Training for competition...is set!

Being involved in the fitness community, outside the comfort of a normal gym, I realized a lot of things. One of those things is that our fitness industry needs more Emirati women athletes and those involved sports (whatever the sport is!).

I also realized, not only that is needed - but I can do something about it. I started my fitness lifestyle in 2007 and had many ups and downs until it was November 2009. One day I woke up and I said, enough is
enough - and I took charge of my life, how I feel, what I eat, when I eat, how I think, and I react to things (okay, this still needs some work!). In a month, I would have completed two years leading a healthy lifestyle.

What I realized...this is not enough, and I want more and I can be more than an average gym-goer to get my dose of an exercise fix. Now I realize I want to be an athlete, be part of competitions, and make a name not just for myself, but for my country - which unfortunately has high obesity and diabetes rates.

Just about a month ago, I decided it's about time - and that I will train to compete. On Saturday the 14th, I started a new training regime. One that will hopefully get me ready to compete in Reebok Crossfit Games 2012 which is just 4 months away...but in the end of the day it's how much effort I am putting in, in each session.

To simplify the competition details, they are three stages:

Stage 1: The Open (Feb 22- March 25): Worldwide competition that takes place locally with one workout per week for five weeks (we don't know what the workouts will be). Scores and videos will be uploaded online to see who qualifies. The top 60 men, women, and teams’ with the highest scores from each region will be selected to compete in stage two. Last year, over 26,000 athletes competed!

Stage 2: Regional (April 27-May 27): Athletes from the same region will compete against one another to find out who is the fittest in their region.

Stage 3: Reebok Games in California (July 13-15): The fittest athletes from different regions will not only compete at this stage, but they will be tested on whether that can handle the unknown. The winners will earn the title of being the “Fittest man or woman on earth."

Since I will be competing against the unknown, literally, my goal is to get myself strong enough to reach the regional stage at LEAST, and I can only do that through putting my body through intense exercise, healthy eating habits, enough sleep, be stress-free, and a lot of rehabilitation.

Therefore, I will be updating my blog with my progress weekly with my training program for the week and my progress. Each Friday night I will be posting my weekly training and progress.

There is no reason I can't do this. I am going to smash it!

Yours truly,
GymFreak @999fitness

Strength gains in Ramadan

This Ramadan has definitely been a journey for me. Unlike last year, I did not have to deal with so many things. All I had to do was fast, pray, and exercise.

While this year, I have a full-time job in the media industry - and it goes without saying - a 24/7 kind of job, whether I like it or not. Due to the time constraints, I did not make the time to plan my eating habits, however I did plan my exercise - up to an extent.

During the third week of my training, I actually almost had a melt down, because of exhaustion, feeling not up to par as I did last year, and did not see myself adding plates to the barbell. It crushed me.

I worked very hard for the past two years to get where I am today. People tend to overlook that aspect about who I am. God knows how many times I fell off the wagon, but I had to get up again. I freakin' love weight lifting. I just do.

So after a push from my trainer, Candice Howe, who might I say is the fittest woman in Asia as per Crossfit standards, I finally started upping my game again.

I know I am physically strong, but sometimes my mind fails me. Hence that day I just felt I couldn't go through the workout, I actually gave up. However, giving up in training is not who I am so I walked into the gym with a new mindset. Since then, I have seen a strange jump in strength gains - and not by the amount of muscle of fat I have lost or gained - but by the capacity my body is able to go through.

Although Ramadan, is not over, I can proudly say that in Ramadan I have achieved the following:

- My first 6 reps pull ups (something I couldn't do before!)
- My first 52.5kgs x 3reps with squats. I never shared this before - I actually have a fear of squatting! So imagine me squatting my own body weight on my back?
- I also have lost some body fat and have leaned out a bit, despite my eating habits are the most. I am still consuming whole-foods for the most part, aside from gaimat!

And what saddens me is to read about people "overeating" in Ramadan, or spending hours watching the TV, while they could've exercised in that hour. Some say to me that my tweets makes them crazy, as they have gained X amount of weight in Ramadan, and have eaten X amount of food. Well, if you wanted to be healthy, you'll do something about it. It is what it is.

And I chose to stay as healthy as possible in Ramadan, keep training hard, because I want to reach somewhere, whatever that place is, I know I want to compete as an athlete one way or another. Maybe not this year, or next year - but I am hungry for it, and I plan to get a bite.

Yours truly,
Gym freak @999fitness

"Emotional Salad" By Amna Al Haddad at TedxAjman 2011

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoy the video - just fyi: that is me speaking!

Yours truly,
GymFreak @ 999fitness.

Health & Fitess is a Process

In 23 days, I will mark my one year journey into fitness and health.

To become healthy and fit in today's world with all the junk food around us, one needs to have the right mindset and most importantly realistic goals. I constantly read comments from people who say they want to lose 10kgs in 11 days, or fit in a outfit that's twice smaller than theirs overnight. That's just not realistic.

I have always been some sort of an active person when I was younger, loved biking, engaging in different physical activities and whatnot. But then you grow up and you wonder how did the time pass by so fast and you became so fat, eh? Well, there is no time like today to start your journey.

I feel into a state of depression last year - like majority of the people in my country (UAE) probably due to the stress around us, from work, to school, and to monetary issues. I was literally vegetating in my bed all day long, eating junk food, watching too many TV shows, but then one day it hit me - this is NOT who I am. This is NOT what I want to be like in the future. Although I was never "truly" obese or overweight in the sense of the word, my mind was. I have put on a good ol' 7kgs of fat and literally felt like sh*t every single day. I hated myself. Hated how clothes looked on me.

So one day I just got up, and took one step and then another. I didn't even start exercise at first, but my goal was to add a simple activity a day that requires more movement from my part and then I took on exercising 5 days a week. If anything, I am still taking baby steps even after one year. This is how it is & this is what worked for me and still is. I believe you cannot rush into changing yourself overnight - it is unrealistic.

How to set realistic goals?

1- Identify the problem
2- Understand what causes it
3- Make one small change every week
4- Keep reaching one goal at a time

It's as simple as not having fries once a week (in case you're like me and love fries to death =P), and build up to not having it twice a week & so on. 

Following these simple steps will help you reach your bigger goal, be it lose 10kgs, wear a certain dress size, or even just feel better about yourself.

You cannot dance your way into fitness, it is a process and it's a process that takes time. Determination and self-motivation can take you farther than anyone ever could, a personal trainer or a life coach. Only you can take that journey, and that journey is well-worth it once you start to see changes. Most importantly do it for you and not anybody else.

Who's the author? Simply putting it, an Emirati gym freak who loves heavy weight lifting (or considers it to be at least.)