post military training soreness

IS INSANE !!!!
i woke up this morning and i couldn't even get up .. my whole body was extremely sore!! couldn't bend my knees, couldn't sit on the toilet, couldn't lift my arms up to take off my tshirt and worst of all, not being able to cough because my stomach hurted like hell!! I've never had such soreness like this before !!! i was as stiff as a brick because every move was painful !!!
what complicated it is that i couldn't even use the foam roller coz the slightest contact is too damn painful and i couldn't use my arms to lift my body because they were sore too ..

although i was determined to do this everyday but obviously, if i go today, thats basically me on the floor all day long with the trainer yelling at me ! i really think my body will fail me today so I'm skipping military training today but ill still do my regular bootcamp with romeo! at least he doesn't yell when i tell him that I'm in pain :P

but that means i should go to fit factory tomorrow then and god I'm already dreading it again .. :s

military bootcamp

http://fitfactoryfitness.com


See, i am not fit or athletic, i am actually a little bit overweight who has only done home based dvd workouts as exercise but there is this addiction that i got which is challenging myself. i tend to screw myself physically and mentally for the sake of challenge . i am addicted to adrenaline and accomplishments.
as a result of that, I've always been interested in military kind of training. unfortunetly, you can't apply for the army in kuwait only to do their workout if you know what i mean. I've got to know fit factory fitness by passing it by while i was on my way to work and hearing some one shouting in there .. it did sound like a military kind of commands!! so i looked it up online and I've learnt that this is a military based bootcamp that is done by an actual former US marine !! i decided to check it out so i went to see a class and by the end of it, i decided that i was not ready for it and this was last year . the class was so intense, the guy was shouting his lungs out and he didn't care if you are in pain or not like if you couldn't hold a plank and you fell on your knees, he will grab you by the shirt and lift you up and ask you to keep it !!  i was overwhelmed and intimidated. i decided to go and workout more on my own until i was ready for this.
then i came across tough mudder and i was determined to do it and i knew that whatever I'm doing at home was not enough so i found another bootcamp nearby. its a fun kind of bootcamp that has a lot of monkey bars and pull ups and a lot of parkour ! not your typical push ups and stuff .. I've been training with them since september and after 4 months, i feel a little bit stronger and definitely more flexible  but i was not happy with the progress. i was expecting more.

tough mudder is happening in may so i needed better training so i decided to be suicidal and actually sign up with the fit factory !!!
although my subscription started on monday but i avoided going to class because i am very much intimidated !! you have no idea how scared i am of that pain !! i realised that in order to be stronger, you gotta start somewhere .. its not where you started from but where you will be heading i guess. so i pushed myself to go to class today and they have bootcamps all week except boxing class on wednesdays and i said to myself that probably starting with boxing won't be that bad … and oh boy .. i was SOOOO STRONG !!!

it was one hour class and i think i burnt like 1000 calories !! lol it was THAT INTENSE !! too bad that I've forgotten my polar watch so i don't know how much calories i burnt exactly but i gotta tell you, my heart rate did not go down AT ALL !! the class was bRUTAL !! i never knew that boxing could be that intense !! right now as i am writing this, my arms are all sore ! actually, all my body is sore !!!
although I've notified them that this is my first class and that i got knees and back problems! they kept yelling at me and pushing me .. i think I've planked for like 30min out of that 60min class !!! IT WAS INTENSE !!! like REALLY INTENSE !!! but i am extremely happy that I've done it and now i feel like i got nothing to be afraid of .. lol .. i mean i haven't done THE BOOTCAMP which is what scared me to start with but at least now i know how it feels to be yelled at lol .. not fun !!! one of the girls was actually in tears today lol .. according to the guy at the front desk, he said a lot of ppl quit after the first class and a lot of people do actually feel like crying in the class .. LOL HOW CRAZY IS THAT !!

anyway, I'm extremely happy!!! I've survived my first class and i wanna scream it out lol ..

thats their video :

and what i also love about them that they got an obstacle course that is done once a month and its called the O course

so the whole thing looks fun yet insane !!!  they encourage people from all fitness levels to join in but i assure you, this is like super advance lol but whats encouraging is that, indeed, theres a lot of ppl who are overweight or not fit at all in the class so el zaffa tetwaza3 3alina lol 

anyway, today was my first day, I'm looking forward to attend more classes and see actual results .

ohhh i forgot to mention the craziest part … I'm actually doing 2 boot camps per day 3 times a week lol .. 

