Stretched

 

In the midst of my very hectic schedule (yes! life of a homemaker is HECTIC), I have somehow forgotten about Yoga.

I used to practise Yoga diligently couple of years ago. However, nowadays whenever I am in the gym, I would only be doing cardio and weights.

I finally made it to attend a hot yoga session this morning.

Gosh! I have to admit that my body was so stiff and achieving those simple postures was a real challenge. My muscles have not been stretched for far too long and flexibility is definitely compromised.

Nonetheless, I survived the hour of stretching and came out feeling lighter. Looks like I must not neglect this regimen.

So…. Sun Salutation….

will have to be my daily ritual to keep this aging body from further deterioration.!!!

Burn those Calories

The gym is normally where I would hang out in the morning on weekdays (except of holidays and school breaks).
I would use the treadmill and some elliptical machines for my cardiovascular exercises before I proceed for weight lifting, etc for muscle toning and building.

Many people have the impression that to lose weight all you have to do is to get on the treadmill and run/walk (at a constant speed and inclination) as long as you can to sweat it all out and burn away all the unnecessary calories. However, I find that spending more than 30 minutes on the treadmill is monotonous and down right boring unless you have gym buddy there to chit chat with. I have found that there is a more effective workout regime that you can do on the treadmill for less time and yet yield a better result. Found it a few months back on Bob Green's Best Life (Oprah's personal trainer).
Tried it and proven to be effective. Just with 20minutes on the treadmill, I am able to burn close to 300 calories!

I do this at least once a week.

Treadmill Walking Workout.

Warm up at 3.0 incline and 3.0 speed for 2 minutes, then continue with the following :

• Minute 3 - 6 : Increase incline to 12.0 and speed 3.2
• Minute 7 -10 : Decrease incline to 7.0 and increase speed to 3.6 to 4.0
• Minute 11 -14 : Increase incline to 15.0 and decrease speed to 3.2
• Minute 15 -18 : Decrease incline to 7.0 and increase speed to 3.6 -4.0
• Minute 19 -20 : Decrease incline to 3.0 and maintain speed of 3.6 to 4.0
• Cool down for 5 minutes

The object of this regime is to vary the inclination and the speed to yield a high calorie burn out.
It is not monotonous as the body has to adjust to the frequent change in speed and inclination.

Try it the next time you hit the gym... you might find it revitalizing.

Torture Chamber

I am quite health conscious and having been going to the gym religiously for the past 3 years. Apart from the normal cardio workouts, I am also into practicing yoga. In fact, I having been doing yoga for almost a decade. However, lately (for the past one year) I have opt to reduce my yoga sessions owing to a tennis elbow. Now that I have fully recovered from the tennis elbow, I am slowly getting back to yoga. (once a week).

My gym has given me 10 complimentary session of a different kind of yoga, BIKRAM's Hot Yoga.

It is supposed to be the ultimate yoga. Founded by Yogiraj Bikram Choudhary, it is a scientifically designed style of yoga guided by a specific dialogue. The session is 90 minutes encompassing a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercise. This yoga is practised in a studio heated at 40C. This yoga is very popular in Hollywood with strong followers like Madonna, Julia Roberts, Jessica Simpson, Sharon Stone and Matthew Mc Conaughey.

The benefits of Birkam's Hot Yoga are

• Weight loss and rapid body toning
• Muscle toning and strengthening
• Reduction of stress
• Slowing of ageing process
• Beneficial to all the internal organs by stimulating the heart to pump more oxygen to all parts of the body
• Increase flexibility and balance
• Better sleep
• Energy and vitality improvement
• Treats and improves chronic diseases, muscular and skeletal related problems.

With the long list of benefits above, I geared myself to give it a try. After all, those designated postures are pretty simple and should not weigh me down.

However.... I was WRONG. The heat of 40C can be quite intense. In less than 30 minutes, I was already feeling exhausted and light headed. I managed to sweat (though not much) which is good to cool me down a little. I looked to my right and there is this "old" uncle (in his 50's) still going strong despite sweat pouring out like a dripping tap. On my left, my friend was drenched with sweat but still look strong. I, on the other hand is looking very much like a grilled lobster. Struggling with every pose and having to take a breather in between. The Yogi said that I was breathing wrongly and am hyper-ventilating!! I did my best to keep up with the rest. The heat was really getting unbearable. By the time we came to the last few poses, I started to see stars and felt numbness creeping up to my fingertips. Shamelessly I looked at the yogi wanting to give up. The Yogi ignored my "plea" and encouraged us to continue. Finally, I survived the 90mins feeling drained, light headed and soaked in sweat. The Yogi commented that it is meant to be strenuous and common for beginners to experience what I felt. He encouraged us not to give up and to return tomorrow for the next session. So... will I continue??? (I was "half dead" in the torture chamber.)Yes & No..

No, I won't go tomorrow.

Yes, I will give it another try next week.

Interesting, despite feeling worn out, I was strong enough to drive home and mopped the whole house. In fact, I must admit, I feel pretty good now... rejuvenated.... Hopefully I can also have a very good sleep tonight!!!