Showing posts with label 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge. Show all posts

Saturday, December 6, 2014

BURPEES at Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Burpees at Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia
 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge - Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Just the fact that I was able to see 13th century temples was amazing enough! Cambodia has been everything that I have read about. The people are super nice, the food is great, the activities are endless, untouched beaches, and lots of history!

I finally completed my 30 burpees at the Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap as part of my 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge. If this is your first time hearing about my world challenge, here it is in a nutshell:

What started out as a fun challenge to do 30 burpees at 100 Wonders of the World, it ended up being much bigger with a VISION to "make a difference". Now the 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge is focused on three things:

1.  Fighting the obesity trend by sharing health and fitness all over the planet

2.  Promote World Travel

3.  Giving Back - I am currently working with non-profit philanthropic projects to fight youth sex-trafficking around the world, as well as helping homeless children on a global scale. Although this project is still in it's infancy, I am going strong with the mission, and will have a blog set up specifically for this project. For more information and to possibly be part of this project, please feel free to message me.


So a lot of EXCITING things coming up, but in the meantime, please enjoy my latest BURPEE video from the amazing ANGKOR WAT:




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Monday, October 27, 2014

100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge - Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok Thailand

100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge - Emerald Buddha Temple Thailand
 Grand Palace - Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok Thailand

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! =) This blog is about my fitness and travel journey. You can find out more about me by clicking here =). So I decided in the beginning of 2014 that I was going to start a challenge which consisted of both my fitness and travel passions. I somehow talked myself into visiting 100 Wonders of the World, and also doing 30 burpees at each of them. My goal is to film each set of 30 burpees at each WOW (Wonder of the World) and then finally put together a compilation video of each video. I'm not sure how long it will take me, but my goal is less than 5 years =). I am calling this the "100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge".


The question that I get all the time is....WHY? Why are you doing this? It's pretty simple, I am doing this for a couple of reasons:

- To take advantage of the FREEDOM that my Beachbody Coaching Business has given to me!
- To share health and fitness along with travel education around the world.
- To inspire my daughter to live her BEST life now!

Combining my two passions and sharing it with the world is something that I never planned on doing, it just happened. If it wasn't for the support of my family and very close friends (my coach team), this lifestyle would not have been possible for me. I am truly blessed to be able to travel the world with all of my expenses fully funded by me thanks to my Beachbody Coaching Business which allows me to not be location dependent, I despise office cubicles and bosses telling me what to do =). As long as I have internet, I can still work my business. It's not a bad gig working from a bamboo hut overlooking the world's finest beaches and mountains! Are you doing what you really love? Maybe I can help you with that =).

Grand Palace Pagoda - Bangkok, Thailand
Grand Palace Pagoda - Bangkok Thailand

So I landed in Bangkok Thailand on October 17th (2014), and all I could think about was doing my burpees at the Emerald Buddha Temple, which according the Hillman's List (the WOW list that I am going by), it is the only Wonder of the World (100) in Thailand. The place was absolutely amazing! The staff would not allow me to do my 30 burpees within the temple walls, so I had to go outside to do them, here's my video:




Thanks again for visiting my blog, stay tuned for more fitness and travel posts, and I look forward to meeting you somewhere around the world! =)


Related Links:
- More Travel Blog Posts
- My 100 Wonders of the World Video Play List (follow me on Youtube)
- Become a Beachbody Coach on my team! (Serious Only Please)


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Sunday, October 19, 2014

How I Earn A Living While Traveling


Riding a Tuk Tuk - Bangkok
 How I Earn A Living While Traveling

It was the year of 2001, I headed on my first backpacking trip to Europe. At the time, I was working in the hospitality industry. I worked in a casino, a night club, and was in the process of starting a night life marketing business. I have never planned a trip that lasted over weekend before that. I bought a book by Lonely Planet, it was called "Europe on a Shoestring". I did research for about a year before I ventured out and invited a friend to come with me. Her name was Christine, and at the time, she was one of my co-workers. I thought to myself.... this girl is fun, we have a blast at work, she would probably be loads of fun to travel with. And I was right, she was awesome, we had the time of our lives and backpacked five countries in about a month, which is really short compared to backpacker standards, but that was only the beginning.

