still a newbie, but i really want to improve. so thank you everyone. for the words of encouragement, appreciation, the tips that you give me, the constructive criticism, the small gestures. it means A LOT to me. maraming salamat! :)

struggling with weightloss

i have been chunky most of my life. i couldn’t complain about it though, because i have been sedentary from childhood till early adulthood, except maybe a few summer swimming classes. and then i graduated from college and went on a month-long US vacation (which was when I was at my biggest. hello thanksgiving and Christmas and new year dinners! and NY pizza OMG!). since then i have always been struggling with weight loss. this is one aspect of my life that has been really holding me down. i've been going to the gym for a couple of years now, but i have only started seeing significant results a few months ago. what did i do differently this time? basically i got tired of the jokes and nasty comments and self-pity that i started making a plan to solve it (it’s called Project 2011 FIGHT! hahah!). here are my 6 personal pointers that helped me a lot.

1. Just do it.

-       When you're thinking twice if you should workout because you feel too tired or too lazy, think no more. The answer is "Just Do It". 5 minutes into your workout, you'll feel so energized, you'll thank yourself for getting your ass off the couch.

2. Indulge once, cut back five times.

-        I love food. I'd rather spend hours at the gym instead of controlling my food intake. But even if I exercise myself to death, I couldn't get significant results. So I started making a conscious effort to control my food portions. But after 2-3 weeks of cutting back, I reward myself with 1 Quickly Taro-Taro (ahhh heaven!) or a serving of ice cream. A treat once in a while is ok since it would stop me from eventually losing my mind and bingeing.

3. Get online help.

-       Sign up in weight management sites such as www.fitday.com (It's free!). You input the food you eat and activities for the day so you could monitor your calorie intake versus the calories burned. There are also features wherein you could set your weight goal and then the site would compute what your calorie deficit should be. It really does help because 1) it makes you more aware of what you're eating/doing everyday, and 2) it helps you familiarize yourself with the approximate calories of your food. I did this religiously for 2 months. Now I do rough estimates since I already know how much to eat everyday.

4. Get motivation and inspiration anywhere you can.

-     You need your personal motivation in order to keep going with your weight-loss journey. But it doesn't hurt to get motivation from others too.  Read success stories and be inspired. Utilize your desktop wallpaper. Watch The Biggest Loser. Take a look at your "goal clothes". Looking for a challenge? Make a bet. Have fun working out with your friends (luckily I have this workout-addict friend who made me level up my workouts. LEVEL 5 RAWR!! Now I have my BC batchmates as well YEY!!). Pray.

5. Have concrete goals.

-       You can't just say "I want to lose weight." That's too vague. You have to be specific with what you want and you have to have a timeline (a realistic one, please). When i started going to the gym a few years ago, i had general goals. But I only started to really lose weight on when I said “I want to get back to my college weight. I want to be able to wear good-fitting, trendy clothes. I want to have more defined cheekbones and jaw lines. I want to be able to do higher and more powerful roundhouse kicks. I want to be able to do 8 or more consecutive muay thai jump knees with ease. I want to have stronger arms and legs, all in 6 months." I have less than 2 months to go! Next in line: 5lbs lower than my college weight, push-ups on toes, stronger core, all in 2.5 months.

6. Make time for it.

-       It's all about priorities. When I need to go to the gym, that timeslot is taken. Unless there are special occasions or emergencies, I will be unavailable when it is time to work out. There was a time wherein we had to be at the office until midnight, so I could not go to the gym during my regular schedule which is after 6pm. So I worked out during lunchbreak instead. If you want to do it, there are no excuses.

I haven’t met all my goals yet (and I still get the occasional fat joke)… but i'm street brawling and side-kicking my way to achieving them all. FIGHT!

nagging thought

my mind has been loaded with so many thoughts recently. so many things to accomplish, so little time. well, i guess that's quite a bit normal by now, hihihi.


there's work (as usual),
then brainstorming & meetings for Sizzlers' Blends,
then memorizing,
then social gatherings,
then squeezing in workouts whenever possible,
among other things.


but the most nagging thought that i have at the moment is...


CONQUER THAT DAMN PLANK ALREADY! GRRR! (WHIP WHIP WHIP!)

kick-ass femininity

i have said before that i admire sophie kinsella for pursuing her "alternative career" -- that is being a chick-lit writer.

there's another woman who i admire - and slightly envy too. she is sharon del adel, vocalist of the rock band Within Temptation. ok, so you think "yeah sure, another rocker chick". but it's not just her powerful voice that caught my attention. aside from their band's kick-ass music (which i discovered through body combat wahoo!), her fashion sense is amazing.

sharon actually wears gowns while rocking out onstage! as in long gowns and cocktail dresses and combat boots. i love it!

(image from metal-ways.com)

(image from bestrockpics.com)

with the rest of the band

(image from metal-ways.com)

it makes sense though, because before being a full time musician, she first worked in the fashion industry.

when you look at her onstage, she can project toughness and femininity at the same time. plus she's from both the fashion and music industries. ok, now i'm really jealous :))

muay thai wars *this is it, pancit!*

are you ready?

Muay Thai Wars

Body Combat Marathon 

November 2009

release 40

body combat release 40.

challenging.

hahahahah i love it!!!

kicks, esquiva and jump kick in one track :-o omgosh.

new move: komodo dragon. note: use abs, not butt.

and the plank returns. for 45 seconds :-o

but i especially love the muay thai track. it focuses on the form and power of the descending elbow :D

gaaahahah! absolutely lurve it! happy 10th anniversary body combat!

swing swing!

yesterday was a bad day.

fortunately, today seems to be the complete opposite :D

i woke up this morning at 7:30am. and i was still sleepy, i wanted to go back to sleep. but i forced myself to get up and try the body combat class in wynsum (ortigas).  i haven't been to that club yet, so i wanted to give it a try. besides, it's really near my place.

when i got there, guess who the instructor was? Ms. Fhe! THE program head (or director or something) of Body Combat Philippines. o ha? o ha? geez i envy her abs and arms. haha! and her energy! mygosh. the class took longer than usual coz she had lots of chit chat, which were very informative so it was all good. oh! and she told us that they're starting to prepare for the combat marathon this year! woooohooo! the theme would be muay thai wars or something. oohhh can't wait :D

after gym, i decided to take a stroll around my new 'neighborhood'. oh gosh. i am in love with emerald ave! ahaha! the place is just so... urban. aah i love it. the only minor glitch here is that there are so many coffee shops and i'm tempted to enter all of em! 

ok! time to get ready to go to greenbelt for ate ria's birthday lunch :D

sounds like a good day, huh? and i'm just halfway through the day. yey!