Roxilla

Yes, feel that burn!

So, October is here and that means that summer is fast approaching… reckon it’s time to get it together.

I haven’t really been putting much effort into anything lately, what with this annoying sinusitis I’ve had as well as various stuff that keeps coming up, so my return to Muaythai has been shaky at best and I haven’t been running as much as I should be.

I have however started getting my diet back into some sort of healthy balance, and have been eating breakfast almost every day which is good. Salad season is pretty much here, so have been craving lots of crunchy stuff. Bread is still my enemy, but am managing to limit it a bit at least. I haven’t been on a major bender for well over a month, which health-wise is good (even if it’s not too good for my mojo!) I’ve been drinking a lot of water, and since I refuse to see chocolate as a bad thing, overall I’m not really hitting the bad stuff.

So by my estimate, now that I am picking up the running (I am even running in the Gun Run 10km half-marathon on Sunday, whoop whoop) and have also been putting my trusty exercise bike to work, and fitting in some Muaythai as much as possible, I should slowly start getting back to the machine-like fighting fit state I was in not too long ago.

I have decided to aspire to either match or beat my previous midriff state instead of using a shmodel or celeb as motivation. Of course, it’s also fairly variable depending on the cardio-strength training ratio, so will be interesting to see how the midriff goes this time as I wasn’t running as much or as hard as I am now but was much more dedicated on the Muaythai front and building a bit of muscle.

Midriffs: motivating

The thing with fitness and healthy eating though, is that it’s much easier to be unhealthy. It is way easier to make a quick sandwich or buy something ready-made than cook rice or quinoa and make a proper, healthy meal.

Proper fitness training hurts, and is tiring, and you have to first fit it into your schedule, and then you have to sweat and push yourself. Cycling once or twice a week and then having days of doing nothing is basically a bit of a waste of time – and to really get somewhere, you have to train about 5-6 days a week AND eat properly (5 or 6 small meals a day, lots of water, protein shakes and supplements) if you want to be able to get through your training and get the benefits.

Then you also have to think about your actual training. Cardio is essential, but without a bit of strength training, you may not actually see results. A friend of mine once pointed out that doing normal crunches without resistance is just like pumping iron without the iron.

I am pretty iffy about gym, I go if I go to Muaythai (which of course is a bit sporadic at present until I go back properly to weekday classes soon) and I am waiting for the new Zone Fitness in Lifestyle Centre to open next year as it’s close and will be a good one, but overall I way prefer running or kicking stuff. I also enjoy my exercise bike because I don’t have to leave the house at all.

I am going to put together a ‘summer midriff reclaiming project’ plan soon, and maybe I shall post it and track my progress. Watch this space!