How To Choose A Gym

Globo gyms, fitness studios and yoga/pilates studios are mushrooming all over.

How do you choose which one is for you? We’ve all got our personal choices!

Here are some of the factors you need to consider before committing your moolah :

  1. Your fitness levels & familiarity with exercising
    • If you are just starting out, you can start off at a smaller gym where the trainer will take you through the basics of the equipment and keep you safe. Usually smaller gyms are more personal than the globo ones.
    • If you are at a moderate/advanced level of fitness, you can join the globo gym where usually the trainers need to be hired to provide 1:1 training.
    • If you just wanna focus on yoga, pilates and the not-so-hardcore stuff, there are the smaller yoga centers around town that cater to it.
  2. Facilities – function of the gym.
    Every gym has got its “hot-stuff’.

    • Globo gyms (Fitness First, True Fitness, Jatomi Fitness) caters to ALL fitness levels. They usually have the following:
      • Cardiovascular training equipment (treadmills, upright/recumbent bikes, elliptical  machines, rower etc)
      • “Fixed” weight machines (Lat pull downs. leg extensions, leg press, seated shoulder press etc)
      • Free weights (dumbells, barbells, kettlebells etc)
      • Functional training equipment (sandbags, VIPR, medicine balls etc)
      • Group Exercise Classes (Les Mills, Zumba, Indoor Cycling, Yoga, Pilates etc)
      • “Juice bar” – free drinks from the soft-drinks dispenser or a protein shake bar where you can purchase your juice/post-workout concoction
    • Shower-rooms are well designed and equipped with state of the art locking mechanisms  and accompanied with a sauna.globogym
    • Fitness studios (usually takes up a few shop lots, privately owned, a smaller version of the Globo gym). Caters to more specific clientele with specific goals e.g. group exercise, personal training, sports specific .
      • 1-2 each of the Cardiovascular training equipment
      • Limited “fixed’ weight machines – sometimes none – depending on the nature of the fitness studio.
      • Free weights – usually barbells, dumbbells
      • Very standard shower rooms/toilets but clean enough.
      • Usually have their own speciality and sometimes combination – Group Conditioning Classes with Muay Thai, Kettlebell Classes with Mixed Martial Arts etc.


    • Yoga/pilates studios usually run by classes or by 1:1 training.
      • Usually they have a few studios that can fit 20-30 students.
      • For pilates, if their focus is on the reformer, then they can only accomodate “x” amount of people in that class/ training session.
      • The instructors are usually certified e.g. Registered Yoga School (RYS), STOTT Pilates etc
        yogastudio
  3. Cost
    • Globo gyms usually cost the most out of the lot due to the “Passport” membership which allows you to visit different clubs within the country and sometimes their international clubs as well. Approximate cost is RM150-230.
    • Fitness studios have different focuses. 1:1 training usually costs RM80-150 per 1-hr session depending on the type of training. Group classes/gym usage will cost approximately RM80-RM150 a month depending on the package that you choose. Usually, the bigger the package, the lesser you pay per month. Sometimes, the monthly fee can come up to RM250 a month if it is a specialized coaching session with technicalities involved. Drop in rates are usually RM20-RM40 per visit.
    • Yoga/pilates specific studios have a few different options. The longer duration of purchase relates to a lower cost per class.  Range of fees are from RM30-RM200 Per month.
  4. Convenience (Time & Location)
    • Are the clubs close to your workplace/home?
    • Do you need to spend more time travelling there?
    • Do you need to wait for equipments/queue up for classes?
    • Does the classes suit your schedule?
  5. Company & Social Networking
    • If you prefer working out with friends, then check in with them where they work out and if the facility suits you.
    • If you prefer working out alone, and need some peace and alone time, you’ll need to be able to “zone out” these noise pollution and be anti-social during your workout/class time. Sometimes, people just want to chat.

Consider all your options before giving them your credit-card or your deposit upfront. Once you sign on the dotted line, you may get trapped for a year! So be smart and analyse your options well folks!

Live Great Run 2013, Running Clinic

Today was the final Running Clinic for the Live Great Run 2013. Held at the Great Eastern Mall at Jalan Ampang, there were almost 50 running enthusiasts who came and participated in this clinic.

These clinics are good because they focus on different training areas. Today’s focus was on Race Preparation, Race Timing Anticipation and Strategy. The main trainer, Edan Syah presented tips and information on how to prepare for your race, especially before the race. He also presented the race route, route elevation& distance and tips to run this route well.

After the talk, participants ran the 5.3km route around the area and was welcomed back to a feast of bananas, 100Plus and sachets of Perskindol muscular-relief gels.

