Body of the week (3)

Stong, powerful and wild. Yes!!! that is the animal for you. Batista!!! The body of the week!!! Fully developed chest, traps and unbelievable bulging arms. The perfect build of a wrestler. Plus Batista lookes so lean and shredded. The muscles on his body look so mean and defined.

The "animal" Batista real name is David Michael Bautista. Yes, its actually Bautista with an additional "u". I think we will stick with Batista when we address this amazing genetic species. Born on jan 18. His real age is really a mystery. His year of birth was disputed for several years causing many controversies and confusion. His website listed Batista as being born in 1969, while several contradictory news reports, had claimed that he was actually born in 1966. Strange enough, at the stage when Bautista re-signed the contract with WWE in Jan 2005, he stated that he had been working under a fake age and admitted that he was actually born in 1966.

Hmm, if the reports are true so this year is 2007 subtract 1966. That makes him 41 years old. Oh my god, what a body!!! This guy is out of this world!!!

Batista roots are from Filipino and Greek heritage. This American Professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) SmackDown! has numerous tattoos, including a large Mythical Chinese Dragon on his back, a red Kanji lettering on his upper left bisceps which means "Angel" in tribute to his wife Angie, a signature design on his upper right biceps, and a small sun tattoo on his stomach which encircles his belly button. Batista recently added a tattoo on his arm of the flags of the Philippines and Greece merged into one. In my opinon, his tattoos looks good on him. Unlike the Rock's. The Rock's tattoo bascially covered his muscles which makes it real ugly.

O.k so much for small chat. Time to get down to the real business. The Batista training.

Barbell flat bench

Dumbbell shoulder press

Dumbbell lateral raise

Wide Grip Pulldown

Close-grip bench press

Cable Crossover

Alternating dumbbell bicep curls

The exercises were performed in the 8-12 rep range for 2-3 sets each. For u guys who expected much more intense training from this power buff, don't fret. This is just a watered down workout from the big man. According to the forum in www.t-nation.com, this chap saw Batista trained in person. He went up to chat with Batista and found out the animal had to do a show the next day. Probably that is the reason on the scaled down version of workout.

Anyway, here are the list of moves that Batista uses to take down his opponents.

Batista Bomb

Spinebuster

Front powerslam

Muscle buster

Repeated turnbuckle thrusts

Rolling fireman's carry slam

Running clothesline

Short-arm clothesline Spear

Spinning side slam

Suplex powerslam

Alright, that's all folks, stay tune for the next body of the week.

Focus

Everyone knows that in order to achieve or successfully attain your goal, one needs FOCUS. In a philosophical point of view, the world revolves around the positive and negative, good and bad, ying and yang. In my journey to a better self, lifestyle and health, I've met several obstacles and set backs. These factors puts me off the main road that I am tavelling and I called them "distractors of FOCUS".

In my opinon many people associate FOCUS to a balancing beam. When there are more distractors, your FOCUS goes down. If you decrease the distractors, your FOCUS will increase significantly. This can be written into a formula like this:

FOCUS = 1 / distractors

I agree to this statement to a certain extent however there is a flaw in this equation. for instance, what happens if you do not have a distractor? The number 1 cannot be divided by 0. O.k no distractors may not be possible in the real world. The other question, what happens when you have 1 distractor? and your FOCUS is 100%?? This result does not make sense. I believe there is a better and pragmatic way to look at FOCUS.

In my view this formula cannot be used in the real world for calculations. The reason why distractors cannot be zero is because distractors cannot be eliminated. Hold your horses!!! Before anyone starts lambasting me with "I tot u suppose to be motivational?". Let me explain.

For example: A student studying for his/her exam. The distractors are radio, T.V, computer games, telephone calls, conversations with family, MSN, unexpected events etc. The distractors will always be there. By switching off the T.V and computer games doesn't remove the fact that these are distractors to FOCUS. By ignoring our family, friends and loved ones, doesn't make you more FOCUS because at the end of the day, you lose out much more. What happens when a natural disaster such as earthquake strikes? The student studying for exam have to make adjustments to the situation because the distractor cannot be easily controlled.

