the reluctant fitspo

the reluctant fitspo series

I'm really as reluctant as it gets - I complain and whine a lot when I exercise but I still do it anyway. Recently, I've been neglecting my fitness for general work and studies over the past few months and I can literally feel my body wanting to get off the treadmill of Life and on an actual treadmill instead. 

So, a couple of my friends and I signed up for KFIT - a service app that allows you to attend unlimited classes (from yoga to body combat to batting cage to pole dancing???) for a fixed fee of SGD99/month. 

I'm a first time member so I get 50% off! For those who are interested, you can use my referral code and get the discount too. For the rest, you get a free class simply by downloading the app!

It's been a challenge to somehow introduce exercising sessions amidst the amount of work that I have to do - hahaha, looking at you my two theses - but I feel like a gigantic BLOB-ZOMBIE and sitting on my ass, not doing anything about it, won't make me feel better. Thus, the reluctance, and much obliged, commitment to a more fit lifestyle.  

30th January 2016

Reluctant fitspo is reluctant - I only had 1.5h of sleep and had a full production run in the morning before rushing down for some Bollywood dancing. It was a really tiny place at Waterloo and I spent a complete hour being perplexed by how a human individual can shake herself so violently and vigorously. Meanwhile, Dict, Lina and I were just flailing our limbs wildly all over the place I'm actually surprised that nothing came loose. 

31st January 2016

Quotable quotes: "Let your chest open like a flower opening in bloom"

I think this is the first time I'm actually doing yoga under an instructor who has a true Singaporean accent as opposed to the usual globalized accent that I usually hear. Not that I minded it but I was quite amused as I did my Sun Salutations, especially when she uses a great deal of adverbs and other metaphors such as the blooming flower. 

Sweatbox certainly lived up to its name because the studio was literally square-shaped and somehow was rather stuffy so I was dripping with sweat in my non-Lululemon tank. The view was great though because it looked out to Turf City and there was a Boost juice store at Grandstand (berry blast hurrah!)

Dict, Lina and I went to the Healthy Living Cafe opposite Grandstand and was delighted at its healthy, organic and raw offerings as it kept with the overarching theme of healthy living. You may also spot its mascot, Ralph, outside the cafe where he is holding a sign that says, "Be healthy like Ralph!". To be honest, he just looked a little odd and awkward. 

 1st February 2016 

Quotable Quotes: "Witness the sense of equanimity in your practice"

"May the fruits be reaped for all sentient beings; may all beings be healthy and may all beings be well"

Because new month new me and the fact that new years resolutions are still valid because Chinese new year hasn't occurred, I decided to join Dict for a Hot Hatha class at 8:45am. Sometimes, I surprise myself. 

But the moment I stepped into the studio, I knew this was yoga paradise. The whole studio is scented with Penhaglion candles (that's like the Burberry of candles for the uninitiated) and I was floored. The yoga instructor was also dressed in all white, looking every bit like the guru he is. He also has the most calming and charismatic voice. Thus, Dict and I were in consensus that his voice alone has the potential to lead a cult following and we would undoubtedly join. After all, he convinced me to try and do a headstand during class today (which is something I have been avoiding). 

The Internet also revealed this fun fact: he and his wife constructed this eco-friendly house from scratch with zero experience. They did this by watching a lot of Youtube videos???

I really enjoyed yoga at Meraki Studio, not only because of the yoga instructor but also because the facilities were so clean and smells so good. Such a wonderful class certainly prefigured a very productive day. I proceeded to have brunch > write 1000 words for my thesis > go for dance rehearsal > give tuition > go for drama rehearsal - the best part was that I was energized throughout the day! 

2nd February 2016

Quotable Quotes: "You can't stop the beat (growls)" 

I was extremely productive the previous day so much so that I slept until 4pm. 

To be fair, I did wake up for breakfast at 8.30am but I was so physically exhausted that I just slept the day away. My body has too much fitness going on, I reckon. I did want to cancel the body combat class but apparently I passed the deadline and if I still insist of cancelling, I would have to pay a SGD15 fine - Well, that certainly woke me up. 

Body combat was certainly eye-opening - it's a combination of a multitude of martial arts with aerobics. I'm not familiar with this at all even though I had experience in Taekwondo, Krav Maga and boxing. The instructor was amazing; I've never seen any instructor push himself so hard to the limits to the point where he was much more exhausted than we were. Lina and I theorized that he must have been through a lot of hardships because he kept encouraging us through various statements such as, "Do you want to surrender? You can't surrender until you have taken your last breath!!!" or "Crush the chin! Break the jaw!" and through a series of loud growls that occurred frequently during class. This happened while he played a set of hard metal/rock songs which I thoroughly enjoyed. He would also appropriate random aggressive sounding song lyrics in order to motivate us. It did work considering the nature of the songs. You can't really go wrong if you play Gun n' Roses and the sort. 

What did not work (for me at least) was when he asked rhetorical questions like 'How fast can you go? How strong can you go? Show me how much you want it'. To which, my answer was 'okay, average and not really lol'. It also reminded me of this video that Racxiu had shared with me:

Interestingly, he also played Hairspray's 'You Can't Stop the Beat' (apparently, it's one of his favourite songs) and proceeded to introduce jazz hands into the routine. That was great, cause who doesn't love musical theatre? (I think I was most motivated at this part)