Day 217

Was a little late for the 7:30pm Hot Yoga class. Thinking that the next class was an hour later, I rushed through weight training in order to arrive at the adjoining gym in time.

Rushed weight training :
a. 15 minutes on cardio wave at level 10,11 and 12. Can still burn about 140 calories, not bad. Hahaha.
b. Abductor & Adductor (30kg, 25kg,20kg)
c. Chest press (15kg, 12.5kg, 10kg)
d. Lat pulldown (27kg, 20kg, 14kg)
e. 30 sit ups, 20 situps butterfly style
f. Triceps extension (15kg,12.5kg, 10kg) <--- amazing! Last time when I had PT, I remember I was struggling at 15kg. Maybe my triceps *are* getting stronger... *hopeful*

By then it was 8:20pm! So I rushed off to True Yoga... only to find out that the next class is actually at 8:45pm. @#$@#$ Like that I could've done more squats or shoulders or something... hahaha. More sit ups!

Anyway, Hot Yoga is bloody torturous. After more than 6 months of not doing it, everything seems super unusual to me and I really can't bend to save my life. Everytime I think that I'm giving it all I've got, the instructor (Mahesh) always found a way to twist me that much more.

I'm still hating the triangle poses and the warrior poses that merge into "Flying pose". T___T I was ready to die then. Once he started the sequence of bend back -> to the front -> downward dog, etc.. I became calmer because this was more familiar ground. Not that I suddenly became a yoga master, but I made less of a fool of myself, hahaha.

There's one pose I think is madness... stretch out your leg 90 degrees to the front and then hold on to the toe with the arm on the same side... then you slowly turn your body so that the leg is 90 degrees to the side instead of to the front.. sigh..

No doubt you can sweat a lot in Hot Yoga... I'm determined to make this a weekly thing, and despite all my suffering today... I think that I *have* increased flexibility despite not going for yoga all this while. I think the key to doing yoga properly is to have a flat stomach wtf. Cos then you can bend more... without rolls and rolls of fat blocking your way. Hahahaha!

Day 117

Went for Hot Yoga after... oh... a lapse of 4 months? After the nearly-fainting incident? And surprisingly, Kishore still remembers me. Hehehe. Well, I suppose you would remember the weaklings that go about fainting all over the class.

I was in really bad shape.. from the first moment I was already aching and feeling like lying on the mat because of the ... LOTUS position! My calves are still not A-OK and I canNOT rest my foot on my thigh (what, you think I'm made of plasticine?), so it rests on the calve instead. And a foot resting on an injured calve is just ... damn fcuked up painful.

Thank God not too many triangle poses today.. those are the death of me. During break time, another yoga enthusiast saw me staring at the clock and said, "Eh, don't look at the clock when you're doing yoga... time will seem to crawl by! If you don't look, then it passes by quickly!" Tee hee.

Ok la, giving it another shot next week. =)

Day 87

Total Lack of Updates because I got my hair rebonded and coloured. :P Generally after rebonding, you can't wash your hair for 3 days, so of coz I don't want to get my hair smelly and sweaty @ the gym and NOT wash it right!

Seriously la, I felt like dying the past few days! Pining and pining away for gym! And spending hours on Neopets.com to fill in the emptiness. @_@ And now that I'm back at the gym, the stupid Neopets.com site goes down. @_@

Anyway.

Wednesdays are always Hot Yoga Wednesdays because of Kishore's 7:30pm class in Taipan. :P Seriously, go for his class, his enunciation is the best, his poses are unique and slightly more advanced than the other HY classes I've gone for and most of all, he is superbly friendly! :) Even when I see him OUT of HY, he always waves at me. :D

But today I'm really feeling paiseh. You know why?
Firstly, let me tell you that exercising is not the ONLY component in taking care of your health. Like duh! No need me to teach you that. Just writing this down here so that I *remember* the hell I went through today.
You must EAT healthily as well (which I try to do, but still can't resist KFC, McDs, Chipster, etc) and also GET ENOUGH SLEEP.

