CROSS-fit #72 To win it all

Taking out the everyday Workouts and the tiring rat race in society
It's been about 4 years since I've actually competed.
Competed in any form of athletic competition at all.
The CROSSFIT GAMES. The challenge and quest to find the fittest on Earth.
Last year, Rich Froning took it all.
The year before, think it was Graham Holmberg.
Of which, legends such as Chris Spealler, Jason Khalipa all fought it out to win it all.
However, All of them, every single one of them have had their hits and misses.
We're all in it to win it all. One way or another. Everyone here competes thinking that they can go all the way.
Either that or they've got a goal in mind, something like I wanna beat my old record, my old standing.
For me, I want to see where I stand, I want to hopefully, try to make it to the regionals in Asia.
At least make it in terms of standings.
Next year is another battle altogether.
However, every wondered, what if... Just what if.. You don't make it.
Sorry folks, there's only 1 person in the entire World that's gonna take that title of fittest on Earth.
I'd think that that's quite an exclusive title if you ask me...
So Rich Froning took it, then what about Spealler? What about Khalipa?
Simple, they don't give up.
I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times, but Champions aren't those who never fail but those whom never quit.
But, really, it's as simple as that....
You're never the winner all the time, it's not going to be peachy perfect all the time.
So embrace it and learn.
In whatever cause you're striving for, if you miss by just this much, or miss by a whole yard.
Who cares...
There's always the next round, and the round after that...
Even if that fails, there's the next field, the next industry, the next profession.
So long as your heart doesn't die, then your drive wouldn't.
No matter what happens in 2012 Crossfit games, let's do this, not just for the games, but for life.
So yes, you, you and you. If' you're fitter than me, watch out, cause one day, maybe tomorrow, maybe a few years down the road, I will get better.
We will get stronger, together.
PS. I'll be cheering for ya.

CROSS-fit #71 Nativity

I'm not so into fitness and Crossfit till I neglect everything that circles in the World behind my walls.

Or should I say across the border for that matter.

There's been just way too much hype about one certain individual in the NBA nowadays.

They call him "Linsanity" or Jeremy Lin.

Born and raised in Taiwan, China. A strong Christian and graduate from Harvard University.

Now let's just take a moment and think about it.

This fella isn't half bad! He doesn't have unnatural genes like Yao Ming or a huge body like Dirk.

He's got something which well, I must say Asians exemplify.

Determination.

He drives, dives, fights and practically does anything for the ball.

No matter how much of an underdog he may be. He's got heart.

And being placed in a totally foreign land, I gotta say, he's got courage too!

So no matter where you started from, damn don't give in to that 'stereotype'.

Lin didn't. So live it up and be someone special.

They say that change is the only constant in life.

But man, so many of us just avoid it. Try to cover it and are seemingly ignorant towards it.

Get some courage and face that change.

CROSS-fit #70 Beautiful

It has been a concept in everyone's mind. That to be fit, to be strong means not to be unshapely.

For a guy, fine. To be big and strong, who wouldn't mind that?

But really, what matters is how you define yourself isn't it? It's who you say you are here and now.

It's what you've got...

Right now, in the states, it's a perception that being a size 6, is a plus size.

Pardon me for my ignorance but a size 6!?!? I don't think that's too big...

But man, to see how people just condemn, look down on someone who's a size 6!

No wonder so many are afraid to get strong, they just don't want to bulk up, to look 'ugly'.

No wonder girls just don't wanna lift weights, even though, really, it's essential to them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing other sports whatsoever.

Some exercise is better than no exercise.

But that's how you get many sidelined forms of fitness, yoga, pilates etc etc, but sorry, that ain't fit in my books.

It's an all encompassing broad range of qualities that no one thing can provide.

If they could only look beyond the numbers on the scale, look beyond what the magazines, the media tells them. That hey, no matter what, you're beautiful.

That liberty comes when you can do anything and everything, to believe in YOURSELF and not the numbers.

Don't think I haven't thought of it.

Guys, you're not all clean as well. Cosmetic fitness ain't gonna cut it.

Getting big, strong, firm, hard doesn't say a single thing.

Man even your clean and jerk doesn't say much.

Your squat weight doesn't tell the story of who you really are.

Maybe, it's how you are when you don't get that weight.

When there's just nobody around to care, are you still gonna do it?

Be beautiful, in your own ways, deep down inside.

