BigRocco’s BodyBlog

Doing good. Made it to the Gym on Tuesday night for another training session. I walk to the gym about 2km and back.

When I came back last night (Thursday) my trainer indicated that we would not be working out, instead my first official Gung Fu (Kung Fu) lesson! We warmed up with stretching and balancing on my toes and heels. We then proceeded to learn some basic punches and blocks. I even got a chance to practice on the "wooden dummy" seen in old skool Bruce Lee films. I was stoked, and got a good work out of it. I’m not sure if I’ll get the weights again or not (language barrier). Still, I look forward to another session of Gung Fu (three nights a week).

I’m making an effort to eat better here in China. I hope to find some help. I’m concerned about carbs, MSG, and other good sources of protein. Drinking lots of water  and doing my best to reprogram myself into a healthy PMA.

I am officially a member of the JianZhiYou Body-building Club in Foshan, China. For 600 RMB (about $80 US). I get full access to their gym, classes, lockers, and get this FREE personal training for the next 7 months. I had my first session tonight and although it was light…the ol’ fat man is way out of shape…well I am in shape if you consider big and round a shape. The club owner who’s English name is Michael, is a 27 year old Wu Shu Kung Fu practitioner and certified personal trainer. Despite our language barrier, he is super helpful and way cool.

My workout consisted of bench presses, pull downs, rows, db overhead press, seated + standing leg extensions, db  squats.  These were in  15-20 reps at  3 sets with a minute rest period between sets.  I’m not sure about the weight  as it’s in kilograms, but it seemed to be just enough to be tired at the end.  Michael was keen on getting me to work my legs and only with his encouragement would I ever consider db squats and standing leg extensions. The gym is about 9 years old and is pretty basic, but I like it. It’s the kind of place Rocky would work out and that’s what I need.

My new friend Chris goes there and asked me if I was "pooped", I admitted that I was as it’s been over 6 months since I set foot in a gym. He also suggested that I would "break some records" there. I hope to get some pictures on Tuesday.

I also got an impromptu Kung Fu lesson on the wooden dummy. This is the first one I’ve ever seen outside of Bruce Lee movies, so I was pretty stoked to try it.