Progress pics...

Friday, April 3rd, 2009.

Blogging takes time. To write an equally intellectually and visually stimulating blog requires plenty of preparation. So, I've realised. Just the other day, I was pondering over an ice-cold, glass of grape flavoured "Xtend", how some people manage to knock in so many blog entries in a week! Yeah, there are such people. Plenty of them. Damn, they must either be jobless or engaged in some part-time job or something. Definitely single and not married. Marriage changes everything. Well yeah, it has changed the way in which I live my life; in all its avenues. Let alone, blogging! During my 'single days', I had too much free time on my hands. Now, I'm not so free. Literally speaking. ;)

Nowadays, I find myself swallowed in a cycle of routine. Although, I am potentially and sporadically spontaneous by nature (a self proclamation), I do admit though, that I am a creature of habit and routine. I live my life according to a pre-organised structure of activities. Without structure, there would be chaos. I'm outta the office by 5.00pm. It usually takes me about 15 - 18 minutes to get to the gym. I don't like traffic jams 'cos it will delay my work-out time and therefore, my eating time. At 5.40pm, my muscles would already be engorged with blood from the swing of reps from a rusty dumb bell. My work-outs last roughly around 45 minutes. I'd be chewing on hamburger beef of my post-workout meal / dinner around 6.30pm. My favourite part of the day. I arrive home around 7.00pm. The moment I step in the house, I would head for the laundry room to sort out the laundry. Sad ey? After that, I prepare dinner for my wife, which would be several servings of oven-grilled chicken wings (marinated in a generic sauce). And so on and so forth. I bet you think I'm like some kinda domesticated creature. Well, I suppose I am. Like I mentioned earlier, marriage changes everything. It made me realised how much free time I had during my 'single days of yore'...haha. That was then.

Anyway, before I lose track of this entry, below are a few pics I managed to take of both Wan Yusoff and David during the first few weeks of training...bear in mind, I had taken heaps more pictures, but ended deleting half of them as they turned out looking terrible. Photography is not my forte, as golf is not my forte. Haha. I'm a perfectionist....the following pictures were taken at "Muscle & Fitness" (the name says it all), which is owned by my brother-in-law. The gym is located above his eatery, "Java Juices", which is a casual-type restaurant boasting western, urban cuisine...In Kuching, this restaurant is renowned, and with good reason, for its variety of both original and classic main courses, that are similar to those found in T.G.I.F. or Hard Rock Cafe. Halal, it caters mainly for a niche crowd of young and hip customers in the 20 years and above age group. Reasonable pricings. My favourite dish is beef salad, which is a generous, 250g of lean, hamburger beef, diced with plenty of fresh salad. The pictures below were taken on 13th March 2009 during Wan Yusoff's 'back day'...

Feel free to note, that Wan Yusoff looks relatively muscular to begin with...at a starting weight of 89kg at approximately 18% body fat, and already sporting a decent amount of muscle on his frame, most people wouldn't have expected him to be a new-comer to the iron game. He has an awesome tribal tattoo on his right shoulder, which extends down to the first 3/4's of his bicep. Cool. Being 46 years of age, most would be fooled. I was intrigued by the 'big ass' tattoo, which kinda contradicted his 'gentleman nature'. I suppose there's more than meets the eye...haha. Prior to the commencement of my programme, he explained that he had only trained for the past one year. Although I smirked in disbelief at first, it took me a few sessions to figure out that his stocky, yet compact frame had a significant degree of 'muscular potential'. Damn, I never looked that muscular after only a year of training. He's a strong dude and also drops fat at a consistent rate. He's a mutant...

David, on the other hand is much taller with less muscle, but has a relatively large body frame too. Frankly, he's not as strong as Wan Yusoff, who's strength in his upper body matches his physical appearance. However, I've noticed a profound level of strength in his leg extensions. He's got a decent pair of quads (no skinny leg syndrome here) to match. David's a typical, Malaysian, Chinese businessman-type (he's so going to kick my ass for stereotyping him), in a sense that he is 'kiasu'. Yes, he is 'KIASU'. This Hokkien word means 'having a fear of losing'. The concept of 'Kiasu' is not new and has been so widely used by Malaysians in describing the social attitudes of modern, South-east Asian mentalities all over the region. Traditionally speaking, 'Kiasu' parents often expect their children to be accustomed to this way of thinking, encouraging them to become ambitious and therefore, more successful in business. David's a good example. There, I said it.

Initially, David's goal was to drop body fat at any expense, even if it mean't losing muscle size. He basically wanted a 'beach body' with abs. That was it. However, after witnessing Wan Yusoff's transformation over the first 4 weeks, he decided to re-aligned me with a new set of goals. To be bigger and more muscular. And hopefully stronger too. Such, is the epitomy of 'kiasu-ness'. In actuality, there's nothing wrong with being 'kiasu'. It's okay to have a sense of competitiveness, as long as we are honest with ourselves and not disillusioned by unrealistic expectations. All in all, both individuals have expressed a desire to have an 'Alpha-Male' body to match their egos and earning capacities. Sounds good. If you're alpha, you gotta look the part too right? ;)