CROSS-fit #69 Big and Strong

We all coin the term big and strong, big and strong, big and strong.
To get strong, inside or out, you gotta get big, inside or out.
But what if that just isn't you to begin with?
I've seen many people raise questions about their own physique, stating that...
"Hey, my body just isn't meant to be this way, it isn't meant to lean out and grow".
Or, Crossfit just isn't for me, I don't wanna bulk up.
Well, I don't condemn any one of those statements but I'll just question back.
Which is better? Fitness or how your body looks like?
It's the simple priorities in life.
Yeah we all wanna get big (for guys)
Look like a million dollars when we step into the room.
But when it really boils down to who you really are inside.
I'm sorry to say that I don't think the ripples in your body will do you any good.
Rather, it's the substance beneath that which proves who you really are....
Being fit, being able to do things you know others can't, being able to accomplish a feat you never though possible. Now that's something that'll bring confidence up.
Of yourself, of those around you and of those looking up to you.
Yeah, looks are great, but come on, get with the program, go for being fit.
No one likes a superficial person do they?
So be who you really are....
If you're Big and Strong, you'll naturally show.
Inside and out.
(To me, looking good is just a bi-product of fitness, Just saying...)

Looking back

There're just moments in life, when you look back.

Sometimes you smile, sometimes you frown.

But ultimately, 2011 is coming to an end.

It's really ending, all the good times, the bad times.

It's all coming to a close and we're all gonna start afresh again in 2012.

Maybe not everything has a restart button to be pushed and tadah, everything is sweet and peachy again...

We may not be able to change the situation we're in but....

Perhaps we can change our perspectives of the year.

Looking back, 2011 was by far, the most dramatic year of my life, ever.

I must say that I've thoroughly lived every single moment of it...

I've grown, I've stumbled, I've learnt, I've changed.

This year, I've found myself, who I am and have lived that way ever since.

Doubt I'll really be recollecting moments... Cause these moments aren't exactly defining of the year.

I guess I wanna pen down, well, the things that I've learnt from these events the past year.

1) It takes a decision.

Your heart shifts, it changes, it gets pulled away from one corner to the other.

But really, what does it stand for?

Yeah, as much as it's an emotion, it's a decision. 

To choose what you want to do and not to let your life simply go with the flow.

Guess this was in January and February, the seperation.

Times were good, they were great. The past will always be gleaming with hope.

But there's a better life ahead waiting for both and every one of us.

2) Your heart is rasher than you think

The heart makes dumb decisions which well, fool you into eventually making them.

Choices are at your disposal.

Don't just use your heart, use your head as well.

However, mistakes of great proportions may be made along the way.
I've made some real dumb ones this year, there're many.

However, one, I really wish I could take back. Rui.

However, live and let live, move on head strong and let's see how things can change.

3) Pillar of Friends

When you're down and out, yeah, that's when your few buds really play in.

This year, I never thought that those who came to me were them.

I really never expected the BDPs to run to my rescue after being in the rut for so long.

Sadly, even family didn't help much. But they did...

Thus, I've gotten much closer to them, many of them have had their own trials and we've stood by ever since. I honestly don't think I can find a better bunch.

It's how these boys just love who you really are...

Not just them but many others as well, YX, YL, Abel, Brenda, Audrey, Der and the 1989s.

All of them have made such a long lasting effect on my life.
These friends in 2011 will never be forgotten and I guess I now know the true need for friendships
Thanks for all the suppers, meet ups, jokes, drinks and laughter

4) Temptations and Mistakes will always come.

It isn't the easiest to differentiate the good from the bad when you have nothing at all.

Everything just seems bad.

So yeah, it all happened so quickly, so easily, to simply fall for another.

When it was all pretty much a wrong decision altogether.

Friends have told me, God has told me but a stubborn man is just a stubborn man.

So sometimes, hold on, but sometimes, let go.

PK was pretty much a big flaw of that sort.

However, I eventually found what I want and what I didn't want.

I had to be at peace with myself, that, I realized.

5) Not everyone is gonna take you as you are

Not everyone is going to accept you as you are, even if they say they will.

Judging is one thing altogether but accepting is a totally different story altogether.

A higher level of acceptance I must say.

Some friends may take you as you are, but some just demand more.

I've learnt that there're people of such sort, that you need to put in effort for it.

That, I have mistaken and never thought it would come to such standards.

Not everyone functions and thinks like you. Some may eventually have the false impressions of relationships.

I had hoped to salvage certain relations but really, some people are simply better off without me.

They simply live happier lives without me.

I know YL will for sure.

6) God is still present

There're moments when you think that everything has gone down the drain and you're pretty much done for.

That's when God suddenly turns up and well, picks you up.

Telling you that there's still an impact in your life.

That he hasn't left you and that YOU can do greater things in every situation and moment.

