FITNESS JOURNAL
to Ms Tal or anyone who’s reading this, i genuinely hope you’re doing well despite the current circumstances. i’m nichole, by the way, but i prefer to be called as nics. as we all know, this year has been a really tough time for everyone as we are urged to stay at home for our safety. in some ways, it feels like holding our breath until things felt normal again. but the hard truth is, everything won’t be normal again. we can’t hit the “pause” button on our lives forever so we have to keep moving... growing... and grooving! for our selves, our sanity. while we can’t control many stressful situations, this journal (where i can keep track of my goals, well-being, and life events) could hopefully keep things in perspective. come with me on my journey ahead. take the pass!
21 SEPTEMBER 2021 TUESDAY For the past few weeks, I feel very worried because of the fear-mongering on the level of difficulty of college in UPD. So, on the first week of my classes, I expected our profs to have that intimidating aura. When I entered the ZOOM meeting for PE AD2, the strobe lights and lively music welcomed me, making me feel calm. My feeling was even more justified when Ms Tal spoke in a warm manner. Parang binibinge watch ko lang yong fave Youtuber ko! Despite having asked to open our cameras and dance, to which God knows how bad I am at it, I cannot feel any slightest of shame. Maybe it is the fact that there are bad dancers with me too CHAR LANG. Or maybe Ms Tal just makes us comfortable with trying new things, which I really love! You do not have to be the best, you just have to try your best and everything else will follow, she said. Somehow, I felt relieved because contrary to what my friends and family thinks, UPD is actually fun! At least it is what Ms Tal made us feel <3 I know that I am off to a great start and that I will learn more not in terms of academics but of myself—my health and overall well-being which is particularly important at this time of a pandemic :( I cannot wait to see my progress physically, mentally, and psychologically. I’m prepared to grow as a person!
23 SEPTEMBER 2021 THURSDAY Today, we were asked to wear something that makes us... US! So I wore my JHS publication shirt! Out of the 1,107 students in our batch, there are multiple ‘Nicole’s but there is only one ‘Nichole’ who is known best for her artistic skills! That’s me, of course! “Si ‘Nic*h*ole’ na naglalayout? ‘Yong laging overdressed (*pero sila talaga ‘yong underdressed*)?‘Yong maganda?” My batchmates could easily distinguish me from those descriptions. No joke lalo na sa last one! So, wearing the shirt feels very nostalgic because it is only at this time that I got to wear it again after having to find it at the back of my wardrobe. Now, I realized the reason why we were asked to wear such today. We have to introduce our unique selves to the class. From experience, doing so not only makes us know each other more, but it helps us recognize ourselves by acknowledging the hobbies, interests, and skills that we have. At some point, it is agitating to share parts of you to complete strangers—whom you only met online. But it is also freeing to share some things—one you don’t feel comfortable sharing with your friends or family—to strangers. Some express their complete frustration over the current learning setup while others share their weird, secret (nonetheless interesting!) talents.
I am very glad we had this getting-to-know-you segment, allowing us to slowly feel comfortable around our classmates because we get to share a part of our life with one another. I am hoping, though, that my new found classmates or friends in UPD would recognize the rebranded ‘Nichole’. I hope they would recognize me as ‘Nic’ or ‘Nics’ who is not only good at layouting and graphic design, but I am also flexible and skilled enough to do paintings and other creative works. I hope they would not only recognize me as someone who is always overdressed but as someone who loves to express who I am through my choice of clothing. I hope they remember that I am a lazy yet hardworking Taurus who may get sluggish at times, but when she puts her mind into something, she becomes a rockstar. And lastly, I hope they would recognize me as ‘Nics’ who SUCK at dancing when they had their first ever session but got better and now has a dancing career in TikTok after the semester ends (MANIFESTING!). I’m very glad I got to know a bit of my classmates, Ms Tal... and myself too! Really looking forward to learn more of everyone’s quirkiness! 25 SEPTEMBER 2021 SATURDAY Supposedly, we have a Tribe session today. However, my presence is needed in our family affair (it was my sister’s birthday yesterday!) But as someone who has FOMO (fear of missing out), I always make sure that I get to compensate for what I missed. Hence, I worked out a bit later in the afternoon. From my usual 200 steps a day, I was able to take 5,071 steps as per my Health app (see attached photo). I did 5 rounds of running outside of the house and did a bit of cardio. Although this seems a lot different from the Tribe session that I am supposed to attend, working out a bit could still provide me with mental stability and physical fitness which could prepare me better with this course.