Body, don't fail me now .. 

Winter in canada

The real canadian weather has arrived.

2014

today is the first day of one of the best year of my life.

ive started the new year a bit late because ive really sick for the past 2 weeks. i dont know what hit me, but i had a nasty cold and an eye infection.. actually, now that im thinking about it, i really think it was more than just cold, i think it must have been influenza .. it was very terrible .. i had generalized weakness, my nose was blocked and congested and all that congestion has affected my ear and it affected my hearing. i got a nasty viral infection to my eyes which caused them to be red and had alot of discharge which was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING !! especially early in the morning, it causes my eyes to be sticky and its painful to open them. ohhh i also had this horrible nerve wrecking cough that would keep me up all night !! at one occasion, i thought i was going to cough my lungs out !!!!  and i had no sense of taste and that made me lose my appetite.

you know, being sick when you live alone is not easy. i was too weak to cook my own food so i lived on home delivery, i had to drag myself to the doctor because i was getting less and walking in this cold weather with dizziness felt suicidal. i was absolutely contagious so my friends who were afraid of getting it, didnt want to step into my apartment .. that really hurted me .. i understand that they didnt get their flu shot and i also understand that they need the money thus they couldnt miss work coz of sick days but clearly, i was helpless and needed to be nursed .. atleast, they couldve accompanied me to the doctor ... oh well .. situations like these taught me alot. it taught me how to survive on my own .. yeah it was painful and hard but i made it ..  i am feeling better .. actually, maybe today is the first day where i felt like i got my strength back .. i still have a mild cough and a congested nose but al7mdallah, im waaaay better than before .. this is my 4th time getting sick this winter .. whats wrong with my immunity :S

speaking of winter, there has been a frostbite alert in toronto. it seems like tonight and tomorow, it will be the coldest days in toronto for the past 20yrs and theres alot of warnings regarding hypothermia and frostbites .. thats scary :S .. it says that it will be too cold that any exposed skin will develop a frostbite within 4 minutes !!!!! maybe i should skip the bootcamp today :s

i was suppose to be up by 5 am to workout but i overslept through the alarm.. actually, im not sure if the alarm went off to start with to be honest . ohh i got the new iphone.. omg iphones are SO CHEAP in here !! but i was told that iphone 6 is coming out in a couple of months !! damn it! if only i knew that before i bought my phone . so iphone 5s is nothing impressive to be honest !! the only 2 additions are the fingerprint option and the camera is SLIGHTLY better. now the fingerprint option is crappy !!  sa3at el iphone yet7amer and wouldnt recognize ur own fingerprint which can be annoying !! plus, im a believer that we should use our memory more so we dont lose it thus id rather memorize my passwords rather than fingerprint them!

so 2014 ... ive dreaded 2014 for so many reasons .. initially i dreaded it because its my pgy 2 in the residency and its one of the toughest years and now im dreading alot of things about it .. im dreading going back home .. im dreading turning 29 .. im dreading failing my challenge .. basically, there was so much negativity around 2014 but then i decided and I AM DETERMINED to turn this around and make it one of the best years of my life !! I AM DETERMINED !! i know that i cant control the circumstances but im going to give it my best .. ill prove to myself that i can make myself happy and that if i want something, i should get it myself rather wait for others to give it to me or to tag along.
so my two mottos for the year are :
'' 2014 is going to be one of the best years in my life ''
and '' Be Daring '' . im even thinking of tattoo-ing this on my arms, temporarily . 


My resolutions for 2014 . its a long list so lets hope i'll be able to cross most of it out.

2014 Resolutions

• do tough mudder ( May vs sept )
• run 5 K --> color me rad race
• strength and endurance based workout : military bootcamp, O track , top up my numbers
• cycling : in spring. Let your bicycle take you to places where you've never been.
• Hiking : atleast once a month – join hiking group
• camping ; gateways in the middle of no where
• visit different national parks
• be able to do atleast 15 proper push ups and 10 proper pull ups
• do more yoga to build flexibility
• forget the scale, focus on inches but target your performance numbers. Be stronger and not slimmer
• learn how to ski and snow board
• cook more: gourmet food rather than diet/protein based food on my cheat days
• cut down coffee: max 3 times a week
• take your physiotherapy more seriously to fix back
  
