Google Schmoogle Frooooogle!

I've been spending the whole week in a meeting with a group of Germans, so pardon the title for this week.

I've started working again yesterday after a week of the gym bag sitting  and waiting in my car. So at the moment I'm all Gung-Ho about  working the everlasting fat off. For some reason the intensity of this determination has fluctuated quite a bit since the past few months. Don't really know why. On some reasons I just feel like, okay diet all the way and get  to my ideal weight. On some days  it's like" yeah whatever, that burger and fries dripping with oil looks good". Bottomline: dieting is hard, continuously being pumped up about working out is even harder.

My biggest problem aside from the hopelessness of losing the gut, is the excess fat in the pectoral area, or better known as manboobs.

Manboobs can be caused by a hormonal imbalance disease or just plain fatness. I doubt that I’m infected with a disease. It’s just good ol’ fat hangin of my upper ribs. I hate it and believe you me, it’s the second hardest if not the hardest fat to get rid of.

So, in order to motivate and strategize my gym sessions, I have compiled the top workouts to target the pectoral area to eliminate moobs, For all us males out there with some bosom’ical issues, here’re some actions that may help us out:

1- Seated chest press: Sit with your back flat against the machine and slowly push the weights straight out in a horizontal motion, then return to the starting position. Keep your breathing controlled and the movement steady. Perform four sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

2- Cable crossovers: Attach the handles to either side of a pulley station and stand with your arms extended at shoulder level, your elbows slightly bent and your feet shoulder-width apart. Slowly bring your hands together in front of you and cross them. Return to the starting position and repeat. Concentrate on using your pectoral muscles to generate the power needed to perform this action. Do four sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.

3- Incline flyes: Sitting on an incline bench at about a 45 degree angle with the dumbbells held above you, lower your hands out to the sides (but not lower than your shoulders), then bring your hands back together above you, mimicking a hugging action. Perform four sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. 

4- Bench press: Lie with your back against the bench and slowly press the barbell directly upward. Make sure that your back does not rise off the bench, and that you are breathing out on the upward movement and inhaling on the downward action. Perform four sets of 8 to 12 repetitions

5- Incline bench press: The first exercise you’ll want to focus on is the incline bench press. Most gyms have a machine that focuses specifically on your upper chest; this is the incline press machine. A greater amount of muscle mass in the upper chest will tighten some of that flab around the nipples. Remember that building muscle mass with a weight training regiment requires fewer reps with greater weight.

On another note, the Google phone is out. Can it challenge the likes of the Blackberry and the iPhone?

Sluurrpp

I have a mad crave boiling inside me right now. It is causing an emotional turmoil within my skin without showing an end. I have succumbed to addiction that is beyond normal means of detoxification. It may end up, that I, a pathetic, self-admitting and self-loathing addict, will have to commit to rehab for this substance, this magical creation of human kind, as I will surely head nowhere but down should I not address this addiction and nip it in the bud.

Meet the substance that has put me in this addictive trance and destroyed whatever sense of reality I had within me…

STROOPWAFEL

According to Wikipedia, a stroopwafel is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle. They were first made in Gouda in the Netherlands, in 1784. Large versions are sold in the streets as snacks.

I was first introduced to these heavenly wafers back in 2007 when a Dutch colleague brought it over for an aircraft oven demonstration. At first it didn’t seem like that big of a deal. But now, a few years after I first tasted it, I started craving for it like a junkie looking for a fix.

Praise God, and as if Fate has already written it as my destiny, my responsibility in my day job has carried me across the oceans and mountains to the land of the Orange, where this heavenly, mouth-watering, perfectly sweet, satisfying, orgasmic, tongue-teasing dessert was first created.

These circle-shaped bites of paradise can’t be healthy; gooey caramel sandwiched by two rich waffles can only mean a detrimentally ridiculous sugar and calorie count. But in a single sitting, I can finish 10 large Stroopwafels. Large sizes are usually about 3-4 inches across. Believe that!

Whoever you are, regardless whether you know me or not, if you end up in Amsterdam, or any other Dutch city for that matter, I ask… no,  I beg you to please bring back a pack of these mystical, disc-shaped cookies for me to indulge and entertain my craving. If you do that, I will love you for life!

Oh, if you haven’t had a chance to try it for yourself, believe me, you will not regret it! Sllluuurrrppp! I can imagine it already… Alamak! Saliva dropped on laptop keyboard. How?

1 hour to show you care

It’s coming. This 27^th of March, we should all participate in what originated as a media stunt in Australia for the WWF that has evolved into one of the biggest phenomenons on environmental awareness the world has ever seen.  Earth Hour is celebrated world-wide at exactly 8.30PM for exactly 60 minutes.

Though I’m not much of an environmentalist, I have started to put more effort in reducing my carbon footprint like using less or no plastic bags, avoiding driving whenever I can and conserving power by using less lights (not air-conditioning though… it’s too friggin hot here). These may not be a lot, but I thought it’s better than nothing. And if more people started with these little steps, I guess in no time it would have an impact on conserving the environment.

If you haven’t started worrying or caring about the environment, Earth Hour is definitely a good start. With the slightest effort, you can make an impact by spreading the word on the event. Tell everyone you know to switch off everything for 1 hour on the 27^th of March, 2010 at 8.30PM. Tell anyone you know, spread it on Facebook, Twitter, Buzz or whatever it is that you roam with in Cyberspace. Tell your colleagues, family members and friends. Plan to get together with others that night and celebrate the hour together.

What we’re doing here is simple. It’s a message. It’s a joint statement of the people of the world, telling the leaders of the world that we care. And it’s a 60-minute wake up call to each and every one of us to start thinking about the environment and to show a little more respect for mother earth. The more awareness spread, the more people will be considerate and careful, which will lead to nothing but a reduction of carbon footprint from each of us.

Join us as we will be celebrating Earth Hour at two separate Skool Daze parties, one at G Hotel Penang and the other in Zouk KL, happening at the same time on the said date. Not only will you be having a good time celebrating earth, you will also be making an impact on the environment by joining many others under one roof, sharing the same electricity instead of each of us being at home, before and after the hour. Win exclusive invites to the party by tuning in to us until that date.

It’s a Skool Daze party so come dressed up in your school uniforms. Make it an environmentally friendly challenge by wearing your old school clothes, or creatively making something out of what you already have, instead of buying something new to be used that one time.

But don’t forget, party or not, spread the word on Earth Hour as part of your contribution to our precious mother earth.

See you there!