Vietnam Diaries (Day 9): The Perks of Being Fit

After spending two days of time in the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park exploring its landscape, I decided to spend day three on a bicycle along the country-side. The state of the cycle at the homestay was not top-notch, but it was a fully-functional basic cycle. I decided to take my chances given the direction I was headed in was not going to take me through steep slopes.  

Companion for the Morning

I have never cycled long distances before so I thought I will go as far and as long as I can. In the process, I experience life in the villages surrounding the national park, with its creatures - humans, buffaloes, cows, ducks, hens, dogs and butterflies. 

Just the AVERAGE setting for the ride

The second best part of the journey was visiting the Moi Moi Potato Farms to meet their many animals as well as eating the home-made peanut dumplings with some chilled beer. However, the best part of the journey was meeting many local children traveling to school on their bicycles. I have rarely seen children being so happy to go to school.

The smiles indicate that it may be a holiday from school after all

I cycled a loop of 23 kilometers with breaks for photographs, drinks, and meals. The last three kilometers to Moi Moi, the farthest point in of my journey were through the hills, with gradual slopes that were exhausting to climb. My onward journey had a mix of sunshine and shade, but my return journey was at noon with the sun shining down right over my head. It was so warm and sunny that my phone was overheated, so I had to switch it off. This was after two days of climbing up and down 500+ stairs as I visited the caves. 

Sunshine on the way back to Phong Nha Ke Bang

The only reason I was able to attempt and complete this journey was my discipline of working out and eating right over the last ten months. I remember my first strength and conditioning group session, in which I was struggling to complete even the scaled-down version of the workout. I ended up straining my back for three weeks thereafter. For a few months preceding this class, I had reduced strenuous climbs or running, given my knee muscles were weak and my knee would hurt for days thereafter. I was so weak that I was not even able to lift a can of water and keep it on the dispenser. With these glaring signs, as well as the failing health of a few loved ones, the realization soon began to sink in that tomorrow may be too late to begin this journey.

There was only one motivator for me to get healthy and strong - my desire to do what I love doing until the day I die.  If I consider traveling, there is so much to see and experience that it'll take me many years to cover it all. If I consider creating social impact, the complexity of the problem requires way more physical, mental and emotional energy to solve than a corporate job. These are just two examples to illustrate my case. 

While I am a long way away from being an athlete, what has helped me get fitter is making small commitments with diet and exercise. I have built the discipline to make only one commitment at a time and then track it till it becomes a habit. In the last year, I started by quitting white sugar, white rice and white bread one after the other. I decided to take work-related calls while walking instead of sitting. I started doing a 7-minute workout two times a week at home. Before even have goals of gaining muscle or losing fat, I set goals of going to the gym thrice in a week. Eventually, I joined a group workout where I committed to 50 minutes of exercise daily, five times a week. My next step is to learn swimming to increase my cardiovascular and core strength. 

Unlike crash diets and routines that drastically alter your lifestyle, I have gradually been able to weave in many aspects of being healthy into my day. As a result, it has been easier to stick to the change. I have not only seen it impact my ability to perform physically strenuous tasks, but it has also fed a lot of energy back to my work and personal life. For example, I am able to focus longer at work than earlier. At home, I am sleeping better. Emotionally, fitness has become a shared endeavor for Pallavi and me and has allowed us a lot of time together. In what was a difficult year for multiple reasons, our fitness journey was one arena where we felt we were in control and saw success. We let no external factor impact our health outcomes.

Rewarding myself on achieving different milestones: Local Beer at mid-point and a Smoothie Bowl when back

I am not sharing this journey from the lens of boasting. Yes, I am feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride as I write this post. But at the same time, my hope with sharing is that you too can see that it is possible to make change happen if you choose the right things to do, do them one at a time and persist with them long enough for the impact to be visible.  

All the Best

PS: Entries for Day 7 and 8 are in the making.