To kind of keep things neat and orderly on this blog I’m going to write down a weekly wrap-up of what I did/learned.
Since this is my first one I want to back track a bit and talk about last week. You see, I play badminton every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This is a new schedule for me, and we had a holiday here in China recently, so actually, I haven’t done three days in a row consistently. For instance because of the holiday and a booked gym, I missed two of the Wednesdays and another time I missed a Thursday. So last week and this week was my first time playing three consecutive days, two weeks in a row.
Last week was tough. Tuesday I was feeling way under the weather. I had a weird pain in my sinuses, and my throat felt kinda swollen, like a cold was coming, but my glands were normal. My stomach was also feeling weird, and I almost pulled out of badminton. But I went anyway, and by the end I was practically euphoric. I got a ton of energy playing and all my heath symptoms went away. I practically skipped home.
Wednesday was tough. My teacher put me through drills, and was really strict with my footwork. In badminton, good form is always staying in the “ready” position. The ready position is right leg forward, left leg back, knees bent, and left foot on your toe so you are ready to spring to action. So basically it’s a constant right leg lunge. And my teacher makes me stay in it the whole time.
My body is not made to do a constant right leg forward lunge and I paid the price after practice. I do stretching and yoga everyday, but nothing could help my poor burning hammy’s. And playing Thursday, with my leg still afire, helped not one bit. I managed to make it home feeling okay Wednesday night, but when I got out of bed Thursday morning, I practically buckled under the soreness. I still went to badminton Thursday night but I limped home a broken, weak woman.
So I was expecting the same thing this week, but I’m happy to report that apparently, I’m getting stronger. While my teacher was even more strict with my form, and worked me harder, I had about half the burn. And while I still had a hammy ache the next day, and was tired when playing the next night, it was a lot less tired than the week before. And now Friday, I feel okay. My leg just has a tinge of soreness. (Last week my leg was sore until Saturday.) So that’s an improvement.
Also, I got a xiaomi scale. Xiaomi is an amazing Chinese technology company that basically steals everyone else’s technology, improves it, and sells it at a quarter of the price. They have a fitness bracelet like the fitbit (but better) which is only $11, a GoPro like camera which is less than $50 and a host of other products. I love them, they are incredibly well made, and made to work with other xiaomi products.
My xioami bracelet records my steps and my sleep. I’ve been averaging 17,000 steps a day for the month of October.
I’ve used the bracelet for about 8 months and I finally got the scale that pairs with the app so I can keep track of everything in one place. In one week I lost a whooping 2.2kg (4 pounds). The crazy thing was I lost the most on a day I didn’t even do any exercise, almost one pound. (I weigh myself first thing in the morning everyday to try to get some consistency.)
Weight isn’t a very important thing to me, because I know it’s kinda arbitrary and doesn’t reflect actual health. But it shows I have some fat to burn off. I’m a girl so of course I want to lose weight, but 2.2kg in one week is too much. I don’t want to shock my body too much. Maybe .5kg is better. I haven’t changed my eating yet, so this is all coming just from the increased practice.
This was my biggest one day drop. I erased the part that says my actual weight since no one needs to know that, hah.
As for actual ability, I have yet to master some of the new moves my teacher has taught me, but he did teach me some new stuff and I’m still working on it. We’ve moved a bit beyond basics and he’s teaching me a few moves that aren’t common. But as such, they take some time to master. Also, I have ZERO ability to scoop the birdie up with my racket despite me trying everyday. Everyone in my group has been trying to help me (as has my teacher) but I seem a real dunce in that category. I’ll get it eventually.
