Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, “Greater Week”) in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday (or in the Eastern, Lazarus Saturday) until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of The Great Fifty Days. It commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

For the past 2 years, I’ve been posting in my blog that the Filipino tradition of commemorating the holy week is changing. Changing in a way that it is losing it’s solemnity. But I still want to be fair and give credits to those who observe it solemnly. Anyway, it all depends to us. Some take this time as a time to bond with family and friends, and some take this time to have time for God.

Anyway, I don’t have definite plans yet what to do for this week. Even though today is a holiday, I still needed to come to work for a holiday duty. I thought of returning to the gym after a few months of stopping it. I just thought that I want some physical activities. I don’t know if this will be the last time I’ll go there because I have decided to stop going to the gym for a while.

Tuesday and Wednesday are regular working days. I know I will feel lazy for the next two days but I still need to do my responsibilities at work.

For the “very long” weekend, I got a line up of books and magazines which I want to read/scan. I also have some movies and series I want to watch. But of course, I’ll make sure to remember the true essence why we have these holy days. Actually, I am taking this opportunity to reflect and somehow renew myself. I want to feel some kind of “inspiration”.

As I mentioned earlier, it still depends on the person what he or she will do this holy week. But I hope we’ll reflect and realize the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.

So there’s this fitness class at my gym on Sunday’s that involves rhythmic dancing, and it’s one of those fish bowl kind of rooms where random strangers have the best view.  Keep in mind that I only pop-n-shake at the club so I wasn’t actually in the class, but at one point the instructor yelled out ‘Freestyle!’ which apparently means find your own style and ‘go at it – whooo’.  (Oh, Happy Day – LMFAO)

I probably won’t make it to this week’s class, but if I am ever put up to a dare this is how I’m gonna represent:

If I stepped out of my exercise comfort zone last month when I started Pilates classes, then I most certainly stepped into an exercise abyss last week when I took my first yoga class.  As if stepping out of the old comfort zone wasn’t enough to make me sweat, add a 101° F studio to the equation.  Had I done nothing more than sit motionless in a 101° room for 90 minutes, I would have perspired profusely.  However, I did far more than sit motionless.  I downward dogged, I up dogged (what’s up, dog?*), and I think I was a warrior for a minute or two.  Oh, and did I mention that I took this class with my boss?

I learned a lot in that class.  I learned that a guaranteed sweatfest requires a towel.  I learned that an inch mean the difference between good form and supreme embarrassment.  Most importantly, I learned not to do a full work-out at the gym just prior to yoga class under the assumption that yoga would be an easy stretch session.  I found, instead, that it was a butt-kicker of the worst kind that left my legs violently shaking on more than one balance pose.

Like Pilates, I left yoga exhausted, flexible, and completely satisfied (that’s what she said*).  I’ll return, towel in hand, soon.

*Can you tell I’m excited about the return of The Office this week?

I have an exercise comfort zone, and this week I walked right out of it.  In an effort to increase my strength and flexibility, and to get to know my new co-workers better, I took my first (lunch hour) Pilates class.  I did all of the important research before the first day of class– i.e., I asked my neighbor (a Pilates afficianado) about appropriate attire.  She advised yoga-type pants to avoid a TMI situation with the next-mat neighbors.  Always eager to purchase new work-out clothes, I headed to the local sporting goods store.  There I found the perfect pants (guaranteed to protect my neighbors), a couple of shirts that seemed peaceful and Pilates-like, and a floor mat.

I was ready to go.  I just needed to figure out how I was going to get from my floor to the 1st floor meeting room without being seen by anybody.  Do you know the vulnerable feeling you get when you unexpectedly run into a co-worker at the gym?  That’s what I was trying to avoid.  I changed in the restroom on my floor, and made a mad dash for the elevator  (I take the stairs up, but the elevator down…I figure walking down stairs doesn’t have much exercise value anyway).  I pushed the button and anxiously waited for the elevator’s arrival.  After what seemed like an eternity, it arrived and I was on my way to class.

