Saturday, October 08, 2016

Penang Round Island 84KM 2016 - Race Report


I probably should not start this race given that I still having the injury (like this whole year I am always about this injury right?), but I already sign up much earlier with the permission from Race Director to move from 50KM to 84KM this year, don't ask me why don't I just go for the 100KM, I just don't feel like doing 100KM anyway.

The plan for this year was simple,fly in by noon and get out the next day by evening. So I flew in by noon, got pick up by Penang friend Sao and head straight to bib collection site to pick up my race kit and to meet Kok Yong for lunch then go check in hotel (or to meet my roommate who came in earlier than me).

Had some Thai food at the carnival opposite at the Padang Kota Lama before head out for the favourite Penang Char Kuey Teow and Cendol etc and by the time I am too full for anything else, it was already close to 3pm. Head back to hotel (which is about 500m from the starting line) and started to unload my luggage and prepare my hydration bag for the race at 9pm.

By the time I finished packing and unpacking, it was already close to 5pm and I quickly took a short nap. Woke up at 6+, decided to go for mandatory kits check before head for dinner and realised I forgot to bring the form, so had to walk back to pick up my form again. Bump into Jeff at mandatory check and called him along for dinner, he just returned from UTMB not long ago, came for this race as a promise to Race director, he planned to do it slow n easy to complete it.

After dinner, head to back hotel to fill up my hydration bag and make my pre-race drink and head for starting line by 8pm. This year seems to have less familiar faces, probably because people that I know is not much, lol! But there are still some regulars that I know, and notice this year there is significantly more Sabahans that come for this event, looks like it is going to be an interesting event.

Before flag off, as usual look out for runners that potentially make podium or lead the way, not that I am here to complete but interested to know who may be the top contestants for the podium. Then I comfortably position myself 2-3 lines behind the front liners. My target ? based on B2E, I lepak-lepak managed 84KM in about 11 hours, it would be a good benchmark to use, given that Penang ultra is going to be tougher with less water stops and at least 2 climbs, that would also means an average pace of 7:45/km. My 1st target was to clear the 1st 2 check points (28KM) in 3 hours and reach CP3 (which is the starting point for 50KM category at 3am) in 3 hrs 45 mins, after that I would have 7hrs odd to finish the remaining 50KM, sounds reasonable and sufficient time to rest or walk.



The race flagged off sharp at 9pm (or may be 2-3mins earlier) and immediately there is a huge gap between the 1st leading pack and the rest of us. From starting line to CP1 is a long 16KM out of the city centre towards the Penang bridge running along side of the water front, honestly I won't be able to know the existence of these cycling and jogging path and family gathering spots if I am in this event. The path took us away from the busy street traffic and cruise through some crowd and run through some underpass. I was among the 2nd pack but almost at the last of the pack (since I never look back, it will always look as though I was the last of the pack anyway).



I set into the pace of average 5:40-6:00min/km for this sector's target, may be this is consider slow, I seem to be surrounded or stuck with 3-4 runners in a pack. Before the race started I told myself don't chase the rabbit, but it looked like I am the rabbit now with predators around me front and back. There comes the 1st problem, I don't like to be chased and having someone breathing down my neck or pacing side by side with me, especially if I don't even know them. It took me more patience to stay with the pack than trying to break away from the pack by increasing the pace, it was probably not a good idea to try to break away because it is still early in the race and these runners definitely have enough energy to keep up.

So I decided to maintain the pace and sometimes slow down a little just to let them take the lead and see if they will break away from me. And I guess being the target means I am being used as pacer, the group become smaller but I still not alone, reached CP1 at Food Court Opposite Seagate, grab a can of the cold isotonic and I took my time to walk 1-2 mins to down the whole can of it and try to let the group split up. It did help a bit, I now then have runners 50-200m ahead of me and I can somewhat enjoy my own time running. Time spent to CP1 was about 1.5hrs.

Taken from the race website:
Start to Check Point 1:Esplanade Padang Kota Lama to Food Court Opposite Seagate
Distance: 15.9km - A flat 3km tarmac road with 12.9km bicycle lane mixture of tarmac and cement road from Persiaran Karpal Singh all the way till Industrial Zone.


