EUR/USD 151208

I have been back from my overseas exercise since 13th Nov and have been looking at charts everyday, but i just couldn't "pull the trigger" even when i saw potential trades... (even on virtual trades!!!)

Did i lost confidence, or was i getting more picky on my trades?

But as i read through Conrad's forum, i gotten back momentum and trade my first trade ever since i am back!

All the longer time frame chart (4hr, 1hr) showed obvious uptrend.

I set 2 similiar orders in BUYSTOP at 1.3500, which is slightly above the previous high and set a stop lost at 1.3425 which is the nearest support line.

Risk = 75 pipsReward = ?

When the trade went my way, I exited the first position at 1.3526 for a 26 pip profit and adjust the stop to 1.3517 which is the low of the 30min candle.I am not sure if i shoud have exited the first position, since i was risking 75 pips and exited only with 26 pips.. seems to be a lousy risk to reward ratio.
I got stop out when it hit my (manual) trailing stop.
Greeksman is right, i am laughing my way to the bank on this trade.
This is one of my best trades so far.
But the amount i win this time has got nothing to do with my skills, i just followed my rules and just ride the trend up.
Still felt that it was luck. Well, the trend seems to continue and who knows where it will head towards.

Pips Gained
From 1st Positon = 26 pips
From 2nd Position = 191 pips

But got to improve on my plan as suggested by Henry and Greeksman.
i Have yet to decide on a "timeframe" which i would trade.
I thought i just let it ride as far as possible (of course most trade dun turn out like this one).
And stop loss, i based it on technicals and reduce vol to fit 2% of my account. And was happy with my exit so far, but perhaps consider if i want to lossen my trailing stop so i can ride the trend further?

The Purpose of Blogging

Welcome Myself to This Blog!

The purpose of this blog is to RECORD and KEEP TRACK of my progress in pursuit of a life filled with Power and Passion.

When i say Power, i do not mean Power over others, but rather, Power over myself. This is really an adaptation of Tony Robbins' term, Personal Power.

I had devoted the past few years of my life, searching and living, a Life of Passion. To my close friends especially those who started this journey with me, it may not seems that i have achieved much yet, but i do believe in the Power of Dreams and i do believe that God loves me and wants nothing but the best for me.

I had recently reviewed my 2008 journal and i am so grateful for my life. I have learnt and gained so much and now i am in a better position to make even better distinctions on who i am, what i want and how i can be and contribute even more. This journey of life is a continuous process rather than one with a definite end point, so lets get ready, get set, and lets FLY and live a life of power and passion.

All Year Round Goals

I was thinking hard of what to set for my Physical Goal in year 2008 at the end of last year and decided to complete a Triathlon after being inspired by "Team Hoyt".

The magical thing about setting and writing goals is that we are in fact writing and creating our future in advance (with the Grace of God of course).

Well, i managed to complete the Triathlon which happened on the 13th July and what happended was that i found the lack of motivational to keep up with the fitness regime after that.

For this year, i aim to set all year round goals so i can see where i am heading each time i train...
Some possible ones would be:
April - IPPT GOLD

2.4km (under 8min 45 sec)
Chin Up (25)
SBJ (260m)

July - Triathlon (under 3 hrs)

September - Half Iron Man (Complete)

December - Full Marathon (under 4hrs)

Alright, wit specific measurable goals, i cna start to craft my strategy to achieve them.

Do start setting soem of your goals (physical, relationship, spiritual, finances etc)

I will touch on my strategies for achieving these goals in the next post.

Food calorie Calculator

Hi Guys,

please download at
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=7783

Body Part Routines Are A Joke...‏

A full body workout or ody oart routine? This is a view point from Vince DelMonte, Author & Creator, No Nonsense Muscle BuildingMen's Fitness Magazine Contributor

1. No transfer to reality.

Legs one day, back one day, chest one day, arms one day... why don't we have another day allocated to face muscles and another day for just finger muscles ?! You've probably heard the saying, "Form follows function." The way you train will determine the way you look but it will also determine the way you perform and live life. Yes, many people have improved the way they look with cosmetic oriented training -- bodybuilding -- but it has little to no transfer to functional living. I am assuming that you also want to be fit and be confident knowing that you have muscular strength, power, speed and eendurance. Let me clarify, I'm not against "split routines" where you split up "movements' to different days like squats, pull ups, over head presses one day and then deadlifts, bent over rows and bench press another day.