I recognized the instructor right away.  She was one of the top instructors from my prior pre-kid gym.  I also noticed that she had had some, er, work done on the girls since I last saw her.  Some of you may recall from prior posts that I have staring issues with fake breasts.  I literally had to force myself to focus on her instructions rather than her attributes.

I found myself quickly liking Pilates.  I especially liked the stomach exercises.  I felt like I was using muscles I didn’t even know I had.  I was even doing a pretty good job following directions.  Until the incident, that is.  Apparently some of the moves, like the quick roll-up thing we did, can force gas out of the body.  Loud, ripping gas from nearby.  As soon as I heard it, I bit my cheek to keep from laughing.  I can be am very immature about matters such as that.  I was just starting to recover from my initial impulse, and then the perp identified herself with a quiet, “Excuse me.”  Oh great.  Now Pooty Pootwell’s* identity was known.

I struggled to maintain my composure for the rest of class.  I struggled violently to suppress my giggles, but it was exactly like church or a funeral…the less appropriate the setting, the more likely to engage in inappropriate laughter.  Later in the class, I caught the eye of a woman from my floor.  She started giggling, then I started giggling, and we both collapsed on our respective pink and blue mats.  Afterwards, she assured me that my giggles were completely inaudible.

After the collapse, I was finally able to regain my focus and fully participate in the remainder of the class.  All of the roll-ups, planks, and fire hydrants moves turned my muscles to rubber.  I loved it and couldn’t wait to attend the next class later in the week. 

As I was leaving the room, I noticed women heading to the nearby 1st floor bathroom to change.  Hmmmm.  Problem about being publicly seen gym-clad solved.

*Bonus points if you know from which book this reference comes.

The unthinkable happened last weekend.  My extreme dorkitude collided with my affinity for the gym in a way so profound that I had no choice but to blog about it.  I realize that by doing so, I am risking all remaining semblance of my dignity.  However, if I can keep this from happening to just one other person, it will all have been worth it.

The imp and I were enjoying a typical Saturday afternoon at the gym’s indoor pool.  She splashed, and I hovered.  She frolicked, and I rubbed chlorine out of my eyes.   I then forced persuaded the reluctant imp to get out of the pool and into the locker room.  We always use the same shower stall (the bench and the wand make it perfect for cleaning a small child), and I was dismayed to see that our stall was taken.  I noted that the occupant’s leg was in need of a good razor and headed back to the pool to stall for a few minutes.

When we returned, I was pleased to find our shower stall empty.  However, I noticed that the bench and the wand were missing.  I peeked into a couple of shower stalls and found one that did have a bench and wand.  I figured that there must have been a compelling reason for the gym to make the switch.  Once we were in the stall, we disrobed and started the shower.  We had our usual shower ‘conversation.’  She said things like, “Mommy, put bubbles on my belly,” and I said things like, “Wash all the bubbles off.”  This continued for several minutes until something strange happened.  I heard a very deep voice coming from the dressing area.  A masculine voice.  A man’s voice.  Then it hit me….the hairy leg, the missing shower bench.  I was in the men’s locker room. 

I WAS IN THE MEN’S LOCKER ROOM.  NAKED IN THE MEN’S LOCKER ROOM WITH MY LITTLE GIRL. 

“What do I do now?” I thought.  I had to think quickly.  I became acutely aware of how many times the imp had called me Mommy during the shower, and about just how loud her voice is…never mind the fact that I was talking very loudly (in my very non-male voice) about the bubbles on her belly.  My first order of business was to put my bathing suit back on in record time.  Then I finished the imp’s shower because, what difference would another half minute make?  And then we fled.  I booked it back to the pool deck and ducked into the women’s locker room.  Somehow, miracle of all miracles, I never actually saw a man in the men’s locker room.

I don’t really know how it happened.  I go there all the time.  I know which door is the correct door.  Even if I had forgotten, the doors are clearly labeled.  For crying out loud, how dorky am I?  I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t heard that man’s voice.  We most certainly would have paraded into the dressing area (where the imp and I would have certainly seen several undressed men and vice versa).

