the late-st movie i've ever watched! and it still ROCKS!

when i was supposed to be sleeping, i was watching this

and i think it's the truly right decision i've ever made in movie-watching scene. (believe me, i practically have neither taste nor interest in watching movie, so most times i'm watching the "ew, shuck!" ones)

and after watching it in the big cinema, of course i want one for my own keeping. (i love you, torrent sites and the uploaders) 

but i believe, if i ever see its DVD in the rack, i'm gonna buy it.

that's how much  love this story.

great actors, great storyline (obediently following the novel's), ah~ there's nothing to hate about it.

definitely the movie of this year!

before you go by james preller

okay, i'm one of those people who do judge the book by its cover. hands down. :P and i reallyyyyy like the cover of this book, but the story inside is kinda disappointing.

all i can remember is it's about a dude, working around a beach. let's see, he has a dead sister, weird parents, normal friends, and a girl who eventually becomes his lover. 

oh, ya, it's coming back to me now. suddenly his best friend dies!

and guess? he was so depressed that he shuts everything down. oh, and he also crashed, physically, a new Mac that his father bought him to bring him back to life. mental note, never give your mentally depressed child expensive gifts, save it for better days, like graduation day or something.

but in the end, or so i think, he recovered. i really dont remember much. why? uh.. maybe it's just not my type of story. but judging from the things i manage to recall from my one-off reading, the author's good :)

and still, great book cover!!!!!

love the one you're with by emily giffin

it is no secret that i'm a big fan of emily giffin, but i'm not the kind that like to give people shoutout about everything that goes on with my life, so... yeah, i'm a big fan of hers. 

and as usual, this novel also deals with adult matters. 

it's about a woman, happily married, but one day she came across an old flame. and he's hot. and she was, quickly brought to the times when they were together. i guess the version of cover of the novel i put above really says it all, eh? 

still, i'm not gonna spoil the end, read it if you wanna know.

one last thing i'd like to take from this novel, is it's truthful interpretation of love. it's none of the touchy feely stuff you see plastered o your news feed everytime you open your facebook page. so, here goes...

"Love,not as a surge of passion, but as a choice to commit to something, someone, no matter what obstacles or temptations stand in the way"

(Lovethe One You're With, pp.290)

but what we see today, love is something that too often associated with lust. it has become so frail, so changeable, "loving someone is no longer a plague that haunts for years, it has become merely a light flu." 

heart-shaped box by joe hill

this is one hell of a scary book.

it's about a guy who was previously a popular metal singer. well, according to the book he had all these uncle stuff like beard and all, but coz beard is such a turn off, let's just say he didn't any gross-looking facial hair. better yet, maybe he can look like pat monahan, and then i'm gonna let the metal band part dissolve somewhere along the story. lol.

well, one day, he was alerted about a suit. not just one ordinary suit, but a haunted suit. being an avid collector of those freaky things, he decided to buy it for like, a thousand bucks. and it's really haunted. worth the money, right? i thought it's nearing the end of the novel already, BUT it turned out that the ghost that came along with the suit is meant to haunt him. and even worse, the ghost very determined to bring him to the afterlife. and the people close to him.

eek.

the story is great. brilliant, even. and i want to share here, in case my memory failed me in the future, about a secondary ghost story i found in the book. it's a bit sad. i loved it.

picture this. a girl playing with flowers and singing to herself. but in the middle, she was interrupted. she looked at the fence nearby, and slowly she went towards it. but something went wrong, because all that can be seen was her feet dangling, as if she's being snatched away by someone from the side over the fence. then she totally disappeared.

this is the ghost of a girl who was kidnapped when she was playing in her own lawn. like a DVD played over and over again, the ghost would appear to certain people, each time with similar story, but the person watching would have their mouth zipped shut, even if they really don't want her to go.

but remember our hero, the ex-metal singer? he managed to scream at her to not go there, and the ghost did hesitate. but reality stays the same, and the ghost would disappear at the end of the day.

i' like to read another joe hill's book...

