Men's Health South Africa: Urban Challenge!

This is something I wanna do! Check it out!

28 November, Sandton City, JHB >>

http://www.mhurbanathlon.co.za

In the middle of a tornado

Hey! Whatsup! As you will notice, this is the first time I'm writing since 9 June, which was 2 days before the opening of the World Cup. It's been crazy. I've been in the middle of a tornado, but loving it, seriously enjoying every second! The atmosphere, the foreign visitors, the flags, the games, stadia, and the excitement is like a giant tornado that's sweeping through our country and leaving a wave of happy moments behind. It's all good. I don't mind working extra hours, putting in more effort and making sure I do whatever I can to catch the awesome vibe of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The only frustration I have is the hiatus between events/studio time/shoots, etc when nothing really happens, or I'm waiting for details to be confirmed. No time to rest! Lol. Also, I got sick last week Wed and still don't feel 100% /Grrrrr!!! / Gym=outta the question.

Well I'm gotta get into studio prep again, keep checking our show "Supernova" daily at 10AM on Supersport 203!

*PS: Never go through your day without having a purpose. That's my message for the day!

Shakira in town!

Last night I attended the launch of the new Sony HD 3D TV's - which, by the way, looks really awesome! They showed us soccer clips in 3D (that is something you have to experience, wow!!)

Shakira was the guest of honour, along with Freshlyground, Louise Carver, and the Vice President of the Sony Corporation, Mr Kiyoshi Shikano, with MC for the night, local comedian, Trevor Noah. Of course, I was excited to see Shakira. Sexy lady indeed! The picture above is perhaps not the best, but it shows the 3D screen with Freshlyground's Kyla & Zolani, sitting with Shakira and Trevor (at the very bottom you can see their heads from the stage below).

The best feeling however was to arrive at Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City, and see hundreds of people (mostly foreigners), with flags, Vuvuzela's, and draped in the colours of their respective World Cup teams. It was the first time that I really experienced the World Cup fever! The time has come for Africa, and South Africa, to shine! I can't wait for the opening ceremony on Friday and the kick-off game at 4pm with our very own Bafana Bafana team vs Mexico. Even Madiba will attend the ceremony. A momentous occasion. I won't be at the stadium, instead, I'll be with friends at one of the FanParks that was created especially for this World Cup.

So, whether you're supporting South Africa, or not, or perhaps you don't even enjoy soccer; you just can't help but to join in on the fun; it's so uniting and uplifting, Gotta Love it !!!

Peace!

XX

My training routine and some other thoughts...

I haven't written here in a while! The Soccer World Cup is opening in a week's time, and since I work in TV, we are focusing on gathering content for the next month. This includes, going out to shoot events that are happening around World Cup, and working on new shows that are broadcasting only over this period. Apologies for not writing more often!

At least I'm still able to make time for gym (which is very important to me). My sessions are often very short (40 minutes max), but on certain days I go twice. I have isolated the muscle groups where I need better definition and shape, and it seems that my shorter-stints at the gym (more intense though), is paying off. I see better definition on my shoulders, upper legs, biceps, triceps and chest.

A personal trainer explained to me that warming up before your session is vital. And choosing the correct warm-up exercise is even more important.

There are 2 different types that I prefer; it gets your blood pumping and the muscle fibre ready to train really hard:

1) Squats

2) Combination of dead lifts/ clean pull-ups

Squats are always referred to by personal trainers as the best all-round exercise since it puts pressure on a variety of muscle groups. Hence, a great way to warm-up!

I do 3 sets and then start my training session.

Dead lifts and clean pull-ups are very similar, except that clean pull-ups have the extra tension on shoulders (shrugs) and calves (lifting your feet off the ground).

See this link on dead lifts:

www.bodybuilding.com

And read here about clean pull's:

www.mh.co.za/fitness

I also read an interesting article with tips on 'how to get stronger', see here:

http://www.mensfitness.com

For general cardio, always head towards the rowing machine. This type of exercise does not burn muscle as quickly as, say cycling/spinning or running.

See pics below from gym this morning. Blackberry's don't have great quality on the camera side, but hey, it'll do ;)

I honestly don't think you need to be at gym for 2 hours everyday. When you have a moment in the day (say 40 minutes), then do a work-out and focus on 1 muscle only. If you do shorter, more regular training sessions, you can focus on more specific parts of your body and not try and do too much in a day. Try it out!

In the meanwhile, I have to reiterate that being true to yourself, not comparing yourself to other people (and feeling inferior, weak or useless), are so crucial in building a better and more confidant personality. You have to find your own strengths, and only judge yourself based on your own previous attempt/performance/ etc.

Have a blessed weekend!

XX