Zoo trip

Today before afternoon training I went with Mark to Phuket Zoo..
Let me just say, although zoos around the world like Sydney get alot of shit from animal rights group about the way animals are treated.. WELL LISTEN UP!!! If you want to see some fucked up shit, come to PHUKET ZOO!!!!!!
I walked into the zoo and just as we got there the crocodile show was just about to start. Two "zookeepers" were taunting and hitting the Crocodiles with sticks and swinging dragging them by their tail, all for the Tourist dollar. I refused to stay and watch it so i left the show.
Next I went to have my pic taken with a BIG ASS tiger. The handler only had one arm si that left me a little aprehensive to have my pic with the tiger.. The one armed bandit taunted and waived a massive stick infront of the animal and told me to sit next to it and hug it.. Just as i was about to it gave a BIG ASS ROOOOOAAARRR!!! SO i kept a safe distance and had a nice pic with it.
The elephants were chained up by their leg with a 1 mtre chain and could only walk in a 1 mtre diameter. I refused to watch the elephant show.
The highlight of the trip was to hang out with this cool orangatan and get pics with it.. Talk about MR personality!!!
Went to trainng this arvo, fin worked me to the power. He said he wanted me to have "power training" and he gave it to me, after i threw apunch or kicked he would counter with punches and kicks so it made me really conscious about having my guard up.
I went to DOns for dinner and danny was there so that was cool!
we have some chick from Australia at the gym who apparently won Australian Idol, her name is Kate Darouge. Not to sure who she is but everyone is making a fuss she is here so thats cool.
Im going to watch Daniel who is from SYdney fight against some cocky Danish guy from Phuket Gym.. So ill check in soon.

Oh, note to myself. Get amy to western union some cash.. AGAIN!

7 days to go...

Well Im in the home stretch now and Im loving this place! Its a shame alot of tourists come to Phuket and stay in Patong, when they leave to go back to their home land all that has been stamped in their mind is the sex, copied goods and sleeziness that is Patong.. If only they came 25 mins south they would see what Phuket is all about!
Its about the people, who always have time for you, always have a smile on their face and will always help you.
Its about the scenery, the rolling hills of tropical trees, the vast space to walk and if you get tired from walking you could always hire a car or bike and take it all in at a faster pace.
The gym is such a family place. ALL the trainers are worth their weight in gold! I'd love to open a gym back home and pay them a good wage and bring them over on working visas. We would have one of the best gyms in Australia. They could earn great money and either send it back to their family or save it and buy great places back here.
Danny is such a great leader, he is always at the gym, he is always there to oversea things and ALWAYS has the time of day for you and will sit down and have a 10 min chat. I can vouch for that first hand.
Im going to miss Bang even though he is a tirant to me, i will miss the way he says "Shadow, shadow". Ive seen him grapple, he is one mean mofo!
Well, not sure what Im going to do today, Dan and Jordan (Canadians) went to Phi Phi for the day, Bj is doing Detox and is feeling sick after having a tube up his arse daily and Mark is carrying a shin injury thanks to me... Sorry mate....

I came to this gym with the expectation of loosing 1 kilo per day. Unless you are doing detox, i dont think that can be done.. I will only come home a few kilos lighter but its the toning I have done since I have been here, i thought this place would be a "QUICK FIX" but I have come to realise that this is only the start and I will need to keep it up when I get home, not 6 hours training a day but the eating better and excercising daily..

SO until next blog..
Ciao

There is ALWAYS a positive from a negative.

I dont want to go into it too much but today has been one of the saddest days of my life.
I have been given some information that is crushing.
BUT................... I have to take this information into my stride and make it a positive.. Thats all I want to say about it right now....

Speed Ball Challenge & Rain

i was at training yesterday and danny took some time out ith me on how to use the speed ball.. 45 mins later i was still practising and trying to throw in an elbow to the combinations...
Ill work on that daily until i leave..
The rain is bloody annoying.. ALL THE TIME!! When you ride your bike it feels like someone os throwing rocks at you! IT HURTS!