    

Eve and Adam

the first thing that enticed me into reading this book is the cover. it's just so beautiful! and the tagline "and girl created boy" seriously, who doesn't want to read a book with such tagline?

this book is about a girl, Eve, whose mother owned a biopharm. and this biopharm has this one software that let her to create a  human being, in anyway one desired. so Eve created Adam. but that's not the end of the story...

this can be a very complicated story, but i'm glad that it's simple, fast-paced, and goes straight to the end. i'd even praised it's lack of depth. well, maybe i'm just a lazy reader.. hehehe. but really, more depth would make it a better novel. 

Paris, My Sweet

"if you want to fall (helplessly) in love with 

Paris, read this book"  

how should i put this? i had some of the most magical moments reading this book. sometimes i can just connect my self with Amy in her search for her true self along the days of decadent viennoiseries and tres delicieux chocolats.

sure thing,  the protagonist, Amy is a successful woman; writing for Louis Vuitton while living in Paris. Yet so alone. Being alone in the city of love? That's ironic, isn't it? 

BUT 

what makes me fall for paris after years and years worshipping US, is the food. not the notion of it being the city of love... meh. sure, US is full of to-die-for steak, hot wings, and mesmerizing grandes cupcakes. but there's something about france and its wide range of sweet food; gateaux, viennoiseries, chocolats with divine quality (as described in the book) that captured me. maybe it has something with me being a little bit of a sweet tooth. hehehe. 

and i just know from the book that there's no French toast in France. it goes by the name pain perdu. and according to Amy, it waaaay more heavenly than those she had in America, let alone the ones we have in Malaysia. meh.

i hope someday, i can go to Paris and try all these sublime foodies. no matter how old i am when that time comes. and no matter if i'm torn between buying flight ticket to LAX or Charles de Gaulle, i'm going to go to the streets of Paris on the Velibs, munching on my Nutelle crepes, rather than walking along Miami beach on summer staring at all the hot American boys. oops :P 

now i got my eyes on : kettlebell

i've long accepted the fact that i'm not the cardio-maniac type. i despise jogging and running. brisk walking and cycling is okay, but considering the environment i'm living in currently... i'd rather be safe THAN sorry, rather than not safe THEN sorry.

so i've been thinking about doing weight training instead. and maybe some dumbbells or maybe kettlebells. so here i'm gonna paste some info i found :

1. For multiple-joint exercises, such as bent-over rows, chest presses or shoulder presses, you will need a slightly larger bell. Lie on your back on a bench or table, elbows bent at 90 degrees, upper arms parallel to the floor. Hold the bell in the hand of the weakest arm and straighten the elbow as you slowly push the bell upward toward the ceiling, as in a chest press. In a slow and controlled fashion, return to your start position. Repeat, counting repetitions until you can no longer proceed with control. If you can do more than 10 repetitions, move to a larger bell. If you can only do five or six or less, choose a lighter bell.

2. For single-joint exercises such as lateral raises, triceps extension and biceps curls, select a smaller kettlebell. To determine your best weight, hold the kettlebell in the hand of your weakest arm and slowly lift your arm to the side until your hand is at shoulder height. Slowly and with control, lower the arm to your beginning position. Repeat without resting. If you can do more than 10 but fewer than 15 repetitions, go to the next higher weight. If you can only do five or six repetitions, choose the next lower weight. 

3. Kettlebell prices :

Fitness Concept  (online price)

2lbs / 4kg = rm 23

4lbs / 6kg = rm46

6lbs / 8 kg = rm69

8lbs / 10kg = rm92

10lbs / 12kg = rm114

14lbs / 16kg =  rm160

18lbs / 20kg = rm206

the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky

THIS IS ONE BOOK THAT SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL! would be my first thought after reading this book. 

it has all the elements that students can relate to, that teacher can relate to students, that everyone can relate to; friendship, family, sex, drugs. okay so maybe not everyone has experience on all that, especially the last two, but what's with the paranoid of  books content when internet literally has it all?

but i know schools in my country would NEVER get it into the curriculum. oh well. let me add an interesting equation : old people = paranoia = literally everyone with power in education matters = old people. 

hahaha to be honest, i read this book because Emma Watson starred in its movie adaptation. so i figured i'd try reading the book, just in case i stumble into the movie in the future. initially it strikes me as boring. the language is easy, the story is easy, but the unpredictability of it takes me further and further into the world of Charlie. 

