Singapore Personal Trainer|The Fitness Truth

I was at United World College (UWC) waiting for someone the other day.

Anyway I did not want to waste time so I decided to do some exercises at the basketball court at UWC. I blasted some music from my mp3 into my ears and did walking lunges, high kicks, knee high drills, butt kicks and danced away to the same two songs OVER and OVER again.

I was incredibly bored and I could have answered the tons of emails on my account or proof read my latest e-book I’ve been working on. However I decided that I just needed some time off work.

I had the urge to catch a movie though. Perhaps The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian but it was late. I turned to music which has always been my saviour.

Blast some catchy dancy music into your ears and you will intuitively dance, groove and move to the beat.

If you have more creativity, you’ll end up doing exercises that do not require much equipment but your own body weight, like jumping and kicking around.

The key here is to BE ACTIVE.

If I can have the discipline and responsibiliy to do something about my health and fitness, I believe YOU CAN too.

Lesson For The Day: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

P.S: I am releasing my book in a few days time and I am inviting you to be part of a life-changing experience. Stay tuned to this blog. Bookmark this blog if you have not done so.

Click on the poster above to lead you to the Sex And The City Movie official website.

The four main characters of Sex And The City - The Movie.

Alright, the second movie of the week has to be Sex And The City - The Movie. I have never watched Sex And The City series on HBO or whichever TV channel it was broadcasted on. I decided to watch it only because everyone I knew were making lots of hoo-ha about the Sex And The City series and I was curiuos to find out what’s all the kahuna about this celebrated series.

I must admit that my first impression of the movie read fashion couture, women gossips and bimbotic conversations which I am SERIOUSLY NOT FOND OF. No offence to ladies out there but I believe everyone should be true to themselves.

However after watching the entire movie, I am a Sex And The City Convert! I am so going to download the entire series from the start! Sex And The City is more than just a superficial show which would probably leave you brain dead. It is the kind of show which you would go; “Hey I am going through this too!….” This show relates to you in a way or another.

Sex And The City as what the movie projects, discusses issues which are VERY TRUE about women and life. For example emotional stress eating, the insatiable sexual appetite at middle age, fear-of-commitment couples, job takes over one’s life and sex life takes a dip, cheating in a relationship and the question of forgiveness, fairy-tale endings and much more life lessons.

Anyway the highlight of my post today is on Sarah Jessica Parker, the star from Sex And The City.

Look at those GORGEOUS outfits on super lean and toned Sarah Jessica Parker!

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker’s exercise regime includes weight training, running, climbing stairs and yoga. She alternates her fitness sessions between karate, lifting weights, running, swimming, cycling and occasionally horse-riding.

Great to know celebrities are getting addicted to something illegal - Exercise.

However when do you draw the line? How much exercise is too much?

Look at Sarah Jessica Parker’s picture below.

Is this how toned you would want to be?

Do you want veins protuding on your arms?

Do you want muscles on your chest?

I do not know about you but I definitely do not want to exhibit intensely veiny hands and super pumped arms unless I am competing for a professional bodybuilding competition.

However there’s perfectly nothing wrong with looking like the picture above. The ideals of a beautiful body is up to one’s preference and it is subjective. In my personal ideals, being lean and toned with healthy curves caters to me more than any other body type.

My point is, it is second nature for women to go on extremes to get to their ideal physique. Unfortunately most of the time women believe that MORE is GOOD. I know a lot of you would spend hours on end doing punishing exercises to look good. Some of you even even do the wrong exercises to train towards that ideal physique.

What do you get at the end of the day by doing more???

1) Stay the body shape that you are 6 months ago and feel as demoralised as ever.

2) Gain more FATS.

3) Build scary bulging veins which would be a total TURN OFF to your lovers.

Do you know that to get a lean and toned body, you should not lift like a man? Yes you should lift weights but the type of weight lifting exercises would affect the kind of leaness and toned physique you would want to achieve.

Do you know that by running 1, 2 or 3 hours on the treadmill makes you fatter instead? Thus do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), sprint, do moderate speed runs instead of slow time-wasting jogs.

