This is FATNESS FIRST

2 Saturdays ago I was invited to a dinner with yhsmom and a few other members and instruvctors. At the same time I also got this invitation from the members of Cheras Leisure Mall for dinner. Since yhsmom asked me first, I had to decline the 2nd offer. I thought I wouldn't get to hang out with them... Mana tahu, most of the gangfrom Cheras also couldn't make it on 15 July, so they changed the dinner to last Saturday 22 July.

(Gang, if you want to save the pictures, please remember to click on the pictures)

Where? Tanjung Harapan, Port Klang
Quite a far place to go for food. Normally I'm not one who would drive for 1 hour to eat butI'm a cheapskate for free food since it's been a while I get to mix with the Cheras gang....

Thou shalt not waste good food... finish 'em!

Besides me, there were 2 other instructors Michelle(whom I think is the official RPM queen in Cheras) and Danny.

Eat, eat, eat...


Shonda(left) got excited when she saw me sitting right across the table.

"Repeat after me.... F-I-S-H.... FIS!"

good crowd on a Saturday evening

what a load of crabs!


Pretty much a hands-on experience

more crabs...

lai-liu haa...

After the storm...

It's amazing how good food can affect your brains, as the following 2 pictures will show you:

It's offical... Danny is her man

Just in case you missed the first pic

Natalie, Michelle, & Iris

probaby someone said something funny... or someone farted

Ivy & Kit putting hand lotion after dinner


shades & shades gf

We're just fooling around... whatever rumours you heard about me are untrue!

the leng chais

the gorgeous ladies

The usual suspects(from left): Simon(did I get the name correct?), shades gf, Ah Loong(aka Chen), Danny, Iris, Michelle, Natalie, Shonda, Kit, & Ivy

Like I've said before, it never the food that make the night enjoyable- it's the people that you spend time with that makes the difference. There should be another gathering coming up again.

THANK YOU CHERAS LEISURE MALL GANG... Now head back to the gym and work off those calories!

Rumours...

Just had a converstation with 2 people and the conversation went something like this:

X: Eh, I heard you broke up with your girlfriend...

Me: What?

Y: You did?

Me: What?

X: And now you're turning to the alternative lifestyle...

Me: What?

Y: You also?

Me: Huh? Who told you?

X: Someone- cannot say who- recently asked me, "You know Alvin broke up with his gf?" and I said, "That's so sad..." and then the person mentioned, "And now he's also into guys..."

Me: No I'm not!

It's funny how rumours are born. The working environment may be different now but I'm still me.

Almost a nightmare injury...

2 weeks ago while doing the upper body conditioning in my Wed morning BODYATTACK class, I suddenly felt this pain on my left knee. It's not like I was kneeling on the floor- I was using a mat and it still hurt. After the class I had a closer look... it was swollen. However, I had no problem jumping or running. I only felt the pain when I applied pressure on my bent knee, I didn't really think much of it as I could've knock into something.

Yet, the pain was persistent for the next few days, which sort of forced me into doing the hard option for push ups in BODYPUMP. I iced it, applied muscle rub, you know.. all those things you do by yourself... and nothing worked. Last Wednesday after my BODYATTACK class in IOI Mail, I bumped into this personal trainer cum les mills instructor Alex and asked him if he knew anything about such injury. After describing my pain to him, he suspected that I may have put too much pressure onto my knee that the synovial fluid is insufficient to protect my joint anymore.... and the remedy for it: STOP WORKING OUT and hope that it would be better. Also he recommended I take glucosamine.

I don't know about you, but to tell me to stop working out is like telling me to stop breathing. I'm not a person who can sit still and does nothing. God forbid if I were ever to be incapacited(touch wood!), coz it would be a fate worse than death for me. I admire people like Peter Tan who continue to fight on in spite of their conditions, but I don't think I'm that strong-willed.

Anyhow, I decided to get myself a bottle of Viartril-S and gave it a go. That day, I was a worried man. The fear that I had to stop teaching made me lose my mood for workout. So I asked Jason Khong, a new BODYCOMBAT instructor, to replace my evening class in Damansara Uptown. Besides taking Viartril-S, I also decided not to massage or do anything funny with the knee for a while.

By the next day, I felt better and I was back teaching my classes. Surprisingly, that evening's BODYATTACK my left knee felt ok. I was very careful with the way I kneel down for the push ups and cool down, and I didn't feel the pain anymore, though my knee still felt a bit funny(not in a humorous way). Yesterday I did 2 BODYPUMP classes, and again there was no pain when doing knelt-down push ups.

