Steel Bow Works! Eating Right Works Too!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
When you were back in the army, remember the feared phrase? Yeah that one, the "Gennermen, you all try to be funny right? KNOCK IT DOWN!!"
(OK if you're a female visitor then yeah it wouldn't apply to you unless you actually signed up for the SAF, but WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!)
I remember that during that time, I learnt a "cheat" to the push-ups. People told me that if I kept my arms close to my body and pushed, it's easier. So yeah, it was.
Back around end of Sept, or beginning of Oct, I couldn't even do ONE of those "cheat" push-ups. I ain't shitting you, not even one! I was THAT out of shape! It was right before I decided to stop being fat and sloppy and get in shape, and thus, the birth of this blog.
Since then, my workouts have primarily been centered around the Steel Bow (the Bullworker clone product which I bought). I haven't actually been following the wall chart faithfully though, but I *have* been working out.
Today, for no reason whatsoever, I thought I might try to see if I could do any push-ups. So, I adopted the "cheat" push-up position, and found that I could easily do 10. Not only that, I could have done more, but I stopped.
So I shifted to the wide-arm push-up position, where it supposedly ("supposedly" because I have not researched this and thus cannot confirm its validity) uses your chest muscles instead of your arm muscles. I easily did 25, and could have gone for a few more but I stopped. However, let's be honest. By the 25th one, my body was starting to "curve" and keeping it straight as per proper push up position was starting to get difficult. I was starting to get tired.
After this, I thought to myself - "damn, the workouts worked!" and not only that, "The Steel Bow works too!".
So there you have it, my own personal proof that the Steel Bow is not a "gimmick" but it actually does help you build muscles. My dad was wrong!! :) Yeah when I was a kid I wanted a Bullworker, but he never got me one because "it's a gimmick".
However, working out and building muscles cannot happen by itself. You need to eat properly to make it happen. In an earlier post, I talked about how people joked that "diet" is to "die with a T". The general perception is that when you're on a diet, you "eat less". This cannot be farther from the truth.
The truth is, when you're on a diet, you're "eating properly" and not necessarily "less". You're now watching what you put into the body, making sure you get the right amount of nutrients your body needs, and no longer just stuffing burgers and cakes down. For OBESE people (ie serverely overweight), diets generally mean "eat less", because they need to get into a calorie-deficit situation for the body to lose fats.
For those typical "slightly overweight" or "with a bit of spare tyre" kind of people, you don't necessarily "eat less". You generally "eat right" to achieve weight loss, in conjunction to your workouts.
Also remember that your body knows itself better than you think. Nature has created an eco-system inside all of us. If you need water, your body makes you feel thirsty. If you need food, your body makes you feel hungry. It is important to keep the following statement in mind. If you continue to ignore these signs and refuse to drink/eat, your body will eventually go into "survival mode". In survival mode, ANY food you put into your body has a higher priority to be stored as FAT.
Why?
Because you have just trained your body that "food is scarce". When it signals you that it is hungry, you still do not put food in. So, the next time food comes in, the body will store it as fats "in case no more food comes".
Ladies, now you know why when you go off your "eat less" diets, you put the weight back on almost immediately eh? Yeah it's because during your "eat less" diets, your body is already storing fats. When you eat normally again, you body has more food to store as fats. Fat + Fat = More Fat.
So logically, does it mean that to counter this, you should put more food in?
Nope, but you should put food in MORE OFTEN. More often doesn't mean "more food". You put food in more often, but each time you eat small portions. Examples - a sandwich, or an apple, etc. If you continue to do this about 5 to 6 times a day for a few days, you will train your body to think that "food is now abundant, no need to store as fat anymore".
Hence, you have those "eat many meals" type of weight loss programs out there. Yes, it's true and yes it works. You still must eat CORRECTLY each time you eat those small portions too. Do not shove snacks or cakes into your mouth.
Another thing to take note is that when you do eat, do not eat until you are "full". You should only eat until you are "not hungry". When you are "full", you have just put in too much calories, and since the body doesn't need that much, it'll store the rest as fats.
