Hi my name is Raymond.
My background is specialising in mechanical engineering but this blog is about the investigation and practice of my favourite topics like Zen, Yoga, Vegetarianism (well to a certain degree), athletic body building, and science like cosmology.
Over the last few years I have really started to focus on the physical aspects of my life and how I could change my body, I became my own experiment.
2007 - Enjoying food all my life
2010- Now enjoying the "right" food
I was always quite pudgy, in 2007 it was time to loose weight. I decided the best thing to do was run ( like Forest Gump, just run) I ran about 60-80kms per week. The weight did come off I was addicted, but injuries started to occur.
I started to look skinny but sickly too, the marathon runner look! Then 2009 I decided to try the gym. I kept the cardio work up but with lifting weights I was increasing some mass but at least in the right places. My calorie intake for these last few years I kept low and at my age, building large amounts of muscle was never going to be easy.
Getting bored I would find different fitness and nutrition programs, give them a try and see what worked and what didn’t. Then I started to realisation that the ideas of Zen & my Yoga practice could really compliment body building, I started to produce a better fitness result.
I was fit but I became fitter when I applied this holistic approach to training. I felt more balanced and healthier and I started to really appreciate life.
I could easily run 21 kms in 2 hours, 115+ pushups in 3 minutes, gym cardio classes became too easy etc etc.
In 2007 , I weighed about 86kgs, by 2010 ( aged 47 years) I hover around 68-70 kgs, with body fat around 9%.
So my goal in this blog is to show how fascinating these subjects are; but more impotantly discuss how they can be related to each other and perhaps be used as a unified practice.
If I can help others achieve their fitness goals quicker by showing the path I went down then GREAT.
If anything living according to these philosophies will produce a very healthy and balanced outlook in life and I guarantee you’ll never look back.
2010 - Loving Bali and happy at age 47