Charlie strikes me as someone with ADHD and maybe even autistic. i'd say both. why? the way he'd stray from the topic of his letters and also how he seemed to have some sort of difficulties getting his message conveyed to people around him. 

but he's one lucky boy because he has this wonderfully supportive family and these great friends... 

...something that everyone wants, but few realize that they already have.

all in all, it's a great book :D i can't wait to see the movie!

charlie and the chocolate factory

i think everyone but me has seen the movie version of this story. but i was too lazy to download the movie, and i need something light in between the thick novels, so i picked up the book. 

of course, it's amazing in its own childish way. maybe someday i'd watch the movie.

:)

dark places by gillian flynn

i had fallen in love, hard, to my first gillian flynn novel, gone girl. so i figured i would try to look into her other novels. and i picked 'dark places'.

it was not a wrong choice, at all. but i'd definitely say it's not my fave compared to gone girl.

dark places starts a little slow, beginning with the life of a dreadful woman, Libby. it was so boring, i thought about dropping the book. but once i get through half of the book, things just get better. well, maybe i'm just an impatient reader :P that's because at the last half of the book, i finally figured out what the hell happened.

brilliant storyline, i would say. it's just, i never thought that man and that girl could be the real killers. the Day family are just one unlucky bunch, ey?

cheerio.

kindle paperwhite : i can finally cross it from my wishlist

this is what kindle paperwhite looks like!

so i've been wanting an ebook reader for so long. but because malaysia has severe lack of ebook reader market, i had to turn to third party sellers, which are available all over lowyat network.

i've been peeking around sony's ebook reader since the beginning of the year, but at that time, it was priced around RM500+ which i think is quite expensive. so i waited. and while i was waiting (partly for my money to magically double up, partly for the ebook reader to get lower price) a new model of kindle came out, and i was immediately hooked. it can be read in the dark, i mean, what else do you want in an ebook reader? i definitely was crazy over that one aspect, and also the long battery life, up to 8 weeks on a single charge. and also the ability to search the meaning of a foreign word just by tapping on the word a bit longer. YAY!    

it took me around a month to set my mind on it, and after some approach to the sellers, i finally got my kindle paperwhite at rm400+. yes i know it's a steep price for usd119, but i believe it will worth the amount of books i'll be reading on it, so it doesn't matter much for me. (though now i'm officially broke :P)  

initially i was doubtful about getting a kindle since it can only read .mobi and not .epub files. however, i found out that we can easily convert epub into mobi and vice versa using this magical little software named calibre. so it was a blessing for the piles of epub files i have lying around my 'ebook' folder. not only that, i also currently use this software to manage the content in my kindle.

i'm very happy for finally getting my own ebook reader as this means that i can go back to my old old hobby, reading. i used to be the bookworm when i was in school, you know, that one student who you can find in library whenever circumstance allows so. but as i grow up and learnt to spend a lot of money shopping online and offline and getting piled up with many many commitment that require times, and being a student with not so much places to keep books, and also having the recent realization that flipping books makes me drowsy, i turned to reading ebook. initially i read on computer, around 6 books i guess, so you can imagine the huge eyestrain i got. 

so now, i'm back to being an avid reader. double yay!