Today I seriously like, nearly fainted in Hot Yoga class. I think it's due to lack of sleep. Takkan just 4 days didn't gym then I wanna die already? I memang only go for Hot Yoga once a week, so it's not like I haven't gone in ages. Since last week already I was not feeling very comfortable in the class.
I should really get more sleep!

What happened was at the start of the class, I was quite comfortable. I just felt like it was more hot than usual, wondered if Kishore secretly puts the temperature higher in his class so we *feel* it more (me and my conspiracy theories). When we started the poses, I was still alright, it was only during the "triangle" which I ALWAYS have trouble in that I really started feeling dizzy. This is the triangle pose:

After each pose, I would immediately sit down, panting, drink water, try to relax. But the instructor kept us at the poses, shifting from left, center to right. This is NORMAL ok, not to say that he was abusing us. :p But because I was feeling so unwell, I just really couldn't take it anymore. Despite stopping for water so many times, I could feel my heart beating so quickly, and my head getting heavier and heavier.

So I cepat-cepat grabbed my water bottle, and in the words of Terry Pratchett "tried to win the award for the fastest most nonchalant walk". In other words, walk damn fast yet try to pretend that nothing is wrong with me. It was scary ok! Cos as I was walking, I started to feel that the vision in front of me was fading to nothingness! Swimming in and out of blackness, and just as I was about to reach the front door of the studio, I suddenly couldn't see anything! At this point, if I'm not the totally "oi meen" (want face) person that I am, I would probably just collapse right there and then. But I try to maintain and just SQUATTED for a while. At this point kind Kishore saw me and ask me if I'm ok. I quickly got up (and wonders! No more blackness! Just needed a BIT more rest I suppose) and said, "Just a little dizzy!" Ran out and collapsed onto benches outside. @_@

Thankfully after the triangle poses, we memang get a break, so after talking to instructor, saying that I'm okay... I went back in and finished the class! The second half of the class is memang more of my favorite poses. Rolling on the abdomen, rolling from side to side, bending backwards, supporting entire bodyweight on shoulders, "the twist" which is my FAVORITE pose, which despite how much I twist, Kishore can still come behind and give my shoulders another yank and I hear bones cracking! Personal chiropracter!


That's all for today... at the end of the class, Kishore did ask if I plan to go for the next one. :P I said yes, but to tell the truth, I really do feel scared!!

Day 84

Hot Yoga Wednesdays, with Kishore! So happy, he remembered me from his class 2 weeks ago. I must be so obviously n00bish! But he helped me more than the uncle who was even more n00bish than me. Must be my pretty face *koff*wtf*koff* . =) No la, it's cos I smile cheerfully in his class and soldier on, so perhaps I look different from my serious yoga compadres.

Anyway why am I talking about how I look!

It was a fun class, and since I kinda know the structure of Hot Yoga classes, and this being my 2nd Kishore Hot Yoga class, I was more prepared, knew how to pace myself more. The first 30 minutes are always hellish for me, but I get more pro during the next 30 minutes. Somehow, think I didn't do enough warm-up, or perhaps I'm getting tired, I felt my heart beating damn fast in Hot Yoga. Later in the shower room, still felt dizzy and wanting to faint. Imagine fainting in the shower room! @_@

I think I missed RPM-Tuesdays. Hahaha. Anyway tomorrow is Deepavali, happy celebrating to all our Indian friends! :)

Day 79

To be honest, I'm getting a wee bit lazy. Was supposed to go Hot Yoga yesterday but skipped when I saw the horrendous traffic going into Taipan. They're doing some crappy renovation works around the area so things are SUPER HECTIC around 7pm. Totally no mood to work out, missed Kishore's class. Told myself to Be Good and not miss Sony's class tonight as well.

But reviewing my performance @ Hot Yoga... I think it's better if I had skipped! I was so sleepy that I was yawning almost 30% of the time, and whenever I held a position, I would think, "So nice if I could fall asleep like this". I think Sony also tulan seeing me cos he didn't fix my positions at all, and all the yoga instructors can so clearly see I'm a n00b, and they always help the n00b. But I was totally ignored! Good also la, cos I really couldn't be bothered much....