28 SEPTEMBER 2021 TUESDAY As we have our asynchronous classes for today, we were tasked to look for an area at home where we can move and dance during the class. I prefer doing physical exercises on our garage (see attached photo) because it is quite spacious enough for me. I also did prior exercises here when I tried to commit on Pamela Reif and Chloe Ting exercises on YouTube onset of the quarantine (I only lasted for 3 days LOL). I also took the time to clean my favorite PE sneakers (see attached photo). These helped me throughout my SHS PE classes as it improves my level of comfort and performance and, most importantly, prevent injuries! At times, gumagamit ako ng ibang shoes just because I don’t want to have my shoes some creases (binababy ko talaga sila!). Pero eventually, I realized na shoes are meant to be worn out!
28 SEPTEMBER 2021 TUESDAY 1) What is aerobic exercise? Aerobic exercise provides cardiovascular conditioning. The term aerobic actually means “with oxygen,” which means that breathing controls the amount of oxygen that can make it to the muscles to help them burn fuel and move. (2) Give 5 sample exercises. There are two types of aerobic exercises namely low-impact aerobic exercise and high-impact aerobic exercise. Some examples of lower impact aerobic exercise includes swimming, cycling, and walking. Meanwhile, higher impact aerobic exercise include running and jumping ropes. (3) What is the importance of cardiovascular exercise in our body? Globally research shows that cardiovascular fitness helps protect against heart disease. As fitness goes up, the incidence of heart disease could actually go down. In fact, its benefits include decreased risk of heart diseases, weight loss and/or management assistance, lung function improvement, and controlled blood sugar. If done regularly, cardiovascular exercise could also provide additional benefits such as improved brain power, strengthened immune system (which is particularly important during these trying times!), and boosted mood!
30 SEPTEMBER 2021 THURSDAY Today, we had a discussion of our PE Aerobic Dance syllabus. I got to get a gist and overview of the course, including the activities and its objectives. From here, we are expected to gain a better understanding of Aerobic Dance and its benefits to our well-being, particularly in the mental, physical, and psychological aspect of an individual. More importantly, we are expected to realize the importance of Aerobic Dance or exercise in general and gain life- long lessons along the way. Hence, I am really looking forward to what this course has to offer me! Of course, despite the course orientation, the weekly dancing never stops! For a moment, I thought that we’d get to take a break from dancing but Ms Tal’s choice of music just urged us to move and groove! Ang funny pa because I’m supposed to chauffeur my niece on her 1st birthday photoshoot after lunch so I was dancing with my pants on!
05 OCTOBER 2021 TUESDAY For our asynchronous class today, we were tasked to watch 4 videos which was about dancing and music.I really enjoyed the TED talks on such topics because I, myself, am interested in music and dancing! What struck me the most was the video of Amrita Hepi (see attached photo) where as a professional dancer, she gives a humble advice of being confident and comfortable in your own body, emphasizing the fact that the shame we feel is a result of the gaze imposed on it. As a very shy and timid person, I always think that whenever I try to dance, people would judge me because I’m “trying hard” when I’m not even any slightest good at it. This line of thinking was always at the back of my head ever since I was in JHS, slowly taking its toll on my emotional well- being and eventually reflecting on my actions. As a result, it only made me feel worse and I never became good at dancing because I never really pushed myself to try it. But after realizing how the judgements of other people affect my overall well-being, I began to get to know myself more, explore more, and not give any more f**k. Voila, here I am on Ms Tal’s AD2 class! I feel very happy to still have ‘that’ chance in dancing in Ms Tal’s class, who by the way, plays very upbeat and ‘vibey’ music that really puts everyone up in the mood and makes you dance your heart out with the beat! Thanks for coming to my TED Talk! ;)
07 OCTOBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we did a 25-minute workout which consists of Warm up, Main Workout, Pre-cool down, and Cool down. Super saya ng naging session for today because of the song choices and everyone was really active which gave another whole different vibe! Super saya sa feeling na meron kang kasama, not only with dancing, but also in your growth as an individual. SIDE NOTE: Umeepal yong annoying na pamangkin!