2. Hormonal response.

Science has shown that the more muscle one uses during a training session, the greater the amount of testosterone and human growth hormone that is released into your body. These are the two MAJOR hormones responsible for building muscle mass. Doing exercises like squats, presses, rows, DB swings, and snatches is like shooting testosterone and hGH through a powerful fire hose into your body! Doing a body part workout like biceps and triceps is like shooting testosterone and hGH into your body with little dinky squirt gun.

3. Training length.

Bodybuilding programs usually prescribe 12-24 sets for ONE muscle group. That's insane! Bodybuilding programs are like saying, "Go sprint a marathon!" It's impossible. Consider this. If I'm doing 12-24 sets on one muscle group then I can only train at 60-70% of my one rep max. Do you think that's actually intense? No! Where are the gains coming from? Where does the strength increase occur? That's why people do these marathon body part workouts for up to 2 hours. And when you train longer then (about) 60 minutes, hGH and testosterone hormones drop and cortisol, a catabolic hormone, begins to rise (leading to muscle LOSS). I will even go as far as to say that body part workouts tailor to wimps because the workouts are easy. They barely make me sweat.

4. Bone and joint strength

Again, science would tell you the only way to strengthen your skeletal structure including your tendons, ligaments and bones is HEAVY lifting. This requires multi-joint movements like deadlifts, cleans, presses, chin ups, rows and squats. Body part programs are filled with isolation exercises like leg curls, extensions, side raises, cable flys etc. These are all exercises that put the weightat the end of a long lever. This puts minimal stress on your skeletal structure because it's difficult to lift even if you're using a "heavy" weight. The only way to build NEW muscle mass on your body is to lift heavier and heavier weights and you can not do that by doing exercises that waste your energy and do not maximize strength gains.

How healthy is coffee? decaf? What about teas?‏

A personal message from mike geary to me,

Apparently, tea is the most consumed beverage world-wide. However, in the US, coffee is the most consumed beverage.

So is this addiction to coffee bad or good for you?

We all have heard the endless benefits of teas and all of the various antioxidant quantities and varieties in green, white, oolong, black, and rooibos teas, as well as other herbal teas. However, the general consensus appears to be a little more vague about whether coffee is beneficial or detrimental to your health.

From the research I've done and viewing opinions on the matter that go both ways, it's my opinion that coffee DOES have some beneficial effects, but it's best done in moderation (such as a cup every other day) instead of the typical 2-4 cups per day that most Americans drink.

One positive benefit is that coffee is a rich source of antioxidants similar to how teas and cocoa are rich sources of various antioxidants. It seems that the high antioxidant content of coffee over-rules any negative components of coffee such as the tars, etc.

Another benefit of coffee is that it contains several minerals as well as chlorogenic acid which can help improve insulin sensitivity and improve liver function in your body. Keep in mind that decaf is NOT considered a healthy choice due to the chemical processing it undergoes to remove the caffeine. This chemical processing can also damage the natural antioxidants in coffee as well as leave a certain percentage of the decaffeinating chemical in the coffee. So you need to drink the full octane coffee to reap the potential benefits.

However, there lies part of the problem. The caffeine in coffee is in higher levels and also has the ability to create addiction to caffeine much more than teas. In teas, not only is the caffeine quantity lower, but it also has a more muted effect than coffee. It is theorized that the caffeine response is more friendly in the body from tea because some of the other compounds in tea help to mute the effect of the caffeine it contains.

Back to coffee... the caffeine addiction that most people get from coffee is one of the major problems associated with drinking multiple cups per day. Also keep in mind that it's best to drink coffee black... instead of with cream, sugar, fake creamers (which most have trans fats), or artificial sweeteners. If you don't like it black, try to use a touch of stevia, a very small amount of sugar, or a little touch of real maple syrup. One of my favorites is to make a cup of coffee, add a little cocoa powder (even more antioxidants), and a little stevia or real maple syrup. Sort of a "mocha-maple coffee". Mmm good!

