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Friday, October 15th, 2004
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10:51a - this is why we shouldn't work too hard.
Stress Test
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The photo below, which has two identical dolphins in it, was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital.
Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water.
The closely monitored study revealed that although the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences between them. It means that a person who finds many differences between the dolphins is experiencing a great amount of stress.
Examine the photograph carefully, and if you find more than one or two differences, you may want to take a vacation.
( stress test )
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11:10a - self-imposed punishment
it's been so long since i actually sat down and wrote a real entry that i think i've forgotten how. it's not that i've been terribly busy, it's just that i've been tired and i had a lot of things on my mind.
* * * * *
for starters, i began my boxing class last Monday. it's such a high impact, high adrenaline activity, and i probably shocked my system with it. after stretching and jumping jacks, the instructer had us hitting the training pads on his hands for rounds of three minutes each. he taught us the jab, the straight punch, and the hook. there were only two of us in the class, so we took turns at our rounds.
after my second round, i sat down, and promptly began feeling dizzy. it escalated to the point where my eyesight began to dim and i began to feel cold despite all my sweat. the instructor, Benjie, and my classmate, Eden, panicked and made me sit down while massaging my head and making me drink water and fruit juice. Benjie brought in the trainer from the gym, who told them to make me lie on the floor and elevate my feet, so that the blood would rush back to my head.
i felt so pathetic. and here was Eden, at least ten years older than me and hardly breaking a sweat. oh sure, my punches were a lot more forceful, but she was still on her feet. in addition to that, i emerged from the class with a small bruise on my right pinky knuckle, and a large bruise on my right forearm, just below my elbow, from the impact of my blows on the training pad. oh, and there's the matter of my oh-so-wounded pride. it didn't help that oneal kept teasing me about it when i already felt stupid.
so i vowed that for my next class, on Thursday, i would be prepared: i'd have a snack before class, i'd bring Gatorade, and i would take it easy. i tend to get frustrated when i can't get the combinations right, so when i hit the pad, i hit really hard, and my fist glances off the target. whenever i do that, Benjie goes, "easy lang ma'am, ulitin natin."
haay. what my pride does to me.
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as if i hadn't punished myself enough, the next night, i had saber training with oneal and  jactinglim. because we haven't been training regularly, i had trouble remembering the footwork, and that frustrated me even more, so i refused to let up till i got it right. my muscles already tired from the workday and boxing the day before, they hurt more than usual after training. plus because i stubbornly insisted on practicing on my own beside oneal's car, i accidentally hit it with the golf shaft and scratched the paint. *smack forehead* idiot!
*long, drawn out sigh* lecheng pride.
so you can imagine my agony when i woke up on Wednesday morning. the bruise on my forearm had turned an ugly purple, the muscles on my upper back ached like fucking hell so that it was pure misery to get dressed, and my thighs hurt from crouching during training. Alaxan was so my friend.
* * * * *
i had boxing again last night, and as i'd promised, i was well-prepared. and boy, did it pay off! no-one else was training with me, and i finished four rounds without getting dizzy. i suppose it helped that i'd take little sips of Gatorade between rounds, to wet my dry throat. i know now why i got the bruise on my forearm even though nothing had hit it - when i hit the training pad, i can feel the impact rippling from my fist to my elbow. i guess my muscles are unaccustomed to the force, hence the bruise. i also got through the ab exercises Benjie inflicts on students after boxing - the effects of which i am feeling now. oh god, the punishment when i laugh! it hurts even more when i sneeze - it's like being punched in the stomach.
all physical agony aside, it's a great stress-buster at the end of the day. it's so easy to pour all your frustrations into the strength you put into each punch. i just need to channel that frustration better so that i hit the target properly - at the moment i'm all brute force, haha.
*deep breath*
okay, even that hurts. good thing i haven't got much work to do right now, so i can afford to nurse my aches.
*stretch* ow! okay, that hurts too. =(
current mood:  drained (20 comments |comment on this)
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