Out of shape in the Philippines

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#1

Hello everyone. I’m am not really that old, but I seem to be falling more and more out of shape irregardless of what I do to prevent it. I have had a fairly good life as far as I am concerned, I am 29 years old, an American, I am married and living in the Philippines with an 18 month old daughter. I love eating and am constantly seeking out more food, but I am not fat. I have a very fast metabolism. I spent some time in the military which is where I fell in love with walking and even today I walk on an average of 20 kilometers a day (mostly to go get lunch).

Unfortunately, I work on the internet and I pull very long days. As a result I do not get out and do much of anything at all. I am basically falling out of shape. With all of my walking my thighs are plenty powerful, but the other day while playing with my daughter, I realized that the rest of my body was not equal to my legs. While I can lift a substantial amount of weight with my legs, I could not even do a single push-up.

I did yoga once before back when I was 17. It helped me to get into better shape faster then any other exercise I tried, however I did not keep practicing it because life got too busy. Once again I am finding myself in the need of getting into shape, but this time I plan on staying with it even after I get back into shape. The major downfall is that I am a foreigner in the Philippines and unable to speak the language here even though I have lived here for more then 3 years. I suspect that my exercising will be done indoors because I do not like being the topic of the subdivision gossip. Furthermore, this also means that I will have to do the workouts alone, which is fine by me too.

Now I am not sure which form I used when I was younger, back then I had a book to guide me. In know it involved the sun salutation, but cannot really recall any more then that. I just really need to get back into shape, I am developing this gut and man boobs which is in no way attractive.

Basically, I have only to do about 3-4 hours worth of work every single day in order to make 10 times my wife’s monthly salary. My mind is always on anything but the work at hand which causes a 3-4 hour work day to take more then 12 hours to accomplish. I want to be able to spend more time with my family and child, and I also want to be in shape at the same time.

I guess you could say that my mind needs to be rested a bit which would help with the work load, which is also why I want to get back into yoga because the meditation will be helpful.

So I guess the real question is, “Where do I start?” and no the answer is not at the beginning because I do not even know where the beginning starts.

Best Regards,

Nick

#2

Namaste Nick,

I would like to suggest that you try to first seek a teacher who can instruct you in yoga, it seems you actually have enough time for it. Yoga is really all about adding discipline to your life as well and this seems to me to be lacking, no wonder a 3-hour working day becomes a 12-hour day. You need focus and yoga can help you to add that to your life. However, yoga is not the quick fix you going to expect, you need patience, persistence and perseverance and eventually you will pick the fruit of your labours. Do you have the will and drive? That is something only you can answer. :slight_smile:

Good luck.

#3

Only gets worse as you age. Glad you are starting now.

These are areas I aspire to train in. Although time, $$ and energy constraints don’t always allow me to get em all in. But having the right formula is half the battle.

Weight / strength training
Aerobics
Nutrition
Balance training
Yoga / flexibility training
Cold training
Mind training
Mind relaxation / meditation (zazen)
Speed training
Height / altitude training
Centrifugal training
Jump / Height / Plyometrics trianing

#4

This is what I would do:

Talk to your wife about your ambitions. Chances are she loves you and wants to see more of you away from the computer, and will have great ideas.

swim – you have to pay attention to your breath, and you can demand more of your athleticism as your skill and strength increase. Also, good skill to have as a dad in a warm island nation.
learn the language – some engagement with folks you have to be away from your computer to talk to could help your mind rest if too much computer time is what’s agitating you.
structure your work time – recover the time you currently think is wasted.

then incorportate some classes, like yoga.

(Techne’s vicarious thrill: since you’re in the Phillipines, see if someone will teach you Arnis Escrima. That’s the martial art I started with back in college, and my experience was athletic, social, and caring. I have this romantic notion that some day I might go to the Phillipines to remember my training. )

Have fun!