Want results? Stay committed!

Over the weekend, my friend asked me to sub in for his teammate for an OCVL (Ottawa Competitive Volleyball League) game in Orleans. I told him "sure", so I showed up to the game on Monday night to play. This was the first time stepping onto an indoor court since the beginning of summer (that's a lie, there was one tournament over the summer but let's just not count that :p).

It was apparent that I was still in summer mode, and my sets were completely off. It was frustrating for me, and probably for my team too. It's been two years since I played in the OCVL league, so I'm not used to the height of the net either, although I should be. It's unfortunate that we lost the match that night.

My poor performance may not have been just out the indoor mode, but probably my routine now that I've settled into a career, bought a home/living alone, and a workout regime that started at the gym with a friend. The lack of focus on the game really shows, and I need to turn that around quickly.

It's a little late now to be 'training for the season', but I think ongoing/consistent training and exercise will still help make improvements to your existing skills. Which leads me into the program at the gym... here's how it started...

I began going to Goodlife in November of 2010, and up until then, there hasn't really been a break (only the week that I was moving in and painting - gosh that was tiring!). I switched my membership at Goodlife from the Orleans location to the St. Laurent one. My friend David got me on a program after finding out I switched, which he is determined to get me to bench 205lbs in 6 weeks time... we'll see about that. While back at the old gym, I was benching max 135lbs flat (45lbs on each side), 135lbs already feels somewhat 'light' to me after 2 weeks of warm up. The program started this week and hopefully I can stick with it to the end.

Along with that, I've been trying to eat more and began tracking my eating habits. Like always, I turn to technology to help me out with anything 'tracking' wise :)... they are handy that way. One iPhone app I'd recommend is MyFitnessPal (it's free!). I haven't learned the complete ins and outs of this app yet, but it looks promising and I've tracked everything since Monday, so there's still much more to learn about this app and we'll see if it pushes me closer to my goal of gaining 5 lbs (150lbs total).

Here are some stats of where I started and where I'm at now:

• Started: weighed 130lbs, now 145lbs (15lbs in 9 months)
• Started: curling 20lbs dumbbells, now 35-40lbs
• Started: benching flat 95lbs, now max 175lbs

I think the result of all this is commitment. What did I consistently do?

• Gym 3-4 times a week (usually Monday-Friday, and have weekends off for fun)
• Protein shake after every workout (usually two shakes per day for faster healing)
• Tried to eat high protein meals (chicken, beef, pork, etc.)
• Tried to get as much rest as I could every night for faster healing

Some asked me what type of shake I drink... my favourite is Precision BIG TIME.

I don't follow the labels as closely as I should, maybe it will give me faster results if I do but I think 4 scoops (250g) per serving is just too much for me. If you measure that, you will know what I mean, so I usually do 1/2 of that, and drink another shake later in the day. If you like chocolate, you will like this one too, it's quite tasty :) Oh, and this is weight gainer powder, very high on protein and mixed in with a bit of creatine also - it does the trick!

My friend made a comment on my wall on Facebook one day when I uploaded a photos I took of all the powder drinks I bought, and simply said "just eat more". I would advise also, take a shake when you absolutely need to, but usually you'd want one after a workout. They don't call it 'supplement' for nothing :) Supplement is your last resort to a deliciously cooked chicken ;)

Alright... 6 weeks, here I come!

Volleyball Weekend!

What a weekend!

Friday

It started off with a run from my office all the way to Bubblicity to visit a friend, who then offered me a refreshing Mango Slush (my favourite). Mmmm! :) It took me about 13 minutes, running in Chucks. It was not the best feeling for my feet but whatever, I beat the bus!

Afterwards, we crossed the street to visit the Ottawa Night Market (during the day). It was tiny. I thought the night market was going to be all of Chinatown, but that was too good to be true. It didn't get any bigger at night from what my sources told me.

Saturday

The following day, I drove to Britannia Beach to play in the B2B Beach Volleyball Tournament for iSisters. The tournament started out nice, with some winds coming in from the waters. Later, we were hit with a rather crazy wind storm, from which it turned into a sandstorm. All the participants and volunteers needed to make cover so everyone scrambled into the nearby building. The rain started to come down shortly.

30 minutes passed and the storm was gone. It was as if it never happened. It was bright and sunny again, with no winds at all.

Some of the participants ran to their cars when the storm came, and some stuck around. The tournament continued after the storm cleared.

Our first game back on, I sprained my thumb after attempting to set with my thumb + index finger (shaped like a V). The ball landed directly on my thumb, pulling it back (ouch!). The pain was quite unbearable at first, but then it felt ok during our time off in between the next couple of games. Nonetheless, our team (BIG BANG - made up of Xiong, Mike, Steve and myself) did an awesome job of holding our grounds up to the finals. We played I'd Hit That for the finals where we took it to 3 games. The final game was a close one, 25-22. In the end, our defeat didn't get to us :)

Summary of our match with I'd Hit That:

• 22-25
• 25-18
• 25-22

And.... here's a picture of my sprained thumb...

Asides from volleyball, I found out that my friend Adrienne was award first place in one of the categories at the Ottawa Lumiere Festival! Congrats Adrienne! :)

Sunday

I played in an invite only practice tournament organized by Xiong and Markus at Carleton U. The teams were put together at random and overall it was a lot of fun! I just wish I had brought an extra tee to change into at the end, because it got really uncomfortable on the drive back home!

Ever tried volleying a medicine ball?

I'm starting to see results in my sets ever since my friend Minh told me to strengthen my wrist by volleying a medicine ball at the gym. I did just that, 2 days a week (3 sets of 30 - 6 lbs), for the last 5 months. It's helped me immensely with my accuracy and strength to push the ball out on my power sets. It has also helped me develop quicker reflexes when setting quicks. If your position is Setter on the court, or if you find your sets to be weak, try this medicine ball trick, but try it out with a lighter ball first. You'll begin to realize how light a volleyball really is ;)