Time to get serious!

Sorry I haven't been around much, busy busy busy!
I had a friend over to stay last week so my workouts took a bit of a rest, though I did manage a hike and 2 weights sessions, so it's not all bad. He's gone now though, so it's back to the gym, and this time I have a new plan!
My friend has said she'll train me for the 10k Race for Life (here's my sponsorship page!) and I've agreed (not sure whether that was a stupid or smart thing to do, seeing as she runs up Victoria Peak every week!). So now my weeks will look like this:

Mondays: Running
Tuesdays: Weights
Wednesdays: Les Mills Body Combat class
Thursdays: Weights
Fridays: Running
Saturdays: Weights
Sundays: Rest

This hopefully means that she'll whip me into shape for that 10k race. She's aiming on getting me to finish in under an hour (and presumably killing me in the process!), so I'll be sure to keep you updated on any goals or personal records I hit! Keeping in mind that I currently can't run more than 10 minutes at 8.5kph, this could be pretty hard (I'll need to be running at least 10.1kph for 1 hour to get in under that target).

As for the weights, I've pretty much hit my max for the deadlifts right now; my grip is failing before anything else, so I'm sticking at this weight for a while. I increased my squats again, along with the cable crunches and side bends, so I'm feeling pretty good! The bench presses are still killing me, but I can feel them getting easier!
I'm now at 75lb squats, 80lb deadlifts, 45lb bench presses, 35lb side bends and 28lb cable crunches.

Next time I'll be posting pictures I had Ras take a week or two ago, as my 'before' pictures. I might also be posting some current pictures. Not sure if there will be any obvious difference (though I am noticing that my arms are looking awesome!), so I'll check that before I post two seemingly identical pictures :D

Bye for now!
xx


P.S: I levelled up!

HanAsh Leveled up 19 Feb, 2013

Level 14

"You look like a skeleton!"

"Oh, don't lose any more weight!"
"You look ill :("

"Eat a burger, you're too skinny"

"Ew you look anorexic"

"Ha, you gonna throw that up when you get home?"

Above are just a few of the things I see and hear being thrown around pretty regularly to both me and friends of mine. I've had (maybe well meaning) people who I barely know tell me I look painfully thin and maybe I should think about eating some more. A friend of mine posted some pictures after losing 3 stone (19kg) yesterday and amongst the comments of congratulations and cheers, there were some of the above quotes,. For the record, my friend is a UK size 8-10 top and 10 bottom (US sizes 6-8 and 8 respectively). She's 5'6 (167cm). She's 123lbs (55kgs). Hardly Isabelle Carro! 

"You look like a pig!"

"Oh, don't put on any more weight"

"You look ill :("

"Eat a salad, you're too fat"

"Ew, you look morbidly obese"

"Ha, you gonna sneak some more food in when you get home?"

What's the difference between the first set of quotes and the second set? Maybe the second set is more offensive? The first set are more positive (i.e. you're worried about someone's health)? It's OK to say that to skinny people but not fat people?

Nothing. There is absolutely nothing different about the two sets of quotes, other than you hear the first set more. They're both rude and they're both being aimed at someone because of what they look like.

Why? Why do people think it's OK to tell someone they look like a skeleton, but not a fat pig? Why is it OK to make jokes about people throwing their food up, but not OK to make jokes about them eating more? 

It's not. None of the above are OK  no matter who you are or what you look like or who you're talking to. And yet it's not uncommon to hear people saying the things at the top, as if it's somehow OK, they're trying to help, they're being supportive. 

It's all downright rude. How dare people think it's OK to comment on someone's image that way? 

Being told you look too skinny is just as hurtful as being told you look too fat. Someone who's taken their life and their body and their health into their hands and done something that they're proud of, whether it's losing weight, gaining muscle, becoming a body builder, has done it for themselves, not you. They've not done it to please/disgust you. So don't feel like you're justified in telling them what they should and shouldn't do to their own body. 

The next time someone tells me I look anorexic, I'm going to reply that they look like a comfort eater and watch their reaction. Hopefully it'll make them think about what they're saying.
Oh, and don't even get me started on the "real women have curves" thing. Skinny women aren't imaginary.

Bench presses for the win!

Ariel and I hit the gym again today, same routine as the other day but with added bench presses. The bar itself weighs 45lb and we did have to get a random buff man to show us what to do, but we did it!
I managed to do 5 sets of 45lb (my absolute limit; it's heavier than you think!). All these squats and deadlifts and bench presses have also got me some quests...check it out!