Short time, not a long time

I changed my mind..
Im going to training today.. Im in a foul mood so what better way thank to punch the shit out of some padding..
p.s.. Still have blistered knuckles.. :(

Time for a whinge

No training this afternoon. I went this morning and im tired and have the shits.
1. Sore and Blistered knuckles
2. Blistered Toes
3. Shin Splints
4. sore calfs

SO im going to sleep all day and what makes it harder is it's amys birthday so im REALLY pissed im not there to celebrate it with her.

Wayne Rooney & Boom Boom.

Get this..
I was at afternoon training, doing pad work in the ring with a trainer. Before the first round a trainer walks up to me and says "Wayne Rooney, Man United" I was thinking he meant wayne Rooney had the same tattoo as me so i was smiling and replied by saying "Cool". I then walked up to him at the end of the round and said "Wayne Rooney have same Tattoo?", He laughed and made an hour glass figure with his hands and said "Same Same". I just realised he said I have the same body as Wayne Rooney!! Thats Blooody insulting as Wayne is often referred to as Shrek!! I as thinking thanks you wanka!!! lol
After the pad work, another trainer came to me and pointed at my stomach and said " you doing lots of boom boom?" I didnt get how that had anything to do with my stomach??? Does that mean that if you are chubby (or BIG BONED) that you like to root a lot? I left the comment alone and explained to him that no Boom Boom as taking place.. Ill have to look into that comment a little more.
I purchased 21 dvds from the local market at Rawai this afternoon, it costs me 1300BHT. The list is:
1. Rataouville
2. Die Hard 4
3. Transformers
4. Material Girls
5. Dream Girls
6. TMNT
7. Spider man 2
8. Ice Age 2
9. Shooter
10. Epic Movie
11. mission impossible 3
12. Fantastic 4
13. Happy Feet
14. Prehistoric Park Vol 1-2
15. Prehistoric Park Vol 3-4
16. The pursuit of Happyness
17. Charlottes web
18. Night at the Museum
19. 300
20. SImpsons Movie
21. Meet the Fockers

The morning slog.

Firstly, I need to slap myself for not coming to to many morning sessions. Be it due to lack of sleep or too sore from the day before, my body was never really up for the morning training.
Well, this morning I rose from the dead and went to a morning session. Let me say to whomever is reading this blog (i know alot of new students read this) GET YOUR ARSE TO MORNING TRAINING!! Its the best!! Ill tell you why....
1.There is alot less people which means more one on one time with a trainer( I went the whole training sparring with just me and my trainer).
2.Your more awake during the day.
3.More spac in the ring
4.Trainers have more time for you.
The afternoon training is packed! LOTS of people also. Get your butt to morning training and tell them Aaron from Oz sent you.. :P

The morning slog.

grappling!!

Last night at training i tried to grapple fo the first time.
I grappled with Dan (candian guy), he is 6'3". The whole point of grappling is to try and bring their head down to your knee so you can knee stike them, if not, throw them to the floor.
Today my neck is killing from trying to pull my head up from the grapple.. Gee its hard work.
I went to the tattoo place last night hoping to finish my tattoo, 3 hours later and 50 red bulls they tell me they ave finished.. My superman tattoo was still very visable,s o i told them they havnt finised. What they explained to me was seeing though my superman tattoo is so prominent it cant be covered in just one sitting. I will need to go over it 2/3 more times until its covered.. Just like 3 coats of paint to a wall.. It makes sense but they didnt tell me that at first, so i have 1 or so mor visits to the tattoo parlour, let me tell you.. THIS IS MY LAST TATTOO EVER!!

The heat is on!!!

Well its monday.. The day after rest day & didnt I need that rest! I got so burnt on Saturday that i just chilled in my room yesterday. I couldnt get up for morning training as Im sooo bloody sore from the sun!
I trained this afternoon.. Worked hard, got tired and so the story goes.
Ill be amping up the training as of tomorrow.. Im going to try and loose 5 kgs per week until i leave which i feel shouldnt be an issue..

For people who are planning to come here its REALLY easy to get side tracked here, the night life is relaxed and everyone from the gym is young and wants to party, the amazing thing is they go out till 430ish every night and then be at training at 7am!! Another thing that side tracks you is the sight seeing that can be done.. so please note when you come that there is ALOT here that can keep you distracted from what you are really her for.

Well tome to eat some complex carbs and some protein and ill check back tomorrow..