Since teas have much lower quantities of caffeine and still have tremendous antioxidant benefits, having daily teas appears to be a smarter alternative than daily coffee. If you really love coffee, I do think there can be some benefits to it, but like I mentioned, my opinion is that it's best only a couple times a week instead of every single day to prevent the strong caffeine addiction.

A little fact about teas... Did you know that green tea, white tea, black tea, and oolong tea all come from the same plant? Yep. Black tea is the fermented leaves.Green tea is non-fermented leaves.White tea is young buds.Oolong tea is from the stems. They all have different concentrations and compositions of various antioxidants, so it can be beneficial to include some variety into the teas that you get. Another lesser known tea is called Rooibos tea (red tea) native to south africa. This tea also has high levels of antioxidants but in different compositions than the other teas. So with all of this about tea and coffee being considered, what I like to do is rotate 4 or 5 different teas and have a different one almost every day of the week, and then have coffee no more than once or twice a week.

One of the benefits of this variability is that you really diversify your antioxidant intake (as well as eliminating boredom since you're drinking something different every day). Enjoy! **I forgot to mention last week...

To give you some extra motivation this year to get in the best shape of your life, entering a contest is one of the best ways to do this... Remember the Body for Life Contests that were so popular years ago? Well people really did get in the best shape of their lives partially because of the competitive factor of being involved in a contest. There's an alternative this year to the Body for Life Contest (and you have a much better chance of winning as your pool of competitors is much smaller than BFL!)... You can join Craig B's TT contest. The last day you must join if you want a shot at winning the prizes is January 21, 2008. Here are the prizes: Grand Prize - $2000 & a 3-year Platinum TT Membership Second Place - $1000 & a 2-year Platinum TT Membership Third Place - $500 & a 1-Year Platinum TT Membership You must purchase a copy of TT to enter into the contest and you will keep a training journal and enter your before/after pics on the membership site that you'll get access to. If you want that extra bit of motivation to get in the best shape of your life and also have a chance at winning $500, $1000, or even $2000 at the same time, then purchase a copy of Craig's TT program and get started at: http://beyondcardioworkouts.com

If you've already purchased a copy of this and want to enter the contest, you should have received the details from Craig. If not, you can contact them at their site above for the details. Remember, if you want to compete in this contest, you need to start asap and get your photos and info submitted on the membership site by no later than Jan 21, 2008. It's a 12-week contest similar to BFL. Alright, I'll be back in a couple days with more lean body secrets. Til then, don't be lazy... be lean.

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition SpecialistCertified Personal TrainerFounder - Truth About Abs

Relieve Muscle Soreness

Muslce Soreness After A Workout? Try some of these!

1. Static Stretching.

Focus on slow and gradual stretching. Stretch each muscle just to where you begin to feel the stretch then hold that position until you feel the muscle let go. Do not bounce or force the muscle unless you want to create more harm than good.

2. Light Exercise.

Muscles that are not used will become stiff and take longer to become pain free. Gentle, non-stressful exercise will increase the circulation and relax your muscles.

3. Massage.

Good old fashioned massage acts much like light exercise or gentle stretching by increasing your circulation and coaxing the muscles to relax. The differences are that with massage you need do nothing other than simply enjoy, and the massage therapist can locate and work with those areas of your musculature most in need of attention.

4. Cold.

Cold water or ice breaks the pain/ischemia/spasm cycle by increasing the circulation and interfering with pain signals. Ice is also an excellent anti-inflammatory agent and will greatly speed healing. I run my muscles under cold water for 3-10 minutes after a workout.

5. Alternating Hot and Cold.

Since the thought of hot often seems more soothing it is included here, but in combination with cold. Hot water will relax muscles and increase circulation but will also increase inflammation and swelling within muscle fibers. Therefore it is important to alternate with cold and end with cold. This can take the form of a sauna and swim, a whirlpool and cold plunge, a hot and cold shower or a hot bath and ice. After 3-10 minutes of cold, run the hot shower on your legs for 1 minute. And than repeat a few times.

6. Movement In The Pool.

Water supports your muscles and makes them easier to use. If you are extremely sore it will be easier for you to use your muscles in the pool either walking, stretching, or gently swimming.

No more soreness? Get continue to get our butts working!