12 OCTOBER 2021 TUESDAY For our asynchronous class today, we were tasked to watch the Basic Steps videos that were emailed to us. I felt really moody the whole day so I had to force myself to get up and do some chores first just to keep my productivity flowing. I cooked a Tuna Pesto Pasta which I paired with a Shawarma flavored pizza for brunch. After I feel like moving, I watched some of the videos and tried to go along with it.
14 OCTOBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we executed some of the Basic Steps so that we need to know in order to build our foundation in dancing. NGL, akala ko ‘yong mga dancers, basta-basta lang gumagawa ng steps according to how they feel and how the moves would fit on the music. But in order to do so, you really need to have a solid foundation of these Basic Steps pala. Of all the Basic Steps, the Grapevine was definitely the most challenging of them all. I think it was on me land since I could see others catching up pero aside from being directionally-challenged, I’m kind of slow at getting the steps too! Watching Ms Tal do the steps feels like a breeze, but when it was my turn of executing it... gusto ko nalang bumalik sa Step-Touch. Pero we love the challenge naman and it was very fulfilling to be able to perform the not-so-basic Basic Steps! I felt very active the whole session but it was mentally draining for me na mahina talaga sa instructions HUHUHU! Hopefully, after n months ng pagiging babad sa dancing, makakakuha na agad ako ng steps just by looking at the other person’s moves in ONE TAKE!
19 OCTOBER 2021 TUESDAY For our asynchronous class today, we were tasked to watch Video 2: VARIATIONS. We are expected to learn the following variations: Arm Variations, Directional Repetition, Fitness, Tempo/timing. ANG FUNNY because when I was in the middle of performing the said activity (I was recording myself para lang hindi ako matempt mag-phone), dumating si Kuya Philip (YES, kilala na namin siya by heart pati yong tunog ng tambutso niya 10KM away from us pa) for our 10.10 Shopee orders HAHAHA! Also, got scolded by my Tita because I kept on ordering daw kaya the delivery gets on the way of my tasks HUHUHU! Yong mga parcels po ay pang-compensate sa detoriating mental health ko HEHEHE! SIDE NOTE: Apparently, I got my period so that explains why I was feeling a bit off and moody the entire 2 weeks... (I suffer from it for the whole 7 FULL DAYS).
20 OCTOBER 2021 WEDNESDAY I’M FEELING EXTRA TODAY so I’m writing this. At super early in the morning, my cousins invited me to DINGIN (newly built road in Alitagtag, Batangas where you can have direct road access to the Taal Lake) which was only a 5 minute drive for us to have a morning jog. I wanted a change of scenery so I went PERO SOBRANG TARIK PALA. AS IN. Feels like walking on a wall... Anyway, the view was worth it naman. After we went to jog, we ordered from our favorite lugawan nearby before I went home to rest.
21 OCTOBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, our theme was ‘Beach Vibes’ and we are expected to do the following variations: Arm Variations, Directional, Repetition, Fitness, and Tempo/timing which we learned from watching the Variations video from our asynch class. When I woke up, MY WHOLE BODY WAS SOOOOO SORE FROM THE JOG YESTERDAY. It was why I was kind of not in the mood to dance because... I’m really only focused on how sore my legs feel! It was only my second time going to the Dingin so my body wasn’t really accustomed with it. It was worse this time around because I also had a SLEEP PARALYSIS episode last night because of how tired my body felt. Anyway, nakakahawa naman yong vibes nong class so I still pushed myself to learn!
26 OCTOBER 2021 TUESDAY For our synchronous class today, the last class we have before the Undas break, our theme was “Halloween Vibes”. Super nakakatuwa at how others were SO CREATIVE AND WITTY with their halloween get-ups kahit na virtual yong setting. I was like... SAAN NIYO NAHUGOT YANG MGA IDEA NA YAN? And they were just using the available internet resources ha! All I thought of was wearing a Spongebob shirt na inagaw ko lang sa annoying ko na pamangkin HEHEHE! Anyway, today’s session was fun! It feels like ready na ready na talaga lahat para sa week-long break hehe!