I had the honor of taking the participants through the cool-down session, and also a Plank-Hold competition. The winner was a gentleman who held for 3mins and 5secs.

What an experience this was today! I look forward to more races and events !

Why Black Coffee?

I am an avid fan of coffee. I prefer mine black. As it is. No sugar. No milk.

Most of the time, I’ll choose a Long Black over either an Americano, or Espresso. I do realize there will be more water content in the LB or Americano, but I guess that’s how I prefer it. Espresso can be pretty strong on the palate.

Black coffee has many benefits:

  1. Coffee has many antioxidants with protective benefits. Among the benefits are protection against inflammation, reduction of heart disease and Parkinson’s disease.
  2. Its caffeine content will help you get your heart rate up, especially before an exercise or training session. Just one cup folks. Avoid from going the extra mile on this one! A safe figure is between 200-300mg. A cup of 7oz coffee contains 85-135mg of caffeine.
  3. Caffeine also stimulates the central nervous system that raises the metabolic rate and increases the oxidation of fatty acids.

For now, just sit back, enjoy your cuppa,  and read a good book!

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Being Fit? What’s That?

Commit To Being Fit

When you speak to people about being fit, usually the responses are:

  • “I can run… not too sure about anything else!”
  • “The only weight-lifting I do is during grocery shopping.”
  • “You mean, go to the gym?”

In reality, being fit or having an acceptable level of fitness is a combination of different modules. In CrossFit, there are 10 components:

  1. Strength
  2. Power
  3. Cardiovascular Endurance
  4. Speed
  5. Stamina
  6. Flexibility
  7. Accuracy
  8. Balance
  9. Agility
  10. Coordination

These fitness components are directly translated to your day-to-day routines. Eg. Grocery shopping, doing housework, walking to your car with a heavy laptop bag.   Everyone needs to spend some time working on these components so that you can move better and live better.

Think about an activity that you find tough (or had some hesitance) doing. It could be bending over to pick up something, walking down the stairs,  Then, ask yourself these questions:

  1. How did I feel while doing that? (Tired, sharp pain, etc)
  2. Where was the pain? (Knee, back, elbow, etc)
  3. How long have I had this pain? (1 week, 2 months, etc)

There are many reasons why a movement is difficult :

  • Inflexibility of your muscles/tendons/ligaments
  • Poor posture/spinal alignment
  • Previous injury

I will break that up in my future posts as it is a pretty huge branch of its own! Everyone has got different issues so I will address it in my next few posts.

If you have a burning question regarding this topic, please feel free to contact me via the Contact Form below.

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Sleep. What’s Enough?

Most adults sleep at 12mn and wake up at about 630am or 7am. Or, they sleep at 2am, and wake up at 8 or 9 am… With an average of 6-7 hours of sleep, we get to work and carry out our daily activities.

Children between 12-18 years old will need 8.5-10 hours sleep. For those 18 years and above will need at least 7.5-9 hours of sleep. How would you know if the amount of sleep is enough?

Well, when you wake up and go along your usual work/routine, start to assess how you feel – are you feeling tired? Sleepy? Hungry? Sluggish? At what time? What did you need to do to perk yourself up again?

Once you know which duration of sleep works for you, stick with it. Ensure you do not oversleep by 30mins or an hour. Snoozes can cause you more harm than good in this case.

Everyone is different in their sleep needs to perform at optimal levels. If you have a friend who sleeps for only 5 hours whereas you need 8, that’s perfectly alright. Just as long as they have proper nutrition and happy with their daily performance!

How many hours do you sleep folks?

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Feeling Hungry?

Do you feel hungry even after a huge meal? Do you find yourself snacking on tidbits, biscuits or even chips?

Well, you may be thirsty instead of hungry!

Sometimes you would have eaten too much food, and didn’t drink enough water to accompany your meal. This usually happens during buffets and company functions where food is abundant and alcohol is free flowing!

Another reason for feeling hungry is that you didn’t consume enough protein and fat in your meal. Protein and fat are harder to break down, hence it takes longer duration for the food to pass through the digestive system. The intestines will also be processing the food to absorb all nutrients needed for the body.

So the next time you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water! It will dissipate your hunger pangs!

For more Nutrition articles, click here.

Fitness

Fitness on its own, makes people physically stronger. What I would like to have, is a healthy society and community that are willing to change their perceptions and habits that they have been leading their lives with, to become a more balanced individual, mentally and physiologically.

Start from within.

Start exercising, moving better, eating well and living your best life!

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