a queer workout

i have been trying NOT to sound narcissistic with this post, but i think it cannot be helped. anyway...

so i have become like a mini-celebrity at my very small gym. everyday i come in, the owner greets me with a really cheesy smile and exclaims "the walking human anatomy!", to which, i, naman, have to use every bit of my will power NOT to correct him. "maybe you meant to say, HUMAN ATLAS" i wanted to say. "your statement is a fragment! if you type it on MS Word I'm sure u'll get a squiggly green line!" he's obviously trying to be nice. he's seen me since i started out as a fat blubber ball and has always been generous with compliments. i guess doing so helps if you want to keep ur patrons hooked to working out.

i actually don't mind him greeting me. it's a sign at least that he knows i exist since i only see him engage in chitchat with the body builders who go to my gym. for him to acknowledge my (svelte) presence could be very advantageous... maybe to use in haggling for a discount on my gym membership next time, who knows? :) his greets however, small that my gym is, causes undue attention towards me. not soon after his comment, as i scurry away to the lockers, i could already hear ppl talking and him explaining how it was i had lost so much weight since i began. i guess he has been doing this pretty much since i seem to be developing a discipleship. i have now a few guys who wait on/ for me, curious as to what regimen i was going to do that day.

so what is so curious about my regimen that have seemed to been my rise to notoriety? i guess, it's that my workout, like a lot about me, is kinda QUEER. it's queer in the sense that, it doesn't deal too much with lifting weighs. though most of the guys at my gym aim to get as thick and as bulky as a WWII armored tank, and obsess themselves at getting washboard abs, killer pecs and rippling delts, i have been training to improve on the aspects of fitness you really cannot see if you stand naked in front of the mirror, like balance and stamina. while they scream and grunt as they push and press and pull on iron, i quietly relegate myself to puny 20 pounders and the gym ball. while the guys at my gym strut up and down our mirrored corridors marveling at their glorious girth, i on the other hand take my time to perfect standing still on one leg. cardio is a wimp's workout, i however relish running on the treadmill, lately even barefoot. so now, as these noisy, bulky, show-offy guys begin to plateau and run out of ideas of how else to punish themselves, they end up getting bored and often frustrated. they start skipping days, eventually, not even showing up anymore... leaving me with an empty weight room, spacious enough now to FINALLY be able to do circuit training!!!

i had two of these guys join me once. they originally wanted me to join them do their chest sets, but i told them to join me do my "warm up circuit" first. it was a pretty simple regimen:

7-10 chin ups
10-12 wide push ups
10-12 diamond push ups
10-12 staggered push ups
10-12 dumbbell military presses with 20lbs. DB
10-12 rock climbing leg set
10 box jumps
10 jumping jacks

done all with little or no rests in between, for 3 circuits, resting 3-4 minutes in between circuits. it sounded simple enough. they eagerly obliged, maybe thinking since they lift so heavy, a few push ups certainly wouldn't hurt too much.

i surmised, since we will be doing chest exercises after, it would be good to get them properly warmed up. 30 mins. and 3 circuits later (it usually just takes me 10 mins, but we were 3 guys in a small gym, remember), i was pumped and felt like i could lift a COW! the other 2 though were quiet and whined that they wanted to puke already. we still did their chest workout, though not lifting as heavy anymore. they admitted they LOVED the feeling, they however never joined me do my circuits again. wimps... =D

circuit training may look odd to a lot of ppl. it may look weak and easy, especially if you have gotten used to just doing weights and machines. i however can tell you, it's none of that at all. it challenges you physically and mentally, more than what weight training can offer. fitness is really not just about size or how much u can lift, it should be more holistic and should also include endurance, power and balance. i think this is the way to go. i look at my muay thai trainers (whom i learned the value of these endurance drills from) and look at these muscle mountains at my gym and between them two, i'm sure my trainers can kick the latter's bulky asses any day! circuits make you burn more, and bulk up faster due to the explosive qualities of some of the exercises. resistance training coupled with cardio, YAN ANG TUNAY NA WORKOUT!!! (parang commercial lang)