Peace out!

Thailand,Sun and Tattoo

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Hiring a Sports Bike

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Training update

Training is a lot harder than what I thought, at this stage of my training there is no physically possible way to go to both sessions in the one day but that will change next week, as of Monday im putting my body through fucking torcher. In saying that, I have thrown up twice during training as my body is telling me that its being shocked!
A few trainers have seen me spar and they have asked if I would like to fight, I said I would think about it, which I think means yes over here so they have got me working one on one more often with the trainers and I think the trainers main goal is to take everything out of you in the first round so u can try and pull reserves out of somewhere, I thought the whole idea as to pace yourself and finish strong at the end of the round but they only know one pace here and that’s ALL OUT!!!

sorry for the lack of details

Sorry I have been so slack with updating my blog. The last thing I feel like doing after training is sit in a humid room in front of a machine generating heat (computer)..
Ill be better with updating from now on.

Last Saturday night I went out with a few of the clan to Patong… For people back home that haven’t been here, picture kings cross minus the shady under world characters and Junkie kids and chicks.. Every bar has local girls waiting to be taken home for the night for a measly 1000bht (30 AUD).. I had Vodka Red bull all night long and couldn’t wait to get out of that place fast enough.. There was one street in Patong that was an eye opener, its called Soi Crocodile where it was a lot of girls dancing on table tops and polls, all the guys were getting on the poles with them and then a thai girl would whip out her implant and let the guys play with them. I was then told Soi Crocodile is the home of the Lady boys. I was gob smacked, these shims looked, talked and acted like bloody ladies and they had the legs and hips to match!!! It blew me away! We all decided to go to an infamous ping pong show. I walked in and about 25 seconds after being there I walked straight out, it was fucking disgusting! The lady was a seasoned pro at this shit. She had burn marks down her leg from where she smokes cigarettes night after night and to top it off she was fucking old, about 60!! It was disgusting!

day 2 and 3

Day 2...
----------
Yesterday I decided to skip morning training and let my body adjust to this heat!
The hard thing about that, is I am living 2 footsteps from the ring and every time I wanted to use the bathroom I have to walk past the trainers and one trainer in particular (BUNG) gives me dirty looks as to say "you lazy bastard". he probably isnt but it seems like that.
I went for a cool motorbike ride around southern Phuket and got pretty burnt.. Not applying any sunscreen doesnt help. I had a sports massage and the lady brusied me pretty hard but there are alot of knots in my calfs that she has to work on.

I sparred yesterday afternoon and did quiet well seeing though it was my first time.

I ended up going to bed at around 830.

Day 3
--------
I didnt something this morning that I havnt done since I was a kid..
After shadow boxing, I started punching the bags.. I had a weird sensation in my stomach, I then started coughing and before you knew it I was throwing up in the garden next to my punching bag! No one looked twice, I ended up having a swig of water and going back to my training!
I then started some light sparring with Jordan (Canadian guy), as I went to kick him he blocked with his shin, as i have virgin shins my right shin got really inflammed really fast! I decided to use my left leg and the same thing happened so i pulled the plug on sparring and waited for my shins to stop throbbing then I went to doing 100 sit ups, 100 front kicks and 100 knees to the bag.

Im not going to train this afternoon as I need to listen to my body and its about time i have a rest for this afternoon. Its going to take a few days for my body to catch up as my head is in the right place.

My first workout pic in Thailand

Refer to the link...
note the sweat.. this was minutes after I trained!

http://www.muaythai-training-phuket-thailand.com/

Well I'm here!!! Oh MY Fuc*en GOD!!!

I arrived at the airport last night and the second I walked off the plane onto the Airbridge, the humidity SMACKED me in the face... The smell of humidity really woke me up..
I woke up this morning (5:30am) and went for a run.. I jogged for about 2kms and came back like I was put through the washing machine, My clothes wre drenched!!
WHen I got back from the jog, one of the trainers told me to put my wraps on and work with him... 2 Hours, 350 situps and 20 pushups later and I was done!! I took off my singlet and wringed it out like drenched towel!!

Pics to come...

T- Minus 5 hours

Hey Guys,
Well its finally time. Its 9am on the morning of tale off to the land of smiles.
Im showered, shaved and ready to go.
I have packed my suitcase, its weighed in at 18kgs (allowable limit is 20kgs). Not too much room to play with to buy gifts etc so I may have to FedEx my clothes home so I'm not charged the crazy excess luggage fees.

I thought I would post my before shots now so you can all see the transformation..... They are a little embarrasing and inciminating, but hey, all the more to change it right?

Ill conclude with my pics & a favourite saying of mine which is from the man that was befor his time Cassius Clay.. AKA "Mohammed Ali"

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, ''Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.''

Bon Voyage Boxout Crew

Last night I bidded a fond farewell to my good and inspirational friend, Patrick (www.boxout.com.au) I went for one last goodbye and did a boxing workout with Gavin.
It was Gavins first time coming to a Boxout class, I had a feeling Gavin was under the impression it was going to be a Fitness First Boxercise class. The next day (this morning) Gavin was really impressed with the quality of boxing technique that Patrick has created in his class.
The class ended on a high note with Patrick presenting me with an autographed copy of his Book (Touch the Sky) and a "Boxout Crew" T-shirt to wear proudly in Thailand. He made an announcement to the entire class about what I was doing and the reason why I was going. Gee he is inspiring!

I have really slackend off on my cardio the last week, I am getting Physio on my shins and lower leg muscles 3 times a week. I need this in order to run and try and keep up in thailand when im not wearing shoes.

7 DAYS TO GO!!!

A roller coaster on the way to Thailand

Let me just start this post by taking a deep breath and getting my bearings and inhaling for a minute.............Ok Im back.
What a friggin 36 hours I have had. It all started yesterday morning after watching a video about Rawai Muay Thai.. Being the inquisitive person I am, I started watching the background of he video rather than the training, I noticed a hell of a lot of people standing around talking, as the camera panned around the gym, more and more people were standing around whist other peope where kicking bags, shadow boxing and weights training. It came to my attention, there were alot of bloody people in such a small space! I as thinking to my self, how the hell am I going to train when its over crowded? I could do that over here let alone travel to South East asia and do the same thing.
I started looking at other gyms around the area and came across a gym just up the road from Rawai, it was Sinbi Muay Thai (www.sinbi-muaythai.com), for people who dont know Sinbi he is a K-1 fighter who only opened his own gym in March 2007. He has hired Sing, who used to be a trainer at Rawai but moved to Sinbi's gym.
As Sinbi's gym is new, it is also quiet, it has alot of space to move and isnt over crowded.
I went back and forth between a few people (thanks Al and Scottish Paul)who gave me some insight as to what to expect at Rawai with the crowding issue. I was so close to changing to Sinbis gym as i felt i would get more attention from fitness.. I have been told the ratios are the same at both Sinbi and Rawai so either way I would be happy, the deciding factor ended up being I would be BORED at Sinbi with no one to talk to for a month were Rawai is more friend and family oreientated, which i think would be better for my first time.
Today I decided to mix up my training and play squash today. I got smashed!! But it was a different cardio workout which mixed it up a bit.. I ended up receiving a blister on my finger, left and right foot...

SO ONLY 20 DAYS TO GO!!!!

So young, yet so sore.

The last few days have been a little hectic. I have been to North Sydney twice in one week. For someone that NEVER goes over there, that is a lot for me!

The first time I went there was to do a BOXOUT class. Amy came along to try the class, to her suprise, she loved it and can not wait to go again. I think we may go the night before I go to Thailand.
After the class, I hung around the gym to speak to some producers who do the Boxout Class, one of which is a Freelance Producer who is doing the New Souths Sydney Rugby League Doco. She was giving me some great tips as to what I will need to do if I wanted my Thailand Story off the ground.
I followed some of her tips for the next 48 hours, I was getting swamped with Resumes from Video Crews in Thailand. The swamping really helped me reasses my views on doing a Doco of my time in Thailand. I thought about why I booked Thailand in the first place. Was it for me to become famous with a Doco, or was it to train my ass off for a month and loose weight? The later was the REAL reason.
My new action plan is to Train and just take notes through the trip and to reasses what I want to do, after the Thailand trip has been done.

