Saturday, May 23, 2020

Love-handles & Muffin-tops

After being shellshocked by the absence of gym visits during this lockdown 'circuit breaker', the man sucked it up and found an app to work out with at home — Aaptiv (which syncs with Strava). The man didn't want to invest in fancy weights with a carrier case and all that. But he got a pair of 10-kg dumbbells and a 5-kg medicine ball from Decathlon(Gyms likely won't reopen so soon either.) Without a wide variety weights and bench presses to utilize, he has to learn how to leverage on his body weight to get optimal results out of his workouts.

He works out daily, which is good to channel those angst from a hectic work schedule. What worries me is his twice-a-week runs. A light run is 3 to 5km and a long run is close to 10km. His knee will deteriorate over the years, and with the number of runs during these few months, the mileage clocked is detrimental to his cartilage. He's pretty much got knee arthritis. He was considering stem cell therapy for his knees when clinics closed for non-essential medical services.

I wasn't hot about his body shape when he was pumping weights with his trainers at the old and defunct California Fitness. I also disapproved of his daily intake of protein pills and shakes. He said it was for recovery and I rolled eyes at it. You're not an athlete or an amateur bodybuilder. It was too much bulking up in the upper body, and his stomach was becoming a paunch. I didn't think his trainers were of any good. He had a terribly weak core. While he bulked up and had strength to lift weights, he couldn't climb a wall at the speed I could. He could do pull-ups and press-ups, but didn't have the strength to haul his body up and scamper over footholds. He had problems finding shirts that fit! The buttons never snap shut! Customized/tailored shirts simply look ridiculous on him too.

When he made the shift to Virgin Active, he enjoyed the classes so much that he wasn't just focusing on weights. It was good cross-training. When he discovered LES MILLS GRIT classes, he never looked back. Hahaha. It was much better for his body overall. He laid off on the convenient protein shakes and pills. He ate better. His body became more streamlined and it stopped bulking up. His muscles reshaped and the paunch receded. He isn't going to get a solid six-pack because that requires some crazy Hollywood-level of working out.

I shouldn't be judge-y about the husband's physical shape. HAHAHA. BUT, hey, he discusses fitness stuff with me. So...... He included a truckload of planks into his exercise regime because he's miffed that I still beat him flat at holding planks. Well, I did notice that this 'working out at home' seems to be giving him some vague definition of abs. He's gotta be careful about acquiring a muffin-top or love-handles though. He is on the receiving end of my non-stop jibes about having dessert EVERY NIGHT since Singapore went into lockdown on April 7. He's rather frightened now. 😏 My fitness goals have always been to maintain strength in order to pick him up from the floor and heave him across my shoulders in a fireman's lift. This means he can't weigh beyond 80 kg. He's still at 85 kg. Grrrrrrrr.

No comments: