Fitness Programs

Assignment 5 – exercise program

I based my exercise program both on the results of the previous two physical assessment assignments and what I perceived were my overall weaknesses in skill-related fitness. I focused on developing speed, power, and coordination. I also integrated this into my regular training regime for Wushu.

Previously, I’d focus on lengthening cardio to build my stamina. I’d jog for 10 rounds around a track-and-field-oval and include sprints. I noticed it wasn’t very effective when I’d end up feeling extra tired during training. I felt slow and heavy.

To build up speed, I focused on a cardio warm-up that depended on it. Instead of 10 rounds, I took it down to 5, but I put a time limit on myself – 10 minutes, with 2 for each round. I focused on making my steps bigger when I jog. This would help build my calf strength, which would help me in developing jumping power. It also boosted my stamina more effectively when it comes to maintaining high-energy states for longer. I can say that this part of my new training program has benefited me the most.

To build more muscular power, I targeted my Wushu training. The main part of training is when I have to perform Wushu forms or routines. At most, these are just a minute and a half, but Wushu routines are very high-intensity cardio workouts that target every factor of both skill-and-health related fitness. If you search up a modern  Wushu competition video, you’d see that the skill required for that minute and a half is very demanding.

I incorporated arm weights into these forms as a way to build power in my arms. The movements and the added weight would hopefully increase my power and speed.

All in all, I believe the program I started is effective. It certainly feels like it is. It seems repetitive, but my body also takes a while to adapt to and benefit from a program. I added morning jogging every two weeks because I also think it’s important to add at least some variation to your workout regimen.

 

Assignment 6 – revised exercise program

This one was a little more difficult because nobody commented on my previous program to give me suggestions for revisions. I had a 19/20 rating from a classmate, so I took it as a sign that my program was deemed effective. As for my personal reflections on my program, I do think that it is well-suited to me. I did not revise it as much. I added more resistance training with weights and calisthenics for the first two weeks, then decreased the sets for the last two weeks so that my muscles could adapt and build power and speed. I realized it was more important for me to lean toward resistance training to effectively build my muscles.

 

Personal reflections

There wasn’t as much activity involved with this unit. Most of it involved readings. It was very useful reading the technical side of what I do everyday. It can be easy to forget the science involved in training and just focused on the physical aspect. I was especially interested in learning the specifics of resistance and aerobic training as well as the requirements of a good fitness program. I find myself slowly integrating these principles into my training and the biggest benefit I’ve noticed is a big boost in my stamina. I hope I can continue to improve.

 

Fitness & Nutrition Logs

I was happy to see that I got my total calorie intake down per day. I also got my sugar intake down. I tried eating half the servings I usually do, and it seemed effective. I’m also eating less sweet stuff for merienda or snacks. I noticed that I still need to lower my sodium intake.

As for my fitness logs, I incorporated what I learned from our assignments. It was a lot more tiring this unit, but I noticed that I maintained my activity for longer. I focused a lot on developing leg power and added regular jogging. I do feel that it’s been effective. I was also careful to add at least two rest days per week.

Feb 8: For breakfast, I had 1 Mcdonald’s big breakfast w/ rice and 1 hash brown with iced tea. For lunch I had one plate of homemade pancit. For dinner I had a side serving of macaroni salad and a main meal of hungarian sausages. I snacked on buco salad ice cream. My nutritional intake for the day was 90 g sugar, 2326 g sodium, 73 g protein, 114 g fat, 253 g carbs, and 2264 g calories.

On this day I had around 20 minutes of a morning jog at the Mall of Asia bayside followed by sprints and a light Wushu session.

Feb 9: I had fish fillet cuts and potato wedges for lunch and Chicken Bon Chon wings, onion rings, and chapchae for dinner. I snacked on rocky road ice cream. My intake for the day was 0 g sugar, 1107 g sodium, 65 g protein, 79 g fat, 94 g carbs, and 1467 g calories.

I did 10 minutes of walking, 10 minutes of stretching, and around 1 hour of Wushu.

Feb 10: I had beefsteak with rice and corn and carrots for lunch. For dinner I had 2 breaded porkchops. I snacked on 2 bananas and a mint chocolate chip donut. My intake was 51 g sugar, 2413 g sodium, 93 g protein, 50 g fat, 203 g carbs, and 1669 g calories.

I did 10 minutes walking, 15 minutes stretching, a 10-minute 2 kilometer jog, and 1 and a half hours of Wushu.

Feb 11: I had squid rings with shrimp and mushroom risotto for lunch. For dinner I ate at Cyma’s and had roka salata salad, watercress pasta and pita bread with greek yogurt. As a snack I had strawberries and cream with chocolate syrup. My intake was 4 g sugar, 1337 g sodium, 47 g protein, 37 g fat, 139 g carbs, and 1759 g calories.

My only physical activities for the day were mall-walking and fixing laundry.

Feb 12: For breakfast I had leftover roka salata salad. For lunch I had leftover watercress pasta and bangus. For dinner I had a 711 tapsilog meal with 1 can of Mug rootbeer. My intake for the day was 47 g sugar, 169 g sodium, 33 g protein, 12 g fat, 131 g carbs, and 1086 g calories.

I did 10 minutes of jogging followed by 10 minutes of 100-meter sprints, 15 minutes stretching, 1 hour of Wushu involving jumps training, and 10 minutes of walking during my commute.

 Feb 13: For lunch I had a sizzling plate meal of beef tenderloin tips with java rice and mixed vegetables. For dinner I had pickled fish with rice and adobo. I snacked on Dairy Queen mud pie ice cream and a sugar cookie. My intake was 82 g sugar, 2245 g sodium, 70 g protein, 84 g fat, 246 g carbs, and 2041 g calories.

On this day, I did more walking around a mall.

 Feb 14: I ate sugbang baboy with ginataang sitaw at kalabasa and rice for lunch. For dinner I had a 711 lasagna weal with yakisoba spicy chicken noodles. My intake for the day was 17 g sugar, 2046 g sodium, 73 g protein, 54 g fat, 174 g carbs, and 1537 g calories.

I did 15 minutes of walking, 10 minutes for a 2 K jog, 15 minutes of stretching, 1 and a half hours of Wushu, and 15 minutes of weights resistance training to build power.

 Feb 15: For lunch I had rotisserie roasted chicken with rice and coke and for dinner I had beef and potato casserole. I snacked on Andes mint chocolate. My intake for the day was 45 g sugar, 1285 g sodium, 111 g protein, 24 g fat, 188 g carbs, and 1454 g calories.

My only physical activity this day was around 10 minutes of fixing laundry.

 Feb 16: I had homemade valenciana and barbecue for lunch. For dinner I ate valenciana and barbecue leftovers with 1 roast chicken leg, a bowl of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of strawberry kiwi soda. My intake for the day was 10 g sugar, 5674 g sodium, 147 g protein, 92 g fat, 81 g carbs, and 1780 g calories.

I did 15 minutes of walking, 5 minutes straight of jumprope, 10 minutes of stretching, 40 minutes of Wushu, and 15 minutes of weights training to develop power for jumps.

 Feb 17: I had Korean bulgogi beef with bean sprouts and rice and lychee mogu mogu for lunch. For dinner I had pickled fish and two cheese pesto pan de al pieces with a bowl of potato soup and a fourth a bottle of soy milk. My intake for the day was 40 g sugar, 620 g sodium, 47 g protein, 27 g fat, 177 g carbs, 1766 g calories.

 I did another 10-min 2 K jog, 15 minutes of stretching, and 1 and a half hours of Wushu.

 Feb 18: For breakfast I had soy milk with a few chocolates. For lunch I had pickled fish from a jar, sugbang baboy, rice and a bottle of Cobra Fit energy drink. For merienda I had shibuya toast and a small bubblegum milk shake. For dinner I had corned beef with rice. My intake was 69 g sugar, 1326 g sodium, 65 g protein, 36 g fat, 240 g carbs, and 1639 g calories.

I had another jogging session by the Mall of Asia bayside in the morning, followed by around 5 minutes of sprinting, and 30 minutes of walking during my commute and around a mall.

 Feb 19: For breakfast, I had 1 cup of cheese-flavored corn. For lunch I ate a tapsilog meal with coke. For dinner, I had a KFC berry Krushers shake with 1 large order of chicken fun shots. My intake was 45 g sugar, 2092 g sodium, 79 g protein, 33 g fat, 133 g carbs, and 1301 g calories.

I did a short 5-minute Wushu presentation demo and assisted in teaching a 1hour Wushu class at Miriam College in the morning. In the afternoon I had my usual 2 K jog followed by 15 minutes stretching and 1 hour of Wushu training involving leg and wrist weights to develop power in kicks and arms and jumps training. The rest of my activity involved hurried walking during my commute.