Yesterday, I went to Patricks house to learn some "BASIC" kicking techniques and stretches. We went to a park down the road. Even though it was'nt a Cardio workout, I'm very sore today. The stretching that we did, really taught me I need to do more core work. I'll go to the gym this afternoon, do an hour of Cardio, then go down stairs and really concentrate on some stretching and basic kick techniqies.

Last night I experienced something that I have never done before. I went to a boxing night at North Sydney Leagues Club. Patrick was kind enough to give me two tickets so I brought Matt along with me so we could both experience some hard core Knockouts. The night consisted of 8 fights which started at 8pm and finished at 11pm.
There wasn't any knock outs, all fights went to points. I was expecting some brutal knockouts like what you see on Felanyfights.com, it wasn't to be but I still enjoyed the night.

Well, I am VERY SORE today! My Shins and lower legs are hurting more than ever, its all muscular, I think I need a good regular massage. When i get to Thailand, I am going to have a sports massage DAILY!!!

It feels I am limited to how hard I can push myself as my shins and legs stop me, even though my mind is ready to PUSH to the extreme.
I have the Mind in perfect condition.I need the body in shape and the Soul will follow.

MIND, BODY AND SOUL

Sprits are high but my feet are sore.

After going all out and skipping for 40 mins STRAIGHT the other day, my foot is still in a lot of pain. I think it could of been how tight I had my shoes on. I didnt train yesterday, I normally have Mondays off anyways.

Spirits are high today, I was talking to Patrick at Boxout yesterday. I was telling him about the opportunities I had got from Pacific Magazines and ACA in regards to doing my story about Thailand.
He was telling me to be carefuk with ACA, as they can some times turn the story around to make you look a little silly. He said maybe its best I stick to media outlets like Sunrise or the Today Show.
Patrick also invited me back to his gym, so I'm going tonight for a class, Amy will be coming for the first time, I have told her about this class for months so I'm sure she will love it. Patrick has also offered me some fight tickets for Friday night, so my friday night is planned. There is also some talk in the air about Patrick still coming to Thailand for a stop over before going to Germany!!

Night out!

Last night, Amy & I went out for the first time in AGES!
We FINALLY caught up with some of the old gang like Bill, Carla, Glenn and Rebecca.
We met some new cool people as well like some of Carlas friends (I forget their names), as well as Carla's sister Andrea who is Now my 24th myspace friend. Speaking of myspace, I discovered that Glenn has been introduced to myspace and he become my 25th friend, although I could'nt resist in paying him out for having a Ninja Turtles theme.

We left the pub (The Exchange hotel) at midnight. Seems like all the bars in Balmain have a midnight curfew, I would hate to be a resident of balmain cause as you can imagine, all these drunkin tools leaving the bars all at once creating massive ruccus for all the residents to enjoy!

I got back into my training today after having yesterday off. Although I have purchased new running shoes, I still can't get rid of the sore leg muscles, my achilles on my left leg is in alot of pain when i run. I decided to skip at the gym today, I had my IPOD with me and to my suprise, the gym had left the entertainment system unlocked, so being the person I am, i plugged my IPOD into the entertainment system and had it blasting through the BOSE speakers in the room where I was working out .

I skipped for 40 mins, terrible cramping pain was shooting through the arch in my feet, it seemed to disapear at the 30 minute mark so I continued skipping until I worked out for 40 mins. After the 40 mins skipping had finshed, my heart beat was through the roof and it looked like I had been standing out in the rain for the last two hours as my face and clothes were saturated.

I moved onto some punching bag worked. I strapped up my hands and put on my lovely THAI BOXING gloves and worked the bag with finess for 20 mins, you have not seen a graceful Gazelle until you have seen Aaron Thomlinson floating on the balls of his feet. The boxing got annoying at the end as two young guys (24ish) came in and started to work on the punching bags, they looked lean and were working on their punching techniques so I decided to step up my intensity to make it look like I was a seasoned pro. I started Elbow striking the bag, as well as swinging my round house kicks just like I was cutting down palm trees.. Lucky I did technique work with Patrick Moore from boxout.com.au otherwise I would of looked like an overweight puncher throwing haymakers! The guys did nothing wrong, whilst I was there, it must of been a male moment as I had complete control of the room until they came in.