• dance. Learn to dance starting from strip/dirty dancing to salsa
• flying lessons in the summer
• places to visit :
  - Vancouver
  - banff
  - brazil for the world cup --> if i have company
  - hawaii to see volcanos
  - yukon : to climb mountains
  - west coast road trip
  - the east coast
  
• no dust on Qur'an campaign : read Qur'an more. If not a page everyday then a couple a week
• pray on time: just like you are anal about your meals on time, do it with prayers
• wake up for fajer prayer
• talk to god more. He is the only one who'd never judge me and had promised to always help me if i ask him to so invest more in god rather than people.
• Mindfulness based meditation
  
• Read more. A book every month
• learn french
• learn more about religions and cultures
• daily gratitude journal .
• Memory training . Take it seriously and atleast do it 3 times week
• blog more. Make your blog your best friend
• study regularly rather before the exams
  
• call family more regularly. Every weekend and talk to all family members by end of week
• call friends every weekend
• actively meet people. Go to different meet up groups. Atleast one new group every month.
  
• get comfortable being alone. Learn how to tolerate it by going out alone.
• Tolerate your own emotions -> dont shut it down and dont be afraid to feel
  
  
  -Mottos:
  * BE DARING : do everything your mind is hesistant about. Leave no room for regrets
  * BE FLEXIBLE. Ride every wave you get rather than swim against the current

San Francisco

this was the last destination in my american west coast trip. i dont think its fair for me to write anything about San Francisco since ive only spent 2 days there and i was really sick during the last one.

San Francisco is not big at all and there isnt much to see on the tourists attractions map, never the less, alot of people like it and swear by it so ill leave my review till my next visit . yep, im planning a real westcoast road trip where ill be driving from orgeon all the way down to san diego. maybe then, ill give san Francisco another chance.
the first thing that ive noticed in san Francisco is the great number of homeless people !! they are EVERYWHERE .. like literally everywhere and they are in VERY BAD living conditions. people were picking left overs from THE TRASH and EATING IT !! this is insane !!! i never imagined seeing such a thing in the united states of america !!!!!  we do have homeless here in toronto but NO ONE STARVES IN TORONTO and thats a fact !! because there are too many shelters and food banks !! they are everywhere !! they may sleep in the street but they will never starve or will never need to eat from the garbage !!!

it seems like San Fran is similar to LA when it comes to crime. it has a high crime rate and in fact, we saw some one stealing something from the grocery store and running away with it !!  also it seems like there's alot of drugs and stuff around the city.
ive also noticed alot of arabs there and khalijis ! i dont know if its coz its xmas holidays or if , in fact, san fran has a big arab community.

we havent seen much in san fran because we arrived on xmas so everything was closed. however, we did get to try the famous cable car and we saw the golden gate bridge !! a bridge that i find to be very disturbing .. it all started after watching a documentary called the bridge which films people jumping off the golden gate bridge .. after that, golden gate bridge is no longer a bridge for me, it feels a cemetery to me now..

Oh yeah! U can see SEALS from the beach!!! We saw a couple of seals there!! N i saw a dolphin in santa monica and whales in quebec earlier this year!!! The only thing missing is sharks lol

there was more stuff that i wanted to see like little japan, alcatraz prison , muir wood and pier 39. yosemite national park is definitely a place that i wanna hike one day.

i cant say much about san fran i guess .. since im considering doing my fellowship in the states and most likely in san fran. maybe i should go back again and explore it better before i make such a big decision of moving there .

Las Vegas

The Sin city indeed.. it is too sinful to be single there ..

given the fact that i didnt like Newyork or LA, i thought that las vegas wont impress me but i was wrong. i actually LOVED vegas !! I really did and i am sure, i wouldve loved it more if i was not single !!
vegas is too small that you can actually see the hotels from the airport but everything about it is exciting .. the lights, the shows, the dinning options, the hotels and people ! you can totally see people from all over the world !!

