Leap Wednesday

Yeah... should've leaped it alright!
Exhausted CRAZY, fatigue day. Fatigue would be an understatement.
With barely 2 hours of sleep the night before and barely 5 hours of sleep last night, I managed through the day!
Arrived at RLC around 7:15pm. As agreed with Adrian, we arrived at the gym by 7:39pm. 7:39 is another joke.
Blame it on my lousy touch-screen swyping skills. So 7:39pm it was. haha.

Worked on ABs and ABs only today. Oh wait. Shoulders and Back too.
So as you can tell from my recent blog-logs, all these are my favs:
ABs with Hiap Wei:
-  Cable Crunch (3 sets x 15 reps) -he left to play squash

Shoulders and back with Adrian (3 sets, alternating between us at each set x 10 reps):
-  Full shoulder press and twist at the end
-  Push-ups on weights + alternate elbow lift

Started off ABs with Adrian:
-  Decline AB bench
-  Seated Legs Pull-In
*Adrian attempted, but gave up and did his Incline AB bench*

-End-

Trouble Tuesday!

Arrived at RLC at 3:30pm. Slept till 5:35pm, since I only had 2 hours of sleep last night.
Reminder to self: NESCAFE is BAD!
Reached the gym around 5:45pm, just in time to catch Jonathon's invitation to join him and his mom for a run!
Turned out to be a combined run.

Since Jon's and my run is on Sunday, Feizal suggested we do a 10km.
So a bunch of us started off - Jon, Aunty Sook Lan, Feizal, Hew, Yong Wei, Mark and I.
We ran anticlockwise to the stairs up the Carcosa, squeezed through the fence back into Lake Gardens, and continued on to the Deer Park. At this point, due to time constraint, Mark and Yong Wei left the group and headed back to RLC. The five of us carried on past the Deer Park, circled the Planetarium (I never knew its existence!) ...UP SOME STAIRS which totally killed me after that.... I was lagging behind as we ran past the National Muslim Museum, down towards Dataran Merdeka, cut through Padang Merdeka, past Royal Selangor Club, crossed some roads and finally that long familiar road back to RLC!

Soles, toe, knees and ankles were aching... Aunty Sook Lan and I finally made it back to the club. The guys pretty much sprinted all the way after the stairs!
Arrived back at 7:10pm. Exactly an hour. But I didn't think it was 10km. Probably 8.
So 8 it is! 8km in one hour.... Not good :(
Well, Jon and I decided to target 10km within 1:05. That's our goal this Sunday!

Back at the gym, after gulping down 5 glasses of H2O:
All mats in a row, Hew, Feizal and I did stretches.
Subsequently, the famous 8-course + 2 (we added a new workout!) ABs Workout:
- Basic Crunch
- Legs Up Crunch
- Bicycle
- Touch Leg Raises
- U-Roll Crunch
- Right Hip Raises
- Left Hip Raises
- Leg Raises
Additional (15 reps each)
- Both Legs Clockwise Circles
- Both Legs Anticlockwise Circles
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After some leg stretches, more ABs Workout with Jon and Feizal (Alternating between 3 stations):
- Decline AB Bench Crunch (50 reps x 2 sets)
- Seated Leg Pull-In (50 reps x 2 sets)
- Cable Crunch (14kgs - 15 reps x 2 sets)

Swam 1km of Freestyle - 40laps x 25m in 25mins + 2 laps cool down.

-End-

Party on Sunday!

Arrived at the gym at 5pm.
Adrian was finishing up his workout, working on Abs. Hiap Wei just done with snack.
Most work out was done with Hiap Wei. Uncle Mike was there too. Feizal arrived, finally, at 6pm.

Shoulders, shoulders and more shoulders! (3 sets x 15 reps)
- Shoulder press bench (front)
- Shoulder press bench (back of neck)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From here on, workouts with Hiap Wei:
- Seated shoulder press, curving finish in front (thumbs away from each other)
- Push-up on Weights + alternate elbow lift

Kicking:
-10 + 10 side kick with Hiap Wei. We were pretty exhausted. Well, Hiap Wei had a good reason anyway. He came from his Muay Thai training!