Distractors cannot be elimintaed completely but they can be balanced. A working mum cannot neglect the family or forget to feed the baby. If she does, things will fell apart and the situation will become catastrophic. All these distractors factors need to be juggled properly. They need to be balanced. By paying attention to the distractors and controlling it will boost FOCUS to unbelievable heights. The key is not to avoid distractors, the key is to solve them, control them, balance them and intergrate them into our lives. In short, distractors of FOCUS need to be sorted out. After sorting out or balancing the distractors then we can concentrate on FOCUS. Now when we ponder on this question what is FOCUS? Taking time out to reflect had given me a glimpse on this powerful yet simple word can do. There will be no happiness when there is no sorrow. There will be no joy when one cannot feel pain. There will be no victory when there is no defeat. With that as a backdrop, I boldly claim:

FOCUS = Distractors of FOCUS(controlled and managed)

Why??? My question back to doubters. Why Not?? The absence of distractors does not boost FOCUS, in fact it hinders FOCUS to an extent that FOCUS will become a zero. By avoiding or putting off issues and distractors to FOCUS, problems will only increase and escalate. However, when these distractors can be managed in a good, pragmatic and systematic manner, FOCUS will be increased.One will feel more energised and confident about the goal once FOCUS is on track. Progress can then be made. With FOCUS goals and dreams can be achieved.

Keeping this important lesson in mind, I have decided to tackle any issues or obstacles with this method. Hopefully, it can lead to better results and attain my goals!!!

Tactical Assessment of Man Utd EPL winning season

4-4-2 Attacking formation. Simple yet effective. The basic blocks of United's tittle winning season. After a season or two tinkering with the squad's formation, Sir Alex (Manager of Manchester United) have decided to stick to the tried and tested tactic. The result??? Beaten Multi-million chelsea to the tittle and won both domestic games against Liverpool. What are the success factors that fuelled United to this achievement? What secret tactics or deadly combinations did United did to pull off such a spectacular season? No Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Roy Keane...Just how did they do it?

DEADLY PARTNERSHIPS



There are several partnerships in this formation that can caused havoc to any teams in the world. Many great tacticians mentioned that most matches are decided in the middle of the park (pitch). They could not be any closer.

MIDFIELD: CARRICK & SCHOLES

The absence of Roy Keane really took its toll on United, not only are United expose defensively, they are also left without his leadership qualities. Although Gary Neville stepped up to become captain, the defensive "hole in the middle" was never bridged. Roy Keane was a tough tackler and he can passed the ball really well. Whever he got the ball, there was a calming influence that spreads thorughout the team. keano simply got the ability to control the games. Players like Alan Smith and O'Shea tried but was never successful in filling up the defensive hole.

Tired of trying to find a "New" Roy Keane, Sir Alex decided to bring in Michael Carrick to be deployed as a deep midfielder. Carrick's job is to play the holding role and feed the ball to attacking players. Although Carrick's abilty to pass the ball is easy on the eye, his lack of aggressiveness and ball winning skills quickly expose United's shortcomings.

The problem is overcome by the pairing of Paul Scholes with Carrick. Scholes is never short of aggresiveness. In fact, it is his tackles that usually gets him into trouble (yellow cards). Poor tackler of the ball, Scholes is still considered one of the finest midfield player in his prime. The reason lies in his control and distribution of the ball. An odd partnership emerged between them. Both midfielders would lie deep in midfield, pressuring the opponents to mis-hit or mis-pass the ball. The ball will then be fed into speedy wingers like Ronaldo or Giggs to create a counter attack. The trick is to use team work to dispossess rival teams and conduct rapid raids on the wings against them. Sometimes the pair took turns to attack with one sitting back while the other attack. The odd partnership became so successful that United quickly dominated opponents and topped the league.

WINGS: RONALDO & NEVILLE / GIGGS & EVRA

Speaking about lightning raids on the flanks, how can we leave out the 22-year-old Manchester United winger. Winner of Football Writers' Association award, Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year, Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year, Manchester United fans' and players' player of the year award.

Ronaldo had been instrumental to United's success all season. His partnership with G.Neville had been exceptional so far. In fact, this season, Ronaldo is forming good solid partnerships with almost everyone when attacking!!! Ronaldo's form had been amazing this season, he had carried United and single-handedly won tricky away ties. Another solid partnership at the wings is Giggs and Evra. The veteran winger Giggs had lost some of his pace in recent years but he made up the lack of pace with experience. With Giggs cutting in and moving towards the centre for a better shot at goal, Evra fills in and run downs the left flank to provide crosses from the left wing. On certain occasons, Giggs even acted as a decoy to provide passes to Evra to attack. In some situations, one-twos can be made between them to throw opposition off balance and catch them off-guard. Rapid wing plays have been the trademark for United's play for a long time now. It is often entertaining, exciting and breath taking at times. It is the foundation of attacking football and it can difinitely deliever spectacular results. (i.e 7-1 win against AS Roma).

DEFENCE: VIDIC & FERDINAND

Conceding just 27 goals this season second only to Chelsea, the defence partnership between Vidic and Ferdinand had been outstanding all season. The way they play just complements each other. Rio Ferdinand likes moving forward and turning defence into attack while Vidic is a no nonsense centre back whose bravery cannot be underestimated. Ferdinand lack of desire to scrap for balls is well noted. His preference is stroking the ball at the back and playing it cool sometimes leads to blunders and mistakes. However his control of the ball and distribution to the midfield is very good indeed. Vidic on the other hand covers Ferdinand's absence in defence by tackling and heading for every ball leavin the fancy stuff to Ferdinand.