CP1 to CP2 I finally can have more space for myself and set myself into the cruising pace I want to do while keeping the runners ahead within my sight, it feels better and safer as least I can be more sure that I am running on the right track since I am lazy to look for markers. Dropping my pace above 6mins/km, I enjoyed this part a bit more but got overtaken by a few runners who came from behind (probably done with the 1st 16KM of warm up) including David Christopher (Langkawi Ultra 100K champion) who decided to take a slow start and he is starting to pick up pace (may be he didn't, I was just slow...lol) and overtook 1-2 runners in front too.

There was some climbs towards the end this section but it was manageable and reached CP2 under 3hrs in total. Surprised to bump into Yimster here as he was among the front pack, guess he decided to take it easy for 1st half and as usual his engine only fires up in 2nd half when he sets into his own pace. (experienced runners know when to draw away from the pack and do their own race instead of keeping up with others which may ruin their race).

Check Point 1 to CP 2: Food Court Opposite Seagate to Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam
Distance: 12.5km - 2km Flat Bicycle Lane follow by Flat Tarmac road, the view of Penang Bridge and Penang Second Bridge on your left, passing thru Penang Industrial Zone but some heavy construction area.


Since I was on track for my 1st 2 check points, I felt much more easy to clear the next 6.5KM towards CP3. Though it was a big climb but it wasn't as bad as I thought, I was taking my sweet time a little and allowed myself to walk too until I was overtaken by more runners so I decided to keep up with them until the down hill part and all the way smooth sailing till CP3, total time under 3:40 hrs, on target. Bumped into Yim again but he was done with his refueling, I basically skipped one of my Hammer perpetuem intake and just refill with water and tried to keep up with Yim's check out time. So both of us left the CP almost the same time except he started to jog while I still taking 2-3 mins of walking.

Check Point 2 to CP 3: Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam to Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah
Distance: 6.5km - Flat road before a 2.8km climb of 139m elevation and 2.3km downhill to Balik Pulau. 


Departing from CP3 felt much different from last year, it is still the same familiar route except this year I can no longer run like last year at close to 5min/km pace, I never really think how I should use the next 7hrs for the 50KM but now I have time to think it over. Based on the laziness level I was in, I figured that if nothing magical happens, I will need 1:45 hrs to get to CP4 which is about 50KM, which was not bad actually, that means I got to 50KM under 5:30 hrs, then I still have 5:30 hrs to complete the remaining 35KM.

But the next 14KM+ was not easy, I got overtaken by more people and caught up with some at the same time, Yim was drawing further and further away from but soon he got slower and I managed to catch up some distance. Half way in, the sky start lightning from far and thunders can be hears some 30-40s away, looks like weather forecast was accurate and it really was going to rain around 2am in the morning. I was hoping the rain can wait until we reach CP4, at the same time I was also worried that under such thunder storm condition, will the race be called off ?

Soon before I have any answer for that question, the downpour started and this was the last time I ever get to see Yim until finishing line, seem like he regain some power under the rain and switched on his turbo (or maybe again I was just too slow...).

2-3KM later it was heavy downpour and I no longer have anyone in sight (or I just can't see well in the dark...). The rain was so heavy that I was almost convinced the race will be called off at CP4 and I can hardly see anything ahead and under my feet, the rain later turned small and just 1-2KM before approaching CP4, it came back even heavier until some parts of the road were slightly flooded, I was running into pools of water and one of my left toes hit something. It was short pain that soon subsided or masked by the cold weather brought by the rain.

As I entered CP4, I bumped in Real Ho who was leading the 84KM the whole time, so my guess is now Yim is leading the race followed by Real Ho who is checking out from the CP. I decided to spend sometime here to refill my bottles and rethink should I continue the race since the rain was so heavy (as I think back, I have no idea why I had the idea of stopping my race there and then...). While I kept having the question in my mind and checked with Andrew if the race is safe to continue, I started to take out my light jacket and as I looked at the runners who just checked in and rested on the bench, I felt the motivation to carry on again.