HanAsh Tracked a Workout for 693 pts Today

• Barbell Squat:
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
• Barbell Deadlift:
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 18.1 kg x 10 reps (+53 pts)
• Barbell Bench Press:
  • 20.4 kg x 5 reps (+46 pts)
  • 20.4 kg x 5 reps (+46 pts)
  • 20.4 kg x 5 reps (+46 pts)
  • Felt like a right girl lifting only the bar!
• Dumbbell Side Bend:
  • 9.1 kg x 10 reps (+35 pts)
  • 9.1 kg x 10 reps (+35 pts)
  • 9.1 kg x 10 reps (+35 pts)
• Weighted Crunch:
  • 4.5 kg x 10 reps (+9 pts)
  • 4.5 kg x 10 reps (+9 pts)
  • 4.5 kg x 10 reps (+9 pts)
  • Cable machine was busy so grabbed a plate and did it like that. There were only 10lb or 20lb plates, so went down rather than up on the weight.
• Plank:
  • 54 sec (+24 pts)
  • 34 sec (+15 pts)
  • 26 sec (+11 pts)
• Walking:
• 0:20:00 || 2.4 km (+75 pts)
• Turns out I walk 1.2km to the gym and then back again, so figured I should track that too!

Everybody's Doing It...

• Perform Barbell Bench Press 1 times

The Squat Isn't So Scary!

• Perform Barbell Squat 1 times

I <3 The Bench Press

• Perform Barbell Bench Press 3 times in a week

Squat, Bench, Deadlift club

• Perform Barbell Squat 1 times
• Perform Barbell Bench Press 1 times
• Perform Barbell Deadlift 1 time

Strength, Hiking and Levelling up!

Saturday saw me and a group of friends tackle stages 1 and 2 of the MacLehose Trail, a 24km hike which somehow ended up being 28km. Took us just under 8 hours and I was shattered by the end! The first part was ok, quite easy but stage two was a lot of going uphill. I got terribly, terribly sunburned :(

I took a rest for a few days and then today went to the gym to meet my friend Ariel who wanted to get started with the weights. I made her promise not to sue me if she hurt herself and explained that I'm in no way qualified to teach her, but if she wanted to come along and see what I do, I'd be more than happy to show her. Best part of the session? Turning up and finding we had to wait because the fixed-weight barbell we needed was being used by a big burly man. Girl power!

As for food, I've been a bit rubbish at keeping my new year's resolutions (no surprise there, really), but I've been easting ok-ish. I will admit to the odd Subway sandwich and pizza, but I've cut down on the drinking and dairy. I'm actually very interested in the Paleo diet at the moment (not as a diet but as a lifestyle change) and have been looking up loads of recipes to try out. I like the idea; eat only what humans ate between 2.5 million years and 10,000 years ago. So that means no legumes, grains, wheat or dairy, basically. Suits me fine, as I'd like to cut out wheat as I bloat a lot when I eat it and I can deal with the rest. I'll definitely still have the odd pizza or cheese sarnie once in a while though ;)

Here are my last couple of workouts!

HanAsh Tracked a Workout for 881 pts 22 Jan, 2013

• Hiking:
  • 7:42:00 || 28.2 km || 16:22 min/km || moderate hills || 3 kg (+881 pts)
  • 
    

HanAsh Tracked a Workout for 491 pts Today

• Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift:
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
• Barbell Squat:
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
  • 13.6 kg x 10 reps (+49 pts)
• Cable Crunch:
  • 6.8 kg x 10 reps (+11 pts)
  • 6.8 kg x 10 reps (+11 pts)
  • 6.8 kg x 10 reps (+11 pts)
• Dumbbell Side Bend:
  • 6.8 kg x 10 reps (+33 pts)
  • 9 kg x 10 reps (+34 pts)
  • 9 kg x 10 reps (+34 pts)
  • 5 each side per set.
• Plank:
• 43 sec (+19 pts)
• 49 sec (+22 pts)
• 50 sec (+22 pts)
• 
  
• HanAsh Leveled up Today
  
  

  Level 12

  
  

Ariel and I have agreed to meet on Friday to get back in the weights section....little does she know just how much she's gonna ache for the next couple of days *mwahahaha*

As always, here's a link to Fitocracy if you feel like joining and starting on your own journey of points, quests and awesomeness! 