Sigh... very sleepy now. Better get a good rest cos got lots of nice classes on Fridays... ttyl. ;p

Day 74

Today is my day to relax... since they are having Halloween Thriller Tour at Jaya33, I couldn't go there for Wednesday-Combat. Decided to shift Hot-Yoga-Thursday to Hot-Yoga-Wednesday instead. ;) Am feeling really good about myself, all relaxed and ache-free, slightly sleepy. Hot Yoga on Weds is much more popular than on Thursday! Class was packed to the max. I think its because Kishore's enunciation is much better than Sony's. Perhaps the best out of all the teachers! (So far that I have encountered, and I have encountered maybe 3 - 4 only, haha!). Kishore is also an expert yoga teacher, taught some really strange stuff that I didn't get to try before. Like rocking on the mat using my belly (legs and arms in the air) and then holding my ankles and then rolling left and right on my belly again. Hahahha!

Think he could tell straightaway that I'm a n00b. At first I thought he asked that because of my n00b looking face, but perhaps its because I didn't bring a towel and I wore shorts! =P Ya ya, I should get some proper gym clothes. One of these days lah.

Some things I found funny while doing Hot Yoga today:
a. Kishore took a look at the floor after I've dripped sweat all over it and said, "You can cause an accident with this." OKOK I will bring a towel next time. :P
b. Was doing a back stretch when instructor came and said, "Straighten your shoulders" and proceeded to twist my back! I tell you the ::crack:: sound that came out, I think the whole class can hear! I was also damn mortified, didn't know I was so "not loosened up".
c. Instructor looked at me and said, "Stop arching your spine." How to arch one's spine?? I have a naturally arched spine? Hahaha. I couldn't stop cos I didn't even know how I started.
d. After helping me to stand on my shoulders, he sees my stressed face and says, "And can we smile as well?" Hahaha! I beamed cheesily. And you know what's so humiliating? My shirt came down la because I wear those huge shirts of mine. And he helped me tuck my shirt into my shorts since I was standing on my shoulders. Huhuhu... thank God this is Yoga. Any other instructor try to tuck my shirt in for me will get s-lapped.
e. When doing the warrior pose, he says to me, "Stretch in front, don't crease your forehead." HAHA. My God, really feel like I was doing performance... the right expression must be there...

Damn nice la his class! Wish I can go for it! Should it be Hot Yoga Wednesdays or Body Combat Wednesdays now?

Oh my God, I'm so impressed with mycoffee's weekly workout! Serious, you are superb! I felt so zhi bei after reading about your schedule. RPM 3 times a week? Body Pump 3 times a week? I WILL DIE!! I want to feel tired so that I'll sleep easier, but I don't want to die! It's so possible that althought we were both home members, we didn't see each other much, cos I always avoid those two classes! Hehehe! Seriously, the more I reread your comment, the more astounded I feel... really curious to start BP and RPM again.... see how! Yup yup, Body Attack is so-called the most challenging, but I still think BP and RPM is even more challenging!

After your comment, I feel like going for RPM tomorrow! Will update and see how it goes! =)
And 90 minutes cardio? Woman, you are really a hardcore gym-mer! :D I do 45 minutes also praising myself endlessly already.

Day 69

I forgot to mention yesterday that during Hot Yoga, when I started sweating, all the Counterpain that I had generously applied to my legs also sweated off, resulting in very slippery legs. Hahaha! Most tragic thing ever. Do you know how difficult it is to hold a pose, and then when you try to brace yourself against your limb, you freaking slip off? @_@ No wonder got uncles laughing at me. -___-

Today, I gingerly went for Body Jam (Jason's class --- it is a must go!) despite my legs still feeling achey and my butt and lower back still feeling sore. I have been complaining non-stop to office-pantry-gym-buddy Raymond. "How the hell am I supposed to know it's not a good idea to start my leg extensions set @ 50lb la!" Raymond : "Try 40lb next time lor, what to do."

