Health & Fitness Journal of an Aspiring Pro-Kitesurfer; a Windsurfer and Surfer

My workouts got more intense in march and my weaknesses in my body started to speak up. I got sick during my second week having to skip my Tu and W workouts, and on Th, after a 1000m swim i had to stop because of right wrist pain. I was afraid of hurting my wrist more so I had to skip my 100m*5 sprints. on monday, on my 3rd week, I went out surfing to try my new short board only to suffer; it turned out the board was too short for me and I needed a long board, an 8-footer or bigger. I was able to paddle it out to the surf at Diamond Head but my shoulder began hurting soon and my neck got very stiff. I still made it to the surf, but couldnt catch any waves. I was too tired by the time I got there, and the waves werent big at all, which made it even harder. So, I'm selling my board to get a long one.

Thanks to my surfing fiasco, I had to skip my Tu and Th swimming work out on my 3rd week due to shoulder and neck pain. I didnt want to hurt them so I figured it would be best to wait.


 On F, I walked on sand for about 45 min after a 45 min Pilates and a massage session with Bryan Jordan from Pilates Training Center in Kailua. Bryan worked on my stiff neck mostly, and on the trigger points on my my right arm below the elbow, and shoulder. It turned out I need to do more stretching- because all the swim muscles on the shoulders hurt too much when pressed. Bryan is very attentive to my body's needs and gives massages accordingly. He is also very good at teaching Pilates and making sure you do the moves with the right posture. For information on Bryan Jordan, please scroll down to the bottom of this post.


On Sat, I went swimming in Waikiki to make up for the skipped workouts. After swimming for 1000m, I swam a set of three 100m sprints, and I stopped after that getting anxious about  my shoulder.

On the weekends, I either hiked or kited, but I didnt get much kiting in because of wind. I'm happy the summer is approaching with steadier trades which means a lot more kiting or windsurfing time. 

I just got back from my Maui trip and I am more pumped than ever to get back to windsurfing which I havent done for a while. I was lucky that my spring break was on my resting week, the 4th week of every month, so I didnt have to worry about exercising while cruising on the island. It felt very good to be back on Maui and to be around some world-class windsurfers. I am hoping to spend some time there after I graduate this semester and try sailing and kitesurfing Hookipa. There aren't many people windsurfing on Oahu anymore- many of the former windsurfers switched to kitesurfing. On Maui, windsurfing is still very big and you get to interact with world-class, bad-ass sailors, which inspires you to become better! And, did I mention the killer deals you get on gear? I got two posters signed by Francisco Goya, the guy who inspired me to follow my dream of living in Hawaii when I had contacted him by e-mail 5 years ago from Turkey. Back then, Hawaii was nothing but a dream. He told me his unique story saying that I would find my own unique way of realizing my dream, which would be even more rewarding.  He was completely right. I received 100% scholarship and ended up on an island in the middle of nowhere dreaming of turning pro in windsurfing! Windsurfing and I decided to stay friends, however, and I fell for kitesurfing. :) 




So, I am just starting. There are so many aspects of my health I need to work on that it's crazy and overwhelming. Last friday, while I was getting a massage from Bryan Jordan, I felt way too much pain on my lower back close to my tailbone. He said the bone there could have moved. He said the name of it, but there is no way I can remember it! He referred me to a chiropractor. As of now, that area still hurts. Plus, sometimes I am still  in pain because of my bruised tail bone. I believe that my right wrist pain is caused my a misplaced bone, as well. My lower back hurts even when I am swimming, especially when I swim breast stroke. I hope a chiropractor visit will solve my joint and lower back problems once and for all! Oh, that would be sooo good... I;m sure my trainer would be happy about it, too! 

 Some photos I took on Maui... I thought I'd share...Enjoy!

HONOLUA BAY...

JAWS

My great companion on Maui, Alexandra, the manager of Paia Yoga

       

PAIA TOWN

HOOKIPA

HAIKU 

THE GOYA/QUATRO SHOP IN HAIKU 

THE SURFING GOAT FARM IN KULA 

I couldnt ask the owners why they cut off the goats' horns but I assume it's because they hurt each other with those horns. This does not mean, however, that I agree with this practice. To me, it's unethical to take away something an animal needs. Other than that, everything seemed to be fine in the farm. I was happy to see animals freely roaming. 

Innocence...

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Bryan Jordan
Sacred Breath Healing Arts
Bryan@SacredBreathHealing.com
(808)782-9595
Chi Nei Tsang
Mind-Body Freedom Technique
Therapeutic Massage
Certified STOTT PILATES Instructor
Sound Therapy
Singing Crystal Bowl Concerts

Sacred Breath Healing Arts- Improving your health one breath at a time.

Jeff and I just finished a 4-week work-out program and I can already see a huge difference in my body and mood! I lost 4Ibs and the sluggishness that can take over me sometimes is gone. If I hadn’t eaten those brownies, I could weigh even less right now but hey, this is only the beginning! Thanks to the power of exercise, I feel like I lost even more weight- because I am a lot more energetic!




My joint problems of course still exist- after all they have been around for years and it will take more than just a month to heal them. I admit that I did a slightly bad job of keeping to the weight-lifting schedule that also included easy exercises for my wrists, so for next month I will make sure I won’t skip them. The calisthenics exercises were fine for my wrists for the most part, but I had a hard time sometimes and even had to omit one because of the pain. I like them a lot, though, because you use your own body weight and you don’t need machines to exercise. It lets your body turn to a free gym with no monthly fees!



My knees were fine in general. They hurt sometimes when I walked for 2 hours, which tells me they are still weak! Being overweight certainly wears your knee joints out. I remember times when I couldn’t kneel down to pick something up from the ground without going “oouuuch”! So, BEFORE you start freaking about your looks, you should get concerned about those knees and your health in general if you gained some evil pounds!



The part that I liked most was that all exercises could be done outside and some simply HAD to be done outside, such as walking on soft sand and swimming! Being a former competitive swimmer, I was happy to get back to it! I am a beach bum so I'd rather walk barefoot on sand than on a thread-mill watching a TV!There were days I couldn’t make it to the beach, however, so I walked in the Manoa Valley for 2 hours instead. I took my camera with me which made my walk all the more fun!



Before I had Jeff as my personal trainer, I tended to skip exercising, get lazy (or give in to tiredness) and I wasn’t as motivated. Having someone to guide you and care about you feels excellent! He knows my body’s weak points and he doesn’t push hard like many other trainers might assuming that if you push hard, you will get better! It doesn’t work that way. It’s all about listening to your body, and in our case, we get to listen to the sounds of nature, as well. I can’t wait for more…

P.S: We will be posting updates each week from now on! Stay tuned and dont forget to follow my blog as well!