09 NOVEMBER 2021 TUESDAY I wanted to start my October right so I tried to change a few of my unforgiving habits by taking a time off social media! I really feel like social media has this negative impact on my mental health because of all the bad news, the tinge of insecurity I get sa mga mapuputing chinita na mayaman sa Tiktok, and so on. Taking a tech break would also allow me to connect deeper unto myself. So, I grabbed a book while I was on duty for my younger niece before reviewing our Warm up lesson for the day! Actually feels refreshing to have a productive day!
11 NOVEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, our theme was “Stripes”! And we did the following activities: reviewed and discuss Warm up from the asynch class last Tuesday. We also did a brief introduction to Aerobics with dumbbells. So, we were asked to prepare our dumbbells (1-3 lbs if we have) or 2 500ml plastic bottles with water. Since I’m a resourceful slapsoil, of course, I went for the latter! Medjo madulas nga lang yong water bottle ko pero in this household, we love challenges! I was really super drained after the session because of the heavy dumbells and I was also feeling out of the blue but I really enjoyed the class, nonetheless!
16 NOVEMBER 2021 TUESDAY For our asynchronous class today, we were tasked to view the Precool down and Cool down video. At the same time, I also did my Requirement #1 where we will create our own choreography and #2 where we will create our own Warm up or Precool down and Cool down video. The “NO EDITING” was really a challenge for me. The videos took me 4 hours before I could get to perform the whole choreo without mistakes. You could really tell how drained I was after this. Also, RIP phone storage!
18 NOVEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we reviewed and discussed Pre cooldown and Cooldown with a 30 minute workout. The day was really hard on me after having issues at home so I was really not in the mood to do anything after my emotional well-being was affected. Despite it, I still attended the class to have an escape from reality. When I was dancing, I wasn’t thinking of anything else but myself which put me on a lighter mood. Totoo nga ang chismis, exercising and dancing could do wonders on your well-being. It’s like a good way of venting out! BIG HUGS to everyone who’s having a hard time coping up with everything especially during this time of a pandemic. You’re doing amazing, sweetie!
23 NOVEMBER 2021 TUESDAY For our asynchronous class today, we were supposed to be given instructions for the Aero kick boxing but it was postponed. Since it feels like Tuesday is ‘Move your body’ day, and feel ko matapang akong tao, my cousins who went home from Manila went with us sa Dingin! This time around, hindi na naman masyadong sumakit yong katawan ko. It was really fun being with them and hearing their Manila life stories which was what I wanted for myself to experience this college too but I’m contented with their stories for now. Also, I’m worried for the Aero kick boxing session kasi nakaka pagod na agad pakinggan haha!
25 NOVEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our asynchronous class today, we met as a group in preparation for our Live Presentation on January! We decided on the Group names, themes, and some of the songs that we could use for our presentation. Super happy at how everyone was giving their opinions and suggesting really nice concepts! I was really super happy to have Chelsea (who’s always very energetic and cute sumayaw during class), Ate Kayceelyn (who’s very pretty and mabait), Genial, and Justin (both are very good at dancing too SANA ALL)! It was actually really nice making new friends kasi loner talaga ako sa course ko HEHEHE! ADDITIONAL ENTRY: 30 NOVEMBER 2021 TUESDAY Since walang class today, we communicated again via Messenger for our presentation + side UPD life chika!
02 DECEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we had a refresher of our course schedule especially for the month of December for the Featured Workouts (which I am very excited about because of the different genres of songs!). And today, we were having a Featured Workout which is Zumba! SIDE NOTE: Monthly goal ko bawasan ang expenses ko so I really tried hard not to purchase unnecessary things esp online! Kaya to my surprise, meron akong parcel na dumating which I received in the middle of the class. PASSPORT KO PALA YON HAHAHA (wala kasi akong kahit anong valid of ID at 19 Y/O so kumuha na ako ng passport)! It was funny kasi John even messaged me (see attached photo sa gilid) na bumibili raw ako ng taho pero I was just really receiving the parcel HUHUHU! Anyway, had a blast with the class today! Can’t wait sa next workouts!