   

my first MUA little haul :)

i have set my eyes on MUA for a long time, for both the good comments its products get, and the very attractive price of mere 1£ for each item. 

that's when i discovered Beauty Fiks page on facebook, which offers the service of buying makeup from their online websites. 

so when the pre-order for MUA is opened, i ordered a few things, well, 5 actually. because it's so cheap! can you blame me? hahaha

i LOVE the blush, it's so pigmented! i bought the Shade 5, fyi, which some said is the dupe of NARS Blush in Orgasm. 

and for the lipsticks, i bought shade 6,7 and 11. 11 is the standing one, which you can see is shades darker than the other two pink-based ones. i quite like them, though it may not last long for each application,but for rm8 a piece, it doesnt matter much 

:3    

i actually bought the pressed powder out of curiosity, but it is actually good in coverage. :)

so that's my haul for this time. next time i'll probably look into Sleek's products, especially the bronzer. gotta try new things eh? hahaha.

The Way We Were by Elizabeth Noble

this is a really captivating book. i keep thinking about it until i finally finish reading it. [spoiler] it's about Susannah who was trapped with the affection with her old fling, Rob. earlier in life, they had this kind of amazingly morale, sweet relationship but they broke up with almost no closure between them. which i believe is why, when circumstance was in their aid, they went back together, which isn't a good thing to do. i almost like the ending. almost.  

and somehow, from the beginning i kept picturing Rob as that dude that works along Mariska Hargitay in Law and Order. perhaps because the author first mentioning him as a tall and big guy ::shrugs:: but i found him fitting the role really well :D

all in all i'd recommend this book if you're looking for something sweet and warm with a little bit drama for boring Sundays.

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk

i think this is the first chick-lit i read this year. thanks to it, now i know i'm not a fan of chick-lit novels. but maybe because i just jumped into the 'i heart' chronicles without following the order of events as i should, so i felt left out. hmm.. maybe later i'll go into the other 'i heart' novels.

but it had been quite fun reading this book, coz at least there's a bit french in it, which makes me feel a bit smarter for being able to understand (though simple) phrases like "je ne parle francais". LOL. that's how pathetic i was then.

i've got nothing much to say about this book. it's a light reading material, some conflicts here and there, some stupid decisions, and the inevitable happy ending. which is a good thing, really.

the second e-card, and something's a bit off. tch.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

this book is an interesting piece of fiction, revolving around the magical world contained within the shades of black, white and grey that is Le Cirque des Reves (the circus of dreams). it's rare for me to be stunned by something that i'm reading, but this book did it to me. 

the diction is simple, one with basic english like mine can navigate their way through the stories without much difficulties, though it's not unusual for complex words to pop out here and there.

so this novel will be turned into a movie in 2013. (gosh so many things to be anticipated in 2013! XD) and i hope the movie will succeed in bringing out all those magical moments, emotional moments, and everything in between.

last, but not least, this book is a MUST READ.

  

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

1Q84 is probably the longest novel I've ever read, nearing 1000 pages. One of the reason I'm glad (and am hopeful) that this novel had not (and never will) be featured as one of the long list of novels I have to study.

Another reason I'm not going to recommend this as none other than light reading (for other lazy bums out there) is because the novel is packed with elements. Air Chrysalis, The Little People, mahza and dohta, Janacek's Sinfonietta (pardon me for the lack of accents) and even the characters themselves... wow. I'll have a hard time figuring what's what and what it can be perceived as. You know what it's like being in literature classes. There's no black and white, just an overwhelming gray area so dense sometimes I lost my way; in the middle of the assumptions, the interpretations and also some bullshit here and there.

Okay, all that above is the reason I dont want to study 1Q84.

But as a light reading material, it's just brilliant. SCARILY SO.

When I'm in the middle of the book, at times I just wanted to stop. "This book is too long, I'll just leave it for a while" or "OMG, can I just peek at the ending?" but at other times, I've become so obsessive over it. I just can't get it out of my head. Well, until this very moment when I've finally done reading, it still lingers.

Which brings me to the second point. It's memorable. And with the touch of mystical element of Air Chrysalis and The Little People in it, it has become even more interesting. This is no Red Riding Hood living in modern time. It's fresh, and it meant more to me than just a mixture of reality and fairy tale.

