He becomes the NEW Group Exercise Coordinator for Fitness First Damansara Uptown!!!
What is going to happen to the gym? Will our hero make a mess of things? Will the traffic woes in MRR2 be a thing of the past? Stay tuned as we witness together...
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE PERSPIRING FITNESS INSTRUCTOR!
It's NOT dying of neglect! I am not carelessly allowing my blog to wither from lack of care and tenderness. So happy!
OK, this is sort of a parody of Hui Li's blog(is that how you spell your name?) but anyhow, I' ve been rather consistent in spite of work(workload has increased drastically since Dec 2005). Then again, I'm still bored here in the office... So, definitely no lalang here.
However, with some new responsibilities coming in April, I wonder how long I can prevent this garden from becoming "an old cluttered garden shed". Should that happen, maybe I too will join the league of blog squatters.
So, no guarantee for what the future of this blog will become. Anyhow, I shall divulge what's coming tomorrow. Since 1 April is a Saturday, tomorrow's entry will also serve as a pre-April Fool's parody entry. I've already got in mind what I want to do- hopefully it will work:-/
Just borrowed the poster of certain individual to just let you know something is coming very soon. Actually not much of a "return" but more of the completion of a transformation that started a year ago.
You've had your chances You've tried your best But let me tell ya Guess who's next I'm going for it Ain't no stopping me now As the transformation completes Never wonder how
Step by step Bit by bit I'm here to tell you I'm gonna make it Doubt no more It's my time now I'm gonna make it work And that's my vow!
Have you ever seen a girl and you think to yourself, "That's such a sweet pleasant girl! Gosh... I wish I could get her name and number..." That was my first impression of Ping(minus the name and phone number part-lah) when I first met her last year in FF Wisma Consplant. At that time, she was only teaching BODYBALANCE®.
Ping is one of the many instructors who have roots in Penang(like FCI, Tian Jin #1, etc). Currently still studying in a college in Subang Jaya, she only takes a handful of classes. Around middle of last year, I found out that she was going for the RPM® training with Tracy Minnoch-Nuku & Wes Carter. My first reaction was, "So sweet girl how to teach RPM?"
Anyway, she passed the training and one day, she asked if she could teach RPM® with me. Since I always want to take things easy in class, I figured she could teach a few tracks for me while I slack off a wee bit-lah Since I have been there before as a new instructor who's eager to learn and practise on stage, how could I refuse her?
Anyhow, I asked her what her training track was and it was then RPM® 27 track 5 "Shock to the system". So I started the class and then I passed the mic to her to teach "Shock to the system".... and it was certainly a shock to my system, and some of the regulars too got a shock. This sweet young thing suddenly turned from a soft spoken girl to a drill sergeant, yelling and screaming like a woman in labour... no more friendly face but a mean mad lady on a bike.
Since then, she's accumulated a couple of nicknames. Wes calls her "Sarge" while I described her as one who "looks like an angel, but rides like a devil". With that, it reminds me of this old Elvis number. Please try to sing along, though I've changed the words slightly:
You look like an angel (look like an angel) Walk like an angel (walk like an angel) Talk like an angel But I got wise
You're the devil on the bike Oh yes you are The devil on the bike
I thought that I was in heaven But I was sure surprised Heaven help me, I didn't see The devil on the bike
(sung to the tune of "Devil in disguise")
Looks can be so deceiving, hor.... She sort of reminds me of another lady who looks so gentle and graceful,...... until she gets on the bike.
Who am I talking about? My boss lor..
Just like the name, Grace is very approachable and gentle when she talks. You can never imagine how much powder power she has untill you see her doing RPM® or BODYPUMP®.
Anyway, Ping mentioned that members who attend her RPM® classes were mostly males. Is that surprising? Imagine a male member, upon seeing Ping, "Wow... leng lui teaching RPM wor... sure won't be hard wan lah... just sit there and look at her can already..." Not realising, he has already fallen into a deadly RPM® trap laid by Ping's demure appearance!
