This blog is going through a transitional phase. It is now a journal dedicated to my fitness/gymming/health goals. Occasionally when a source of inspiration hits, I may blog about other things.
Anyway, even if nobody reads this because xanga is dead, it is a good way for me personally to track my progress and provide me with some accountability per say.
My goal:
I know I'll never become 6'11 like Dwight, but a 6'0 Korean version =) Basically an "athletic" build with low bodyfat(10% or less) and good amounts of lean muscle. Don't want to become rugby player big or bodybuilder big though.
Current status Weight: 80.4kg.
Have some muscle mass but definately needs improvement. Also have some stubborn fat. Don't know my BF% yet but I'm guestimating somewhere between 15% and 20%. After taking a break from working out for 18months, my strength has been reduced.
Plan
Ideally would like go on a cutting plan now to get rid of the stubborn fat and lower my BF%.
But due to academic commitments(my no.1 priority), I just don't have the time or the required focus to go on a cut at the moment. This is because you have to factor in doing extra cardio + more micromanagement of the diet which inevitably takes up time. Plus reducing carbohydrates(so the body uses adipose tissue to make up somewhat for the reduction of carbs) would not be good for studying since my brain needs energy which is best supplied by carbs.
Therefore, since I also waned to add some lean muscle, I'm going to go on a bulk plan. A clean bulk albeit to minimise fat gain. So I will eat like a bear BUT no junk,sugar rich, saturated fat foods like kebabs, KFC chicken wings, potato chips/fries if I'm eating steak etc. (which I used to previously do on previous bulks where I just looked at protein content alone).
The good thing about weight training, is if the workouts are of adequate intensity and focus on compound movements, 3 hours a week(3 workouts a week 1 hour each) is more than enough. Too much over this would be overtraining and counterproductive since rest heals the muscles. Despite study, I still need to take care of my fitness, so a bulking plan fits in well. Plus there is less micromanagement of the diet and will have adequate energy to study. =)
From July onwards, when uni is over forever!(undergrad), cutting will begin!!! I will try to achieve my goal by end of October/early November.
Random gym rants
-I now know why deadlifts( and squats) are considered the king of all exercises. So many muscles used (back, core, quads, glutes) plus its bloody tiring. I used to avoid "leg" exercises but now I realise legs are just as important to work out.
Anyway, deadlifts absolutely hammered me! No wonder they're called "dead"lifts. Do not ever do deadlifts towards the end of a workout because you just won't have the energy. I might now dedicate a day specifically towards deadlifts. . - I understand that gyms can be busy, and obviously you're sharing the equipment. But the people who just sit on the bench(for bench pressing) just chatting away to their friends for 10minutes... why? Anyway, you ask these people nicely if you can use the bench because they're not using it and they've been just sitting there for a billion years . Then they act like biatches being all stuck up and pretentious. Geez, why come to the gym when all youre gonna do is sit down, be obnoxiously loud and disturb other people?
I'll give anyone who has a Mac, is a Mac fan or is just a computer geek period to explain the following:
1) What's so good about Mac/the Leopard operating system? 2) Why/why not is Leopard superior to Windows? 3) Basically convince me why I as a potential consumer, should get a Mac...
please reply to this thread in the comments=)... i know not many ppl use xanga anymore...
When you're a punk teenage kid, sometimes you hear older people tell you to do something/don't do something or you'll regret it... And then you have this whole "know it all" attitude, thinking.. "Pffttt.."
As great and thankful I am for this process of maturing , ouch it hurts.. .
IN RETROSPECT :
1) Quitting the piano is is a regret I have now. I used to hate piano. Loathe it. My favorite time of the week no joke was when my piano lesson ended. Why? Because that's the longest time there was until my next piano lesson. However, I wished I had continued. In retrospect, I spent 10 years learning that instrument and my parent's money for lesson, and I just stopped like that? Oh goodness... 지금 생각해 보니깐, 너무 아까워.. David Sides, the best piano player for sheezy in terms of contemporary music, made my desire to play the piano itch even more...
IF ONLY I HAD STOP BEING SO NAIVE AND CONTINUED PLAYING THE PIANO.
