Friday Five

I thought I'd get back to my Friday Five posts as a quick recap of the week. Sunday is usually my prep day for the week, but this past Sunday, I was so busy with training and then helping out during the Gracie Game day for the kids that I was exhausted and didn't do nearly enough prep for the week. That kind of threw off my groove for the rest of the week ... but nevertheless, despite not being able to follow my usual schedule the way I wanted too, I had a pretty good week.


1) On Sunday I participated in my first ever Gracie Games Day. It's held for the kids at the Jiu-Jitsu school as a reward for doing a good job with their class attendance, participation, and general behavior outside of class (e.g. good manners, being helpful, etc.). I"m not used to being around kids so it was quite overwhelming for me, but it was also quite a bit of fun!

 a few shots of the kids during game day

2) In general I've been spending  lot of time on the mats. In fact, I head to the Jiu-Jitsu school everyday to either train or assist the head coach. It's good practice for me as I continue to prepare for my Instructor's Certification Program. Plus I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

with one of my training partner's after a session on the mats

3) I attended a Muay Thai seminar held at Watford Martial Arts Center where I do my Muay Thai and my yoga. It was given by fighter John Wayne Parr. The seminar was great -- high level of energy and enthusiasm, lots of techniques fit in ... overall really enjoyable and informative!

my training partner and I with 10x world champion in Muay Thai John Wayne Parr

John Wayne Parr doing a demo with me during the seminar

4) I started a new weight training program -- for the past 8 weeks I was focusing on fewer reps and heavier sets. It was definitely good, but I found that the recovery time took a lot longer than I would have liked. Now I'm back to a more normal routine - 4 sets of 10 reps - hoping to continue to get stronger and build muscle.

low rows - one of my favorites

5) The Whole Life Challenge ends tomorrow. I still want to make sure I stay on track through the holiday season until the end of the year so I've organized a new challenge. If you'd like to join, please connect through the group's Facebook page entitled: It's a Lifestyle. A brief outline of the challenge is listed below and more details are posted here.

It's a Lifestyle -- the Facebook page for the 50 Day Challenge

details of the 50 Day Challenge

A Full Week!

It has been a FULL week for me.

I started off the week still feeling quite achy from my workouts from last week. Part of it was from my general training and getting back to  my weight lifting, but most of it was me still recovering from the MetaFit training course! I think I did a few too many burpees, squats, and lunges -- my left knee was feeling terrible!

I approached my workouts with caution, but was happy that I didn't feel any major pains.

I just focused on active recovery on Monday with a long walk.
It's just as well I didn't do anything major because Tuesday ended up being a LONG day of workouts.

I went to a 7 a.m. Yoga class at the martial arts center. Then I hit the weights and did a MetaFit class at my local gym, followed by 2 hours of Jiujitsu in the evening.

Wednesday was my first evening Muay Thai class. It was fantastic! I had such a good time :) It felt great to work up a sweat hitting pads again. That class was followed by Yoga for Muay Thai. I left the martial arts center feeling relaxed and totally stretched out, which led to a great night of sleep.

Thursday morning I was back at the gym for weights and MetaFit and then a really intense session of Jiujitsu. I'm preparing to take my blue belt test soon, so I've been drilling my moves quite seriously.

Today I attended a 6:30 a.m. Muay Thai session followed by another hour of yoga. Plus tonight I've got Jiujitsu again.

Filling up the Mini Cooper with my Muay Thai gear and yoga mat.

Glad I didn't get a Smart car!

It feels fantastic to be able to fit in 3 1-hour yoga classes in my week. I am SO stiff. Not doing any proper yoga for 10 months has really had an impact on my flexibility. I'm hoping that continuing to do the classes will really help me loosen up.

Aside from Jiujitsu I don't really have anything else scheduled for this weekend. I may try to fit in either a MetaFit session or just some walking. We'll see. Rest is definitely on the agenda! The Whole Life Challenge starts tomorrow!! I can't wait :)

Finally!!!