I learned an important lesson…the same lesson I’ve been teaching the imp for the past couple of months. 

Always look for the skirt symbol on the door before proceeding.  Always.

May 2 complimentary 1 on 1 sessions sa isang personal trainer kapag nag-sign up ka sa Fatness First. At expected, mangungulit nanaman sila na i-avail yun. Okay lang kasi libre, pero halatang halatang eengganyuhin ka nila ni ituloy iyon. Okay lang sana pero wala na akong budget para sa isang trainer.

Kahapon ay ang aking unang session at kinabahan ako dahil ayon sa mga sabi sabi sa akin ay papahirapan ka daw talaga. Okay naman, though talagang mahirap ang ibang pinagawa sa akin, as in sumasakit ang ibang parte ng katawan ko hanggang ngayon. Mas intense daw ang second session namin. Huhu. Kagabi nga ay sobrang lalim ng tulog ko. Paghiga ko pa lang ay tulog na ako at paggising ko ay akala ko Sabado na.

Pero mas masakit ang naramdaman ko last week, dagdag pa na nalasing/nilasing ako ng mga ka-opismeyts ko noong Biyernes ng gabi. Haha. Gegewang-gewang akong umuwi. Mabuti at nakauwi naman ako. Paghiga ko ay ramdam na ramdam ko ang sakit ng katawan ko at ang tama ko. Bagsak si Rowjie. Salamat sa kape na ininom ko kinabukasan at bumalik ako sa normal.

Matutuloy na din sa wakas mamaya ang aking meeting with the kataas-taasan and kagalang-galangang people mamaya. Independence day pa dapat yun pero dahil super duper over busy sila, eh isinantabi muna ako. Kaya heto, hindi masyadong mabigat ang work load ko kamakailan. Sounds good noh? Pero I realized na ayoko din pala ang walang ginagawa. Nakakaantok. Nakakatamad. Bumabagal lalo ang oras.

Tulad nga ng sabi ko, busy talaga ang mga ka-meeting ko. Naiintindihan ko naman yun at willing naman akong mag-give way. Pero minsan lang eh parang nakakadisappoint din. I don’t blame them naman pero parang nakakamiss lang yung environment na yung project na ginagawa ko, eh project ng marami at talagang priority ng kumpanya. Nagbabadya na ba akong bumalik sa isang application development company? Hehe.

Pero kung tatanungin mo ako kung kamusta naman ako, eh okay naman ako. Medyo magastos lang talaga kasi nga nagpapagawa kami ng bahay, pero patapos na din naman at kontento naman ako sa resulta. Masaya din ako sa pag-g-gym kasi at least hindi na bahay-office-bahay ang aking normal routine. Enjoy naman ako. Unti-unti na din yatang nangyayari yung sinabi ko sa iyo noon na I want to meet new people. Then, may mga unexpected good news din na dumadating. Marami pa akong gustong gawin na sana ay magawa ko nga.

Ngayon ay ipinagdiriwang natin ang ika-147 na kaarawan ng ating Pambansang Bayani na si Jose Rizal. Bakit nga naman hindi araw ng kapanganakan niya ang gawing Rizal Day?

Kahapon ay unang araw ko sa Fatness First. Medyo kabado ako dahil hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko. Mabuti at kasama ko si Justine. Hinintay ko muna siya para at least ma-orient naman ako sa gagawin ko.

Siyempre, ang unang gagawin ay magbibihis sa locker room. Totoo nga ang naririnig kong mga kwento. Oh well, normal lang naman yun, depende na lang kung may iba ka pang agenda. Hehe. Since first timer ako, eh natural na mahihiya pa ako magpakita ng aking katawang hindi naman kagandahan. Hehe. Pero siguro pag nagtagal eh normal na lang siguro sa akin.