2) I should have studied in year 12 MUCH MUCH more. I thought "Baulko scaling" would somewhat help me as I am a Baulko student and generally the well performingschools , because their in school assessments(like trial HSC, assessments etc) are generally harder, and the schools perform well in the HSC, so our marks get scaled... . Not enough it seems =( ... but yeah regardless of scaling , I know my effort was crap. Now this whole Gamsat process, is BS. As hard as the HSC/Umat process is, in retrospect that would have been alot easier.
IF ONLY I HAD STUDIED HARDER... I would have been in Melbourne doing dent......
3) I regret forgetting Japanese. I still can say basic stuff, BUT I learnt it for 6years, did it as a HSC subject(although I didn't really study that hard though) , and yet I forgot so much? BOOOOO. I went to Japan in 2002, for a yr 11 school trip, I could speak relatively fluently back then. I went to Japan again last year and made the biggest boon out of myself(but it was all good =) ) thinking before the trip, I though my Japanese ability was good engouh. Ouch, what a rude awakening. The phrase I ended up using most was "eigo o hanase masuka" (Do you speak English?).. Oh on a side note, learning kanji sucks...
4) However, one thing I'm definately thankful for my parents, that worked out for sure, is me go to Korean school on Saturday mornings. I really wanted to play soccer with my good friend Stevo, but my mom said NO, and I went to Korean school. Sure I suck at soccer now, but I'm thankful that I can speak my native tongue proficiently. Ironically, my Korean improved because I'm a HUGE fan of my national soccer team since the 94 World Cup. So, anyway, ever since the internet started becoming more common, I read Korean soccer articles, which were generally in Korean. Oh and also pretty Korean actresses helped as well, because, well I ended up watching my fair share of Korean dramas. Song Hye Gyo?
I'm 22 now, not a teenager anymore. People around me say, "It's not too late, GO for it" . Yes, I take their word for it. I have to go for it! However, opportunities dwindle and are much harder to come by as time goes by, so it's time for me to 정신 차려 and Carpe diem.... Enough regrets, and move on stronger?
So BoA has finally decided to enter the U.S. music market.
She's had success in Korea and Japan so far. But then because of her success in Japan, she neglected the Korea for a moment and she hasn't released an album since "Girl on Top" in 2005 in the motherland. Regardless, her success in Korea and Japan probably makes her the most popular Asian artist. (some Rain fans might disagree because dang he was popular in Thailand when I went there and heard he was popular in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia... anyway)
Anyway, no other Asian singer has succeeded(let alone a Korean one) in the U.S. yet. Coco Lee, from Taiwan and Utada Hikaru(Japanese, but from NYC) released albums in the U.S. and they weren't well received. The only one who I guess you could have considered to "make it" is the Korean-American member of Linkin Park. But he plays a relatively minor role and he ain't no major star, especially compared to the rapper/singer guys in LP.
To be honest most Asian artists aren't really suited for American tastes . And many have subpar English ability or deep cultural awareness. For example, the Korean singer Se7en I heard is attempting to enter the U.S, but honestly, he ain't gonna succeed. He sucks. Rain is trying to enter the US a different way. Through Hollywood. He had a minor role in Speed Racer(the movie sucked) and now he's filming some ninja movie.
Boa I guess is slightly different though. She's femine and pretty. She's got talent. Can sing, can dance. Is 21. The main issue was the ability to speak English. I thought she would be "fobby" but to be honest, I was surprised. I heard an interview and she actually has an American accent! Granted, it still seems she's not fully used to or 100% natural in speaking English, but still considering what I expected and what I heard in a previous interview, I guess it was impressive to see such improvement.
So SM is planning for Boa to release her first US single on October 14 called "Eat you up". But I guess with it being the iPod era and all, it's going to be released on iTunes. I saw a preview of the music video on it, and it sounds.. hmm "American" in that I could so imagine Britney releasing a song like this. But it seemed a bit unnatural for Boa I guess because it's quite different to what she normal releases in Japan, which I'm accustomed to:
Eat you up teaser A
East you up teaser B
Compare this with a typical Jpop song by Boa(here with M-Flo)
So she does have some of the tangibles to succeed, but does she have the intangibles? It's going to tough. America has never really had an artist like this and no Asian celebrity has made any significant impact, even the great Utada Hukaru. Will she detract away from her Korean/Japanese style of music even more to appeal to the U.S? Hmmm.. we'll wait and see =)