One thing that bother me is that it's too long. Perhaps because I read it on the computer screen, the experience is not too great. I'm sure I'd have no complaint if I get to read it on paperback or ebook reader. 

And being a long novel actually doesnt hurt. It actually help me to form deeper bond with the characters inside the novel, especially Aomame. Well, maybe there's a little bit too much of repetition here and there, but I'd just skim over it. :P

Anyway, I'd recommend 1Q84 for light reading, and NOT for classroom discussion! LOL

   

The Big Book of Gross Stuff by Bart King

i would recommend the book to anyone who need a break from the drama in life. it's all about facts, facts and facts about (maybe) some of the grossest things you'll ever read, things that you can definitely relate to. and not to forget, it gives you A LOT of new knowledge that you'd probably never see coming your way.

well, among the things that i can remember from this book :

first, a sperm whale barf is very valuable, so keep a lookout whenever you're on a beach for something that looks like dog's vomit that washes up ashore

second, there's a tribe that actually separates human's face from the skull and proceeds to make fist-sized shrunken heads, probably a ritual or just pastime activity, i don't know. i'm just glad i'm not anywhere nearby.

third, enema is a medical procedure that seems disgusting but can actually be very relieving to some people. google it yourself.

and there're many more interesting facts that you'll come across while reading this book as you progress through your journey on some gross topics in this book.

i'd say, enjoy. :P

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Heart of the Matter is a well-written book about the lives of two different women, Tessa and Valerie. Initially I was perplexed on how they are connected, but as the story moves along, I finally found the answer.

Tessa husband was engaged in an affair with Valerie.

As normal people would do, which is to frown upon the wicked, tempting mistress, I felt differently towards her. Perhaps because the novel moves forward by going back and forth from the lives of Tessa and Valerie, I got to know the reason behind whatever happened, which in Valerie's life isn't all rainbows and butterflies.

Valerie is a single mother who solely takes care of her kindergarten-levelled son, Charlie, with the help of her brother, Jason. She had Charlie when she was very young, and Charlie's father may not even know he existed, being the carefree, ignorant artist that he was.

while

Tessa is a typical housewife you can picture being included in Good Christian Bitches or Suburgatory. But Tessa, she  may be a tad nicer than those women. Quitting his job to concentrate on her two children, she constantly struggle with matters like school snacks, household chores, and of course, the children.

So as the story goes back and forth between Tessa and Valerie, I can't help being a bit biased towards Tessa. I don't know why I felt some sort of pity with Valerie. Perhaps it's because Charlie never had a father, and Tessa's husband was playing the role perfectly that I wanted things to stay that way.

Too bad it didn't.

So in summary, it's a very engaging story, and being only my second book of Emily Giffin, i can say i kinda fell for her simple portrayal of complicated adults' matter.

my first e-card! well, not really an e-card but more like polaroid pic :P

i've always liked to browse through someecards.com, mostly because some of them is so funny, partly because most of them remind me of reality. and of course, i couldn't stow my twitchy fingers for so long before i wanted to make one of my own.

but instead of incorporating a catchy and funny phrase, i wanted something more meaningful, perhaps a reminder for myself, and whoever managed to catch a glimpse of it. human forget, anyways. 

i hope i can keep on doing this, though not frequently. because sometimes in lowest times of life, i do need some wise words to keep me going.

lolz i even imitate someecards signature style. my bad. :P

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

________________________________________________

short summary

Baby Proof revolves around the life of Claudia Parr, who was, well... baby-proof. She was dead set on the idea of never having children of her own. And when she met Ben, they had agreed to not having children together, but as time passed by, Ben became smitten with the idea of having babies of their own.

Which leads to big changes in both lives.

________________________________________________

commentary

as i am a sucker for happy endings, i am definitely delighted when i finished reading this book. 

considering that this is the first book that i've finished reading after years of non-committal flipping-through-pages, i would say that Baby Proof is  quite a winner. it keeps me intrigued about what will happen next and beyond. This may be a light slice-of-life novel, but since the characters are of different stage of life, i just didn't know what to expect.

