I've discovered a new method of weight training - I think.

Recently I've noticed that my arms ache every time I lift them up to wash my hair in the shower.  The ache is somewhat reminiscent to the ache I sometimes get after a vigorous body pump class or a weight training session, although not quite as the time when I started that "Workout From Hell" by John Long.

Who would have figured that carrying a baby around all day would do such wonders to my biceps?  And after carrying him around in the Bjorn during all my shopping trips, I reckon my back's a lot stronger, too!

Yes, I've been dreaming again.  In the last week or so, I've had a couple of dreams about rock climbing.  The first was at a place that reminded me of Dairy Farm in Singapore.  I was with the old crew I used to climb with when I first started rock climbing.  The second dream was at one of the walls in Krabi and I remember seeing a bunch of climbers who are still currently climbing.

I wonder what this means?

My brother has a friend, M, who has tried just about every weightloss program available on the market you can think of - from weightloss machines and devices to dietary plans and pills.  None of them have ever produced any sustainable results.  They either do nothing for him or he eventually regains the weight he lost.  When he finally managed to lose weight and keep it off, my brother asked him what his secret was.  This was what he replied:

"My friend, it's all about starvation."

M went on a strict caloric deficit combined with exercise.  He could tell you the number of calories in every meal he consumed.  Well, it definitely works, unfortunately most of us find it extremely difficult to comply with such a strict regime.  We all want an easier solution - we want the cake and to eat it too.

Here's a new product I came across called Liquid Lean by Uni-Body. 

To lose weight, we need to create a deficit in this equation:

Energy consumed (the food you eat) less Energy expended (exercise and your body's metabolism) = weightloss (deficit) / weight gained (surplus)

We need to ensure that the energy consumed is less than the energy expended. Liquid Lean achieves this by creating a sensation of fullness that helps prevent you from overeating.  It also increases your metabolic rate which increases the amount of energy expended by your body in a day.  Hence it provides a double action to help lose weight.

Liquid Lean also send signals to your brain that helps reduce mood swings associated with high and low blood sugar levels associated with dieting.  One of the main reasons why dieting is so difficult for a lot of people is the mood swings suffered due to low blood sugar levels.  The low blood sugar levels also increases our likelihood of binge eating, thus negating the effects of dieting in the first place.

Click here to order

This post was sponsored.

Two months down the line... both baby and I are doing well.  My sleeping patterns are starting to regularise and I think life is slowly returning to normal plus a baby.  It's time to start knocking off the rest of this excess weight I've gained and prepare for the marathon at year end.

Last weekend was the KL International Marathon.  I saw a picture in the papers today and it reminded me that I still have quite a ways to go if I intend to beat my 6hr 8min time from last year.  I'm still 7kgs above my pre-pregnant weight but I'm gaining some muscle in my arms after carrying the baby around.  The back is also called to task from all the bending to pick up baby.

So here's the plan:

Once baby's feeding patterns stabilise a little more, I might start hitting the gym again.  The period of frozen membership for both gyms should be over by now so effectively I can start any time.  I figure I'll put into effect the 2km plan suggested to me by SKT last year just before I found out I was pregnant.  I might start doing that on alternate days and throw in a couple of climbing days here and there.

Since baby is still feeding quite often, I probably won't be able to get away for much longer than an hour or two.

At the risk of turning this blog into a weightloss blog, I have to add that I was utterly mortified when the doctor told me there was nothing to be done for the "orange peel" skin around my tummy area.  The best thing I can do for it is to start exercising and he recommends leg lifts which I've started doing while feeding the baby.  Not too shabby for a bit of multi-tasking, no?

I also need to continue with the Kegel's because the internal exam found that my pelvic floor muscles have yet to return to their normal state.  Well, it wasn't anything I wasn't aware of since I have been having a mild incontinence problem whenever I sneeze.

So here are my resolutions for this year:

1. Return to my pre-pregnant weight (7kgs to go)
2. Run the Putrajaya Marathon and beat my 2006 time

I'll keep it short and sweet since I do have a baby in my life now.  I'm not even sure at this point if I can take off that much time away from my little one to run the Putrajaya so we'll have to see how that one goes...

Announcing the arrival of my handsome, future world champion golfer (I'm his mother - that gives me the the braging rights to state whatever I want):

Gavin Goh Khye Wern

He arrived safely at 5:33pm on January 27. At 49cm tall, he weighed in at 4kgs. Here are a couple of photos.

I will be on a blogging hiatus for the next month since I'll be heading into the hospital for my induction tonight.  If I can, I will update the Baby Blog within the next week or so.  Please feel free to visit me there.

We'll be back with more sports updates as soon as baby and I have settled into a routine.

Check this out:

Rock climbing in the Czech Republic

Unfortunately, it's not one of my own experiences, but that of a friend's.

CH was one of the climbers from Penang who would occasionally come down to KL to climb - which was how we met him.  He has since moved to Europe but has some interesting climbing photos on his website.

(N.B. Some of the photos are taken from various climbing sites in Malaysia.)

