December 20th - A Better Day

Lo Mein（面条）酸辣的

My Thoughts 🤔 我的想法

I have had a lot of thoughts recently but I haven't written, which was a dumb decision.

First off, the past two days I have had dreams in Chinese which is cool. Now, I don't remember what happened but I do remember they were in Chinese. That means I've had 4 or 5 Chinese dreams in total! I never thought I'd be having dreams in another language... maybe it means I'm getting better at it?

Secondly, I've come to appreciate my time at work and all the effort I've put into working at this potato company. I decided to help them out by staying an extra day so that I can train a new guy (if he shows up) and I honestly didn't even hesitate to say yes. I really do like working here even though I'm not in the position that I wanted. This job has taught me a lot and has tested me too but I think the most important thing this job has taught me is the importance of rest and good diet. I've realized that as long as I'm sleeping well (not long) and eating healthy stuff (not Kwik Trip) I am able to do any job with minimal fatigue. This has checked a little box in my brain for when I go to Maling Kung Fu Academy;

"Push yourself, but recovery and food is just as important as the exercises that you do."

It is something I should remember for when I'm training 6+ hours a day...

Thirdly, this entire week I've been experimenting with making 酸辣粉, which is one of my most favorite meals in China. After many attempts, I think I finally have an okay handle on how to make it. Using veggies and a hard boiled egg just add to the nutrients you get, peanuts are good to throw on top as well but the most important part of this meal is the 酱. Finding the balance between hot and sour is difficult (and up to taste) but I could blame it on not having 2 key ingredients... but I won't.

Overall, 2 stomach aches and 5 good meals later; I think I can finally cook some nice 酸辣粉.

I'm also trying to cram in some training and sparring with some other martial artists. I have one person from work who wants to spar me and another family friend that wants to spar me as well. I'm still unsure if I'll do either but I did buy a new mouth guard for training!

Study 📖 学习

I found some cool resources about words to use for in the Gym in China. The video above gives a lot of nice vocab and explanations on how to use them. Below is some vocab from this reddit post where they talk a lot about the different equipment and questions you can ask while in the gym.

Equipment: 

杠铃 - barbell 

杠片 - plate 

哑铃 - dumbbell 

跑步机 - treadmill

Exercises: 

 蹲举／深蹲 - squat 

硬举 - dead lift

卧推 (仰卧推举) - bench press

挺举 - overhead press 

引体向上 - pull up

划船 - row 

二头弯举 - bicep curl

Phrases: 

可以帮我看一下吗？ - Could you give me a spot? 

你还在用这个／那个吗？ - Are you using this/that? 

你还有几组？ - How many sets do you have left? 

我快要结束了。 - I'm almost finished 

我可以加入吗？／我们可以一起用吗？ - Can I work in? 

你要加入吗？ - Do you want to work in?

Daily Tao ☯ 屎

"Therefore, even the bad things in life may become fertilizer that will help us grow and become strong."

-365 Tao, p 354

Man, haven't I experienced this quote! It seems kind of Cheesy to say that, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", but it does seem true at times. It depends on how you react after the bad event and what you do after that determines if the bad thing will bring you down or "rise you up".

Workout 💪 运动

Normally, I don't care about "popular" or trending videos on youtube but, dang, this one caught my eye as it was a "No Gym" workout. And "No Gym" is what I'm all about. It is your average "Jacob's Ladder" type workout that targets the key areas of your body; upper, core and lower.

After doing this for 2 sets, I could feel it in my muscles and was able to push through another half set before my form became terrible. Tell me how your attempt goes.

Watching these various workout vids like JaxBlade and Kung Fu Life, I really think that Cardio and Calisthenics (which I really understand until watching these vids) is the way to start or maintain working out, just use body weight and push yourself!

Watch the "No Gym" video here.

How have you guys been doing? Are you guys in a High or Low state right now?

-Johnny “白武龙"