Salamat kay kaibigang Justine dahil siya ang naging nag-guide sa aking kagabi. Una niyang itinuro sa akin kung saan dapat mag-stretching. Ang sunod naming pinuntahan ay yung parang dance aero na “Retro” ang theme ng mga oras na yun. Masaya kasi madaling sundan ang steps, though kailangan mo ng malambot na bewang dahil panay kembot ang steps. Haha. Mga 3 kanta lang ang naabutan namin. Sayang. Ang sumunod doon ay parang yoga, na di ako masyadong interesado. Gusto ko kasi yung talagang yugyugan to the max. Haha.

Pasensya na kung hindi ko alam ang mga tawag sa mga kagamitan sa gym dahil first timer lang talaga ako. Ang sunod naming ginamit ay ang treadmill. Medyo kinabahan ako dahil baka mahulog ako. Haha. Pero okay lang. Sa susunod ay bibilisan ko na. Yung para bang tumatakbo ka na. Haha.

Sunod naman ay ang mga equipments para sa chest, shoulders, at abs. Good luck na lang noh. Hehe.

Siyempre, it all ends with shower na since hindi ako prepared eh face towel lang ang nadala ko.

Okay naman. I thought na nakakapagod siya after pero it felt good naman, though inantok lang ako kasi alas dos na ng umaga ako nakatulog kahapon.

Sinabay na din ako ni Kaibigang Justine hanggang Coastal Mall. Nakakahiya dahil dumaan pa siya ng Buendia kaysa sa mas mabilis niyang dinadaanan sana. Pero okay lang dahil matagal-tagal na din kaming hindi nakapagkwentuhan.

Masasabi kong masaya ang aking unang araw sa gym. Wala na kasi ako masyadong physical activities ngayon (bukod sa laging sumasakit na mga parte ng katawan) eh kaya gusto ko din mag-gym. Wala naman akong balak na magpalaki ng katawan. Yung tama lang. Ayoko din maging bondat. At siyempre, para healthy ang pakiramdam.

Sa June 28 ay may naka-schedule kaming English Proficiency Training. Okay naman sa akin pero alis kasi ng Daddy ko yun, ihahatid namin sa airport. Gustuhin ko man sanang umattend pero… I know you understand. Siyempre, attached ako masyado sa family ko. Family first ika nga, ang isa sa mga sinusunod ko sa buhay ko. Kung sabihin man ng iba na maarte ako, okay lang. I don’t need their opinions about that.

Ugali ko din ang mahirap magsabi ng hindi. Pero nung tinanong ako doon, ay hindi na ak masyadong nahirapang tumanggi dahil totoo naman ang sinasabi ko. Kung gusto nila ng pruweba, bibigyan ko sila ng pruweba. Gusto kong umattend pero sabi ko nga, family first ako sa araw na yun. Kung gala lang ng family, eh okay lang na di ko puntahan. Pero ihahatid namin daddy ko sa araw na yun. Matagal-tagal uli kaming hindi magkikita.

Medyo na-offend lang ako sa isa sa HR namin kahapon kasi parang pinipilit niya na umattend ako eh sinabi ko na ngang hindi ako pwede nung araw na yun. I mean, that’s a Saturday. Wala naman talagang pasok nung araw na yun. Kaya yung mga bagay na hindi mo magagawa on weekdays eh no choice kundi Sabado o Linggo na lang. You know what I mean?

Ayoko pa naman yung pinipilit ang hindi naman talaga pwede. Okay lang kung kaya kong hatiin ang katawan ko sa dalawa. Okay lang sana kung weekday yung training na yun. Eh kung weekday yun at ayaw kong umattend, okay lang kahit magbutata sila sa akin.

With a few blog-worthy exceptions.  Like what happened tonight.  The evening began innocently enough.  The imp and I spent some quality time at the pool.  She splashed; I supervised.  All in all, it was a swimming success.  Afterwards, we sought the soothing warmth of the locker room showers to de-chlorinate ourselves.