 Feb 20: For lunch I had Mcdonald’s. I ate a quarter pounder with chicken nuggets and fries. For dinner I ate half a cheeseburger with homemade carbonara and nuggets. My intake was 13 g sugar, 2720 g sodium, 74 g protein, 91 g fat, 162 g carbs, and 1760 g calories.

I stayed home to rest and catch up on school work, so I didn’t have any physical activity on this day.

 Feb 21: For lunch I had homemade beef tacos. For dinner I ate jarred pickled fish and rice and drank melon soy milk. My intake was 9 g sugar, 1002 g sodium, 74 g protein, 58 g fat, 114 g carbs, and 1158 g calories.

I had 2 hours of Wushu training and 15 minutes of light resistance training.

Unit 2: Lights, Camera, Action!

Insights on the Unit

This was definitely an interesting and hectic unit, marking the start of our busy filming and exercise activities. While people would naturally assume that I’d excel, I still did fall short with several of the tests. It’s hard to find someone who’s generally fit in all fitness components. As we learned, people have different body types and different capabilities. Muscular and lean bodies may have difficulty with flexibility, while thin and agile bodies mostly have difficulty in building muscle mass. Judging by my results and observations during my training sessions, I excel with endurance and flexibility exercises but have poor muscle strength and speed-related capabilities. I’m often the little-engine-that-could during training, because while I don’t appear that strong, I’m still going toward the end of the class.
This unit has taught me the importance of monitoring in physical fitness training. It isn’t only an important part of development, it also draws our attention to areas which may cause health-related problems. As long as you assess your weaknesses, you have a chance to improve upon them.

Assignment 3

It was a unique challenge doing the exercises for this assignment. It was definitely my first time doing a video assignment, which made it tough to find the best area and way to film myself. Other than that, it was fun and I enjoyed testing myself to see just how developed my body and skills were.
I had no probably going through the warm-up, as I warm-up my body everyday before training for 30 minutes. I chose a two-minute jog to warm-up for the activities. I did three sets each for each of the stretching exercises. I had no problem with the hamstring stretch, hip and thigh stretch, and the leg hug, in fact I didn’t feel much of a stretch from each exercise. I felt more of a stretch with the backsaver toe touch and the calf stretch. I stretch my calves a lot because they get easily fatigued, especially when I do jumps training. The side stretches were a little more challenging than I thought. I kept on thinking about yoga and the challenge of maintaining a position that stretches the body. As I held each side stretch for 20 seconds, I felt my body tensing a little. Aside of this, I didn’t have much of a problem with flexibility. I’ve always enjoyed stretching and take to it easier than other exercises.
The muscular capacity exercises was what I was more used to. After getting the proper position of my legs for the muscular endurance exercises (because I kept on pointing my knee up to the ceiling), I did the exercises without much difficulty. I’m usually used to 20 repetitions for such kinds of exercises. With the strength exercises, I was able to do three push-ups, but not without difficulty. I noticed in my video how by butt kept on sticking out instead of my body being straight. I also had the most difficulty initially pushing my body up. I think the exercises show that I do have good muscular strength, but I do need to continue building to get the optimal level for sports.
With the jumping power exercise, I jumped over half of my body’s height. I have good muscular power, but again, I still need to build up. This is a major problem for me during my training because a lot of the time I have to do jumps. Another problem I have involves speed and coordination. With the heel-click exercise, I was only able to click them once. When I continued trying, I kicked my heel pretty hard and worried that I almost injured myself. My instinct with jumping is either to prepare for landing or keep my feet together to keep myself in the air longer. I was able to do the paper ball pickup in five seconds, but I don’t think it accurately showed my agility. I really do have poor speed-related skills. I fare better with the flexibility and strength exercises. I also had to do the paper drop several times before I finally got it. I think my poor reaction time shows how badly I’d do in contact sports. It took me several tries to get the paper ball catch exercise for coordination. I had to throw slowly and low each time just so I could catch it. This is definitely accurately shows my skills as my lack of coordination is one of the major things that impairs my physical performance. It’s also one of the major reasons for my physical awkwardness.
I was surprised that I was able to complete the balance exercise. I’m used to balancing while my foot is flat because I rely on my lower leg strength. I was also surprised that I passed the body composition test because judging by my current food logs, I haven’t been restricting my diet very well.
Judging by my results from the assignment, the skill-related factors I need to develop the most are speed, coordination, and reaction time. Despite this, I think that I am physically fit. I attribute this to my regular training and I hope that improving my skill-related fitness will improve how I perform in my sport.