Could it be that glucosamine is so effective? I don't know. For all we know, it could be that I really knocked into something and now my knee is healed. Nevertheless, I'm not going to take my joints for granted anymore. By next week, I'll reduce my glucomine dosage to 500mg daily(now it's 500mg x 3 times a day) to make sure my joint is well taken care of.

Does Your Name Incline You to Be A Member?

Been meaning to postulate this theory for the longest time, but keep forgetting. It's remarkably coincidental, that out of the gadzillion names on this planet, that the circle of names within the gym members seem to be replicated all the time.

In FF alone, I noticed, there are at least 2 Kennys, 2 or more Richards, 2 Eliza, 2 or more Evelyn as well, No Cornelius though. Gosh....

Now, tell me its a cosmic coincidence!!!!

World Cup 2006

Reached Penang yesterday night at about 9.30pm with gf. We started our journey late as I couldn't find anyone to cover my RPM class in Leisure Mall. By the time we reached the Sungai Buloh toll, it was already 5pm. Anyhow, gf drove first while I took a nap. We then swapped at Tapah...

So tonight is the night where millions of Malaysians will be sacrificing their sleep just to watch 20 guys kicking a ball around for at least 90 minutes. Since it's the pinnacle of the football madness, I'm watching the game with 3 buddies- Danny, Leslie, & Mike- at Danny's home. Gf was supposed to join also but last minute decided to head home to sleep instead, after shopping in Batu Ferringhi.

Now Danny is sending his gf Su Yin back while Mike is trying to catch a nap before the game. That leaves me with nothing much to do but blogging. Of course I could watch the Wimbledon Tennis Final but with the football fever, who's really interesteed anyway?

About 3 hours to go, allow me to give my views on the final match between Les Bleus and the Azzuri. I somehow knew Brazil won't make it to the final this time but I'd never expected these 2 teams to make it thus far. By the end of the first round, I thought Argentina or Germany would make it to face England or Spain. Probably some people would wonder why England. Well, it's not like they're playing well in the first round, but I thought Rooney's return could help to make the team play better. Besides, I thought England had been quite lucky in the way they won their group matches. So, maybe they could get lucky all the way to the final....

OK, back to the final. This match is not about who has the best strike force but who can defend better. It would be a good farewell for Zidane & company if they can win the 2006 edition, but the Italians' defence are just too good. I don't really see how Italy is going to lose this match. Buffon is also so comfortable standing between the goal posts compared to Barthez. Italy should win this one. But like all competition, I always fancy the underdogs so I'll be cheering the French!

Oh one insteresting fact: "Azzuri" and "Les Bleus"- mean the same thing: "BLUE".

I'm feeling it...

After months of begging asking the other GXCs for BODYATTACK class, I finally got my debut yesterday morning in IOI Mall, and boy I was anxious about it the whole week before.

It's kinda funny; I used to moan & groan that I couldn't practice my BODYATTACK tracks. Now that I finally have 2, I suddenly didn't feel like doing the class yesterday. The day before, I was just looking for a simple excuse not to do the class. When I found out on Tuesday that Herny was looking for someone to cover her RPM class, I immediately responded that if she could get a replacement for the BODYATTACK class, I'd cover her. In the end, she managed to get someone else.

And so yesterday I taught my own BODYATTACK class at 9.30am in IOI Mall. Kinda happy to see so many people in the Ballroom Dancing class(the class before mine) and even happier when they stayed back for my class. 23 members- all females- working and screaming for you. SO that's how it feels like to be FCI.

Can't really say that it was my best class for BODYATTACK as I think I'm still not used to the workout yet. Anyhow, after the class I was really exhausted! I really feel tired the whole day and having to teach 2 more BODYCOMBAT classes in the afternoon doesn't really help too. So tired that I didn't even bother to wake up for the France-Portugal match.

This morning still feeling sore all over, especially my legs. Did a half-hearted BODYPUMP(not that I was half-hearted coaching the class, just that I use very light weight) and then continued with another class because the replacement didn't turn up- told him it was 10am but he thought the class was 10pm. Afterwards, 4.30pm another BODYATTACK in IOI Mall followed by a replacement 7.40pm RPM in Wisma SPK.

Maybe I should just go for my leg massage tonight and not wait till I return to Penang for the weekend :-/