I told Ping yesterday, how both she and Grace would make a good team to do a class, with themes like "angelic speed demons" "angel & devil RPM®", etc. Ping too, is quite eager to teach with Grace. So this is an open suggestion to the GXCs of FF: Maybe can have a special "sweet girls mean riders" RPM® in one of the gyms... No?
Update:
She'll be teaching regularly in Axis and Summit, so here's something to plug it:
.................................................................................................................................................... This is a tribute by gym member yhsmom to one of the most amazing instructors in FF ....................................................................................................................................................
I would like to pay tribute to the Peter in FF's Peter Jackson, Peter Chang! I have known him for 4 years and it's been great to see how he has blossomed from the time I first knew him as a new instructor to the Legend that he is now!
Peter chose to abandon a boring 9 to 5 white collar job to pursue his passion in fitness fulltime 3 years ago. Trained in 6 Les Mills programs, he is currently teaching Body Step, Body Pump, Body Jam and Body Attack. However, being a gentle, peace loving individual, Body Combat is completely out of the question as far as he is concerned. Peter is also well known for his freestyle Step and Hi Lo classes which are notoriously challenging and definitely not for novices.
Besides Peter's trademark cheerfulness and enthusiasm that is shown in all the classes that he conducts, as Shades has mentioned in a previous post, this guy is really something else! He is a living phenomenon. In fact I sometimes wonder whether he is part Superhero. His stamina is incredible and he puts instructors half his age to shame.
Peter holds the record for teaching the most number of classes a month in FF and definitely deserves a mention in the Malaysian Book of Records!
Tall and lanky with a pair of Supermodel legs, affable Peter is much loved wherever he teaches. His fan club of adoring members stretches from Subang to Cheras! He is very touched by the tokens of appreciation that they show him, normally in the form of food!
In the FF family, Peter is generally regarded as the "Gor Gor" (elder brother). He can always be relied on for sound advice and is most supportive of new instructors.
An interesting fact about Peter is he has only driven once after passing his driving test! He goes everywhere by public transport, occasionally on foot or by hitching rides from benevolent friends! Proof of his dedication to his craft is that despite the hardship he has to endure to get to his destination, he is almost always on time!
Again, to quote Shades where can you find Peter Chang?
I sometimes wonder how your brain works. U think you're funny with your sarcastic remarks tonight with the restaurant captain and about me not treating you before. WIth your dead pan look, you sounded like one who has no respect for the captain. AND you sure sounded like you have no respect for me as a person at all.
How many times you asked me to buy burger... and how many times did I ever ASK you to pay? There were times I said it wasn't necessary and you insisted on paying. At times I just buy the food and leave it on the table, not expecting anything but the next morning you left the money there.
Me being calculative? You(or could be Eric, I'm not too sure) wanted to go for dinner together so 3 of us sat down and ate. The bill came and you took the bill and paid the waiter... and then divided the bill among us. What the...???
U think it's easy to have 2 jobs at the same time? U think I always come home full of energy and follow your OCD pattern to clean the rooms? I'd like to see you follow me around the gyms for 1 week and see how "OCD clean" you can maintain the apartment.
Sis said she saw a wardrobe which cost about rm200 and you commented the quality is not good and no point getting it... HELLO, unless you are planning to buy the wardrobe for me to keep my stuff, please keep your opinion to yourself.
I wish I could move out and we don't have to have this occassional episodes. I know you are used to staying alone and having someone intruding your privacy is something you're not used to. I sure hope I could be getting my own place by next year so everything will always be good between us.
Overall, you are an ok brother but for the time being, you are such a pig.
The late Gregory Peck, in his prime, is HOT. How more manly can you get right? If looks could kill, he's it! But in his 80s...
Another fine example, is Angela Lansbury. Quite Desirable in the 40s-50s era.
By the time she got her second wind in "Murder She Wrote"...