Assignment 4

I found these exercises a little simpler to do. Less of these exercises involved speed, which was my main problem with last week’s assignment.
My results from the balance test were consistent with last week’s. I have good balance, but I could still stand to improve it. The standards for skill fitness are much higher than normal in sports. In the flexibility test, most of my results were also good. I didn’t feel extreme discomfort during the stretches. I’m also used to more intense stretches, so the exercises were easier for me to do. The most stretch I felt were in my calves and thighs, because my these areas often feel sore from training. I didn’t have any problems with the healthy back test, and the results showed that I have no major problems with my back. However in the back-to-wall exercise, the small of my back was larger than the hand that was placed there, indicating possible lordosis. Usually I also have lower back pains, but these aren’t usually severe and last for only a day.
In the muscular endurance test, I did feel tenseness in my muscles. While I was able to do 25 curl-ups, my muscles tensed quickly. I also had difficult with both the push-ups and the flexed arm support, indicating that I still need to build muscle. I have good muscular endurance, because I am able to maintain muscular activity for longer periods, but I still lack power and strength.
Lastly, in the cardiovascular fitness test, I chose to do the bike test, mostly because it was the most convenient because we have a stationary bike at our house, and it was the easiest to video. I had a heart rate of 135 bpm by the sixth minute and had worked up a good sweat. I think this shows good cardiovascular fitness, despite the low results I got based on the Assignment pdf guide. Cardio fitness is one of the areas I’ve improved in since I started training regularly.
All in all, the results are similar to last week’s. I have some areas I definitely need to improve in, but compared to conventional standards for performing physical activity, I am very fit.

On Body Composition

I’m normally insecure when it comes to my body. I’m more confident now than I used to be before I got into sports, though. My body composition results, specifically the waist-to-hip ratio, showed that I am at risk for obesity. This is shocking, but not surprising when I think about it. I eat a lot, and if it weren’t for Wushu, I’d have a largely sedentary lifestyle. It’s scary to think about and makes me all the more thankful that I am physically active. This is a wake-up call for me, because I won’t be active all my life and if I don’t make more of a conscious effort to monitor what I eat, I may very well pay for it with my health. A combination of healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle are the best way to improve your body composition as well as your outlook and perception of your own body.

 Fitness & Nutrition logs for Jan 25 – Feb 7
I noticed that my nutritional intake involved a lot of sodium and carbohydrates and minimal protein. I hope I can change that. I also hope that my daily training was able to offset what I ate. I was happy to see that I got my calorie intake down by the end of the unit. 🙂

Jan 25 – For lunch I had 1 regular serving of McDonald’s fries, 1 chicken McDo w/ rice, and 1 coke float. For dinner I had a quarter pounder with cheese and drank a bottle of Cobra Energy Fit drink. I snacked on bananas, a few oishi prawn crackers, homemade strawberries and cream with blueberries, and a bottle of apple Vitwater. My nutritional intake for the day was 95 g sugar, 3157 g sodium, 118 g protein, 89 g fat, 295 g carbs, and 2350 g calories.
My physical activity of the day comprised of 15 minutes of walking, 10 minutes of basketball, 10 minutes of stretching, and 1 hour of Wushu.

Jan 26 – For breakfast, I had a corned beef sandwich. For lunch I ate a small portion of caldereta and luncheon meat. For dinner, I shared a Chowking lauriat meal with friends. My intake for the day was 40 g sugar, 1343 g sodium, 74 g protein, 68 g fat, 172 g carbs, and 1731 g calories.
We had a Chinese New Year exhibition this day, so apart from the 10 minutes in my commute, I had a total of 40 minutes of Wushu warm-up drills and two 15-minute Wushu performances.

Jan 27 – I had a beef shawarma wrap for breakfast, roast chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch, and pizza hut pizza for dinner. My intake for the day was 15 g sugar, 2355 g sodium, 63 g protein, 51 g fat, 125 carbs, and 1266 g calories.
I did 45 minutes of continuous vigorous jogging for a distance of 4 kilometers, 15 minutes of stretching, 1 hour of Wushu, and a total of 20 minutes of walking.

Jan 28 – I had bopis and laing with rice for lunch and laing and porksteak with rice for dinner. I snacked on a mint chocolate chip ice cream bar and drank a Cobra Energy Fit drink. My intake was 44 g sugar, 435 g sodium, 53 g protein, 52 g fat, 222 g carbs, and 1568 g calories.
I did 30 minutes of stretching, which included stretching during training and while doing the Assignment 3 activities. I did 20 minutes of jogging and calisthenics warm-up and 1 hour of moderate to vigorous intensity Wushu.