In Loud Camp, I was given opportunities to do things I never thought I would ever again/

Higher made me realize how dependent I am on GOD and how I simply can't let go so easily.

And Audio Mob reminded me of the impact that we can have on society and the World.

With man this is impossible but with GOD, all things are possible.

7) Be who you really are

There're just times when you need a timely reminder of who you are in GOD.
I guess the past 21 years have been hidden, a mystery, a confusing venture whereby I just had so many sides of Lionel that it wasn't even funny to begin with.
I guess it caused me to break down deep inside bit by bit which eventually climaxed this year.
However, it was also a year whereby I started to find who I really am again.
Be that person and be proud of that, no matter what anyone else says.
In whatever you do, really, your Heart was what mattered.
As much as we all do the things which form our World, guess I learnt to live happy deep down inside.
There was one particular turning point too, when no one else but my brother preached on Uncertainty.
We all do live in uncertainty, every other moment, struggling, but we do so in Faith, Hope and Love.
Yeah, I wanna be a person with stronger resolutions.
But ultimately I realized, I'm a person who will do all I can to get what I want.
When decisions are made, I'll make an effort to make it happen. That's just Lionel for you...

8) Your future is still ahead of you

If there's one thing I've learnt about dreams at all. Is that they don't give up on you that easily as well.
All your dreams, visions are what remains till they're fulfilled.
So they'll remain as that till you do something.
Good news? They'll ALWAYS remain there!
Crossfit did for me despite the worst few moments in the start of the year.
I eventually got certified and was really happy I could finally do something with my talents.
Yeah I've got a long way to go. And I know it, but who cares! It's the journey that counts.
Thank God for not letting such dreams and passions slip away.
There's always always hope for a better future no matter what.

9) Life isn't just about the race
We were all born with a leash around our necks.
Be it in small disciplinary issues to major educational decisions.
We're all just governed by how our society deems us to behave like.
We're all thrown not into something that we wanna do but in my brothers words, our choices are really not our own. So something I learnt this year was to well...
Break away.
To do things from a different perspective cause you just like it. Cause you value your friends.
You're not going through that oh so sad routine but making the most out of your life.
This year, I've met some amazing guys, Rishabh, Arjun and all the other ISE guys have given me that insight

So come on! Live life already.
Stop looking back and forth for the greater good! But take some time to really appreciate what you've got.
In your hands, in this moment of yours. Take just a few of them.
To smile, to be happy and to embrace what you have. Treasure them? Then don't let business take that away. Don't let your options distract you from the priorities.

10) Family matters
It probably means much more now than any other time in the year cause it's the Christmas season.
Family really does mean something to you doesn't it?
I realized that when well, I kinda lost so much. Guess I only had my family left.
Yeah, at times they didn't understand, didn't accept and didn't agree with everything I did.
But eventually, I suppose it isn't just about whether they do or not, but it's that they're family.
Whatever it is, they're always around.
Especially this year when well, we lost Grandpa, never knew he meant that much for all of us.
Never knew how much my family meant to me.
Gong Gong, you're missed dearly by all of us. I just wish you could still be around to see me do great things.
But the legacy you've left behind is amazing. I know you're there looking down...
I guess I  somehow how got some inspiration from other families and realized that the family has to be happy.
Happy with what they have, who they are, not so much of all the achievements and possessions.
But to just be happy with each other.

Also, I learnt that as a Family, I found where I belong again.
As part of my cell group. As part of E406.
You've made every single moment even better this year :)
With all the fun, laughter, tears, sweat and every other thing you can think of!
I really love you E406! You've made me really really a better person. I chose this family :)
Sounds and noise eventually make music, yeah, you guys make the music in mine.

11) The trick is to never ever give up

May sound cheesy but you get what you fight for.
Not everything is served to us warm and hot. Some served cold.
But it's what you make out of it which counts.
I've learnt, this year, to never give up, never relent.
I could've thrown in the towel so many times this year. In my studies, in Crossfit, in relationships.
Most of them I didn't.
Well, that's how I got Kris. Oh yeah.
Be a persistent, stubborn, optimistic Ox as I would call it.
2011 was one filled with trials, challenges and new experiences.
But really, don't forget what makes you, YOU.
This is me, I never give up and I learnt that about myself this year.
Well, to 2012! Come what may! Bring it!