Jason's class was superb as usual --- despite him always threatening, "you all do la, I just watch!" he will definitely join in the fun. Loads of energy - his Jam classes are the noisiest in Taipan, TF! And seriously, his class is ALWAYS the most packed, even at the not-so-peak-hour of 6:30pm - 7:30pm. (Peak hour is 7-something onwards right, do you agree?) He started the class off with the warm-up track from the latest release (including Tambourine), and for the rest of the class he did "singles" instead of performance tracks. Awww.

We had Scandalous (I missed this one! But doing this reminded me about Sexy which has really nice choreo as well), Candyman (freaking difficult! But at least I can get SOME of the parts right now instead of EVERYTHING wrong), Hips Don't Lie (awesome! love this!), I Need To Know (this is like a signature song for Jason to do... he really likes this track! The box step takes some getting used to, but the choreo is very nice for this song, I really hope I can learn it and learn it well in time), did part of the performance track from the previous release (the one with the step that looks like ginga but ISN'T), we did a song that he classified as "disco" (it's a very popular song, cute choreo -- the name escapes me!) in anticipation of the next release in mid-Dec which apparently has HUGE emphasis on disco (I'm excited!!) and another track which involves lots of kicking... this one I haven't do before. Needs huge stamina and high concentration! Finished the class with Beautiful Liar... *phew*

Oh we had Umbrella for recovery, thanks Jason! =) It's the best recovery track ever. (getting more and more kua cheong)

Had PT after that, and again, this time the trainer was v. nice to me again. So I feel semi-bad for all the grouses I have up here. But I need to re-read those grouses lest he makes me feel bad and makes me think that I should purchase more PT sessions! No more PT! I will keep my reasons to myself (and bitch with Pauline and Raymond), but don't want to spread it out to the whole wide world.

Started the workout with 30 minutes on the crosstrainer. Yay, I can really last quite a bit on it! Travelled 4.15 (miles? kilometers?) according to the machine, which is really much more than previous outings. Usually I can't even hit 4! My speed is now from the 8 - 9 (mph? kph?) levels... really feel quite proud of myself! After that, we had :
a. 3 sets of leg press (15kg, 12.5kg, 10kg). This was easy peasy for me
b. 2 sets of lunges (17 reps and 20 reps, both legs)
c. 3 sets of adduction (50lb, 30lb, 15lb). This was alright for me! How come hip adduction I can do 50lb but for leg press cannot do 50lb? This is preposterous!
d. 3 sets of the arm row thingy. (10kg, 7.5kg, 5,kg). The first set was tough, the rest was alright.
e. 3 sets of some back pulldown thingy. As above, but this was too easy. Should've started at 15kg instead of 10kg.
f. 3 sets of yet another back extension thingy. As above.

And thus ends another PT session! I don't really feel like I'm pushing myself enough. That 50lb thing for the leg extension was really pushing myself. The above exercises were alright, but ... I felt like I have started to plateau.... must increase the resistance!

Tomorrow is Saturday Jaya33 Marathon day. Join me? The outing won't be as tough as my first marathon there. The plan is :
8.00 - 8.45 am : Swimming!
---- break for light shower, change + breakfast! ----
10:15 - 11:15am : Body Combat with Delon
11:30 - 12:30pm : Body Attack with Jason
12:45 - 1:45pm : Dance Mania with Danny
---- break for lunch and adventuring, wtf ----
3:15 - 4:15pm : Body Step with Roland
4:30 - 5:30pm : Body Jam with Su Lin

Actually, I'm not so sure if I can make it for BC and Body Attack. If I don't feel up to it, I'll just take a longer breakfast and then work out on chest, abs and arms. =B

Day 68

Grr! I forgot to set my blog to send me e-mail alerts when I get new comments, so I had no idea that people have been commenting here. =) Sookie, thanks for sharing your TF signing up experience, one of my friends also told me that the consultant who tried to sign her up used bad words when trying to get her to come over to the gym. Anyway, I updated my reply to you here. Haha, what were you doing in Coffee Bean Jaya 33 anyway? That place is pretty much dead. The only stores that are open there are : the Japanese and Chinese restaurants (forgot the names), Coffee Bean, Subway and GNC. @_@