Barbell (3.75kgs each side) Arms & Back Workout (3 sets x 10 reps):
- Biceps curl
- Barbell Bent Over Row

ABs Workout (2 sets x 50 reps):
- Decline Bench Crunch
- Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull-In
--------------------------------------------------
- 3 x 10 reps (14kgs) of Cable Crunch
- 1 x 10 reps of Hanging Leg Raise
- 3 x 10 reps of Knee Hip Raise on Parallel Bars

*Horrible rain... came back after 2 hours, stopped and came back again. Gave up and went for 15mins of Sauna*

-End- 

Top-Up Saturday

Regretting not working out for the past two days, I decided to go today. On a Saturday afternoon. Just me.
Saw Tasha when I get there at 4:35pm. She did her thing. I started off stretching.
Today, I decided to do a full body combo workout.

Legs & Compound Workout Combo (3 x 15):
- Dead-lifts (10 kgs barbell)
-Squats on Squat rack with empty bar
-Kettlebell Swing (12kgs)

Shoulders & Arms Workout Combo (3 x 15 with 15kgs of Free Weights):
- Seated Shoulder Press
- Push-up on weights + alternate elbow lift

ABs Combo Workout (3 sets x 50 reps):
- Decline AB Bench
- Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull-In
----------------------------------------------
- Hanging Leg Raise (3 sets x 10 reps)

*Sauna instead of swimming in the hot sun*

-End-

Slumber Wednesday

Arrived early at the gym today! -5:45pm-
Started off with basic stretches.

Today's workout is on Upper Body!

Shoulder Combo: (using 15kgs of free weights, 3 sets x 15 reps)
- Shoulder press (15 reps)
- (With weights) 1 push up + life right elbow + 1 push up + life left elbow (10 reps)
- Repeat 3 sets

Triceps Pressdown (40lbs) - 3 sets x 15 reps
Biceps Curl (2 plates) - 3 sets x 15 reps

ABs Combo (30 reps each):
- Decline AB Bench
- Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull In
- Repeat 3 sets

Swim 20 laps x 25m -13 mins

*lack of time...had a wake to attend*

-End-

Panic Monday!

Got to the gym at 6:35pm, exhausted!
Met Feizal who instantly told me they're running in a bit. I just had enough time to slip on my Asics, And curl my legs (once each), and then  we were off!
Yong Wei, Mark, Feizal and I ran anticlockwise around Lake Gardens, up the Carcosa, squeezed through the gate back into Lake Gardens... Up 179steps ran back to RLC from the top of the stairs.

Back at the gym, Feizal, Mark and I stretched and did the 8-course ABs Workout:
- Basic Crunch
- Legs Up Crunch
- Fingers-touch-Toes Crunch
- Right Hip Raises
- Left Hip Raises
- Bicycle
- Rolling-U Crunch
- Legs Up-Down-Out-Repeat Crunch

Then, Intan arrived. we missed her workout so much that we literally begged her for "the torture"!
So our 12-min interval workout (3 sets x 4 variations) went like this: (As many reps as possible in each interval, 3 sets)
1) With one free weight, Squat and alternate one leg up. Repeat.
2) Go on the ground with free weights, one push-up, triceps lift both arms taking turns, stand up and shoulder press up. Repeat.
3) Do a "downward dog" with toes tipped, do three push ups, 5 jumps (left-right)
4) Plank Jacks - Hand in plank position, legs together jump center, in, out, open, close, repeat.
**My results:
#1- 22 reps, 18 reps, 20 reps
#2- 3 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps
#3- 2.5 reps, 2.5 reps, 3 reps
#4- 20 reps, 20 reps, 20 reps

Swam 20 x 2 x 25m - much better performance on the 2nd 20 laps! -20mins-

-End-

OMGFriday!!!

Threatening weather... one tiny raindrop fell on my cellphone as I walked to the gym.

Arrived at 6pm. Hiap Wei was all ready to go!

Feizal and Uncle Mike had just left to run... 

So, a quick change into my Asics and Hiap Wei and I were off to meet them up front. 