Till this day, I look back at that experience which has helped me make a decision that travel was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I literally felt at home, when I was not at home. The fact that you could just take off anytime that you want, hop on a plane, bus, or train and visit  the most amazing places around the world, it was like FREEDOM to me! I had a taste of it, and when I arrived back home, I started to think of a game plan on how I could travel the world, and have a business, or a job that I can do while traveling. That was the hard part, it actually took years.

I went from doing odd jobs, throwing crazy parties, doing telemarketing, started an online travel company, and even tried Amway. In between odd jobs and failing at several businesses, I was able to get some backpacking trips in, but I would always have to go back home because I always ran out of money. In between all of that craziness, I also got married, divorced, and my life was changed when my daughter was born. She was the BEST thing that ever happened to me. From the moment she was born, I felt that I finally had purpose. Growing up, I always wanted to become successful, but I never had a "WHY", a true reason why I wanted success. When my daughter came into my life, I knew what I had to do, I had to live my life, work hard, and do whatever it took to be the best father to my daughter, that was my only goal.

My Daughter and I 
Arnel Banawa - Beachbody Coach

My divorce killed me. I thought that I finally found the girl of my dreams, but apparently she wasn't. But I do believe that everyone who walks into your life serves a purpose. My daughter's mother will forever be dear to my heart, and I will always love her, not just because she is the mother of my daughter, but because she is a great woman, a loving mother with a good heart, and someone that has challenged me. I thank her for making me strong. Without the strength that I gained from that weak point in my life, I probably would not be here today. I learned how to overcome, and implemented that into my daily life, and it has helped me more than I could ever describe.

But it was tough. After my divorce, I went hard core into the night life business and almost killed myself. I was in the night life business for about 10 years. I don't really want to go into my whole story, but I transitioned into the fitness business because I was finally fed up and tired of what I was doing. I was getting unhealthy, ate junk food, drank tequila every night! I was killing myself.

I decided to get healthy and change my life and refocus on the things that mattered most in my life, like my daughter and my family. Thanks to my brother Fermin, he introduced me to P90X and from that point on, my life has been forever changed, and all of my prayers have been answered.

My Fitness Journey - Arnel Banawa


Go back into the year 2001. remember when I was trying to find something that I could do to travel the world? Well, I've found it =). But it's not just about traveling now, it's about staying healthy and helping others along the way. After completing the P90X program back in 2010, I decided to become a Beachbody Coach. I became passionate about helping people find happiness through health and fitness. Did I plan to turn fitness into a business? Absolutely not! Was I motivated by money? No way! I just kept doing what I loved and found others who wanted the good life, the fit life, a family life, and just wanted to be happy. We all go through life looking for what matters most, when most of the time, it's always been in front of us. Life will always throw obstacles at you, but if you fight your battles, and surround yourself with people who only want success for you, then let me tell you my friend.....you will live a VERY good life!

I have been traveling consistently since March of 2014, going from place to place, doing burpees at famous Wonders of the World, visiting friends and family. The best part is that I have total control of my life now. I run my own business and I now have the FREEDOM that I was looking for, and all I needed to do was get healthy and help others do the same.

Burpees Grand Palace - Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok
100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge

Emerald Buddha Temple, Bangkok Thailand


So how do I earn a living while I travel? The answer is quite simple. I do what I want, maybe you should do the same. See you on the beaches of the world!


Related Links:
- Facebook Connect
- More travel posts
- Become a Beachbody Coach, join my team!  <-----------<<
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Getting Excited to Backpack Asia!


