Week 3 of the New Release

I have to say, I really don't mind this new release at all. Maybe its cos FCI is teaching it, and no matter what he teaches, it would be good. The class started off rather quietly, but the energy levels picked up quickly. Lion and Lioness were there as well. Lion is now a regular fixture in FCI's class.

Also team teaching was the legendary Phoenix. I don't know why, but she reminds me of a chinese version of the cheerleader from Heroes. Very adorable, yet vulnerable, yet very strong.... There was a marked absence of any jibes from FCI this time. Now looking back, ya, I think he WAS a bit moody. Maybe because Leon didnt come?

Phoenix took over for tracks 5 & 6. I love watching her jinga. She has this spritely movement, that makes you think of summer, and funfairs. FCI announced that we wont be seeing her anymore, presumably because she's leaving the country.

AND GASP!!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME in 3 years, I saw FCI doing pushups on his knees. And I'm not talking about those triceps blasters. I mean, normal chest pushups. GASP. Is he getting old? Is Mr Invincible finally getting tired? Or was there not enough space between him, the A/V Console and the person in front of him? GASPPPPPPPPPP again!!!!

There Are Some Things You Just Can't Say On A Blog

...................such as the new nickname bestowed upon YI. At first I thought it was coined by Lionheart, but apparently, no. I shall leave it to appear in the comment section, so that I will not be held responsible for libel.

The ballad writing continues, the latest once again by our illustrious Shades.

Yesterday's Body Pump was very quiet. There was but a single rose, (real one la), amidst the thorns. Its the 3rd week of the new release, (translation: my 3rd time doing it), and those pullovers don't seem that bad anymore. Nor do the pulses in the biceps track. But what I still cant do is the pushup on the bar. Firstly, its seems to really hurt my palms. Despite putting two mats so that my knees are not ground into the floor, still just cant do it. I also cant be bothered with that extra donut option in the chest track.

Missed Leon's class on Saturday, because was attending a cupcake decorating course. I heard from Sunshine that it was a fabulous class, because the Phoenix was team teaching with Leon. Lion heart suggested that the team name be Kok and Phoenix.

Saturday night was Body Fat, with all the F instructors.



Talking about Body Fat, this is the MOST orgasmic charsiu ever ever....made by Lionheart himself. Oozing with the richness of lard, the most gorgeous caramelised sauce, this melt in the mouth piece of sin is equivalent to 1 hour of RPM per bite, I reckon. Which means I am now about 20 RPM sessions in debt.


Spiderman here is reminiscing with Boy Robin of their superhero days, but Boy Robin has since relinquished the title of BR, and calls himself HOBBES now, modelled after the famous comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Here we have them both.....


Sunshine and Megs made their debut at this dinner..... Alas, usually conversations at dinners such as these, falls into the SAME category as the title of this blog. Suffice to say, the laughter was loud enough for observers upstairs to comment the next day, "wah, you all had a good time we see".

True to form, IPOD, International Prince of Divas, as FCI says, either comes late, or leaves early, in true diva fashion.


We have here diva giving his royal wave, goodbye to all.


Orgasmic Charsiu, Single Malt whiskey, the company of good friends, uproarious laughter, what more can a person ask for.

RPM New Release

Rushing against the clock to finish my baking orders, I was rather pleased (though subconsciously I was looking for an excuse not to go) that I had time to spare and make it to either step or rpm, and since its Ramadhan, I figured the classes won't be so full. And I was right. When I got there at 6.35pm, both lists had a lot of vacancies. Choices choices. Step, RPM, Step, RPM. Step, with Favourite Step Instructor, aka Manja, OR, RPM which I HATE, but I know is a good workout, with a complete stranger.

Anyway, due to time constraints, (I usually have to be on the road by 7.50 or so as I make the way to the inlaws place, which is equivalent to going to IOI Mall), I opted for RPM, and furthermore, Lion has been raving about the new release. Quite honestly, not being an avid RPM-er, I can't see how one release of RPM can be better than the next. If anything it would be the music list that would make any difference. A hill climb is afterall a hill climb, and it's not like the surrounding scenery is changing.

I recognise one of the songs from body pump. Have never seen this instructor before, not that I have had experience with many RPM instructors. But put it this way, I wouldn't want to be in a bike race with any of them..... and certainly not in a street fight with this one.

As the studio filled up with BO, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as we came to the end of track 7. My favourite part of RPM has to be tracks 8 & 9.