Run for your lives!

I have a tendency to over think things. Case in point: I knew I wanted to start weight lifting but had no idea how/what the best program was. It took me 3 months of looking at it all online before I actually started. 
I'm now looking to run a 10k race (the Race for Life). I've asked a few questions on the Fitocracy forum & have been given loads of (sometimes conflicting advice). I have no idea what I should be doing/which program to follow/how to train for 10k. But you know what I did? I just went for a run.

• Running (treadmill):
  • 0:10:00 || 1.5 km || 9 km/hr || 0.5 % (+65 pts)
  • 0:04:25 || 1 km || 9.5 km/hr || 0.5 % (+68 pts)
  • Can't find a way to say that I increased my speed when I hit the 10 mark. This technically wasn't in 2 sets, it was one run; 10 minutes at 9kph then 5 minutes at 9.5kph.
• Stretching:
• 0:10:00 (+2 pts)

Tomorrow I've organised a 24km hike in the stunning Sai Kung countryside. It makes up sections 1 and 2 of the MacLehose trail and there's a solid 20 or so of us going. It should be great fun!

Race for Life!

So in 2011, I did the 10k Race for Life with my Mum in memory of our cousin Peter who sadly passed away from cancer at the far-too-young age of 40. We did a mixture of jogging and walking and finished in a respectable 1 hour and around 25 minutes. 

This year, I've signed up for the same 10k race. Mum won't be joining me this time unfortunately, so I've decided to attempt to run the whole thing. Now I'm currently able to run at around 8.5kph for about 15 minutes (which is about 2.1km give or take). My aim is to finish the 10k in under an hour, but preferably in 50 minutes or less, which is a scary goal! To that end, I'll be swapping out some of my pilates sessions for running sessions and training, training, training!

I'd really love it if you could spare a few pounds (or dollars, or whatever) to sponsor me and show your support, not to mention help me raise money for this fantastic charity! You can do so over at my JustGiving page, here (click it!). My target is just £100, so with just a couple of quid from everyone who reads this I should get there in no time!

In other news, I've got the fitness bug! I never thought I'd be the kind of person who'd be annoyed if I couldn't get to the gym for one reason or another, but it's happened. I must remember to give my body some rest days though, to let it recover between workouts, and to load up on more protein to help it along the way! I've actually heard that chocolate milk is a good thing to drink after a workout, which is good since I managed to buy a 1.3kg box of chocolate Nesquik powder a little while ago...oops!

Here are my recent workouts, by the way. Today is a rest day (though I might do some stretching on my left achillies). I've got a friend coming into the gym with me tomorrow to spot my weights routine, so I fully expect to ache like a bitch on Friday, then I've organised a 24km hike for Saturday! Busy, busy, busy!

14 Jan, 2013

• Pilates:
• 0:50:00 (+195 pts)
• 10 minute solutions Pilates DVD - all 5 segments.

15 Jan, 2013

• Rowing (machine):
  • 0:05:00 || 946 m || 6 % (+75 pts)
• Running (treadmill):
  • 0:15:00 || 2.1 km || 8.5 km/hr || 0.5 % (+92 pts)
• Stretching:
• 0:10:00 (+2 pts)
• 
  

Kam Sheung - Tai Lam Chung Country Trail

So today Ras, my friend Lorna and I met with a group of fellow expats for a hike around the north of the New Territories called the Kam Sheung - Tai Lam Chung Country Trail. It was sold to us as a 13.5km hike, but either that was incorrect or we decided half way through to take the longer hike, as we ended up walking 23km in the end!
There was about 20 of us in all but I only knew Ras and Lorna, so it was a great opportunity to meet new people as well as get some fresh air and exercise!

Here's my Fitocracy  report! Yay for quests and points and levelling up!

HanAsh Leveled up Today

Level 11

HanAsh Completed a Quest for 800 pts Today

Lost in the Woods. [Casual]

• Go hiking for at least 12 miles on some light hills.

HanAsh Completed a Quest for 500 pts Today

The Scenic Route. [Casual]

• Go hiking for at least 8 miles on some light hills.

HanAsh Completed a Quest for 300 pts Today

A Weekend with Nature. [Casual]

• Go hiking for at least 6 miles on some light hills.

HanAsh Tracked a Workout for 653 pts Today

• Hiking:
• 6:00:00 || 23 km || light hills || 5 kg (+653 pts)