Of course there are those who seem to age, yet still maintain a certain good look. Our very first James Bond Sir Sean Connery, for example.
I don't mind looking like him in my 60s or 70s. With his white hair and greyish goatee, he's still oozing with machismo. Unfortunately, I can't grow a goatee...
Finally we have Cher. Here's a picture of her in the 70s.
Here's how she looks now...
Jokes aside, it's amazing how fast things can change. Before you know it, 1 quarter of 2006 is almost over. April will be another quarter and it brings another challenge...
My cubicle's a mess. I need to clean up again next week...*sigh* lazy lah...
Slept around 10.30pm yesterday, which is EXTREMELY early for a creature of the night like moi. Why? Got nothing to do I guess. I finished class at 7.20pm and by 8pm I was already at the mamak near my home having dinner. Gone are the days when I have cell group meetings at 8.30pm...
Speaking of cell groups, since the departure of Pastor Daniel, our regular cell group was homeless and had to be "absorbed" by another cell group which meets on Friday nights in Ampang. At the moment it is kinda impossible for me to join because of my commitment to Manulife RB's BODYPUMP® & BODYCOMBAT®.
So what's going to happen next month is I'm dropping the MRB classes and taking up 2 slots in Cheras Leisure Mall. Kinda odd, considering that last year I was trying so hard to get 2 Friday slots in MJH(now MRB of course)... *sigh*
Anyhow, orgininally I was only taking Leisure Mall's 7.00pm RPM® but last week Eric asked if I could take over Grace's 5.30pm BODYPUMP® as well. Since I'm always deprived of BODYPUMP® slots, of course I agreed lah.
Here's a picture of Eric with his masterpiece. He did a brilliant work with the launch deco.
Besides MRB, I'm also rearranging the entire schedule for the next quarter- more details next Friday. Looking at my new schedule, I'm going to be deprived of BODYCOMBAT® & BODYATTACK® and over-RPM®ed...
As usual, today's entry was brought to you by the number:
Now that launch is over, I guess I should be starting to learn the new BODYATTACK® choreography, but I don't have the motivation to really push myself to learn- after all, I don't have any class to teach for the time being. Besides I'm more into learning the old releases since not everyone has them.
During the last quarterly, not only I bought the new releases, I also order 2 old ones - BODYATTACK® 42 and 44- and I simply dig some of the songs there!
Really have to thank LawRah, a fellow instructor from Australia for the recommendations. There are a couple of gems inside and so far I've done 3 tracks from 42- Crocodile Rock, Dreamer, Chihuahua- on 8 March in Axis with Jeremy and leng lui.
My next BODYATTACK® opportunity will be on Tuesday 11 Apr(public holiday) in Wisma SPK at 2.30pm. I'll be mixing songs from BODYATTACK® 42, 44, 50 & maybe 52... Then again, it all depends on whether I can manage to learn the choreography.
This Friday where I will be teaching BODYPUMP® 57 for the first time in Manulife RB. Hopefully no screw ups...
Finally my involvement with the new launch is over, although today we still have our final launch in Menara Axis.
Since I have no class in Axis due to the launch, I'll be heading to Wisma Consplant Subang Jaya to cover Tianjin #1's class. Will be doing a mixture of old releases as tomorrow only we're allowed to teach the new release everywhere in FF.
Had to wake up early today because I need to send sister to Sentral(She came back on Friday)- she's flying to Bangkok for some official functions. Feeling kinda sleepy coz I didn't sleep that well.
Ooh, sky's getting pretty dark... a storm is coming?
The new Les Mills launch started on Friday 17 March and will end tomorrow 21 March.
Can't really blog everything because there are just too many to blog. So just a bit of what I did.
I started on Friday with the RPM® launch with Eric Chin in Subang Jaya.
(the star on my shoulder was actually a sticker on the mirror)
It was a hot class! Didn't really think RPM® 30 was going be that tough...