A simple rule: Lift like a MAN, Look like a MAN. (Stay tuned to this blog to find out how you can lift weights to look as slim and sexy as ever and not look like a man with scary veins!)

HI GUYS I AM BACK!

I was sick for a few days with fever and terrible migraine. I was recuperating thus I had not blogged for a few days. I wanted to rest my mind as well. I feel that apart from being physically fit and well, our minds have to be clear and healthy.

My sincere apologies to all of you who were expecting updates.

However I still Twittered.

If you have not followed me on Twitter, FOLLOW ME NOW! Create an account if you do not have one and start Twittering away! It beats MSN-ing. It’s SUPER easy to create an account.

The big guys like ESPN sports channel uses Twitter to update the world on sports updates about Basketball, Boxing, Soccer e.t.c!

I use Twitter to update about Fitness Tips, Health and Fitness discussions and also glimpse of my daily life.

FOLLOW ME NOW! (Click On The Twitter Logo Below! Cute Bird right!!!)

Anyway, I decided to get out of my bed today to do some light exercise. Still having the residual fever and light-headedness though. However taking walks and being active would help you recover faster than lazing around and being a couch potato.

So, I decided to take a stroll at the park to take some fresh air and get my engine running for the next few days.

As I was strolling, I saw a black cat! It’s so SOOO CUTE!

I LOVE CATS!

I kept tickling, stroking, agitate and it became so irritated that it ran away!!! Gosh! Cats have a calming and therapeautic effect on me. After a stressful day, playing with cats would make you smile and for a moment, your troubles would seem so far away.

*Of course only if you’re not allegic to and are afraid of cats that is!

I was googling on Cats and Stress and found an aritcle on Health benefits of Pets which truly justifies the calming effect cats have on me.

Very briefly,

- Pets Can Improve Your Mood

- Pets Control Blood Pressure Better Than Drugs

- Pets Encourage You To Get Out And Exercise

- Pets Can Help With Social Support

- Pets Stave Off Loneliness and Provide Unconditional Love

- Pets Can Reduce Stress—Sometimes More Than People

Click here to read in more details about the points I have highlighted above and ways they can truly help you in your life.

More food for your mind and soul!

Lesson For The Day: Being ill DOES NOT give you an excuse to be a bummer!

I trained Knut Estensen today and we were having converasation about self-image. With his new found weight loss and new muscles growing nicely at distributed parts of his body, my dear client has been spending time at Shopping malls!

He had bought new clothes from Dolce and Gabbana and Ed Hardy and looked easily 20 years younger than his age! He is turning 50 years old soon and hardly looks the least bit like 50 years old. Now with his new choices of trendy, fashionably unforgivable taste of clothes, Knut Estensen would defintely look ASTONISHING than he already is.

I would ask his permission to take pictures with his new style and post it on this blog. I’ll try alright! I hope he would be a motivation to all of you. See what a 50 year old can do with his life!

I can bet you with my life that Knut has found a new air of self-confidence and boosted self-esteem he never really had before. He can now perform Diamond push-ups which many half his age cannot even do!

Anyway after training Knut, I ran some errands and decided to do my usual observations. 2 days ago, I visited Fullerton Hotel and Singapore Art Cafe located at Esplanade but today I had no place in mind. I decided to put my car at home and safe petrol. I hate driving endlessly, wasting petrol and get nowhere. The Bus is a perfect cost effective tool for me. Thus I took bus number 65 and let it bring me to where ever it may go. It finally brought me to Vivocity and Harbourfront Centre!

I visited PageOne which is a replica of Borders and Kinokuniya bookstore. I wanted to go straight to the business section (My favourite reads)…

BUT I second glanced the Interior design section and saw this book! I stayed put at this section for quite some time. Interesting!

“Luxury Houses” book! Fantabulous houses by the seaside with articulate details of interior design! I was like “Oh My! Oh My! Oh My! Soooo NICE…”

Flipping throught the pages…

Something you should know about me is that I am quite different from the average female population. I am a little weird. I love shopping at the supermarket, my romantic idea of a date is walking at say District 9, 10 and 11 to look at HUGE houses. I love visualizing and love observing how the ambitious get to where they are. Whenever I take a walk to places with big landed properties, I would often asked myself “How did they do it?” “How can I achieve great things in life?” “What do I want in life?”.