"Just take a walk and decide on the way" I told myself...

Check Point 3 to CP 4: Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa
Distance: 14.3km, its a challenging mental flat straight route


I then spent the next 1 hour walking and jogging up the Teluk Bahang hills, it was dark, it was lonely, it was nothing but the water flowing down and myself. I don't know how I did it last year running up this hill, may be I was too tired by now, listening to music seem to be the next best thing to do. I can't recall how long was this climb, 13.3KM to CP5, so the climb should be about 6.5KM, I guess I was lucky to be wrong as the climb was less than 6KM and soon I realised I lost the power to run down hill. My feet were heavy and sore, it felt like my achilles was giving me problem and ITB start pulling my right leg.

"It's OK, I am still running, I am still moving" I told myself over and over again in the dark.

Before the end of the down hill, someone finally caught up and overtook me in high speed and I took a look at the back, not far behind another runner was approaching too. Since it was almost near to the next CP, I decided to run again, engaging forefoot running till I reach CP5, just under 7:20 hrs in total. So it took me almost 2 hours to clear the last 13.3KM, lol!

Check Point 4 to CP 5: Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa to Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang
Distance: 5.9km up hill with fresh cold air, 6.0km down hill and flat to reach CP 


I didn't spend too much time in CP5, I guess the purple dust I took earlier kick in its effect and the rain woke me a little, knowing that I have slightly more than a half marathon to go I feel much better now. So as I checked out from CP5 I gave myself a new target, to try to clear the remaining distance under 3 hours, which put my finishing time at about 10:30 hours.

Now I was glad the rain got heavier, I tuned up the musics and started to engage forefoot running which trigger less muscle soreness and ITB pull. I was able to run even at climbs, sub7mins/km pace was possible, interval between walking was longer, so the next 10KM was cleared within 1:15 hrs.

Check Point 5 to CP 6: Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang to Penang Water Sports Centre
Distance: 9.7km


Leaving CP6 I was already feeling better and hoping for more rain, I knew the next 13KM was possible with about 2 hours, I knew I can probably finish under 10:15 hours if nothing goes wrong. So I went with run 1.5KM and walk 300 meters strategy and adjust the intervals as I feel like it. When the sharp left turning approached I knew it was less than 10KM till the end of the race and I started to run faster averaging 6:30mins/KM till I reached Gurney drive. Total race time: 9:35 hrs.

Check Point 6 to CP 7: Penang Water Sports Centre to Gurney Drive Roundabout
Distance: 7.9km flat road

Saw Henry Yang resting there at CP7, the only possible reason for him to be there sitting means the race was over for him (later found out it was chaffing, something annoying but will cause a lot problem not matter how good a runner you are). Checked with him on the previous runner's gap and found out that it was too huge gap (haha, yes I was lousy and slow then...), I knew I was on target to finish the race under 10:15 hours dy, so I decided to take my sweet time to get to the finishing line.

Check Point 7 to Esplanade, Padang Kota Lama: Gurney Drive Roundabout to Esplanade, Padang Kota Lama
Distance: 4.8km flat, last lap home

So next 5KM only to be welcome by more rain, I was prepared for a loop around the padang before crossing the finishing line but this year the route changed a bit so the loop was not needed and I get to cross the finishing line earlier that I thought and completed the race under 10:10 hours, as 2nd runner up. As expected, Yim broke his own record last year, but with huge margin, he shaved off like 20 mins or more. :)

Took a photo with these 2 outstanding runners for 84KM category


Yim aka "Tom" if running with me, lol!
2 weeks after the race before I write this report, I itchy hand when to download and compare the splits of the top finishers who crossed path with me during the race (including the 100KM category) and I accidentally found out that one runner actually covered the Teluk Bahang 13.3KM in 1:06 hours, averaging about 5mins/KM pace, that is like after running 50KM!!!

I then check the splits for the 50KM champion and 1st runner up, both can't do 1:06 hrs for this sector..So, moral of the story is there are a lot hidden jewels to be discovered in ultra distance, they just have not returned from the mountain yet... lol!