Beachbody Coach Life
Myanmar - Burma

I am a backpacker traveler, which means I basically travel only with what is in my backpack. I don't ever check in any luggage. I only bring the necessities, and purchase what I need as I go. So the question is "well, what do you pack then?". Ha ha, I will post that blog right before I leave =).

I will be leaving for South East Asia by the end of August, and I cannot tell you how excited I am! 

As far as preparation, I mostly read a lot of Lonely Planet travel books, and use the internet to do my research. The type of travel that I do is called independent travel. I prefer to plan things on my own, do things as I please, and create my own itineraries. Honestly, I don't plan much, I just go! =) I also prefer to choose my own volunteer travel opportunities, so I know that my donations go straight to the cause. There are plenty of places to do volunteer work abroad, and I enjoy doing this to help the local communities, and to learn while I'm traveling.

My growing Lonely Planet Collection
 What I read most =)


My first backpacking trip that I planned was in 2001 when I backpacked Europe for about a month, which is very short by "backpacker" standards, but this was my first backpacking trip, and I learned a lot from it. I did everything myself and planned the trip for me and a friend. No tour guides, no fancy hotels, no middle man fees. Now I know that a lot of people prefer to use travel agents and tour companies because it is very convenient, and trust me, I like convenience, but by doing that, you are limited to seeing a lot of things when using a tour company. Most of these companies only take you to the tourist areas, and I am not interested in that, I am interested in the local people, local food, and local activities.....that's why I travel, otherwise I might as well just stay home and be comfortable. Bottom line, I like going "off the beaten path", getting lost in a different part of the world is something that I am comfortable with, and I love the challenge of survival =). 

I will be flying into Manila, Philippines and luckily I still have many relatives there. I will be meeting with my cousin and he will be with me for most of my stay in the Philippines (roughly 2 weeks). I plan to visit the Banaue Rice Terraces which is located north of Manila. These rice terraces are considered a "Wonder of the World" and I will be doing 30 burpees there as part of my 100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge. From there I will be going south to Boracay and Palawan to visit the most beautiful islands of the Philippines, then flying out to Bangkok Thailand.

Banaue Rice Terraces - Philippines
100 Wonders of the World Burpee Challenge


I will not have a certain itinerary that I will follow, I will just be going with the flow. After Manila, I will be on my own as my cousin will not be with me when I fly to Thailand. But that's the beauty of backpacking, you meet so many people, and so really there is never a dull moment. Other places that I plan to visit are Laos and Burma. If I happen to stay longer, than I will be adding Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. I do have a couple Obstacle Course Racing competitions (Warrior Dash World Championships in NorCal, and the OCR World Championships in Cincy, Ohio) in October, so I have to be back by Mid-October, unless I am having a blast, which I know I will, so we'll just have to see! =)

OCR World Championships
OCR World Championships


Less than 2 months is just not long enough, but I also have to be back for some races, and I also have my daughter to be with, I don't want to leave her for that long, although I know that she will be fine without me, she's one tough cookie! =). This is her last year in high school, so I need to be there for her. Once she begins college, I plan to travel for 6 months at a time.

While I'm traveling, I will still be working out at least 5-6 times per week. Heck, I have some races to train for, so I will be hitting some P90X and Insanity workouts in the backpacker huts, and visiting  gyms to stay fit while I am in Asia. Not only that, Asia is pretty mountainous, so there will definitely be plenty of places to train outdoors. I'm sure that I'll also be running a lot on the beach as well while people are having fun with their Full Moon Parties =). Oh and I will be packing up my Shakeology, you better believe that, can't leave home without my Superfoods!


My Healthiest Meal of the Day - Anywhere!
Shakeology Travel Packets


So I'm pretty excited about my trip. I will be blogging about my workouts abroad, travel experiences, local food, and other things here, so stay posted. And if you're traveling and reading this, then I hope to run into you! =)

Backpack Asia
Backpack Asia





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- More about me
- Travel blog posts


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