As it happens, there is only one shower stall large enough to accommodate both of us.  Unfortunately, it was occupied by another woman.  Not just any woman, mind you…a very peculiar woman.  She was showering in her swimsuit with the curtain wide open.  This was completely normal.  What happened next was not.  She removed her swimsuit and continued to bathe, shower curtain still open, in an exposed state.  Making matters worse, her body was disturbingly emaciated.  I couldn’t make myself look away.  The whole incident probably only lasted a couple of minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. 

I’m normally indifferent to locker room nudity, but it seems practically unconscionable to let a good shower curtain go to waste.  [That goes double for a healthy-looking body.]

Is it false advertising to wear a shirt representing a sport you don’t play, spectate, or even recognize?  A recent purchase of mine definitively answered this question. 

I was on a quest to find the perfect workout shirt– fitted, but not too tight; anti-wicking, but not over-polyesterish; stylish, but not impractical.  I was having no luck, and began to suspect a conspiracy against me.  Each aisle and rack delivered a fresh wave of disappointment.  Just as I was starting to lose hope, I spotted something previously undetected in the distance.  I diligently pursued my target and was rewarded with the discovery of a semi-secret rack of Under Armour® shirts.  They were everything I wanted and more…fitted, anti-wicking and cute.  There was just one small problem.  Each shirt was emblazened with some form of sport symbol.

I had always subscribed to a full-disclosure policy for my clothing.  I never wore sweatshirts touting colleges I hadn’t attended; I never wore Coca-Cola shirts when I really preferred Pepsi; and I never wore apparel promoting sports I didn’t play.  As I didn’t play any sports, I didn’t buy any clothing depicting sport-like activities.

So there I was– a rack of perfect shirts begging to be purchased on one hand, and my fear of being called out as a sport faker on the other hand.  I couldn’t make this decision alone.  I grabbed a passerby.  Shee took one glance at the shirts and said, “Quit being ridiculous.  It’s just a shirt.”  I conceded, but opted for the most obscure sport I could think of, lacrosse, assuming that nobody would suspect I actually played it.

The shirt offered nothing but delight initially.  It resisted post-washing shrinkage.  It even wicked (or should I say anti-wicked?) as promised.  Best yet, nobody looked at me accusingly or suspiciously…that is, until the fateful day a man jumped off his stairmaster and approached me as I entered the fitness center.  He asked, “Do you play lacrosse?” with a hint of desperation in his voice.  “Um, no, it’s just a shirt,” I answered meekly.  “Oh,”  he responded with a crestfallen look upon his face, “I coach a women’s lacrosse team, and we really need players.”  I apologized for the misunderstanding and wished him luck on his search.

Ironically, I ended up working out next to a woman wearing the exact same lacrosse shirt one day.  I considered telling her about the man looking for lacrosse players, but thought better of it.

Since the start of my new fitness regime two weeks ago, I have been back at the gym. I manage to get roughly 40 minutes in before work in the mornings. As i felt slightly unfit, due to the lack of gym activity for a few months, I started on week 1 with just 2 days and then on the second week I managed to get a 3rd day in. It’s my aim now to stay at this rate and try and get three 40 minute sessions in a week.

I do however feel that I need some advice. I would love to have a session with a trainer to see what I should be doing and trying to make the most out of my 40 minute sessions. I try and do 15 minutes of cardio and then the rest weights. I focus the weight activity on the legs one morning, arms another and then on the third morning all body. Not very accurate, but that’s what I’m hoping to sort out soon

I really enjoyed my extra long session today as I had the day off work and so spent an hour working out. I ran for 15 minutes on the treadmill and also did 10 minutes on the cross trainer. I then went downstairs and did some weights, focussing on my legs and stomach and then made my way home for a nice long, warm shower.

There was this really weird and annoying guy in the gym today though, he stood at the treadmill and turned the speed right up so that it was scarily fast and then jumped on and ran for a couple of minutes at a time, with stops in between. He looked in real pain and was totally out of breath. It can’t be good, can it?

I was running at approx 8km/h and managed 2km…now I’m not sure how good that is, I suspect it isn’t very good, but it felt the right speed and I was sweating loads.

Any tips/ideas on what I should do in the gym to maximise weight loss and increase body toning, welcome!