________________________________________________

issues

is it worth having children, which the parents have to take care at least till they're 18? world is mean nowadays, there is no absolute guarantee that they will take care of the parents when they are old.

is it the right thing to do to sacrifice being who we are and to change our stand and ideology just to  have someone we love, love us back? 

cheating partners, are they worth keeping just for the sake of the children?

________________________________________________

suit up!

recent read : Gentle Daisy (Dengeki Daisy)

gentle daisy is quite an interesting manga. it's about a girl whose brother died, and all that he left her is a handphone, which she will use to message an individual named daisy. daisy's role in the girl's life is to cheer her up with kind words and to protect her from any incoming danger.

that's the element that captured my interest.

once i had my own daisy, who constantly cherish me with kind words, and to stay with me during the worst moments in my life, all through text messages. i know that seemed impossible, but i was there once. and somehow, not knowing (in real life) the person at the end of the line give you freedom to tell them just about everything. and that was enough for me, to have someone listened to my problems and knowing that actually this person care to listen to my unnecessary ramblings.

but i became greedy, and i took our relationship to the next level. real-life level.

right now, i know i have made the right choice. but that action, actually cause me to lose my own daisy. knowing someone in real life, no matter how special that relationship turned out to be, barred me from spilling everything out to the person. no matter how badly i want to. and i AM bad with spoken words, especially when i'm frustrated or angry, which will cause things i said to be taken for another meaning. so i stayed silent most of the times.

so.. i kinda missed having my own daisy back.

though it may be improbable, or even impossible. 

p/s : if you read this, don't misunderstand.

  

calories please be kind to me

i've had weight issue since i was a kid. i think i did eat a lot more compared to my other siblings, which in turn makes me the fattest of 'em all. T_T not the title anyone wants, isn't it.

however in recent time, i kinda realized that i should do something about it. i don't wanna end up growing old fat and eventually forced by the doctor to jog around the park every morning just for the sake of my health when i should fill my retirement years with relaxing and other stuff i should be doing by then.

i did lose some weight, thanks to a simple breakfast i took from february to june, though occasionally i was defeated by the nasi lemak and fried mee hoon sold at the ground level of the hostel. i need to lose at least another 17 kg more to achieve my ideal weight. wow. now that i'm typing it out here, that number sure seems like a LOT. 

so with the semester holiday, i'm staying at home, and once again defeated by all kinds of delicious breakfast sold around my house ( my family don't cook our own breakfast, we buy them most of the time ). and i stopped with my breakfast scheme.

and ramadhan came. i know lots of people see this month as an opportunity to eat less, but after seven days, i see no changes. but still, fortunately i maintained the weight from june until now. PHEW! 

so calories, please be kind to me. let me consume a little less of you guys, and can you please please please burnt off a little quicker when i'm doing anything in my sedentary lifestyle? gosh i sound so lazy and BAD. but that's just who i really am. a lazy girl hoping to shed some more weight so she can do a little krav maga. heh. i wish.

goodbye rainbows and butterflies

this may be permanent or temporary

to me, it may be a phase or not

i really don't know

but for the time being

i'll just be an abandoned name

and may it stay that way

for my own sake

oh! hitam

oh, hitam

saya mau hitam

hitam dengan siapa?

mau hitam saja

oh, hitam

saya mau hitam

kucing pakai baju biru

sangat comel, budak busuk

kucing pakai baju biru

sangat comel, budak busuk

LOL! 

i'll never know how i got the idea to create such lyric :P anyways, hitam @ abanghitam is the newest addition to the long list of my family cats. i have known him for long because he stayed in rajawali block in UPM's second college, but i never thought i'd really be able to bring him home. surprisingly, my parents allowed me to do so, while my sister... let's just say she's a sucker for cats too.