By the end of BJJ class last night, I was feeling totally spent. The previous days of training had caught up to me. All wanted to was to get a good night's sleep.

I may not have slept for long, but I did sleep soundly, and I was ready to get up and go when my alarm went off at 5 a.m.

I already had my gym bags (yes, bags) packed, my clothes had been laid out -- I just had to eat a little something (a small salmon burger - just the patty that I made yesterday with nothing else and half a cup of green tea plus my vitamins), get ready, and head out the door.

Then came my first big challenge -- my first solo drive in London!

I took lessons to drive on the 'other' side and I've driven around a bit with D in the car with me ... but this was the first time I was going out on my own. Luckily, at 6 a.m. the roads are quite clear, so I got to my destination without any problems. Yay!

So what got me out of bed so early in the morning?

Muay Thai training!

I was so happy to finally be able to make it to a class. I have been missing it so much, and I really felt like it was what has been missing from my routine.

The class was great! The people were friendly and welcoming. The workouts was challenging and fun. I worked up a great sweat and boy did it feel great to hit pads after such a long time. Yes, I was definitely happy.

After Muay Thai there was a yoga class, so I attended that. I was told that on Fridays they focused on flexibility -- that perfect for me. I haven't properly done a yoga class since October. Boy was I stiff! I tried my best with the poses. It felt so good to stretch out -- definitely something very necessary in my fitness routine. I'm excited to track my progress over the upcoming sessions.

My second big challenge was getting back home! I left the martial arts center at around 8:45, so it was kind of rush hour. There were so many more cars on the road. There were a few tense moments (roundabouts and narrow roads with cars coming from the opposite direction as well), but I survived (as did the other drivers on the road) :)

I entered the house sweaty and grinning from ear to ear -- now that's the way I like to start the day!!

my Hayabusa bag and equipment all ready to be taken out the door

Looking Forward

I can't believe the summer is almost over! It's going to feel so weird for me come September that I'm not heading back to Kuwait University and preparing for class ... I'll miss the interaction with the students, but I don't know if I'll miss much else!

So last night I went and checked out a nearby Martial Arts center. They offer Muay Thai classes which are what I've been looking for.

The place is not too far away and the best thing is that they have early morning classes, which at the moment are probably best for me in terms of my schedule.

The classes start at 6:30 a.m. This means a very early start to my day - which I don't mind - and driving on my own (Yikes! I haven't done that yet!!) to the center. What I really like about the morning Muay Thai classes is that they're followed by Yoga! I've been wanting to reincorporate yoga into my routine and this would be awesome. They've even got a yoga class called Yoga for Muay Thai. I'm really interested to see how that class is.

Now that I've found this place, I feel like my schedule is falling into place and September looks promising.

As I mentioned yesterday, I definitely want to make sure I get enough sleep so that I can put the most into my workouts.

September will be my first full month in London. I want to make the most of it!

Between the workouts and the Whole Life Challenge, I think it's going to be a great month!

Return from Bangkok

I'm back from my two week trip to Bangkok, Thailand where I went to see how my brother has been doing. He's been in the hospital there for a month now. In fact, he just came out of a second surgery this  morning during which the doctors have been working to remove a tumor from his spine which has compromised his movement.

There are still many unanswered questions in relation to his condition. For now, all I have to say is that he's recovering and the doctors are working to help him regain his mobility.

The trip was a rather stressful one. It wasn't at all like going on a vacation as it was filled with worry and endless hours at the hospital.

I stayed in a hotel very close to the hospital, just a few minutes walk. I was lucky in that the hotel served a breakfast buffet every morning and it had a cute little cafe that served the most delicious salads. Although I did snack a bit, my main meals were pretty much the same each day and I returned with a 1 kg loss. The hotel also had a gym, which I took advantage of. Plus, since I was in Thailand, I had to check out some Muay Thai training. I would have loved to have done more, but at least I got in a few lessons. My Muay Thai coach in Kuwait actually has an affiliated training center in Bangkok so he hooked me up. The gym held a fight night while I was there so I even got to see my first live Muay Thai fights!