Did one round around Lake Gardens anticlockwise, till the stairs.

Up 179 steps, down 179 steps and up 179 steps again. 

Ran back to RLC from the top of the stairs, passing the Deer and Bird parks.

*slow lousy run for me... ankle aching, was lagging behind*

Finally back at the gym, Hiap Wei and I did some kicking: 10 + 20 kicks, each leg.

Then we did the 8 course 30 reps ABs Workout:

- Basic crunch

- Legs up crunch

- Bicycle

- Finger-Toes-Touch crunch

- Right Side Hip Raise

- Left Side Hip Raise

- The Rolling U crunch

- Legs up, down, out, in, repeat

Spartacus 100 Workout (5 variations x 20 reps):

- Burpies

- Mountain Climbers

- Jump squats

- Jump Lunges

- Triangle Jacks (both feet jump in, out, open, close, repeat) in plank position

And the new guy who joined us decided to do it again. So we crazies joined him too. 

Spartacus 100 Workout (5 variations x 20 reps):

- Burpies

- Mountain Climbers

- Jump squats

- Jump Lunges

- Triangle Jacks (both feet jump in, out, open, close, repeat) in plank position

As though we didn't get enough endorphin-gushes, Hiap Wei and I kicked another 20 kicks each leg. 

It was still raining, so I decided to stay in the gym a little longer.

Did more ABs Workout with Hiap Wei (3 sets of 30 reps each, alternate after each station):

- 45 degrees upside-down crunch

- Bench crunch

- Hanging, legs up 90 degrees (3 sets x 3 reps)

Everyone left!

I decided to do some upper body workout (3 sets x 15 reps) while waiting for the rain to subside to swim.

- Shoulder press 

- Bicep curls

*Gah! forgot to workout my triceps! - did two negative dips only*

Swam with Saiful. 

- 10 laps freestyle for warm up

- 2 laps butterfly for fun

- 10 laps lousy freestyle... so tired!

- 10 laps proper freestyle

*Didn't manage 40 laps tonight...they shut the pool on my second last lap!*

-End-

Spartacus Wednesday!

Arrived SO late! Traffic was just bad all the way from Hartamas to RLC! Stuck for an hour, bumper-to-bumper, for a journey that normally takes no more than 20mins.
Horrible KL traffic! *ugh*
Got to the gym at 7:35pm. Only to find out that Hiap Wei and Cliff just got there not too long ago, either! Stuck in the jam for an hour as well. That's one long-stretched heck of a jam!

Due to lack of time, Hiap Wei, Feizal and I did a 20-min Power 6 Course SPARTACUS Workout:
(My legs died three days in a row! I doubt they'd be able to mumble "helllppppp" even if they could speak!)
Started off with Squats with one free weight (15kg) in front - 2 sets x 20 reps
Next, we did the squat with alternate one-arm with weight, swing between legs - 2 sets x 20 reps
Followed by Lunges (alternate leg go backwards and back) with the same weight - 2 sets x 20 reps
Then it was the killer Push-up + alternate Arm-raise (with weight - 5kg) - 20 reps
Varied by the Spider Push-up next - 14 reps
Surprisingly, this wasn't too bad: Lunge + alternate knee raise + opp side twist with weight (15kg) - 2 sets x 20 reps
Lastly, the Plank for a minute.

Kicked the bag - 10 + 20 reps

Tested: 3 sets of hanging ab workout - 3 reps (left, center, right) each set.

Swam 40+ laps x 25 m.

-End-

Valentine's Tuesday

Arrived in RLC around 5:40pm and met Hiap Wei in the carpark!

Started off kicking 10+20+10 (low) +10 with Hiap Wei.
Followed by 3 sets x 15 reps of upper body combo again.
- Shoulder press
- Bicep curl
plus Triceps dips over two benches after the combo.

Ran one round in Lake Gardens + 3 sets of up & down 179 steps with Hiap Wei & Feizal.

Swam - 10 laps of warm up + 40 laps

-End-

After a long pause...

Threatening weather, drizzly. Was looking forward to running.
Arrived at the gym at 6:40pm. Met Feizal on the way, who just arrived too.
Started off with light stretches.