Saturday it was like having Les Mills for meals: I launch BODYCOMBAT® 27 in the morning and RPM® 30(both in Cheras Leisure Mall) and again BODYCOMBAT® 27 in the evening at Manulife RB.
With Renee, as street thugs.
Lynn and I on the bike(we launched RPM® again on Sunday at FF Damansara Uptown)
Double F's in Manulife RB.
So far I totally dig BODYCOMBAT® 27, RPM® 30 and BODYPUMP® 57 music. It's not often that I enjoy all the music of the 3 new releases. As for BODYATTACK® 52, it's quite tough and since I've not really listened to all the music, I can't say much.
As soon as the launch is over, all instructors can teach the new releases starting 22 March Wednesday.
Finally, a picture with some Les Mills fans...
Tonight is my last launch in The Curve with Mr. Carter...
I've not been teaching with a lot of BODYATTACK® instructors but if there's one I enjoyed the most teaching with, it would be JACKSON PUNG.
Why? I think he's teaches with lots of energy and confidence, reminds me of myself in BODYCOMBAT®. I've not attended any of the other programmes he teaches(he does BODYJAM®, BODYSTEP®, BODYPUMP®, and soon BODYCOMBAT®), but if he shows the same powder power as he does in BODYATTACK®.... FU-YOH!
His class is quite popular in Cheras on Saturdays. In spite of a handful of members complaining that his class is too early for Saturdays, the numbers are still good! Besides that, he seems to have his own fan base all the way in Penang.
With the new BODYATTACK® 52 so challenging, it would be so nice to attend his class again!
FF members, if you haven't heard the news, you must have been missing gym for 1 month.
This Friday marks the beginning of FF's 5-day-party with Les Mills. We going from Subang Jaya all the way up to Penang, starting with FF Wisma Consplant and FF Menara Maxis. Here are the dates of the new launch.
17 Mar Wisma Consplant(Subang Jaya) & Menara Maxis
18 Mar Penang, Cheras Leisure Mall & Menara Manulife RB(formerly Menara John Hancock)
19 Mar Damansara Uptown & Wisma SPK
20 Mar Summit USJ & The Curve
21 Mar Menara Axis
Don't just come alone... bring your buddies! For more details, please head to the FF website. Don't be surpised coz the website looks different now!
Saturday afternoon managed to watch Underworld: Evolution in Cheras. Not too bad if you're looking for action. The censorship have been kind too- only a couple of scene were but you could more or less figure out what was taken out.
Anyhow, seems like this year we'll be getting quite a few sequels this year. Outside the cineplex was the poster for the spoof Scary Movie 4.
The most anticipated sequels of the year, of course, wil pit a bunch of mutants going head on with the world's most famous superhero.
Normally when a movie does well in the box office, the producers will try to look into the possibilities of making sequels/prequels, eg. Terminator, Blade, The Mummy, Matrix, Spider-man, Poltergeist, etc. Notice the trend? Most of the time they are of the action/horror genre.
It's not common for romantic love story to have sequels. The one that comes to mind, though, is Oliver's Story, the sequel to 1970's Love Story. The original was a huge success, but the sequel bombed BIG time.
Maybe the notion "and they lived happily ever after" is the reason why sequels aren't made. And if your movie has a sad ending, maybe even more so your shouldn't do a sequel. Oliver's Story sucks because the original female lead had died and the sequel is just about... err... Oliver.
However, if they ever release a sequel to the Titanic, I'll definitely be interested.
Imagine this...
SPOOKY...
(I didn't do the poster- found it on the net with no credit given.)
On top having to finish my work in office before the end of the month, I have 1 week to learn the RPM® chorey for the launch. For some strange reasons, I've always found BODYCOMBAT® easier to pick up.
Anyway, I just found out what actually happened to the Titanic:
As mentioned, regular blogging resumes when my work is done... and that will probably be after the launch.