Now I'm back in London and really hoping for some uninterrupted time to establish a routine! The biggest distraction now is my worry for my brother, but we are continuing to stay positive and hope for the best!

Pretty much what I had for breakfast each morning - scrambled eggs, raw veggies, smoked salmon -- I had the occasional slice of bread -- oh and fruit each morning

I had this delicious Nicoise salad almost every single night while in Bangkok. 

I had to walk through this ancient Chinese cemetary to get to Fighting Spirit Gym for early morning (7 a.m.) Muay Thai training. It was creepy but also beautiful.

Me and Dan Lyons (who runs Fighting Spirit Gym) 

Me and fighter Zidov Akuma

One of the fights during Fight Night at Fighting Spirit Gym

I only had time to exercise in the mornings, so I'd get up at 5:30 a.m. and hit the gym -- it wasn't always easy, but it was definitely always worth it!

Fight Club

One of the things I really, really wanted to do was train Muay Thai with Fight Club Kuwait.

The opportunity came up for me to do so, so I jumped on the chance.

This meant adding another 2 hour workout 3 times a week on top of everything else and back to back with my Kajukenbo class.

A big part of me was overwhelmed with the thought of doing that. However, it's what I really, really wanted. So I decided to suck it up and just get on with it.

My first day of training with them was on Sunday.

Since I had been on a 10 day holiday, I was doing my workouts at home/outdoors. So on Sunday, I was back at the gym in the morning. We also had a break from Kajukenbo, and Sunday was our first day back. With that in mind, you can imagine that I was a little bit apprehensive about whether or not I would have the energy to do it all. Fight Club's coach is notoriously known for long, intense warm-up sessions. I wondered, for a moment (or two), whether I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Anyway. We had a good Kajukenbo class, and then I rushed off to change and get ready for Fight Club. Luckily they're both held in the same place, so no travel was required, and I could at least stretch/sit for about 20 minutes between classes.

Our warm-up: 30 minutes of jump rope.

Ya. 30 minutes.

I tried not to think of the time. It was broken down into 3 segments (5 min, 1 min rest, 10 min, 1 min rest, 15 min). I just concentrated on jumping. On the first day the coach had techno music playing. I just imagined I was at a club dancing around :) It definitely helped! For the second class, there was no music. It was a lot tougher. I tried to find something to think about to distract myself from the time, but it was tough.

Overall, I'm pleased with how I did. I had to stop a few times, but I made sure I was still moving (doing footwork) even when I wasn't jumping.

After that, we got started on technique practice and drills.

I loved it. I still have to take it kinda easy because of my wrist (which has been healing really well by the way), but it felt so good to put boxing gloves back on and actually hit something!

In terms of doing 2 big workouts back to back, I know that making rest and food a priority, like I mentioned in yesterday's post, has really helped. I want to do these classes, and I want to do them well. Any hint of tiredness has to do with my mind more than anything else. I just have to believe that I am strong enough to do this (because I am)!

When I was driving back from class on Tuesday, I thought to myself, at the very least, it takes a lot of mental resolve to even get through the entire class (Muay Thai) without giving up. You have to really dig deep and do it. That thought was particularly relevant that day because we had had quite an intense Kajukenbo session just before that.

I love being physically strong, but the mental strength that I've been gaining through my MMA practices as well as my general fitness improvements has been priceless.

The Last Day

Today's the last official day of the week long break. I've still got the weekend ahead, but today's the last working day that I have off ... part of me wanted to just chill at home and relax. However, part of me also thought - today's the last day I can get a nice, long, no-rushed workout in before my crazy schedule starts again on Sunday.

I didn't get to the gym till about 8 a.m. I was just going to do a short warm-up and then do weights, but H, one of the trainers who I used to do a bit of boxing/kickboxing training with said he'd put the bag up for me.