Friday, September 09, 2016

Race Report - Back 2 Endurance 2016


This is not a report about how to podium a race, because there were so many things I noticed during the race, I feel like writing something down.

As usual I joined this race after the registration quite late, but I was told there will be a world class runner joining this event and I wanted to witness up close how a world class runner run an event like this and break the course record. As some may know I am haunted by Achilles Tendonitis since Feb, this really isn't going to be a race for me, I set a target of completing either 50KM or do 6 hrs then decide whether to continue depends on how my feet feel.

But somehow as I was preparing my fuel box, the message I wrote on the box for myself back in Jan reminded me that if I want to start, might as well finish it, just take it easy after 6 hours, I might even possibly reach the Gold if the 1st 6 hours go well, :P
short moments before flag off
So came event morning, woke up early, load everything into the car, reached the race site early, parked my car nicely, enjoyed my breakfast drink in the car and then spent sometime look for the right spot to place ice box and my fuel box. It was not like last year, I didn't feel unwell and I didn't have the pressure to come here to prove anything or defend my title, everything felt easy.

Met the usual faces (Siaw Hua, Hong Lan, Jerome, Frank, Rich Chai, Casey) and also the some new familiar faces to this event except the world class, later Jeff informed me that he is not coming, the game just turned boring a little. I then have a new agenda here, lake garden is always famous for having a lot of PokeStops for Pokemon-Go, I think I might have some great time to boost up my level and catches here today, :) 
Siaw Hua, did TDS (119KM trail) a week ago, came for fun run...
The race flag off on time and off we go, it didn't take long for me to move into the leading pack, technically it was not a leading pack because there was 2-3 runners doing really fast from the start. The plan was to do 1st 30KM or 13 laps under 3 hours, I know I just have to pace myself comfortably and take care of my legs not to push too fast, free and easy, free and easy I kept telling myself.

Josephine.(why do I post her photo anyway?)
It didn't take long for another 2-3 runners to over take me in the next few laps and the race standing kind of settle in without much movement on positions, except the leading guys were really fast, so fast that I got lapped once or twice in the 1st 3 hours! LOL!
Very fast guy that lead the race and sayur me on my final lap to make 5th, lol!
Must post own photo that look yeng...
This year timing chip was introduced, at each lap runners are expected to save few seconds from doing manual hole punching on the bib (well, 5 seconds a lap would be 4 mins for 45 laps, lol!). Weather was good, body felt OK and heart rate was kept relatively low, 3 hrs passed pretty fast and managed to hit the 1st distance target of 30KM, then the temptation for Pokemon-Go kicked in... 

1st 3 hrs - 13 laps
Went back to water station trying to get access to my baggage and surprised by the number of chairs placed at the resting zone, blocking  my way, but finally found a way to my bag to get my phone. I have 3 hrs to get to 50KM mark which is another 9 laps to go, plenty of time for that. I figure I can walk 2 laps and jog one lap to make that happen, that is quite a luxury actually. Having the luxury to walk gave me the opportunity to share laps with Frank who was doing his consistent pace for this event. 
Begin of Pokemon Lap
I was not the only one playing Pokemon, I guess...

Enjoying companionship with Frank
The next 3 hrs passed generally more fun with Frank's companionship and Pokemon catches, Frank always have some stories to share on his running journey and plan for the coming months. Unfortunately my phone ran out of battery pretty fast too, no choice but to put the phone in charging for the next 1-2 hours.
Need to push faster to get to the next Pokemon stop
Hi...
6 hours later, sun at its greatest and phone out of battery, LOL!
2nd 3 hrs - 9 laps
By the end of 6 hrs, I managed to clock 9 laps to make total 22 laps which was on track for my 6 hrs plan, since I was not doing a fast pace, I was not very tired but started to feel hungry, spent some time to put some fruits into my tummy and make my drinks while chit chat with friends at water station. It didn't took me long to decide on continuing the race to hit 85KM for Gold award, which is another 15 laps to go, that means I can possibly do 8 laps in next 3 hrs and another 7 laps in final 3 hrs. Knowing that I can always run faster in the final 2 laps, I can probably hit 85KM earlier than 12 hrs.

