This blog post is a follow up from:
1) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro)
2) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1)
3) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 2), and
4) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 3)

So over the last 4 weeks, you’ve discovered that:

I don’t know how to swim
I’m aquaphobic (and now you know why. Lol)
I’m not a big fan of the sun, sand and sea.
I’ve never been disciplined enough to stay on a diet program. Ever
The fundamentals of owning a beach-ready body in 28-days lies in the simple THEF formula
Consistency is the best policy for this lil’ mission of ours ;-)
Super-cikgu made all the difference with #2 above.

You probably also know now, that I’m currently enjoying the luxury of having a “plus one day” within the GMT-10 time zone (18 hours behind Malaysia, 23 hours behind Auckland); at the very birthplace of President Barack Obama. *grin*

Named “The Sandwich Islands” in 1778 by James Cook, Hawaii is the only state in US that is composed entirely of islands. Right now, I’m writing this blog post from the capital of Hawaii – Honolulu. *big-grin*

I’ll share more about this trip to Hawaii in my next blog post, but for now and in conclusion to my 4-week series on “How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days”, I thought I’d share my journey of overcoming item #2 above – my very apparent phobia of water (I know it’s really silly, but even big bathtubs and shallow pools scare me).

Nevertheless, before we get into all that, here’s an update on my progress with the 4-week program:

In terms of measurements, I managed to cut off 2.5cm of my waist, 0.8cm off my arms and 1.8cm off my thighs; need I mention that I feel firmer, not to mention more toned now? Hehe. I know it may not sound like much but it’s between a 3% to 4% difference within the month with:

No crash dieting, and
No crazy exercise routines (well, at least nothing I can't maintain for the next 1 year at least)

In fact, the 15 to 25-minute workout that I commit to isn’t even dependent on any exercise equipment, which is perfect amidst the travelling; so I must say that I’m quite pleased with the progress. Happy-happy Panda~ *pat-on-the-back*

Of course I have Super-cikgu as well as my ever-so-supportive #babybaby and encouraging family to thank. #blessed.

In keeping up with the current momentum, I’m even thinking of continuing my swimming lessons with Super-cikgu when I get back to Malaysia. For one, it’s great exercise; but above all, I am determined to get over my phobia of water. Completely.

Sure, I had 3 lessons last month before leaving Kuala Lumpur, but that's definitely not enough to help me overcome my fears. Nevertheless, despite the lack of time for more swimming lessons in KL, this maiden trip to Hawaii has given me an opportunity to embrace my fear of the water by:

Swimming in the sea (I have never dared to do this by choice. Ever.)
Swimming in a 30-feet deep pond to get under the very chilly Waimea Falls (I could never imagine myself doing something as crazy as this. Lol)

If you asked me, I’d probably describe the Hawaiian sea as beautiful and ummm… very blue. That, to me, also means that it’s very deep. Most people would add the word “inviting” to that list of adjectives, but for an aquaphobic like me, it just stops at those first two.

So in my first attempt to overcome my fear of water, I took the plunge with my very supportive family this trip…

1) The sea

Although I’m not a big fan of the sun, sand and sea (as mentioned in item #3 above), I am more than happy to opt for that as opposed to actually stepping IN to the water, let alone submerging my entire body in the sea (at my own will, mind you). This trip, I did all 3. Yeah. As I stepped onto the sand, my heart was beating so fast; and when I entered the salty sea-water water, I almost died. Lol

Thankfully because the water was so clear, I could see the bottom of the sandy sea. So, that was comforting, and it definitely made all the difference.

However, as much as I tried to keep my mouth closed throughout the whole process, I did somehow manage to catch some sea water on my tongue and without thinking, I accidentally said something REALLY stupid out loud,

“It’s so salty”

only to realize that I wasn't alone. OMG. So embarrassing. Lol. My brain must’ve shutdown the minute I stepped into the water. *laugh*

Anyway, to cut the long story short, I basically survived the sea. So the next challenge was...

2) The waterfall

To be honest, I never considered going in. I thought – ok, just dip my feet in, take some pictures and enjoy the view – how bad could it be right? Well, to begin with, the water was really chilly, so THAT didn’t help.

Secondly, the water in the pond looked really dark. I mean how would you know what’s in that pond to start off with????!!! There could be some really creepy, slimy, scaly creatures lurking beneath those dark waters. Or maybe some pretty nasty fishes with sharp teeth too. Gosh, I didn't even want to think about it. So freaky!!!!

Seriously.

However, for some strange reason, when I was asked for the second time if I wanted to go in, I said okay; and the rest is history. Looking back, I reckon I may have just mentally blacked-out in pure shock at that time.

I must say that the walk towards to the border of the pond was one of the most nerve-wrecking moments of my life. The lifeguard on duty offered me a life jacket and kickboard, so that really helped; but if I’m at all honest, with every step into the cold chilly waters of the pond, I wanted to just turn back and say

“maybe not this time”.