Rome Vs Sparta

Had I known that Maximus would have been so peeved that Leon got to be King, whereas he is but a soldier, I might have photoshopped the pictures differently. Looks like we are getting more royal in our acquaintances. We first have the Lionheart King, (those of you who don't know who Lionheart is, go check it up on the net, lazy bums), we have PTG, Peter The Great, a Russian Emperor, Xena the Warrior Princess. So really, they're as common as Datukships in this country. But a GENERAL, in the army of one of the greatest empires that ever ruled, and exists till TODAY..... how rare is that? But no, the boy still complains, like a wounded gladiator with a bleeding heart, that some get to be King. I can only roll my eyes till they fall out of their sockets.

Greeting us in the gym, was loud music, NOW WE ARE FREE, from the Gladiator Movie. Talk about Drama Queen!!! Now that's a moniker that might propel him to blue blood status. But a Queen in his mind is probably still less than a King. Mind you, not if you are the Queen of the British Empire, where the sun never sets.

King-dom aside, it was a great class. Megs sneaked in late. Mrs Lionheart sneaked out for her PT session. By the end of track two, FCI was dousing the front row with his bodily fluids. Some other instructors might have slipped and injured themselves with that amount of wet patches in front. Certifiable Steve was told off by FCI for disturbing Lionheart. What valor. It must be a subconscious desire to rule, hence the barking of orders. But generals do that too.

For the third track, with the stomp, he proclaimed, yeah, let me hear the stamping of your feet like a million army...... Lionheart corrected him, and said, million soldiers. There was another reference to 300. Can't remember exact context. Track 5, when we split the room in two, I whispered to Sunshine, "bet you its gonna be Rome against Sparta"....AND SURE ENOUGH, he points to where I am and says, GREECE, and points to the other side and says, ROME. Which reminds me,

"Sparta (Doric: Σπάρτα Spártā, Attic: Σπάρτη Spártē) was a city in southern Greece, which existed from about the 10th century BC until the time of the Byzantine Empire".

So, not only is Sparta not a country, but is merely a city, and has long since disappeared.

For track 6, he invited "the Phoenix" to perform her groovy jinga. I always assumed that Shades referred to the instructor in question as "the Phoenix" coz of her dramatic injury .....as in, she rose from the ashes of calamity kinda thing. But I found out actually the lass is from Shanghai, and therefore, the Shanghai Phoenix.

Well, it's my 3rd time doing the new release with FCI. My favourites are the speedball with the single beat on 7, 8, or was it 6,7. (in track 3). Oh, yes, that reminds me, what IS that word he uses for one of the moves? two shon? touche? two shot? Can anyone enlighten me.

In The Old Days....

...at least men used their chiselled bodies and brawn for something useful. They were either gladiators, fighters, farmers, blacksmiths, builders, ie, they all used their physical strength for a purpose. These days, in the gyms, you get these chiselled taufus, strutting like peacocks looking for a good lay. Sickens me.

Anyway, that brings me to the next form of exercise that I usually indulge in. Body Combat. I wonder how much of this stuff is actually usable in real life. Which got me wondering, during the Saturday combat class.....things were going very smoothly, IPOD (I am AMAZED that people still dunno what IPOD stands for. It's INTERNATIONAL PRINCE OF DIVAS, a term spawned by Lionheart, with a little prodding from me), and there were no bloopers to blog about. We were all waiting with bated breath, (as in Sunshine and Me) for his terror merror sidekick during the Jinga track. Yar, so, when he was jumping on right leg, PHWAAAAAHHHHHHH......
Now, imagine he was King Leon(idas), from 300....well, it would require a large stretch of imagination, I guess, but anyway, ya, in the battle against mad King Xerxes of Persia.



Won't be hard to kill him. Just attack when he's doing an evasive side kick on his left leg. Now, if Leon(idas) didn't make his ESK on his right leg so obviously terror merror, .....he might have stood a chance in battle. But showing the glaring achilles heel ...hmmm, not wise, not wise.

What about our other Fs, lest they feel neglected. FCI, as gladiator Russell Crowe. Maximus Chiang.



Hmmm, not sure they had spectacles in those days, but I guess he could wear contact lenses. Now, I am sure FCI would probably have been a real mean fighting machine with his martial arts skills and all.

And playing Chow Yun Fatt's Role in Crouching Dragon and Hidden Tiger, is our dear FSI, with noodles hanging out of his mouth. Hiaks, as he would say.


I digress. But what to do? Leon, IPOD's class was almost flawless, there was nothing else to write about.