in the hostel, he sometimes would come to my room and eat ( i keep a big bottle of kibbles for stray cats) and maybe stay for a while for a nap or just 'smelling around', you know, the things cats do everyday. i like him very much because he was SO LAZY. he's the kind of cat that would stare at you with that lazy look and prefer laying around sleeping that chasing people around. though sometimes i think i'm allergic to him, and that made me rethink back if i really wanna bring him home.

anyway, i mentioned about him to my mother, and though she wasn't too much into bringing an already grown cat home, but i didn't give up. when the day came for me to go back to johor, i showed him to my mother and sister. i guess he's likeable (EEK!) and long story short, we brought him along in our 3 hours journey home. luckily he didn't pee or poop in my father's car. PHEW!

anyway, the blue shirt is actually babies' apparel. i found it in a sale in The Store Batu Pahat for RM2. A great bargain, when all the cats apparel i found online is more than RM10 and Daiso is nowhere near where i'm living right now. 

:D

i know exercising has its own risks, but one that involves the BRAIN??? and i sometimes have headache after a session.. T_T

EXERTION HEADACHE. 

What actually occurs is that the blood vessels in your brain expand beyond their normal thresholds which puts pressure on the meninges (small nerves that cover the brain) which causes the painful headache. The headache subsides once the heart rate drops along with the blood pressure, but the headache lingers because the meninges remain extra sensitive. 

_____________________________________

Typically exertion headaches occur when a combination of the following circumstances are true:

1. You're Dehydrated: Dehydration thickens your blood

2. Valsalva (Holding Breath): This causes a dramatic spike in blood pressure

3. Poor Neck Position: Anything other than a neutral spine causes constrictions on the Carotid Arteries, the main arteries that deliver blood to the brain.

4. Increased Heart Rate: As a set progresses, your heart rate will steadily climb so that by the end of your set it can be close to (or above) your maximal heart rate.

5. Heavy Weight on Body: The more weight you have on your body, the more your blood pressure will rise as you exert yourself lifting it. Because legs are the strongest muscle group in the body, you typically lift more weight with your legs. The correlation with heavy weight and an increase in blood pressure makes compound leg movements more risky than other movements.

___________________________________

To prevent an exertion headache:

1. BE Hydrated: Drink enough water that you're piss is white the day before your lift and the day of, and drink water during your workout.

2. NEVER Hold Your Breath: Most good lifters pride themselves on having good form. When I'm working with a client, in addition to proper mechanics, I include proper breathing as a requirement for a rep to count. "Your holding your breath, that rep doesn't count."

3. Maintain a NEUTRAL SPINE: Unless you're performing a neck exercise, there is no need for your neck to be bent. Let it be comfortable and neutral and focus on the target muscle.

4. Allow for RECOVERY/ do CARDIO: First of all, do some cardio to condition your heart and lungs to be able to work hard. This will prevent the body from being too shocked on rep 9 and 10 on those Squats! 

Second of all, give yourself enough time between sets and exercises for your heart rate to come down. You shouldn't jump in to the next set or exercise while your heart is pounding. Not only will you not perform as well because your cardiovascular system will fatigue before the muscle your training, but you will also put yourself at risk for the headache. As a general rule, any time you're doing a heavy compound movement, especially on legs, make sure your heart rate is comfortable before you begin the set.

5. Single-Leg, Single Joint / It is what it is: Try doing some single-leg leg extensions before you do your squats to pre-fatigue them so they go to failure sooner. Also, single joint leg movements can help you isolate the quads and ham strings so you can strengthen them through their entire range of motion which will help your Squat/Deadlift. However, it is what it is. As long as you can handle the heavy weight with good form, you should do it. It is what it is. Heavy weight on the squat bar/leg press/hack machine is GOING to cause an increase in your blood pressure. As long as 1-4 are good to go, move whatever weight you can control with good form.

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Remember, an EXERTION HEADACHE is an INJURY TO THE BRAIN. If not taken seriously, it won't go away and can become worse. Just like any other injury in the gym, certain steps must be taken to transition the body back to a high performance level again.