He asked me what I wanted to practice, and I told him my roundhouse kicks needed some major work - especially with my left side. I just wasn't getting my foot positioning right or my hips to open up enough. So he stayed and worked with me --- kick after kick after kick ... 1,000 per leg. He held one of the bags against his leg for me to practice -- it was not in a good state after I finished.

Afterwards he told me to kick him - shins, thighs, torso and then arm. Holy shit. His arms were harder than the wall. He is rock solid muscle. My shins were (are) mega-sore!!

So I did that for an hour and half ... for a split second I thought about going home, but then thought, No. I've got time to spend at the gym today. I really should hit the weights since I'm already behind with my training schedule.

I finished Workout A2 of the Fat Loss II program in New Rules of Lifting. The push-presses are definitely challenging, but I felt nice and strong with all the other lifts.

One of the highlights of my day was slipping into a new pair of jeans. I haven't worn this size jean since 1996, and even then I only fit into them for 5-6 months. I've never worn a size smaller ... so that's something to definitely aim towards!!

I spent the rest of the day chillin' with friends, in particular my new little sweetheart Dani - he's one week old :)

Tomorrow's my weigh-in and February reflection post. I'm feeling optimistic. 

Feeling Good

Today was one of those days where everything just seemed to turn out well.

I wore an outfit today to work that got several, several compliments - simple black bootleg trousers from the GAP and a sweater top from Top Shop (which is in the smallest size I own at the moment!). Some of my colleagues, who see me on a daily basis, didn't just make a passing comment about how I looked or my weight loss, but were surprised at the transformation. I hadn't realized the outfit was that flattering, though I admit that I felt good in it (it's the trousers and 5 inch heels that I think really did it!). Of course the compliments made me feel good.

I was a bit annoyed that I missed Body Balance class since I didn't finish work on time, but that gave me the chance to quickly meet with one of my friends who happens to be one of the top Muay Thai guys in Kuwait. I'd love to train with him, but I know I'm not ready ... yet. In the meantime he gave me some tips on how to strengthen my wrists because I feel like that's where I need the most work (along with staying firm in my stance) in terms of boxing/kickboxing.

I then had a few hours at home to catch up on some work as well as relax before heading out to kickboxing class.

For the past 3 weeks only me and one other guy have been showing up for kickboxing. It's been quite a challenge because we hold the boxing pads up for one another. Boy do my shoulders get a workout when he hits those pads. There were some punches last night that I thought were really going to take my right arm off. Still, it made me stand firmer in my stance and really focus on steeling myself to receiving the punches - definitely a good arm and shoulder workout! We also did a lot of moving pad work - the coach had me all over the gym floor. It is quite a challenge to stay strong in your stance, continue focusing on the power behind punches, as well as keep your guard up - not to mention make proper contact - as you're moving around so fast. It was a great drill. Some of my punches have really improved, though I seemed to be struggling with my left hook today.

In the middle of it all (I'm backtracking a little), an much anticipated package arrived for me.

I'll be traveling for part 2 of my best friend's wedding (the same friend who got married in Germany back in October). Since this ceremony will be taking place in India, I asked one of my friend's who is a fashion designer in Bangladesh if she could pick up an outfit for me. Instead of buying one off the rack, she asked for my measurements and designed and tailor-made an outfit for me. I asked her for the outfit 9 days ago so I was really tense about her being able to finish the outfit (she was embroidering stuff by hand) receiving it on time. It was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but - thank you DHL - it arrived today!! I was so nervous about it fitting right, especially since I just texted her my measurements, but it fit like a glove and I have to say, I felt like a princess. I'm so excited to be wearing the outfit next week!! [Pictures will have to wait until then.]

My day finished off with a lovely dinner with friends I hadn't gotten together with in a while. We went to a steakhouse, and had steak as well as baked parsnips. I think I can officially say that I am no longer a vegetarian (or pescatarian) as I've had meat 3 times already this week! We'll see how that pans out. Anyway. It was a really satisfying, good day :)

My outfit for the night - loving my new Desigual coat and Dune polka-dot heels (though they are hidden by the trousers).

A closer look at the shoes :)