Saturday, 21 June 2014

Days 4 & 5: I've Got The Best Training Partner Ever

So it’s been more of the same. Sight-seeing, relaxing, massages, swims and walks along the beach. And then yesterday arrived and I felt the true value of a Training Partner. We had loosely planned a full day out followed by a Bi’s & Tri’s workout and my second weekly HIIT session.
We had a fabulous day out and about, visiting a mausoleum –as you do, and a Malay Village/Museum. We stopped for lunch and eventually scootered back to the resort for a poolside relax. At about 5pm I started thinking about the gym and the first niggling doubts about that workout set in. I thought a little bit more about how I could structure the week so that it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t quite get around to it tonight. A little more self-convincing and I had talked myself into believing that it was actually not in my best interests to workout tonight.
I started blurting out my new plans to Rob who simply said, “No. We planned this workout and we’re going to do it. Get  your gear on and let’s go. And hurry up – it’s getting late”. He definitely had his no-nonsense voice on so I got my gym gear on and begrudgingly walked over to the gym. From there we knocked out a fairly gruelling weights session immediately followed by a flippin awful HIIT. It knocked the wind out of my sails and we didn’t make it to dinner until after 9pm.
This morning we started the day with a solid 30min walk through the soft sand, followed by my usual breakfast and another relaxing day. After lunch Rob reminded me that we had a legs workout to conquer and he, once again, gave me no room to budge from the time-table.
Now we have a scheduled rest day tomorrow and I feel wonderful for sticking to the program. And very, very grateful for my Partner. Though I don’t always show gratitude at the time.
While having a massage this afternoon I thought of a few holiday tips that have helped to keep me on track. If you don’t have any inkling about retaining your health, fitness and weight on holiday – stop reading now as these tips are bound to irritate you. However, if you’re a little stuck on how to make it work – read on;
·        Firstly, you’ll probably eat somewhere around 4-6 times a day. Surely most of us aren’t rich enough to buy out each meal time. So plan some meals that you can take with you;
o   WPI – awesome when mixed with fruit.
o   Cans of tuna are brilliant
o   Oats are always a winner
·        Here’s probably my biggest tip – and possibly the most unpopular…
o   Step AWAY from the buffet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously – get away from it!!!! It’s a nutritional killer!!!! Indulgence and a sense of greed hit even the strongest will when it comes to the spread of an ‘all you can eat’ set up.
o   The feeling of eating what you’ve paid for is a hard one to overcome. So do yourself a favour and buy a plate of something you want eg. Actually buy a plate of eggs and vegies.
o   At dinner time, if you truly have no intention of eating dessert and starters, then the a-la-carte menu is far preferable. The cuts of meat are pretty much always superior and you’ll have no option of returning to the feeding table constantly.
·        Start breakfast the way you mean to start the day. Healthy and controlled. My personal experience is that when you pig-out at breakfast, it’s really hard to pull back on track for the rest of the day. And here’s a few home truths to boot;
o   Most Asian cooks use cream in their omelettes. Fine as a ‘sometimes food’ but not too flash to start off every day of your holiday.
o   Eating donuts for breakfast is plain dumb. Deep fried sugar on bread. Why?
o   How many plates does the average person need to fill for breakfast – yeah, you got it – 1.
·        Drink water and tons of it.
·        Take your vitamins and supplements. I’ve taken them to a number of countries and never had a problem yet. Let’s face it – the worse that could happen is they’ll test you on it and find it really is protein and glutamine etc. No crime in that!
·        Don’t give a flying toss what others think. Whipping out scales at the table is something I’ve done each and every night here because I have to make sure I’m only eating a certain weight of meat. Does it look a little weird? Of course it does. But is anyone still talking about it 5 mins later? Of course they’re not.
Righto – so there are some of my thoughts on the matter – take it or leave it.
Off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and we’ve already found a commercial gym to go and try while we’re there. I get a bit of a buzz having a gym session in different countries so I’m really looking forward to it.

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