YJ, did it consistently

With phone still on charging mode, I need to find something to keep me entertained, luckily I saw Fujii Loh and she was quite free, she looked like she needed some walking so I allowed her to walk with me. Sun was hot, I decided to santai a bit with a cold towel from my ice box (thanks to Renee who brought ice and coconut drinks!)
Need to pretend suffer a bit, notice the stalker behind me...
As Frank went for lunch after 6 hrs, in fact, most runners went eating at noon time, the route became relatively empty with less people. I was not very hungry plus I was not a good eater during race, so I continued on for the next 3 hours with some running in between. Soreness kicked in and too much of walking also put some stress on the ankle and top of the feet, having some running in between helped to transfer the stress to other muscles.
Water station that has both official supply and personal bottles station, spot my fuel box
By the end of the 9 hrs, more runners had come back to join the running/walking, I managed to clock another 9 laps to total of 71KM, that means another 6 laps to get to 85KM, 2 laps/hour for the final 3 hours!

I took a glimpse on the result chart and realised I was not too far off from top 5 with current rank of 7th position.


3rd 3 hrs - 9 laps
Final 3 hours was the real fun of the event, I had the privilege of running along with Shine (if u don't know who he is, that is because legend like this only stays in the mountain and joins races you never heard of). And because he took off his shirt, I also wanna-be like him, may be it was really more cooling this way. The truth is, it was cooling when I was running, if I walk, then it was not, a wet shirt would probably help more, but it definitely LOOKED more COOL-ing. LOL!

Photo with Ah Pii coz she asked for it
Unfortunately the show only lasted 2-3 laps before we got complaint and had to put on clothes and too bad Shine needed to catch a bus back home, so he left the game early with 1.5 hrs to go. And out of pity, KK Yum and Uncle Kelvin Ng volunteered to cheer me on and pace me for the remaining laps (actually they joined even before Shine left..).
Naked running
With their support, some fun jokes and story telling, the next 1 hr+ was fun, they even made me run more during the laps! As soon as I hit 85KM at 11:05 hrs, their duty was accomplished, with 55 mins to spare, I decided to go for another 2 laps to get to 89KM. It turned out to be a good decision as I managed to catch up with Frank on final lap and we crossed the finishing line together. With 19 mins to spare, I could have done another lap but that would be meaningless, so I called it a day. :)

My pacer or my escort?
I just feel like running at the end of each lap
Sharing my final lap with Frank again
4th 3 hrs - 8 laps
Shared some photo time with Yum KK, Rosaline and Wai Yee
Ended my run before end of 12 hrs
This year I observed more runners remained on the race after 9 hrs but unfortunately the race ended with less people make it to the Gold, may be the weather was generally hotter than last year with no rain. I was expecting at least the top 3 to hit 100KM mark but only the champion made it beyond 100KM. The men champion had high chance of shattering my last year's 108KM record but like any long distance race, thing can turn south anytime, his suffered the 12th hour and only made it 105KM, which is one lap less. 

On one hand I was happy I get to keep the record for another year, on the other hand I also find it a pity coz he did relatively better than me in the 1st 11 hours (after comparing my splits last year). But I have high hope that next year someone would raise the bar higher, :)

Gold qualifier list
B2E 2016 champion, 105KM !!! 
Woman Champion
Men 3rd, only found out in the last 30 mins or so..

This race completed without much stress on the body, tested the new anti-blister plaster DuoDerm which cost RM17 a piece (cut into 6 pieces) to cover my usual spot that develop blister (since beginning of this year), it is a gel foam that worked very well, I will be testing it again during Penang Ultra 2 weeks later.

Could I have made it to the top 3? possible, but I wasn't paying attention to the ranking chart and difference with the runners ahead much, at the back of my mind I was having impression of behind by few laps.

I am happy with 89KM (and a confidently potential 92KM finishing) finishing, I noticed I have developed a lazy running form which may cause more damage than running fast, in the final 3 hours I did a few loops engaging different muscles for faster lap and it worked well.






