Raise your hand if this was you this past weekend. That's a lot of bandaged hands! After a week in Tokyo and not working out at all, I knew this was going to be rough. Even if I did workout last week, it was going to be hard. 20 minute workouts are the worst but I'm up for anything.

18.1

8 Toes to Bar
10 Hang Dumbbell Clean and Jerks (50 lb.)
14 Cal. Row

The Dumbbell is Back

Like last year, we're starting off the open with a new movement, dumbbell hang clean and jerks.I would have preferred the snatch but the open is about pushing yourself and being uncomfortable. The dumbbell weight wasn't going to be the problem since it's not too heavy of a weight. The toes to bar and row however were going to kill me.

Game Plan

I wanted to complete the toes to bar in sets of four and keep going until I would have to start singles. I was sure I could handle the dumbbell clean and jerks and go unbroken for all reps. It's a new standard and I would have to be mindful of all the points of performance. The row was going to be a grind. I usually die out on long rows and 14 cals. was going to be rough. I didn't want to start out with a crazy pace but I wanted to stick around 800-900 cals/hr.

The Workout

The workout started off well. I stuck to my game plan and it worked up until round four. At the start of round four, my abs started to cramp. I had to take a few deep breaths and stretch but I had to start doing singles. I also had to take a few moments in between reps since I couldn't recover fast enough which slowed me down considerably. I was getting no repped on the dumbbell clean and jerk transitions because I wasn't standing up fully for the first rep. It was an extra rep but I wasn't frustrated with it. The row was a grind. First four rounds went well. I was able to keep a pace of 900 cals/hr but had to drop to a pace of 750 - 850 cals/hr in the later rounds.

It was a tough workout. My hands ripped slightly but it wasn't bad. I was able to complete six rounds at the end of 20 minutes. It's not a great score but I gave it my all. In the coming weeks I'll pray for a heavy workout. A clean and jerk  or snatch would be awesome. I hope your 18.1 went better than mine and good luck in the coming weeks.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

I finished this video a few months ago but I had to finish the write up first. Like my previous videos, I used a GoPro HERO3 and a Feiyu Tech G4 gimbal. I had a great time on this trip and I will be going back to Japan this month! Let me know what you think in the comments or like and subscribe my YouTube channel. 

Music: Walk the Moon - One Foot

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

We traveled to Boracay and Manila over the Thanksgiving holiday. This was our first trip with friends and it was a great one. My wife was the only one that spoke the main native language dialect (Tagalog) which helped us out immensely. 

Cell Phones

Getting a SIM card for your phone is easy and free. Globe Telecom and Smart are the two carriers that we found outside the airport terminal. If you travel with Philippine Airlines they give you a voucher for some free data and minutes. I have used Globe before so I went with them. We spent about ₱1000 for 8 gb of data and about 15 minutes of call time. We were going to be using WhatsApp as our main communication app and decided to go with more data instead of call time.

Transportation

We had to take multiple airlines to get to Boracay. We flew into the Philippines on Philippine Air, purchased a one way from Manila to Boracay (Caticlan Airport) on Cebu Pacific Airlines and purchased another one way from Boracay (Caticlan Airport) to Manila on Air Asia. All airlines were great and we had no issues.

Getting to your hotel or villa in Boracay can be difficult especially if you do not speak the language. The company that we used to transport us was Southwest Tours. Cebu Pacific Airlines had a promo for ₱ 500 for drop off and another ₱ 500 for pick up. This covered your ferry ticket as well. The employees walked you through the whole process making this part of the trip easy. If you want to book with them, they have a small kiosk office outside of the Caticlan Airport. Travel time from airport to our villa was about two hours. 

Getting around Boracay is not bad. Their are no taxi cars, instead they had tricycles. They were everywhere and not hard to hail one.  It's very inexpensive about ₱ 60 a trip. If you're in a large group try to get one of the electrical tricycles. These seat six to seven fairly comfortably. 

In Manila we used the Grab Car/Grab Taxi app to find rides. Uber is also available in Manila but it was a bit more expensive and didn't use it. 

Accommodations

View from Mosaic Towers

Our Boracay home was the Hayahay Villa on Diniwid Beach Road. It was a nice place with a lot of room for our group of seven. It was very quiet at all times of the day.  It is not on the famous White Beach but it is a short commute to any of the stations. Also Diniwid Beach is a short walk away, about five minutes. 

Our Manila home was a flat in Mosaic Towers. The location was great (Makati) and our host was very quick with responses to our questions. This area felt very safe and even had a small coffee shop on the first floor. 

The Fun Stuff in Boracay

Boracay was a blast and had a great time. We enjoyed walking down white beach (except for the street vendors), eating at the various restaurants and drinking by the beach. It's not a shopping island so don't expect to find large retailers here. The biggest mall is an outdoor style area and the indoor mall doesn't have a lot of stores. Since traveling to the island is long ordeal, I do not think we'll be returning for a second visit. 

This was also my second trip to Manila. We had a great time walking through Makati and Bonifacio Global City. Manila can be a sketchy place but we felt safe in those areas. It was relatively easy to get around and the restaurants were great. If we have the time (and money) we will definitely be coming back. 

Lift Heavy and Level Up!