The pair had been hitting the target during set pieces as well. Vidic's bravery often pays off when he sticks in his head and scores from corners or freekicks. Ferdinand on the other hand can blast them towards goal when the ball lands on his feet. This set piece manouvere is extremely important especially when stubborn teams plays 11 man behind the ball and tries to do a stop-start game. This can be frustrating and one of the best ways to score against such teams is from set plays.

ATTACK: ROONEY & LARSSON/SAHA/SOLSKJAER/SMITH

The forwards for Man Utd had been chopped and changed several times resulting in several different partnerships. This is not due to a rotation policy but a result of career threatening injuries. Saha, Solskjaer and Smith were all victims to injuries. Knowing the plight of the striker crises, the great scot Sir Alex wasted no time to loan Henrik Larsson. The move proved to be clever and shrewd. Larsson brought in wealth of experience and a great sense of professionalism . He is a shining example for the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo who are young and impetuous at times. His arrival curbs the shortage of forwards and most importantly he scores goals as well. Although his arrival to the club is only on a temporary basis, he definitely made his presence felt throughout the team.

The other strikers like Saha and solskjaer proved to be potent too. When fit, these strikers can scored against any club in the world. Not forgetting Alan Smith whose determination just rubbed off the whole team. Smith came back from injury for a year and he looked like he never left the game. Fantastic courage and resilience from him. Many people had feared the worse when Ruud left United for Real Madrid. Who is going to bang in 30 goals per season? Well, no one. The goals were contributed from the entire team. The midfield and defence both contributed positively for the goals and like they said the rest is history. A whopping 83 goals with a 56 goal difference. Wow that is simply unbelievable!!!

HIGH PRESSURE ATTACK

What happens when you don't score through counter attacks and set pieces? United simply attacks wave after wave after wave. The high pressure attacking play by United can be seen from the diagram above. The centre backs pushed up the offside line high creating a high pressure tactic. The high pressure tactic creates less space for their rivals to spread the ball or play their "normal" game as they are constantly under attack. With Vidic as the only one dropping slightly in case of a long ball over the top. Ferdinand is positioned to link defence into attack by passing the ball to the wingbacks or via Carrick (midfielder). Scholes along with Giggs will try a "pop" from outside the box when neccessary. Rooney's pace will be put into good use by shifting him to the left. Rooney will then effectively run down the left wing for a cross or cutting in to use his favourite right foot for a powerful shot thus surprising the opposition. If Rooney chooses to cut in, Giggs will fill in the role left previously by Rooney to act as support, in case Rooney is unable to get into the box. As for Ronaldo, he has the ability and license to roam at either flanks or cut in to provide a lethal finish or win penalties inside the box. This high pressure attacking play is simply bombarding the opposition till they submit. It requires pace and precise passing. The ball control of each player has to be a high standard or else they can lose the ball and succumb to a fast counter attack.

All in all, here is my tactical assessment of Manchester United. I really can't wait for the F.A Cup Final tomorrow. Till then, bye!!!

Gym & HIIT

Shoulder strain is getting better. Approximately 70% recovered!!! In order to minimise the risks, a decision was made to change the gym training schedule. All shoulder and shoulder related exercises were removed to speed up recovery. The day's training focus on chest, triceps and HIIT. Yes HIIT!!! Well, I did missed HIIT training the day before, therefore I decided to combine HIIT with Gym training today.

No problems encountered so far. Weight training went well, although not as intense as previous sessions because of my injury. HIIT training was great as I finished 5 intervals today. Somehow at the back of my mind, I am yearning for results from HIIT. Results are not very pominent and obvious as weight training. But I gotta be realistic. I think I am getting a bit impatient. Since it is only the second week of HIIT, I have to continue for a few more weeks to start seeing the benefits. While browsing for motivational stories and quotes I came across something interesting. It goes like this.

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them – everyday begin the task anew."

– Saint Francis de Sales

This lifestyle change really taught me many valuable lessons about discpline, hardwork, attitude. But today it taught me perhaps arguably one of the most important lesson of all patience. Shoulder injuries need a period of time to recover, I must have the patience to wait for the right time to train them again. Furthermore patience is needed for HIIT training. How can I expect tot see results with such a short period of time. By learning how to be patient, I strongly believe it wll help me in my lifestyle change. I also believe that with patience, even the highest mountain can be overcome. O.k enough talking, time to sleep. Body of the Week will be up in the next post!!!