Tuesday, August 23, 2016

My Review on Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) - Get Fitter Faster

Some of u may be thinking if it is practically possible to build a superhuman body in short period of time when the movie Captain America 1st came out, in the movie Steve Roger got an instant transformation into a superhuman with the help of electricity stimulation and some secret super human serum, most obviously was the body shape transformation.

The superhuman serum may be experimental, it may be available some where in this world at some mad scientists' lab but may be far from available for normal beings like us, but the electric stimulation has been available since long, in beauty line, physiotherapy, surgery and sports. I would leave the discovery of how electric stimulation helps in beauty and surgery for your own googling and reading, let's focus on sports performance or muscles enhancement for my review here.

It all began with this friend of mine called Karsten who decided to set up EMS gym this year and I haven't really got time to visit him to understand how it works (yes I love my job so much...) and I have always wanted to try it out. Come 2nd half of 2016 (which is quite recently) as I stopped active running to undergo physiotherapy and rest to recover from Achilles tendonitis that has been limiting my running in the past 6 months, Karsten was introducing his new coaches to conduct training on the EMS system, I thought that might be a good time as I notice my core got significantly weaker since I stop training for months, I need all the "cheats" that I can have to help me in getting back in shape for running.

So the 1st session was started on 1st August after I came back from Bali few days ago with very bad food poisoning (affected me for 10 days++), I was feeling weak I decided it was a bad idea to change the appointment date. The whole session took about 60 mins with actual workout of 20 mins only + a 5 mins recovery, the rest of the time was spent on filling up forms and some introduction on the procedures and testing of power.

The place is at Plaza Damas area and well renovated with clean toilet, bathroom and personal locker so you can come straight from work and take shower after the session.

The EMS works by transmitting a small amount of electric pulse to the body surface through a "wet" suit, it is practically wet with some water to make better conductor. The trainer assigned to me is a gentleman called Joe (I do believe you can request for other trainer if you have a preference). I was instructed to fill up some forms (health declaration and risk acceptance etc...basically I just signed myself away anyway) then Joe helped me to suit up.

1st I put the suit by zip and then Joe will tighten the strap around my body by pulling them one by one, followed by putting on conductor strap over my both upper arm (around the biceps and triceps) and both my thigh (around the quads and hamstrings). There is also another big strap to wrap around my butt (glute). Then all the cables will be connected to the straps and we are ready to roll!

Joe watering the suit and straps
the "wet" suit

the arms are strapped and wired
Front look
Rear view, see the cable connected for upper back and lower back ?
The straps on thighs
My suit is then connected to the control module that power the suit and control the output (strength and frequency) of the electricity impulses. Before start, Joe will walk me through on what is the routine and what to expect, he then get me to feel the stimulation by slowly increasing the output zone by zone, from quads to glute, then lower back, upper back, abs, the chest and then the arms, then everything will come at the same time. As different people respond differently to the output, there is no fix stimulation for everyone, Joe will observe my response and adjust accordingly.

Every time when the stimulation kicks in, my muscles will contract for few seconds, I will need to fight back the contraction consciously, that is the basic part, if u read Dragon Ball when you were young, it is like Goku fight back the gravity in the spaceship for him to begin his routine training (basically that's how Secret training supposed to work I guess..). IF you don't fight back, you get frozen by the contractions of your muscles....


the control console, can u see all 8 different controls for different parts of stimulation?
Then comes a series of exercises to be done during the stimulation, it may vary from doing lunges (forward or sideway), pulling (or pushing) resistant bands, squats repeat, carrying weights, twisting arms to the back, raising knees, squeezing silicon balls etc. All these sets of steps help me to focus on muscles contraction voluntarily and take my focus away from EMS stimulation.

before start must pattern while still can
how hard can this be, right?
some simple steps
to fight the EMS stimulation
normal stretching of arms can become a challenge
ok, let's get serious..
U can see the different power output for different zone and the timer

There will rest in between every few seconds of EMS stimulation, basically it is like few seconds of intense workout followed by few seconds of relaxation. I have some pictures taken during the 4 sessions in the past 22 days for your view if you need to SEE how it looks like before deciding to try it out for yourself.

the silicon balls lol

the push
Joe will make sure I do it right when I am tired



Doing some routines, looks easy but not some when the EMS kicks in

How was my experience in the past 4 sessions?