Legs Workout: 
- Kettle Bell (12kgs) Squats: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Free Weights (15 lbs x 2) Lunges with Feizal: 3 sets x across the gym and back

Shoulders and Arms (15lbs, alternate, 3 sets x 15 reps):
- Shoulder press
- Bicep curls
--------------------
- Stationary Triceps dips (only arm push weighted platform down)

Rain finally paused around 8pm. We ran a little more than half the lake in Lake Gardens and back, just barely meeting the rain.

Swam 1km. Split and did 20laps x 25m twice. A little out of shape!

-End-

3-day PADI Open Water Dive Course

Here's my awesome birthday "life-time" PADI present from my beloved sister!!!

She hooked me up with 5 of other doctors who were fun and crazy enough to plan this trip!
We got there around noon and was told to watch a 5-section video ranging from buoyancy, names and usefulness of the BCD & regulator, to underwater sign language, as well as how to save our lives in case we're out of air, etc.

The open-book theory exam:
We were "allowed" to copy. Thrilled at that idea, we started delegating sections and questions. So I was in-charged of Section 1B. The final exam had 50 questions. So technically, each person do 10 questions, share answers and voila! we're done! But the goody-goody in us taught us better. We decided to use that as our "safety net". So we ended up with minimal copying, desperately searching the book, and discussing possible answers and getting our "why" questions answered. Three (me included) out of six of us brought the test home to continue analyzing the questions. I ended up having fun with the questions and felt so much more knowledgeable after all those questions being drilled!

That night, we had all kinds of seafood for dinner! Fish, squid, abalone, veg, etc. The beautiful thing about the place was that the Muslims sat and ate in harmony with the Chinese. Chinese restaurants don't serve pork and respect the Muslim culture. How is it that it's so different yet we're still in the same country?!

Dive Lesson Day 1:
Danny the 21-year-old instructor showed us everything we studied from the book.
The BCD (how to wear: left hand held, right hand through, right hand grip, while left hand through, left hand velcrorize and both hand fasten the belt, and fasten both straps on each shoulder).
The Oxygen Tank: Check expiration date, check O-ring, smell gas (in case it's stale).
The Regulator: Four lines - Regulator, Alternate source, Depth & Oxygen Gauge and the Hose (low pressure).

So we first find the oxygen tank. Initially, the cap will be over the J-Valve indicating that it's full of oxygen. We then hook up the BCD straps behind on to the tank and fasten it. We then hook the first stage over the Yoke Valve onto the O-ring and check the gauge. It should show the oxygen level of 200. Depth gauge should be adjusted to 0. The second stage (hose) should be fasten into the low pressure hose so the air can pass through the alternate source. Alternate source should be twirled into a figure 8 and be fastened in front of the left shoulder. Test the oxygen sources and make sure they work. Clean out sand if required. Now to put it on.
In the water: 
First wear the weight belt. Then put on the BCD (follow the exact taught method) and we're ready!
Next he taught us how to breath through the regulator underwater, how to clear our masks when it's half full/full of water, take off and wear back the mask under water, open eyes under water, how to signal when you're out of air, steps to borrow our buddy's alternate source, how to find the regulator if it's out of our mouth, etc... it was pretty overwhelming!

Dinner at Arthur's bar was pretty good (rice, wedges, 2 tiger prawns, squids). Free sashimi!!! We were promised more if we came back the next night!

Dive Lesson Day 2:
There were some "practical exams" or observation of some major stuff we learnt yesterday. Like asking our buddy for help, losing the regulator, and taking off and putting the mask back on underwater. We then proceeded to learn new stuff like the CESA, more on deep water stuff.

After passing the practicals underwater, we did two dives. I went about 18meters deep!Clearing our ears was an annoying somewhat painful experience. Amal came out of the water with blood on he face! So that's pretty much it. We came back, showered and went back into the office to fill out our log book.

Dinner with wedges, rice, squid, crab, fish and more free tuna sashimi!!!!

Amazing trip! We left immediately after dinner and were all so exhausted by the time we arrived back in Tawau.

-End with my PADI certification on it's way-