On trying to get abs
Or not. There’s a part of me that says it’s just a pipe dream. But a part of me still wants it? ‘Yun bang when I’m old and gray, I can tell my grandkids, “there was once a time in my life where grandpa was that level of hot.”
But man… ang sarap kumain.
And that is my life’s struggle — among other more significant things of course. Every five minutes, I’m craving for something to eat, and likely, it’s some sugary dessert. I guess the abs will have to wait ‘til after my slice of cake.
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t some unnecessary societal pressure I’m putting on myself. I’m not dying over it. I feel good with my body as I am… way more content than I’ve ever been since the chubby days in grade school or the South Beach Diet-crazed days in high school or the clueless-in-the-gym days in college. I do feel I’ve done well on my fitness journey, and I don’t think abs define my success. Pero ang cool lang sana? Icing on top of the cake — which I definitely will want to eat.
I’d just like to brag though that, throughout the whole pandemic period, I haven’t let up on working out. Coming from my history, that’s something I’m proud of. Having been at it for quite a while, I wasn’t about to let some quarantine stop me from my progress. (And well, what else was there to do anyway?)
I enrolled in Anytime Fitness around July of last year. Part a birthday commitment to myself and part a “I wanna look good for the role” commitment. Before Adarna opened, I tested my self-discipline by really pushing it in the gym — thrice a week at minimum. Coupled that with intermittent fasting and a painful decision to eat less sugar and unhealthy carbs. I’d say the results were pretty good. Definitely was slimmer and with a bit more meat by opening night, and I was happy with that — though I’ll admit I wish I were hotter. I mean, he was a damn prince after all. Haha!
What I was happy about was that (a) I finally understood what I was doing in the gym so much so that I was getting results and (b) I tried to be as consistent as I could. Couple of off days, sure, but I still kicked myself through the gym door. It’d help to remind myself that I was paying for my own membership, and the cheapskate in me would start insulting my fat ass for not going.
When the quarantine started, I decided I didn’t want my progress to wither away like the rest of our current lives. Since the gym was a definite no-go, I did what I could at home. Fortunately, we had some dumbbells lying around. Dusted them off and finally put them to work. I found Coach Mike’s free online program, got my best friend Mara to be my buddy, and we soon found ourselves waking up in the morning to do squats and push-ups over Zoom.
Man, a lot has happened in six and a half months. (Has it really been that long?) We’re trying a different program now. We’ve settled down to thrice a week now that life’s much busier. I’ve even invested in more dumbbell plates, and they’ve got their own permanent place in the living room.
And more importantly, I feel good checking myself out in the mirror — like not bad, Luis, not bad. While I’m not gonna be on any magazine covers (as of yet), I do feel I have more muscle definition now than I did before — good enough to feel myself over on Instagram at least, hahahashutupthisismybloghaha. And I’ve kept my weight and body fat manageable enough that the charts look promising — and that my pants are all loose.
But I still don’t have abs... And that’s okay.
To be honest, I’m in a bit of a rut right now. I gained two unnecessary pounds since last week, and I’ve been quite lazy with the exercises. Actually, I’ve been struggling to finish this guide book I bought to help with my eating habits. Didn’t help that when the puppy arrived, calorie counting (or estimating, really) was the furthest thing from my mind. Hence my current nutrition limbo.
But life’s tough enough… I don’t need a few setbacks to get me down. I’ve been at it for a while, that’s the greater achievement, really. So I’ll accept I’m having difficulty today, and work myself back into the groove tomorrow. I’ve come so far… and, really, how much further are the abs? ;)