Jan 29 – I ate pinakbet with rice for lunch and sisig with rice for dinner with a bottle of Cobra Energy Fit. I also ate a chocolate-covered ice cream bar. My intake was 46 g sugar, 1170 g sodium, 43 g protein, 20 g fat, 217 g carbs, 1292 g calories.
I did 20 minutes of walking and 10 minutes of stretching through the assignment exercises. During training I did an additional 15 minutes of stretching, 30 minutes for a 4 kilometer vigorous jog, and 1 hour of Wushu training.

Jan 30 – For lunch I ate breaded porkchop and ginisang sayote with rice. For dinner I had roast beef with homemade succotash. I also drank 1 glass of coffee shake. My intake was 0 g sugar, 623 g sodium, 43 g protein, 21 g fat, 131 g carbs, and 994 g calories.
I did 15 minutes of exercises for our assignment activities, 10 minutes of stretching, 1 hour of Wushu training, and 10 minutes of walking.

Jan 31 – For lunch I had sweet chili pork with rice. For dinner, I ate out with friends at Clawdaddy’s. I shared in a meal with shrimp, barbecued chicken, pork ribs, and paella fried rice. I snacked on lemon frozen yogurt and drank fresh mango juice. My intake was 50 g sugar, 1895 g sodium, 101 g protein, 50 g fat, 202 g carbs, and 1682 g calories.
Aside of the 10 minutes of light walking around, I had two 15-minute Wushu shows, each preceded by 10-minute warm-ups.

Feb 1 – I had two grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast, pinakbet for lunch, and beef stroganoff for dinner. My intake was 26 g sugar, 2095 sodium, 58 g protein, 37 g fat, 106 g carbs, and 1045 g calories.
This was the first day I was able to rest for the first week of January. The only activity I had was 1 and a half hours of laundry and ironing.

Feb 2 – I ate at Razon’s for lunch. I shared bangus, sisig, and dinuguan with rice. I had halo-halo for dessert. For dinner, I had tapa and scrambled eggs with rice and tomatoes and onions. I snacked on a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for merienda. My intake was 7 g sugar, 1102 g sodium, 68 g protein, 26 g fat, 201 g carbs, and 1549 g calories.
I had no physical activity today.

Feb 3 – I had pork caldereta for lunch, rice and chicken nuggets with a small serving of carbonara with Mug root beer soda for dinner, and a bar of Lindt dark chocolate mint for a snack. My intake was 73 g sugar, 826 g sodium, 24 g protein, 37 g fat, 180 g carbs, and 1228 g calories.
I did 10 minutes of walking, 20 minutes of stretching, a 10 minute vigorous 2 kilometer jog, 1 hour of Wushu, and 15 minutes of weights training.

Feb 4 – I had corned beef hash and tocino with lime lemonade for lunch, carbonara and roast chicken for dinner, and a chocolate bar and strawberry banana ice cream for snacks. My intake was 218 g sugar, 1911 g sodium, 81 g protein, 84 g fat, 238 g carbs, and 1989 g calories.
My only physical activity for this day involved walking around a mall.

Feb 5 – For lunch I had a hotdog sandwich, ginataang vegetables and a small portion of sugbang baboy. For dinner, I had java rice and barbecue spare ribs. I also drank 1 cup of taro milk tea. My intake was 48 g sugar, 2003 g sodium, 48 g protein, 73 g fat, 166 g carbs, and 1589 g calories.
My physical activity involved 10 minutes of walking, 10 minutes for a vigorous 2 kilometer jog, 15 minutes of stretching, and 1 hour of Wushu training involving jumps and weights training.

Feb 6 – For lunch I had pancit canton and bagoong rice. I had caldereta with rice for dinner. I also had butterscotch for snacks.
My activity for the day involved 45 minutes of stretching and doing exercises for Assignment 4, including 6 minutes of using a bike.

Feb 7 – I had KFC hotshots and a kung pao chicken meal for lunch, a side order of macaroni salad for dinner, and 1 order of strawberry milk tea as a snack. My intake was 18 g sugar, 1872 g sodium, 26 g protein, 34 g fat, 88 g carbs, and 810 g calories.
I did 5 minutes of walking, 10 minutes for a 2 kilometer jog, 15 minutes of stretching, and 1 and a half hours of Wushu training.