12) You can always learn to Love again
We were all made/meant to be happy. To smile and enjoy life as it is.
However, sometimes when life shuts you down a little, you gotta learn to start the engine again :)
I never knew that it was possible, to actually change myself for the better.
To rid myself of playing and all these bad habits.
But man, it took some effort but I guess it worked. To love and be loved again.
I never knew that really, that 20 seconds of courage, that embarrassing bravery would carry me this far.
Call it what you want, but I suppose I learnt that to love, you gotta plunge deep.
Don't think, Just Do.
To pour everything you are, everything you have into one simple happy person.
From the many date nights, to the uncertain moments between us, to actually getting together and being happy, from ice cream to Krisfit, to the lowest of moments and to the best of them.
Well, it wasn't just simply that, she helped me grow, she changed me. Made me know who I really am.
She brought the better side of Lionel of out me. She gave me the courage to step up and out.
She made me look at the World in a different light, my family and friends with passion.
She made me realize the real meaning of appreciation and Love.
She made me really happy and all true to myself.
I hung that title for her and will never look back. Playa no more.
But really, thank God for Kris. :) 
2011 was a rocky one but it turned out well. Primarily cause of this!
"I'll always run back to embrace you, swing you around and make you smile!'

So the year is over, here's to 2011! It was one helluva year!
It's been filled with so many different forms of emotions, so many different phases.
It was just last year, exactly one year ago, whereby I looked back at 2010 and yeah, it was a year of accomplishments but really, 2011 was one of change, of decision of being truly happy.
If I could change anything in 2011? Nah, I wouldn't, not one thing at all.
I'm contented with the way things are now, I don't wanna ever change any of it.
On this last day of 2011, I can only appreciate all that has happened.
But I believe that in 2012, we will all reach greater heights, cause of everything that has been around me!

So to the 2012 future me.
You'll be happier with your friends, with your family.
You'll achieve more! With the passions that you have. Do what you love!
Don't give up on what you set out to do!
Live life with a full heart, being happy with everything that you're doing!
Appreciate the smaller things around you. Go ahead and do it!
Choose Love! Choose Love! Choose LOVE!
Hopefully this time next year, you'll look back at this post and you'll know you lived a great one in 2012!

"Why would it be a great 2012? Well why not?"
Lets do 2012 together...

Christmas

I suppose it means different things to different people.

I'm sure that it sparkles in our hearts one way or another.

Be it in gifts, be it in family, be it in Church.

Really, isn't this a great occasion?

But what does Christmas mean to you?

No, it isn't just another time for a good hangover.

In fact, it struck me only just.

Man, Christmas is here, it kinda marks the end of the year and the start of magical times!

Just my 2 cents.

Christmas is simple, it's nostalgic but it isn't really bout the music, food, songs or even friends to church.

Maybe, probably, it's about having those great ones beside you.

About the renewed hope that Baby Jesus was born this day.

That cause of him, we can always be happy.

It's probably not just about me, about the revenue to be earned but the love to be shared.

Not so much of the food but the company which comes with it.

Christmas is a time for you and for me, to be together as Jesus was born this day.

To celebrate life and all it's trials and victories.

Somewhat to be happy and enjoy every moment in this period.

Merry Christmas everyone!

CROSS-fit #69 Vanish

It so begins readily, steadily and it just slips your mind, your schedule, your life altogether.
Perhaps it wasn't too much of a bright idea to start something to think that it'll run by itself.
It's just me, likely just me.
I can't keep something progressive for long, I can't commit. I'm just not that person.
However, this is me, making an effort....

Cause The one without commitment has to make way for a larger change in life.
We all talk about intensity but really, what matters is the long run.
What is your work capacity across ALL modals and domains?
Is it gonna be a continuous output? Or will it die down after a couple of minutes.
Man, you gotta last in this life. You Have to last...

So what does it take to revive a dying or dead passion?
Something so cold in your life after not touching, feeling or experiencing it for days over.
Honestly, I have no idea...
Cause on certain occasions I have, certain occasions I've evidently failed.
But as one whom is relatively easily influenced by the sights and sounds of a vibrant society.
I guess it'll really be who I'm with, what I see and what I hear.
It all surrounds me , embraces my life and makes me see things in a different light.

Recently, just by a few words, I was inspired to try ultimate frisbee yet again.
It'll be a good tryout to see how crossfit has helped me in the game.
I'm sure....
it was really cause Kris pointed out that it could be fun and great.
Thinking about it, I really did return to the game for her...
Now I definitely want 'in' for different reasons...
However, I can see how such small words, sights, impressions shape my life.

Good? points of views are challenged and balance is always a necessity.
For now... I need to envisage to become a firm man. Cause that's what all man are made to be.
Making decisions cause YOU made them.
Not be one who says that our decisions are shaped by reality itself.
I'd rather shape my reality than let it work me.