07 DECEMBER 2021 TUESDAY For our supposed Featured Workout today, which was KPOP, I was very excited because KPOP is just THAT genre. Even if I wasn’t really understanding any of the lyrics, it’s the beat and the vibes of the songs that just radiates unto you. Sobrang nakakahawa yong upbeat ng music and all the positivity from it kaya mapapasayaw ka nalang talaga! P.S IDK why walang pic? My poor memory was confused because I really remember dancing with KPOP...
09 DECEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we were having a Featured Workout which is OPM! Of course, we have to #SupportLocal lalo na yong mga local artists, composers, and musicians natin who is just as equally good, if not the best, as with other genres! I wasn’t in line with the theme lang because I have no ‘Filipino’ shirt with me! The OPM was really giving me nostalgic vibes because I used to hear a lot of them on our school events, Foundation days, on the car radio, and I could even hear my ates and kuyas playing good ‘ol tunes from their days! It was really a fun and productive session with the class! Really happy with how we were blasting feel-good Filipino songs! Just wish more of the same kind of songs but with a touch of Gen Z would come out para meron din naman kaming ma’nostalgia’ pagdating ng panahon HAHAHA!
14 DECEMBER 2021 TUESDAY Our supposed Featured Workout today was Aero HipHop. I woke up very early to do some Warm up rounds.
16 DECEMBER 2021 THURSDAY For our synchronous class today, we started with the Live Presentation of a Happy Song where each one of us will prepare a choreo using a lively music! While dancing, I was really uncomfortable and bothered because of the several catcallers that passed by on the road. As much as I wanted to push through the class with full confidence, it was really uncomfortable and derogatory to be catcalled to think that I AM AT HOME. It was supposed to be my safe space where I can practice and dance. Instead, I got catcalled by disrespectful passerbys. I wanted to call out their behavior but being alone in the situation feels risky.
21 DECEMBER 2021 TUESDAY For the last round of the Live Presentations, it was my turn to present my happy song! It was very nerve-wracking to say the least. Nahalata ni Ms Tal! I chose Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 as my happy song because of its upbeat music and it’s actually also pretty easy to make a choreo with! After the Live Presentations, we had a Christmas Party! Super saya kasi aligaga talaga lahat sa pagsali sa Bring Me and Guess the Title!
04 JANUARY 2021 TUESDAY Using our asychronous class to meet, our group decided to finalize some things so that we could prepare for the upcoming Live Presentation. Since we had a lost of options, we tried to narrow it down into the genres that most of us would actually want to dance into. This is where we’ve decided that we’ll go with a Disco and 90’s Theme because the songs used then were fit for Aerobic Dancing! Justin had some really great song suggestions as well as Genial and Chelsea! I was also coming up with some of the Disco songs we used when we were doing Broadway back in JHS! Hence, the Footloose that I used for my part in the Main Workout!
06 JANUARY 2021 THURSDAY Since the time was given in preparation for the Live Presentations, I recorded the choreo that I made for the Footloose and Walking on Sunshine since the group agreed to have the videos uploaded on a GDrive so we could self-learn the steps of one another. For the past days that I’ve been trying to come up with the Main Workout choreo, it actually feels draining because I have to execute them first and fit it into the tempo of the music before actually applying it. Although the process was very rigorous, it was fulfilling to see the end product where you could see how I was able to make a choreograph of my own using the foundation that I have from the Basic Steps, Variations, Warm up, Pre cool down, and Cool down!
11 JANUARY 2021 TUESDAY THE FINAL VERDICT. THE DAY OF OUR PRESENTATIONS. Although it was really just our groupmates, it was still nerve wracking. Wearing a cute disco-ey outfit, I think we pulled it off despite the errors after having to polish the whole presentation in just a short time. I was really trying to be confident at first but I failed terribly at it especially when there were customers from the Lomi house watching. As much as I want to ignore the feeling and remember to not give a f**k, the previous encounter of catcallers making me uncomfortable got the best of me. Somehow, it sucks that all of the confidence you were trying to build for yourself gets trampled down because of terrible people. Nevertheless, they were doing no harm and it was just on me so I figured to let the inner Amrita Hepi in me for the rest of the presentation! Although there were regrets with how the presentation was executed, it was actually fun having to realize that WE DID THAT. I DID THAT! I was able to dance my heart out withoout giving a f**k (except sa catcallers!). Taking this PE AD2 was really worth it.
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