Las vegas airport:
very convenient. its about 10min away from the city. you could actually see the hotels from the airport. and if you ever decided that you have not gambled enough, there are alot of slot machines in the airport too lol

Hotels !!
we stayed at la paris hotel. the whole hotel had a french theme even the rooms. you know, hotels are a big part of vegas culture ! i mean, all you do there is hotels/casionos hopping and attending shows .. so definitely, im coming back again and ill be staying at different hotel !! so many cool hotels that i wanted to check out including Aria, Wynn,  Bellagio and venetian .
each hotel has its own things whether themed casionos, dinning places, gardens and stuff and their own shows.. for example, the Venetian had venice theme with the gondolas and stuff, Aria was more like high tech place, i even heard that the rooms there work with audio commands and like i mentioned earlier, la paris was french. Bellagio was famous for its huge musical fountain, New york new york had statue of liberty and empire state building there. there is something special about every hotel :D
there is just too much to see, too much to eat and too much to try in vegas . i had so much fun despite the fact that i never gambled or attended any bars/clubs

the shows
we saw cirque du soliel : le reve at the wynn. it was beautiful and impressive. it was water themed with lots and lots of acrobats. i actually really liked it ! it was better than the one in orlando ( La Nouba )  . what i really wanted to see was Zarkana.. yallah perhaps next time inshallah. 

we have also seen a comedy stand up show at flamingo which was okay !
we spent 4 days there and couldve seen 4 different shows but my friend did a lousy job at organizing it so .. maybe next time ..
ohh we also got to play the CSI game which was interesting ... not as challenging as i hoped but it was fun .. totally a different kind of games. i mean, you asked to assess a crime scene, go to the lab and actually examine the evidences you've collected and there is also a morgue part too !!!


Dinning :
omg ! i cant start talking about dinning in vegas .. there are ZILLIONS of restaurants .. restaurants owned by famous chefs !! if i have spent every hour of these 4 days dinning at different places, i wouldnt be able to finish em all !! there was soooo much to eat and so much to try but whats striking is, ITS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE !!!
see, the hotels are pretty cheap but the shows and restaurants are REALLY EXPENSIVE !!
I guess thats why people gamble in vegas, they wanna earn their food's money :P

Grand Canyon
its a day trip from vegas which i was really looking forward to but my party thought it would be too cold and canceled it which made me sad ! i was really looking forward to see the grand canyon ! oh well, now i have more reasons to come to Vegas again.  oh yeah, one more thing, despite the fact that las vegas is in the desert, it can get really cold in winter !


Review Time !!
las vegas airport:
like i said, VERY CONVENIENT!! you can actually fly to vegas to watch a show and leave on the same day .. the airport is close, the airfare is cheap, the hotels are cheap so why not !!!
las vegas airport is famous for the fact that you can still gamble to the very last minute lol

Las vegas:
loved it ! very colorful, very lively .. so much to see, to eat , to try and basically to do. its a fun city.. my advise though, dont come here if you are single .. i dont know if its just me or not, but there is naughty-ness in the air and it can be pretty lonely if you got no partner in crime.. but thats just my personal opinion !!!
but watch it. it is a little bit pricey !! food and shows can be really expensive.

people:
ive never met any locals lol !! its a very tourists-based city

prices:
- TAX IS LOW ! i think its 6% only so definitely, shopping can be fun here especially from electronics but other than that, the restaurants and shows are really expensive. 
hotels are cheap too but whats the use of coming to vegas and not watching a show or two or try those famous dinning places?


Musts:
- hard to tell. i guess EVERYTHING !!  visit every hotel , go to every show if you could and eat everywhere lol

So Vegas .. we shall meet again :P





grand canyon

LA

California from the plane is not as green as i thought! All through my flight from san fran to LA, all i could see was dark naked rocky mountains and the oceans! Nothing green at all! I wonder if its because its winter time or thats the way cali is :/ 

Ive always thought it will be fun to camp and hike in cali but looking at this view, i think not !! Maybe california is all about the ocean after all.. :/

Surprisingly, LAX ( LA AIRPORT) was sooo crappy!!! It has so many terminals but these terminals were small n packed, atleast terminal 4 was like that!! And when we went to claim our baggage, the bags belt was not working n it took 45min to get ut to work and to get our bags!!! Ohhh and there were no stamps or way of mailing things in the airport and when i asked why, they said for security reasons :/

So we spent the first night exploring hollywood. We walked around hollywood blvd and saw walk of fame and the Chinese theatre ! It was bizarrely empty!! No one was around and it was only us walking around! Is it winter? Is it xmas ? Is it the fact that it was a weekday? I dont know but it was quiet!!! 