My first ever "roof" project was at Summit Gym.  I think this was one of the competition routes that was left up.  Thin Man, Holdbreaker, Simian Boy and I were working on it in December 2003.  I think Thin Man was the only one to red-point the project before the holds came down.

Roof climbs are great because you don't smack into the wall when you take a lead fall.  This one was also nice because the holds were so big, you could fit your whole hand inside them.

Check out the pictures which are unfortunately a bit dark because the lighting in the gym isn't great and none of us had a camera that could illuminate the gym effectively for a good shot. 

I was talking to an online buddy the other day about rock climbing shoes.  Coincidentally, I found this little piece I wrote way back in 2004 on the various rock climbing shoes I've tried and worn.  A lot of the shoes listed here are probably obsolete by now. 

No offense intended to the rock climbing shops here, but the people selling shoes don't really give much advice on what's a good pair for my feet.  They just give me what I ask for and usually I ask for whatever they have that's in my size.

My most recent pair of shoes is the Katana and I bought it by default - it was the only model in the shop at the time that was available in a UK size 2 and the next shipment of shoes weren’t arriving until ???

What else have I worn?

- Rock Pillar Fox (first pair)

- Rock Pillar Wall

- Boreal Zen

- Five Ten X-Ray

- Boreal Matrix

- La Sportiva Cobra

For the first three, I can’t say much because I didn’t know enough about climbing and what I was doing to have any real appreciation for my shoes.  The shoe with the best fit would have to be the Matrix, but the rubber feels really slippery.  Can’t do resoles here unless I send them overseas and by then it costs about as much as a new pair anyway (maybe even more).

The first shoe I really noticed a difference with was the Five Ten X-Ray.  Although it hurt real bad when I first got it, it stretched out really nicely.  The rubber was really sticky and it helped me learn how to use my feet.  The only problem with this shoe was that it continued to stretch and I had to pull the velcro flaps tighter until the side ripped (or perhaps it ripped from too many foot jams).

I had been eyeing the Boreal Matrix ever since we tried to get it for the Thin Man for his birthday but since the shoe couldn't fit and they didn't have his size, he had to swop for another shoe.  The Boreal Matrix rubber is very soft and not recommended for a beginner climber who has a tendency to wear down the rubber quickly from too many incorrect foot placements.  For that reason, I held off buying this shoe until I felt I was ready for it.

Aside from the nice snug fit of the shoe, I'm afraid I didn't think too highly of the rubber.  It was fine while it was still new but after a while, the rubber lost all stickiness.  Smearing on the wall was like ice skating.  I recall a mention that the Boreal's rubber formulation had changed and it was no longer considered very good by this time.  I do believe they've since changed the formulation and have heard it is much better now, although I never tried another Boreal shoe again after this experience.

When I was using the Cobra, I thought there was air in the heel because at the time I bought it, the smallest size they had in the shop was UK 2.5 and I really needed a new pair.  The Cobra was overall a good shoe and I don't really have much complaints except for the air in the heel (which seems to be a problem I have with a lot of shoes).  It was a slipper and the problem with slippers is that after they stretch, there's a tendency for them to slip off your heel.

I thought the problem would be fixed when I bought the Katana in a size 2, but that, too developed a bit of air in the heel after some wear.  I liked the Katana because the sole was stiff.  It was good for edging, but while it was new, I couldn't smear to save my life.

Generally I find that even if the shoe fits nicely in the shop, it always seems to stretch after a bit of climbing.  Even those that I bought that were really tight to the point of causing me pain will also stretch.  At least that's the problem with the all leather shoes.

I've been told that the synthetic shoes don't stretch, but I find that they still do to a limited extent.  I tried the Five Ten Anasazi (velcro) and V10 when I was shoe shopping in Singapore and felt like Cinderella’s ugly sister trying to wear the glass slipper. I wanted to cry from the pain and I couldn’t even stand up in them!

To update since I wrote that, I currently have in my cupboard:

- Five Ten Anasazi Slipper (UK size 2 which I doubt I can wear now that my feet have swollen to the size of elephant trunks)

- La Sportiva Katana (UK size 2, but it feels bigger than the Anasazzi Slipper size 2)

- Saltic Mamba (slipper - courtesy of BlocX)

- Saltic Vampir (velcros - courtesy of BlocX)

I was using the Anasazi for indoor for a while, but I couldn't get over the pain it caused to my heel so I stopped wearing it after a while.  I can't really say much about it because I don't think I really wore the shoe enough to get a feel for it.

I like using the Mamba for indoors and I found the Vampir great for edging.  After the increase in my foot size due to all the swelling, I think I may need to buy a new pair of climbing shoes if I want to get back into it again after the pregnancy. 

Even though my feet are supposed to return to its prepregnancy size after delivery, my friend PL says her shoe size now is still bigger now than they were before her pregnancy (her daughter is now about 15 months).  I guess it's wishful thinking to hope I'll be able to wear my old shoes...

Check out this link for fitting rock climbing shoes.