Report: Day 23 [29-12-2011]

I finally return to the gym today, albeit a different gym!

A friend, Arun, goes to TruFitness at Hartamas. I was there myself a number of years ago, on a 7-day pass with Parjit. We freeloaded there for a couple of days, and then our gym/fitness fire burned out.

Fast forward to today, late in 2011. Since Arun goes there, I thought it might be fun to go freeloading again purely for the sake of working out in somewhere new. You know, variety is the spice of life? Well, after going through the necessary marketing talk, we got our 7-day passes and we proceeded to check the place out.

First things first - there are a hell of a lot of machines here! And so many floors! There is a machine for everything! I bet there is even a machine here that cures baldness in men, or something like that. Anyways, it may look impressive to a freshie, but to me (I'm still a but fresh, but not so naive anymore) I found it rather confusing and counter-productive. Anyways, I intended to stick to the plan and followed the same routine.

The problem was - I was short on time. We were watching a movie at 10.20pm and we virtually started about 9pm. I skipped the warm-up cardio and went straight to the machines - provided I could actually find the damned things in the first place.

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1. Leg Presses

This one was simple enough to find, although curiously enough, I only found one of these machines. Hmmm. I had to adjust to the different format of labeling for the weights. In my gym, the labels indicate resistance per arm/leg. Here, the list the total weight we pump. For example, in my gym I pumped 55kg on the Leg Presses. Here, I had to pump more than a 100kg weight, more than 200 pounds! I must have pumped half the weight stack there. Strange indeed. Completed the usual 2 Sets of 15 Reps.

2. Bench Press

I had to go from the 2nd Floor to the Ground Floor to find the Free Weights Section. No problem finding the bench with the Oly Bar. I noted that the damned thing was virtually rusty. My gloveless hands smelled of oxidized metal afterwards. The weight felt fine, I warmed up with an empty bar for the first set, and then I added in a total of 5kg for the second set. I like it 5kg heavier. I plan to continue using this weight for the bench press.

3. Lateral Pull-Downs

I had to go back up to the Second Floor for this one. There were only 2 machines available side by side and next to me were these 2 Malay dudes, all rempit with the long hair and all, going all out in the most comical fashion - such as pumping really heavy weights with lightning quick reps, and HOLDING THEIR BREATH while doing all this. Funny shite. Note here, the damned bar was really high up. Pissing me off...

I went for the 90 pound (total) weights and went ahead with the 2 Sets of 15 reps.

4. Bicep Curls

I ventured back down the Ground Floor, Free Weights section for this one, but I could not find any suitable weights! There were only massive weights there, and a single 5kg dumbbell. Disappointed, I returned to the Second Floor and attached a long handle to the above lateral pull-down machine and proceed to work the biceps sitting down. Did the usual 2 Sets of 15 Reps but something didn't feel satisfactory about that.

5. Tricep Pull-Downs

Once again, they didn't have that rope with the balls at the end. So I had to improvise again, with a long bar at the lateral pull-down machine, held it palm down and did the required 2 Sets of 15 reps. Once again, something didn't quite feel satisfactory about that one.

6. Stomach Crunches

Something familiar here. The usual routine with this, although I had to adjust it slightly because the weight measurement here is different.

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OK, this place didn't totally feel right with me. Probably because my fitness education started at my own gym. I'll be going again soon so I'll try to adapt at least one more time, before I return to 'home ground'. I didn't complete my routine - I was short of time, but I did get some blood flowing after about 10 bloody days of inactivity.

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