Blog
Grow legs grow!
Here’s what I did today:
barbell squats
40kgx10
50kgx10
60kgx10
70kgx10
80kgx10
90kgx10
100kgx10x2
80kgx15x2
back/hip extensions
4kgx16, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10
side leg raises
30lbsx10L/Rx4
100 body weight squats
Train hard!!
Doing what you enjoy
I can remember when I used to enjoy going to the gym. I looked forward to it every time. I felt great doing it. I would go and work out, get pumped, get sweaty, and leave with more energy than when I went in. That left me ready to jump on the next workout.
Back then, things weren’t so hypercompetitive. Now it seems like you have to be obsessed with your Fran time, the number of clean and jerks you can do with double kettlebells, how much you’re deadlifting, how low your body fat is, etc.
In this hypercompetitive rush, we’ve lost the simple joy of going to the gym and enjoying a workout. Yes! It actually happens, believe it or not. Working out can feel good, not like you’re gonna die every time. But when you turn it into a mindless competition all the time, you get exhausted. Why? Because it’s never enough. No matter what you do today, your Fran time isn’t as good as Rich Froning’s, your deadlift is inadequate compared to Dave Tate’s, your kettlebell clean and jerks never compare to any Russian’s. You have 18% body fat? Good grief, what’s wrong with you?!?
Competition is good when it encourages you to reach higher and go further. It can really help with motivation. But it can also become a survival of the fittest really quickly. We want more people to work out and get the benefits of fitness. Turning fitness into something only the fit can do isn’t the answer.
So if you need to go into the gym and wear your headphones and do YOUR OWN THING then go do it. Cause in the end, you’re the only person you have to please.
Leave beginners alone!
We in the fitness field keep talking about how we want more people to get into fitness. We want people to get off the couch, we want people to lose their fat, we want people to do real fitness stuff like lifting weights, etc. So why then do we knock beginners when they try this stuff and are ecstatic that they can do it and start getting results?
Someone’s happy that they squatted 300lbs. and some fitness guru just can’t wait to tell them how that’s absolutely nothing and they should go off and hide themselves until they’re setting world records. Someone else tries Olympic lifting and a fitness forum dedicated to it just can’t wait to compare their form to that of a world champion. What the hell?
99.9% of us will never be in a world cup, Mr. Olympia, or the Olympics. So what? Is what we do automatically BS because of that?
I see lots of people who are setting PRs and are naturally very happy about it but get nothing but grief from people that frankly should know better. You can’t squat 405lbs. without squatting 300lbs. first so how about we lighten up on folks a little?
For many of us, it goes way beyond that. A certain weight isn’t the goal, the process is the goal. Milestones reached along the way are to be celebrated. It’s about BEING ALIVE and enjoying it!
So before you post a comment on Youtube about how some guy’s pullup PR attempt is utter garbage because one rep was off by one inch, stop and think about what your comment says about your own lack of a life. And leave the beginners alone!
Formosa Fitness — A family values gym
We take our image very seriously and we don’t want there to be any confusion. So take a look at our competitors:
If this above is what you’re looking for in a gym, then please go there. Because we are NOT that.
Gyms in Taiwan are viewed negatively by many people because of the way they project themselves to the public and because of what goes on there. When we told the locals in our new location that we were planning on opening a gym, they had some sharp, harsh questions for us. They were worried about what we were bringing into their community. That’s a shame.
Formosa Fitness is a family values place. We even bring our kids to the gym sometimes. I know that’s old fashioned and even conservative in this day and age but that’s what we are and it’s not going to change. We are NOT an adult nightclub and never will be. We are in the fitness business, that’s it.
If you’re tired of the local scene then you should come check us out. When we say we’re the fitness alternative in Taiwan, we really mean it!
Boxing training!
We have it! If you want it, come get it! The heavy bag and gloves are free to use with the basic gym membership as are the jump ropes and all the other fitness equipment. The pads are only for use in sessions with the trainer or in group classes.
This is some of the equipment we have.
Here’s our heavy bag in the background.
This is our group class doing some training.
This is Abram, our boxing trainer. He’s level 3 certified in Thump! Boxing and also a national certified coach in boxing. He can answer any of your questions that you might have.