2nd day, we went to Santa Monica pier!! Omg it was a happy peaceful place!! The ocean looked.. I dont know how to describe it.. Powerful.. Graceful?? And god! The sand!! How i missed feeling the sands in my feet!!! I couldnt help but to run around bare footed and get my feet soaked up in water!! The ocean was a bit cold though lol ok ok not a bit but REALLY cold to the fact when i soaked my feet in the water, i got a brain freeze :/ But i loved it! I really loved santa monica!!! I loved the white sand!!! I loved how big the beach was!! I just loved the whole thing and i wished we stayed there for 

the whole day!!! 

Then we walked around to venice beach and venice broadwalk!!! I loved how ppl were cycling, skating and jogging around!!!  Made me wanna get my bicycle and cycle for miles n miles!!!!

The place was loaded with latinos and carabbean people! It had a gangster flavor which made me a bit uncomfortable! I mean santa monica pier was happy but venice beach and stuff felt a bit sketchy! Alot of people might disagree with me but thats how i felt! I felt like its not safe for me to go there and sleep on the beach at night!

Anyway, We ended our day by visiting the xmas market/farmer market/the groves! It was all colorful!! The cutes part is when they released some foamy bubbles in the air as in snow!!! I thought it was the cutest thing ever!!!

On our 3rd day, we went to universal studios- hollywood and i was really disappointed of how small it was!!! It had only 2 rides and the rest were couple of shows!! U can not compare it to the one in orlando! Omg! Universal studios in orlando was mind blowing!! Even the one in Singapore was more impressive than the one in hollywood :( 

Maybe you will like it if you have never been to universal studios before but ive been to the one in singapore and orlando and this one was a complete joke for me!!! 

After that, i spent the evening exploring  the gay district with a new friend of mine! LA gay village was sooo lively and definitely better than the one in toronto!!  We went to see a dragqueen competition which was hilarious in a fun way!!! Definitely loved that lil midnight adventure  *wink wink* 

On my last day, it was crazy day! Everything about it was completely crazy! Starting with choosing my partner in crime, who is some one that i swore that id never have anything to do with them for the rest of my life. Then setting up the crime which was exploring most of LA in a day and i guess whats even crazier is my decision to rent a car and drive in LA's crazy traffic!! Which turned out not yo be as crazy as i thought! Its packed and slow and that is NOT CRAZY! U want CRAZY traffic, come and drive in toronto downtime! Thats what i call madness!!! 

We explored LA together. We saw china town, little tokyo, griffith park with the hollywood sign, farmer market and the groove ! 

It felt good while it lasted..

I felt like we went back in time and time stood still there. it Started with good team work then fun crazy besties time n ended up with goodbyes n regret as always..  regretting the things that i haven't said or done.. 

Was it the right thing to do? No, it only made things worse i guess..

Do i regret it? No i dont.

How do i feel? Guess im in so much pain that it feels numb right now

Guess you really cant have it all after all.. I had a day.. And thats all i could have..

Review time..

LAX AIRPORT: 

It is a big airport in the sense that it has so many terminals but each terminal ( been to 2 ) is small and literally PACKED!!! Their choices of dinning optiobs are very limited and its hard to find a table!!! The security there was insane too!! U are not allowed to mail anything within the airport :/ !! Ohh plus the bags belt was broken and it took us forever to get our bags upon arrival!!

Los angelos city

very disappointing. Everything about LA got me disAppointed. Their attractions are not impressive and not convenient because they are spread everywhere and you need a car to move around since cabs are expensive and renting a car is a waste of time since ull be stuck in traffic for hours

People:

I cant tell to be honest! I havnt interacted with alot of em! Definitely, theres a huge hispanic and carabbean communities there!! I dont want to be racist but latinos scare the hell out of me!

Ohh i also heard that LA is known for its gangs and crimes! So definitely not the safest city!! 

Prices:

I think its 10% tax or so but i dont know! I cant seem to have a sense of its prices! I mean, days went by too quickly for me to notice alot of things to be honest

Musts:

- santa monica pier which is technically not part of LA lol

- the grooves xmas market

- little tokyo if you like japanese stuff

- grifith park: the view there is phenomenal. Absolutely beautiful

So thats LA for you. I heard alot about it but i personally didnt like it at all and i dont think im coming back again. My friend had already decided that im coming back in the spring so she can show me LA the right way! Lol so guess im forced to give it another chance lol !