Anyway, I was tired today --- actually tired since I went for Dance Mania. Put on Counter pain twice and the next morning, was still aching. Slathered on some more Counter pain before leaving for work. Could barely walk up and down the stairs at work, and silly colleague kept laughing at me. -___- *beef*

As I've mentioned before, nowadays I cannot skip one day of gym without thinking constantly about it! It feels like thousand years without gym if I don't go to Taipan / Jaya 33 for a day, wtf. So I decided the best thing to do when my leg muscles are aching like crazy ... is to... go for yoga. =) Thursdays are now synonymous with Hot Yoga.

Let me clear up some stuff I've mentioned about Yoga in Jaya 33 first. :)
The Yoga area which consists of 2 studios are located at the furthest furthest end of the 1st floor (the highest floor. The one below I'll call as "ground floor" ok?). It is quite a big area, the waiting area is humongous, and decorated tastefully. Indeed the sounds from the workout area outside are muffled at the waiting area, and inside the studio, the outside noise is totally non-existent. The waiting area is larger than the studio, or just as big, Pauline said that it was a waste of space. But in the first place, Jaya33 is still a new place, so they don't have as many classes. 2 studios is enough for this place at the moment, cos the classes aren't packed yet.

(I'm not a yoga expert, I'm just speaking in layman's terms on the area and what not. For classes or who is a better yoga instructor, pls don't look at me. I cannot give any comments. It's good enough that I can even follow 20% of what the instructor is saying. )

For Taipan, this is my first time FULLY utilising True Yoga. Before this, when I went for Gentle Yoga, I left my stuff in the main building, then walked over to True Yoga. The 2nd floor waiting area is large, and I think they have 2 studios in the 2nd floor. On the 1st floor is the Hot Yoga studio. Yes, it is separated from the other studios, this is a really good idea. As I mentioned before, after Hot Yoga, you will seriously be SOPPING wet from your sweat. As you step out of the studio, it will be freezing cold and you will be shivering like a leaf all the way back to the changing room. In Jaya 33, you have to walk a fair bit in the air-conditioned gym before you reach the changing room, with your wet & stinky clothes sticking to your body. For Taipan, the Hot Yoga studio is located on the same floor as the changing room, so you don't have to walk as far. Also, the waiting area for the Hot Yoga studio is small BUT nicely heated (heat permeating out from within the studio??), so once out of the class, it is cooler than inside the studio, but still warm so you don't feel cold. It's a short walk to the changing room. Nice!!

So my conclusion is that I prefer the workout area for Hot Yoga in Taipan compared to Jaya 33. But Jaya 33's one does have its perks as well... I think that by having the yoga area in the same building, it encourages one to try yoga more than if it was separated into another building. That's just my laziness talking. After all, I tried hot yoga when I joined Jaya33, but had no inclination before in Taipan! Maybe that's Pauline's influence...

Anyway, Hot Yoga has helped my left leg regain conciousness, but my right leg is still screaming in pain. The yoga instructor twisted my body into shapes it has not known before. I heard my bones creak twice, but he still persisted. T_T

That's all for today. Must get loads of rest in anticipation of torture (training) tomorrow. Perhaps I will go for BC as well!!

Day 62

I hate working in KL (I work @ Bangi), but it does have its plus points. Now that I'm a TF Passport member, I can swing by Jaya 33 on my way home from the Federal Highway! It sure beats struggling all the way back to Subang and then struggling some more to USJ to go to Taipan! By the time I'm done with my workout, traffic would have eased and I'd be able to drive home with peace~of~mind. Seriously one of the HUGGGGGEEEEE perks of becoming a passport member!

