I know a little late but about three days before Tet, I had my last workout at my gym before the holidays. I was 20 minutes into my exercises when the gym owner, Mr. Tam, grabbed me to “drink” beer. I thought he was joking but in the end, he was not.
So in short, my day at the gym went like this:
- 5 sets of Leg Press
- 5 sets of Leg Press Calf Raises
- 5 sets of Leg Extensions
- Uncountable drinks of beer and Vietnamese food
- Go home and sleep for two hours before my classes
This is Vietnam…:-)
(Pre-Tet Party at my weightlifting gym)
(Only the routine lifters joined, the rest worked out)
This guy reminds me of my bodybuilding instructor back in high school. Technique, technique, technique. One of the things I noticed at my weightlifting gym is the lack of technique in many of the lifts especially with the bench. The following video is perfect for a guy wanting to know how to actually lift more weights.
A couple days ago I was asked why I lift heavy on the bench. I told them I did not lift heavy yet. It will come but my bench technique is still not there but in about a month or two, it will be. My rotator cuffs have healed so I can bring back the incline bench again soon. This will help me increase the weights on the bench press again.
Enjoy this video:
It was time for me to get a refill on whey protein for my weightlifting workouts. Saturday I decided to visit Thuc Pham Dinh Duong referred to me by the infamous Out of Saigon‘s Timen Swijtink. Unfortunately for me, I bought the wrong shake mix. I purchased the Massive Weight Gainer 1100 by mistake instead of the Magnum Whey II. Luckily, I was able to easily exchange for the whey protein the next day. I was a little worried but since I did not open the weight gainer protein, they accepted the exchange.
The Magnum Whey II runs about 1.1 million VND (~$60 US) for a 5 pound jug. The price is acceptable but I hope to purchase a 10 pound bucket of whey powder from my friend as well. It is much cheaper in the US. Still, if you really need it, just visit Thuc Pham Dinh Duong at their showroom on 795 Tran Hung Dao in District 5. The staff is very friendly.
Today I spent a good part of the day trying to find out if any stores sold any whey protein shake mixes in Saigon. You can get amino acid supplements in Saigon at the gyms but I really prefer the protein shakes.
When I used to lift weights back in the US, I would use IronMind’s casein Just Protein shake. It was really good. Of course, you cannot get that in Vietnam and I really want to use a whey protein shake anyway. After searching Google, I got lucky. It turns out there is a company that sells whey protein shakes in Saigon. Yeah, the mark up is about 10-15% when compared to the prices in the US but I still think it is worth it. I will visit their showroom tomorrow and get some pictures.
In the meantime, just visit their bodybuilding.vn website.
Week 2 of my weightlifting workout is going smoothly. As expected, my upper and lower body are getting weaker. Week 2 you tend to experience more fatigue. I can’t wait to get past this week. Week 3 is when you see some gains. Luckily, some of my lower body has started to recover. I tend to be stronger in my lower body than with my upper body. Having a paper route when I was a kid strengthened my legs up a lot.
I really like my gym. Some guys speak English but now I have an opportunity to try some Vietnamese. Well, that is a goal anyway.
No Western food in 13 days including a coke cola. No sodas, just water and green tea. I have lost about 10 pounds already. It shows how unhealthy the food in Pham Ngu Lao can be. Living in Saigon can make you very inactive as well. Many of my friends started to hit the gym within the last 6 months. It makes dealing with the hectic life of Saigon much, much easier. 
(The traffic I have to deal with to get to my weightlifting gym on Monday)
(My gym is always packed with regular weightlifters)
(I got in a set of 210 kilograms (464 pounds) on the leg press today)
(Tam, the owner, doing hack squats)
Recent Comments