So this concludes todays quick tips :)
(OK if you're a female visitor then yeah it wouldn't apply to you unless you actually signed up for the SAF, but WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!)
I remember that during that time, I learnt a "cheat" to the push-ups. People told me that if I kept my arms close to my body and pushed, it's easier. So yeah, it was.
Back around end of Sept, or beginning of Oct, I couldn't even do ONE of those "cheat" push-ups. I ain't shitting you, not even one! I was THAT out of shape! It was right before I decided to stop being fat and sloppy and get in shape, and thus, the birth of this blog.
Since then, my workouts have primarily been centered around the Steel Bow (the Bullworker clone product which I bought). I haven't actually been following the wall chart faithfully though, but I *have* been working out.
Today, for no reason whatsoever, I thought I might try to see if I could do any push-ups. So, I adopted the "cheat" push-up position, and found that I could easily do 10. Not only that, I could have done more, but I stopped.
So I shifted to the wide-arm push-up position, where it supposedly ("supposedly" because I have not researched this and thus cannot confirm its validity) uses your chest muscles instead of your arm muscles. I easily did 25, and could have gone for a few more but I stopped. However, let's be honest. By the 25th one, my body was starting to "curve" and keeping it straight as per proper push up position was starting to get difficult. I was starting to get tired.
After this, I thought to myself - "damn, the workouts worked!" and not only that, "The Steel Bow works too!".
So there you have it, my own personal proof that the Steel Bow is not a "gimmick" but it actually does help you build muscles. My dad was wrong!! :) Yeah when I was a kid I wanted a Bullworker, but he never got me one because "it's a gimmick".
However, working out and building muscles cannot happen by itself. You need to eat properly to make it happen. In an earlier post, I talked about how people joked that "diet" is to "die with a T". The general perception is that when you're on a diet, you "eat less". This cannot be farther from the truth.
The truth is, when you're on a diet, you're "eating properly" and not necessarily "less". You're now watching what you put into the body, making sure you get the right amount of nutrients your body needs, and no longer just stuffing burgers and cakes down. For OBESE people (ie serverely overweight), diets generally mean "eat less", because they need to get into a calorie-deficit situation for the body to lose fats.
For those typical "slightly overweight" or "with a bit of spare tyre" kind of people, you don't necessarily "eat less". You generally "eat right" to achieve weight loss, in conjunction to your workouts.
Also remember that your body knows itself better than you think. Nature has created an eco-system inside all of us. If you need water, your body makes you feel thirsty. If you need food, your body makes you feel hungry. It is important to keep the following statement in mind. If you continue to ignore these signs and refuse to drink/eat, your body will eventually go into "survival mode". In survival mode, ANY food you put into your body has a higher priority to be stored as FAT.
Why?
Because you have just trained your body that "food is scarce". When it signals you that it is hungry, you still do not put food in. So, the next time food comes in, the body will store it as fats "in case no more food comes".
Ladies, now you know why when you go off your "eat less" diets, you put the weight back on almost immediately eh? Yeah it's because during your "eat less" diets, your body is already storing fats. When you eat normally again, you body has more food to store as fats. Fat + Fat = More Fat.
So logically, does it mean that to counter this, you should put more food in?
Nope, but you should put food in MORE OFTEN. More often doesn't mean "more food". You put food in more often, but each time you eat small portions. Examples - a sandwich, or an apple, etc. If you continue to do this about 5 to 6 times a day for a few days, you will train your body to think that "food is now abundant, no need to store as fat anymore".
Hence, you have those "eat many meals" type of weight loss programs out there. Yes, it's true and yes it works. You still must eat CORRECTLY each time you eat those small portions too. Do not shove snacks or cakes into your mouth.
Another thing to take note is that when you do eat, do not eat until you are "full". You should only eat until you are "not hungry". When you are "full", you have just put in too much calories, and since the body doesn't need that much, it'll store the rest as fats.
So this concludes todays quick tips :)
Labels: diet, Steel Bow, workout