It's a pity though that Thursday classes at Taipan are nicer than the ones in Jaya33. ;p But beggars about to be stuck in traffic jams can't be choosers. So I just went for Hot Yoga today. Was quite semangat about going for BOdy Step after that, but I forgot how WET Hot Yoga gets you, and I didn't have a change of shorts. :P

Please remind me to buy goggles!

By the way, here is PART OF Jaya33's revised schedule for Sat, Sun and Mon due to the Hari Raya holidays. The reason why it's only 'PART OF' is because I only noted down the classes that I would be LIKELY to attend. So if you see an empty slot between classes, it's most likely Body Balance / Body Pump. =p

Sat
2-3pm : Body Combat with Su-Yee
3:15-4:15pm : Body Step with Roland
4:30-5:30pm : Body Jam with Shirlyn

Sun
11:15-12:15pm : Body Jam with Sharon T
2-3pm : Body Combat with Adrian
3:15-4:15pm : Body Attack with Barney
4:30-5:30pm : Body Step with Barney

Mon
10-11am : Body Combat with Alex C
2-3pm : Body Attack with Jason Y

Note : Above classes is for JAYA 33. I will update Taipan's one tomorrow.
Also, reminder to self : swimming pool's opening hours are 8am - 10pm!

Take care of yourselves gymrats. ;)

Day 58 + 3rd Day of Infiltration

After a day of recovery, Pauline and I headed back to Jaya33. Damn, I really can't make my mind up about this place! There are a few interesting characters here that would make gym-ming really fun, but to pay extra $$ for a place that I will visit only on the weekends really seems silly. Drat.

Since we were both still "recovering" we decided to work out only a little - did Hot Yoga and finally got to 'visit' the swimming pool today! This is also my first Hot Yoga class ever, Nick kept "promoting" this class when he first asked me to join TF, but I never felt the need to go there. Omg, it is really fun! The class isn't TOO advanced, it's like normal Body Balance or Yoga, the instructor goes over the steps carefully and slowly so anyone can follow, and you sweat hell of a lot! Seriously, every single thread on my body was soaking wet at the end of the class. That's one of the bad bits too --- once you step out of the Hot Yoga studio, the air-conditioning chills your wet clothes and then you'll be shivering like a leaf in the wind! XD But the class was really good and I think I'm finally getting a hang of this yoga thingy. I mean, I like it now and will stop avoiding it like the plague.

You know how much Pauline likes it? She likes it so much that she's considering joining TF just for this class!!

After that, went for swimming... I felt so self-concious because I was the only gal (at firsT) wearing a two-piece swimsuit. Some more like, such a funky one. -___- Thing about me is that I only have two-piece swimsuits because trust me, the one piece one is lagi unflattering (which you won't believe but since I know my body more than you do, then I suggest that you do believe me). Anyway, it's not like I'm such a shy person, but there was some guy at the pool also who I mean, if you wanna spy on me and Pauline when we are showering, at least do it with the corner of your eye? Don't have to twist your body 180 degrees and look ok! Wtf.

Anyway, we jumped in, and ... the pool is kinda small. But gosh, so nice to be swimming again! I'm not fast enough to do laps like the guys who dominated the pool, so I had to swim erm... the other way. Hard to explain. Instead of doing laps, I was doing... crosses? Donno how to explain. Basically, it was just two kicks and then I'll reach the other side of the pool already. Hahaha! So we just kept going back and forth, back and forth....

Sigh, when will the pool ever be empty enough for me to swim laps?! Seriously packed at about 9-10pm today.

Got this need to swim within me even though I just did lame-laps today. @_@ Why? Why? Now I really feel like joining. But this kinda 3 year commitment is a big leap la.

Did some really bad stuff recently. Everytime after working out at Jaya33, Pauline and I will have dinner together, and we are bad influences on each other! We eat indomee goreng, sup kambing, ayam goreng, RAMLEE BURGER, etc etc etc. And yesterday my friend's house got broken into, so I teman-ed her as she sought comfort in chocolate. I ate pasta and chocolate mocha mud pie in TGIF!

Oh Lord, forgive me for I have food-sinned!!