Pay Attention When I'm Speaking

Made it just in time for combat on tuesday, as I was busy whipping up cakes for selling. If Cerberus were still guarding the gate, I'd have just about made it, as I was the 2nd last in the registration list. I suspect most people don't bother registering anymore. The studio was exceedingly packed, the amazons in full tow, I guess one for the road before ramadan.

It was really like a reunion. Lion, Sunshine, Megan, Yhsmom, AhGirl, and guest stars, Lionheart's parents in law. FCI looked chuffed, and announced, "my whole family is here today". As usual, the normal rambling on about Leon and whether or not he was coming. I swear, FCI harbours a secret obsession of sorts with Leon, IPOD, and conveniently blames it on me. Somewhere in track 2 he announced, look, Leon's here....I didn't even bother looking, coz I thought he was kidding. Later on, I find out from Sunshine that Leon was indeed there. Shortly after, he entered the class, and of course, to fuel the fire, me and Lion went WOO WOOO!!! Dramatically, FCI ripped off his mike from his head, and declared, "that's it, I'm not teaching".....
I wonder if the rest of the class knows what the heck is going on.

Anyway, Leon, being so tall, did take up a LOT of space for track 4, but was in his elements, and was doing flying evasive sidekicks that would give Jet Li a run for his money. I mean, its normal for FCI to fly like that, he's young, but for Leon, not bad, not bad at all for his vintage. But the flying was higher on one leg than the other.

Oh, yes, the title. At one point, shortly after Leon entered, FCI was explaining something, and true to my fidgety self, I was looking all around, (AND NOT PARTICULARLY AT LEON), and I get chided like a standard one kid who's chatting with his friend...."PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M SPEAKING".....Roll eyes.

I have to say I quite enjoy this particular jinga track, although it's 7 minutes long. Unlike the previous release with interminably long jingas till you can fall asleep, this one is quite happening. Before that, FCI offered his face towel to anyone who wanted to wipe the sweat off the floor around them. How magnanimous. Meanwhile FCI, sweating like a hog on heat, was giving everyone within a 10 foot radius "eau de calvin"...

I quite enjoy this conditioning track, with that tricep whatever....the one where you prostrate and pump.

Lion's parents in law must be the most happening 60 somethings in the gym scene. His Father In Law has the dexterity and flexibility of a 20 something....can touch his toes during the cooldown without much problem, while Lion and I are writhing like we were on a torture rack.

Yhsmom and Sunshine promptly followed Leon to the body jam class after wards, so didn't get a chance to chat.

Monday, the new pump release. It really wasn't as bad as YI made it sound the previous week, save for biceps, and back. Mercifully, biceps was short, but evil. The boy had a fever apparently, so was carrying light weights, much to Lion's chagrin. I was rather pleased we ran out of time, so had to skip lunges.

Launch Weekend

The original grandplan, after having not attended any classes since FCI's fabulous combat last Tuesday, was to make the long journey to IOI Mall, Puchong, for the back to back Pumbat classes starring Richelle and Hobbes, followed by Shades, and as background dancer, FCI. Would have been nice to equally distribute the lurve with the much neglected Shades, but alas, it was not to be. At 1.20, I found myself still STUCK in Old Klang Road, as I had to drop off the kids somewhere, and there was no way I could make it to pump by 1.40pm. Deciding therefore it was not worth while to get jet lag just for one class, I then detoured to brickfields for a blind man massage, and then adjourned to Axis for Ah Boy's launch. He was launching with Crystal, and I have to say, the chemistry on stage was steaming....

Ahboy was really in his elements, lapping up every scream and cat call like a rockstar. Surprisingly he was conscious about his white top, which apparently made his nipples visible, so for most of the class, he had on another top, with a hood that kept covering his face.

During the warm up, I suddenly realised, to my horror, that I had a cake customer coming at 5 something to pick up a cake, and I hadn't even removed it from the tin yet, so had to SOS wife, which involved me dashing out of the class as if I suddenly had diarrhoea. By the time I got back in, it was the end of track 3. Blast. The class went by really quickly. I find the present release, combat 33, quite enjoyable. New moves, new choreo..... and a good sweat.

Reminds me of the 3 Divas Concert. In the programme, it was articulated that Divas are actually like the Moon, not the Sun. They reflect the radiance from the Sun, and in the case of Divas, the Sun is actually their fans....and how brightly they shine is a reflection of their fans. So yar, .....

Sunday was the step launch at Ass pee kay. Alas, 2nd FSI apparently had just touched down...as his flight was delayed. At first, I thought FSI meant he was Fong Fei Kei -ing...but he literally meant his plane had just touched down. Anyway, as a bonus, we got Richelle instead. The SPK gym seems very dark and foreboding....maybe it was the overcast sky. When I first walked in, I thought I needn't have worried about being late for registration....seemed empty....but when the class started, the studio was FULL!!!