The 1st session was done before SCKLM which was on 1st Aug, it was a shock to the system but for a start Joe didn't put me on high output, the second day I felt a bit tired but it was alright. The 3rd Aug was when the DOMS (Delayed onset of muscles soreness). As the EMS stimulates muscles that I don't normally work out (or rather hard to work out), my lower back felt significantly sore and I was having an outstation trip... Then I recovered on time for SCKLM on 7th Aug.

My second session was after the SCKLM, I was tired from the run but it was generally ok. This time the stimulation was stronger, Joe probably know which part of my body can take higher impulses and the DOMS didn't affect me much as I walked a lot in the next 2 days. My arms felt a bit different and abs felt stronger as I am able to voluntarily contract my muscles.

The 3rd session a week later destroyed me.
I had my worst glute soreness ever in my life (butt soreness)! I basically can't even sit tight, I find it difficult to even raise my legs to wear shoes, to climb stairs and to squat down etc. This stayed on for a week (which included an oversea trip) and I still feel sore!

As I am writing now I just did the 4th session yesterday (yes butt sore but went for it anyway), this session was much harder than before but I felt stronger than before. The butt is still sore but I can feeling great about it now. I am not ready to show physical result yet, may be after 6 session ? But I will certainly try to see the benefit of EMS in my run this Sunday (28th Aug)!

My view of the EMS training?
Even though I know the man behind Fit Orange personally, my view will be 100% neutral. I believe in the science for the technology, there are area of our body that are hard to train, it is natural for us to lift weight or do the machine work out using the dominant muscles that we always use day in day out that we can voluntarily control, it is hard to train those muscles that we hardly work out, in my case, my back and chest. 

EMS stimulation will cover this gap and help to force you to work out on these weaker muscles. Another benefit is we often do not know which is the right intensity for workout, is jumping from 10kg weight to 12kg considered ok? EMS allows the adjustment digitally, every time you grow stronger, it can be increased further to challenge you. On top of that, there are many different routine sets of work out to add on to the stimulation to demand more of you.

Will it help to burn fat and reduce weight? To some extend I believe it will help to burn fat, but as EMS enhance muscles work out and muscles are heavy, weight reduction may not be obvious, may be losing size is more appropriate. 

Will it help in other sports? I yet to find out myself, I know Karsten still run pretty fast despite he trains less on running these days. I was told world class athlete like C. Ronaldo uses this to compliments his training. Killian Jornet use TENS  for recovery from races. I think in general it does helps but do not expect it to replace your need to train for the sports for real, if you need to run, you need to run, EMS helps to strengthen muscles you need for your sports.

Is there any customized program?
I have not explored that option but I do believe there is, for example if I want to build nicer abs then the work out session will focus more on that using the tools available including TRX, there is a lot of tools in this EMS Gym. May be in my next session I shall do something that focus on my arms to see the extra benefit of it.

How much does it cost and is there any package deal?
The cost is from RM 85 per session depending on the package you sign up, for people who shy from the gym because too much of effort to learn how to work out with so many different tools in the gym and time is really limited, this could be money well spent. And for those who wish to further improve their athlete performance (even as amateur), this is one good option.

You can try mention you read this blog and you are a good friend of mine, Karsten may be in good mood for some promotions, just saying but no harm trying, yay? 


Trainer Joe
The man behind this EMS gym, he is much more friendly than his boring face...
For more details, please check out their FB page and contact directly for booking and inquiry:










Facebook page: Fit Orange
Website: http://www.fitorange.com/ 
Location: Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Contact: +6016-923 0540
Available trainers: Karsten , Joe, Nicole (if you prefer a female)
that is Nicole in contraction, I mean, in action. :)