Anyone interest to attend my launch class? Here is it:
This whole week I'm busy clearing some backlogs- Need to finish everything before I move on to a new "responsibility". Besides, I've got 3 new releases to work on. Hence, this blog will be on a semi-hiatus.
4 times a year, instructors go through an anticipation period followed by an anxiety period. The first anticipation period of 2006 ended last week, so now it's the beginning of the anxiety period. The anticipation period is pretty much the same for all instructors but the stress level of the anxiety period differs- the more programmes you teach, the more stress you get.
After getting my new DVD/CD sets, I started with BODYCOMBAT® of course. And 1 week later, I have suddenly gone a bit sick of listening to the music. So for the next 1 week, I'll be listening to More BODYPUMP® and RPM® then BODYCOMBAT®.
What about BODYATTACK®?
I've learned from experience. I'm not going to learn the new BODYATTACK® choreography until the launch is over. After all, I don't have any BODYATTACK® class yet.... Darn!
By the way, the lauch will begin on 17 March with FF Wisma Consplant & FF Menara Maxis. As usual, I'm involved in BODYCOMBAT & RPM launch.
I was just planning to write a very short entry to say that I'm busy again. Funny how it turns out...
2 nights ago I went to sleep at about 11.40pm and found myself waking up at 3am. The moment I woke up, I began to think about my class schedule for the next quarter. There is a new gym opening very soon, some of the instructors are changing their schedules, including yours truly. So since I couldn't sleep, I got out of the room and did some planning in the living room. At the end I think I slept again around 4am(on the couch- don't tell OCD!) and I woke up for work at about 6.45am.
Didn't think that I wasn't getting enough sleep till evening when I went home after RPM® in Damansara Uptown. I was watching the new BODYCOMBAT® DVD around 9 .30pm and fell asleep halfway. Woke up by gf's goodnight call and off I went to sleep again.
Basically I slept for about 8-9 hours today, quite unusual for a weekday. So I'm feeling quite fresh today... Unfortunately it was gf's turn not to sleep well yesterday. Hope you'll sleep better tonight dear...
Anyhow, here's something I found that BODYJAM® enthusiasts may enjoy.
Last weekend was Les Mills Quarterly Workshops in FF The Curve. Normally I would just go for RPM® on Friday but since Jacq asked me to attend BODYSTEP® as well, I obliged...
As expected, they were quite a number people I don't know their names because I don't teach BODYSTEP®. Here in the centre is of course the Big Brother of Fitness First, Peter. He's one amazing guy who can do 6-7 classes a day.
The workshop started with an education session with Jacq(about 30 mins), followed by the Masterclass. I think I did quite okay in the class.
The moment the class ended, I immediately changed my clothes for the RPM® workshop. Turned out quite good actually. Was planning to head home after that, but Jacq begged asked me to join her and a few others for Fatty Crab in Taman Megah.
Yup, we sure whacked the food.
Next day was BODYCOMBAT® & BODYPUMP® workshops. What was the verdict on the new BODYCOMBAT® 27?
Should be a fun release... Just look how happy we are! From left, that's Jon, Terence(a.k.a. DR Combat), Alex, Eugene and the lovely Crystal, the new GXC of FF IOI Mall.
Here's pic with BODYCOMBAT® Master trainer John Kelly(the kwai lo 3rd from left) of Australia. Also there were Peter(not the BODYSTEP® Peter- next to me), and Michelle(the only gal in the pic).
That was also a FF staff meeting with the instructors, where it was announced that FF is sending her to Jakarta. Adieu to you and don't miss us too much...
After that was the BODYPUMP® workshop, which turned out to be quite a nice workout too. Didn't take pics coz I had to rush for church music practice.
All workshops are over, so now it's rush hour as we have only 2 weeks to get ready for the new launch!
It's NOT dying of neglect! I am not carelessly allowing my blog to wither from lack of care and tenderness. So happy!
Really have to thank 
Next day was BODYCOMBAT® & BODYPUMP® workshops. What was the verdict on the new BODYCOMBAT® 27?