Great workout!!! Even Lionheart looked winded at track 5!!!

I'd Rather Have a Pained Butt Than A Pained Ear

Actually, my left butt cheek has been killing me since Sunday, presumably obtained from Body Step, under 2nd FSI. As in, the class was under him, not me. According to Leon, International Prince of Divas, (IPOD), it is possible for such an injury when you do not shift your weight properly. With excess weight hanging everywhere, I'd say I'm a prime target for this kind of butt injury.

The thought of having to do sidekicks, roundhouse kicks, etc, and the possibility of having the dog peeing position conditioning track was almost a deterrent for combat, but then, when I weighed the possible outcomes, I decided I'd rather live with a pained sagging butt than to hear FCI go on and on about how I skipped class coz Leon's not there, bla bla bla. As it is, he already sms-ed Lionheart to inform him that since Leon won't be there, there wasn't gonna be much lurve.

Anyway, FCI kept muttering (I'm not sure to who, probably the whole class) "show more energy", and relied on Certifiable Steve to lead the shouting frenzy. The Amazons were there in full force too, and did eventually contribute to the killer shouts. I dunno where he plucked the 2nd track from but I think it only had like 4 kicks on each leg. (Mercifully for me). But it was a darn tiring class and a great sweat.

The much dreaded conditioning, ie, Dog Pee Position Conditioning, turned out not so bad actually. Maybe my numbed ass made me immune to the pain. I love it when he ends with Andrea's I Believe, coz it seems so appropriate to applaud the song at the end with a BRAVO BRAVO.

These Weary Old Bones....

I think if I were to take those tests that determine your biological age versus your chronological age, I won't fare very well. Probably 65 vs 41. Two weeks of absence from Body Pump has rendered me limp as a weeping willow in winter. And it doesn't excite me in the least that YI has declared at almost EVERY track, that the new release is going to be MUCH harder. Does Les Mills choreograph the new releases on the assumption that everyone has been following them since inception, and like a first grader, progressively make their way towards university? I pity those new comers who come, and are exposed to flying evasive sidekicks, those nasty triceps movements, what are they called? The one that debuted in the last release? Apparently lots of them this new release. Sigh, but I guess most newbies are young, so they can cope.

I find that of all the classes, the one when time seems to creep at snail's pace, is Body Pump, followed VERY closely by RPM. It seems like an eternity. Anyway, I was thankful for small mercies, such as the fact that Lionheart WASN'T there yesterday, which meant YI wasn't obliged to kill the rest of us with killer tracks. After a two week hiatus, a Lionheart skewed class might have rendered me in traction.

Although I haven't been blogging regularly, I suprisingly haven't done too badly last week. On Thursday, lunchtime, I managed to attend FSI's body step. He must be feeling the lurve by now, I've been attending his class quite regularly. Last Saturday, then Thursday, ...his lurve chart must be thru the roof. I don't even see FCI with such regularity.

FSI's class was exhausting as usual, and a great lunchtime workout. Leaves me starving the rest of the day, and makes me feel like I need to constantly forage for food.

On Saturday, IPOD wasn't teaching in Curve, but instead was teaching in Manulife, at 6pm, nikeboy's old slot. His Curve slot was taken up by some chick doing her video certification. So ya, suited me fine, save RM10, by not making that long trek to the curve. Sunshine was there, with her sister, (whom I have seen before, and thought was an instructor), and although it wasn't terribly packed, it was a great class as well. Very intense, 45 minute class. I love it when sweat starts to drip down your arms. It's such a wild, liberating feeling, as if you are a gladiator fighting lions. Oh, speaking of gladiators, there was this mean fighting machine at the back the class, who looked like a boxer cum wrestler kinda thing, BUT, snigger, his timing was more off than a MAS flight schedule. And then, in the male changing room the guy doused himself with what must have been half a bottle of cologne, effectively fumigating the entire men's room. Cough cough choke choke....why do people DO that.

On Sunday, talk about motivated, I also went for 2nd FSI's class. I find his classes thoroughly sapping. And his track 10, must be the longest track 10 ever. The knee repeaters, and the skiing, and the over and over, just never seemed to stop!!!

And I just heard from Sunshine that FCI is launching the new release in Axis on Saturday at 4.30pm. Ipod at Curve, or FCI at Axis. Choices Choices. Axis would be cheaper though. No toll, free parking.