My heart was pounding so fast and every part of me just wanted to retreat to safety soooo badly. PLUS, the fact that I had no clue where the 30 feet drop was, didn't help one bit(that suspense almost killed me before the water did lol~). I was shivering (can’t decide whether it was because it was so cold or because I was just plain scared) and as it got to waist deep, I told my chicken self

“DON’T THINK, JUST SWIM TOWARDS THE WATERFALL AND SWIM BACK ASAP. GO!”

So that’s what happened. I think for the next 3 minutes or so, my brain must’ve just blacked out. Before I knew it, I was back at waist-level-deep waters and slowly made my way back to the comfort of my towel. I did it.

I don’t think I’ll ever do it again, but I grateful that I can eventually conclude this trip to Hawaii with no regrets.

I can’t say that I’m not aquaphobic anymore, but I’m glad I took the first step; and I’ll keep trying until I overcome it, so God help me. Lol

This blog post is a follow up from:
1) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro)
2) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1), and
3) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 2)

When most people think of swimming they think of this.

Or this...

...and this.

Unfortunately, when I think of swimming, I think of this.

OMG, and this!

So basically, I blame my water phobia on this.

If you read my last blog post, you’ll know that I took a big step to overcome my water phobia last week – I had my first swimming lesson.

My swimming teacher is a very interesting lady. She comes from China (yes China CHINA, so no nonsense) and she used to train the national swimming team in her country. Guess what? Her son is a national swimmer for China and was on TV just the other day for the World Championships.

Did you expect anything less?

For ease of reference, let’s call my swimming teacher Super-Cikgu.

So having such a super “keng” [Cantonese equivalent to the Malay expression “terror”] teacher kindda made me a little nervous. Just a little.

Ok I lied.

Don’t laugh, but I actually had a nightmare about swimming last week, so you can imagine how stressed I was about my first lesson. No joke.

Anyway, since I’m still alive writing this blog post now, you’ll know that I survived that lesson. Lol

Within that first half of my first lesson, I had learnt the proper way of swimming breaststroke.

Okay, I have to clarify here, that “learnt” doesn’t mean I “can properly execute” the style. Let's just say that I tried my very best. Lol

So the first half of the lesson was stressful, but I survived (although I felt like vomiting for some reason and tried so hard to hold it all in. Maybe I drank too much pool water. *laugh*).

The second half of the lesson was when it got interesting. Super-Cikgu asked me to try freestyle (oh did I tell you it was a very efficient and productive first lesson? Lol~ Hey, I had to pay RM180 for that 1-hour lesson, so I was determined to make the most of it. Come on guys, do you blame me? #kiasu).

Okay, back to learning freestyle. Once I managed to get the hang of breaststroke (it was far from perfect but at least I figured out how to float and inch my way about in the water looking like a distressed frog), Super-Cikgu said..

“Ok, now I want you to try freestyle.”

Me: Errr…freestyle?

Super-Cikgu: Yes, freestyle. Do you know how to do freestyle?

[In my head, I was like… “If I knew how to swim freestyle do you think I’d be in this pool with you?!”…but of course I just said…]

Me: Errr…I’ve seen it once or twice on TV…

Super-Cikgu: Good. Now you try.

Me: Oh.

[Mampus. What do I do now?!!!!! ]

Anyway, to cut the long story short, what happened in the next few seconds after was…shall I say, a rather embarrassing ordeal. Thank God there wasn’t anyone else in the pool with us.

All I could think of was:

Just kick my legs to stay afloat no matter what
Swing my hands like a windmill, but alternating between left and right hand (honestly, I was just trying to recall what I saw on TV a LONGGGGG time ago)
At some point, I’m gonna need to put my head out of the water to catch my breath

So that’s why I did. Or at least attempted to do. Lol

Not very successful, and I leave the rest to your imagination.

If you’ve seen a cat being forced into the water, you’ll be able to imagine what the commotion in the pool was like that glorious morning. Yep.

I can imagine Super-Cikgu shaking her head amidst all the water splashing in her face thinking… “What did I get myself into?” Lol

So yeah. My first lesson was… interesting. I suppose since Super-Cikgu agreed to meet me for the next lesson, it wasn’t THAT bad. Or was it? Lol

Anyway, I will have to be doing a lot of practising over the next few days which brings me to Week 3 of our lil’ beach-body program. Hehe.

How was your last week on the program?

Moving into Week 3, time for us to pick up a sports activity that we can commit to, during our cardio off-days. As you would’ve already guessed, I chose swimming, and here are some of the reason’s why:

Great way to tone muscles (and apparently, swimming is now recognised as one of the biggest calorie burners around)
Works the entire body
Low impact
Burns calories (this website says that swimming burns anywhere from 500-650 per hour depending on how efficiently you swim, and apparently you burn more flopping around than swimming cleanly, so good for moi! Mwhahahaha~)

So this week, just keep up the good work with Week 2’s toning exercises + commit to your new sports activity (cycling, running, playing badminton, etc).

And just to update you, my progress for the week (with normal eating and no crash dieting)

Happy, happy! Not so much on the weight drop, but because I feel a little less flabby all-round. Hehe. 1 more week to go, and out comes the bikini so let’s get to work ladies! Have a fantabulous one this week. Mwah!!!

This blog post is a follow up from:1) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro) 2) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1)3) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 2), and4) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 3)