Every single time I take a Walk of Visualization, it gives me an amplified boost of motivation all over again from my self-motivated self. Thus after the walk, I would be SUPER motivated!!!

More Books On Interior Designs Of Luxury Houses…

The reason I am sharing this with you is because this has helped me in losing weight. When I first started on my weight loss journey, I was TERRIBLE! I never thought I could ever lose weight. Everytime I said that I would exercise and eat right, I just never got to it and I gained more weight.

This walk of visualization has helped me find a concrete reason to be disciplined and committed to do anything that I want. The walk of visualization has given me hope to get my life straightened out and lose weight.

I kept telling myself that I wanted to lead not a luxurious life rich in materials but instead a life rich in good health. I strongly believe when you have health as your top priorities, you will naturally do well in other aspects of your life such as scoring good grades and making money.

Follow me here? Now, think about your walk of visualization and play it in your mind. Share with me on what makes you the most motivated. Find a reason, a concrete reason to reach out to your goals.

Share with me on Why Do You Want To Lose Weight…

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I love passing my time at the supermarket simply because I want the best for you and my clients. I am always reading food labels and discovering better food choices for you and my clients. For example the Fat-Burning Noodles I recommended to you on my last few posts on Shirataki Noodles has helped many people I know in sustaining and maintaining on their weight loss program.

I am now researching and working on alternatives to the asian staple rice and also vegetarian recipes for Shirataki Noodles as requested by some readers. Stay tuned to that blog post.

I just love the supermarket! It is colourful! It is my interest to observe people’s grocery buying habits and find a reason to blog about it and share better ways to improve your nutrition.

With that, I walked to Harbourfront Centre and noticed that there was…

YES! A Chocolate And Candy Fair at the 1st floor of Harbourfront Centre! No!!!

More Chocolate And Candy…

I trained a client at Namly Place last few days and was checking on her nutrition and advised her to make certain food choices. She’s seeing definitions on her tummy and it is getting flatter by the day. The results has made her motivated as ever to invest and dedicate her time to exercise and make better food choices.

However she shared that she is willing to do ANYTHING but chocolate is her GREATEST enemy! So I asked her next; “How often do you eat it?” She said “Nibs and pieces throughout the day…” My face was crumbling but I maintained my cool. Then she was quick to suggest that she’ll totally take chocolate out of her diet.

I STRONGLY protested! I told her not to do that.

I said; “You can have your chocolate. However have your chocolate only after training. Alternatively, eat “clean” (A fitness term I use with my clients on nutrition. It means eating good food choices.) 5 to 6 days out of 7 days and every weekend, induldge on your favourite food. In your case, it’ll be chocolate.”

You should see the smile on her face! I hate depriving anyone. As much as I know many professionals would disagree with me but to me what matters most is that my clients and you get RESULTS and look in your greatest shape ever and still having a life.

A life that allows you to make exceptions to indulge in sinful food every now and then.

I believe my method, will help you and has helped my clients to be more motivated to exercise and eat right. I have been using this method for 3 years as a fitness professional and it has shown marvelous results for Physique Makeover clients. All Physique Makeover clients aged between 30 years old to 60 years old has stayed with me for at least 1 year and the most is 2 years now and a few has booked Physique Makeover for the next 2 years of their lives.

I believe that if my clients can be motivated to look after their health, YOU CAN TOO!

I love this profession! I love it when people are more confident of themselves and develope healthier self-esteem.

This is the epitome of a fulfilling life - Helping others the best that I Can.

This is random - I am going to exercise at Bedok Reservoir NOW!

Going to challenge Han Ayden to a sprint. Ok, maybe I’ll be beaten down flat. Who Cares right? Haha!

Updates later. I want to exercise.

Spent time with my Nephew! Love his natural greenish-gold-brown hair.

Isn’t he such a sweetheart!

Updates LATER!!!

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Workout was intensed today. Here was what I did today.

Han Ayden proposed that I did side lunges, butt kicks, knee high drills and spiderman walk (OMG! TRY THIS!LOOKS EASY.LOOKS ONLY!) as WARMUP!

For most who has no training background, my warm-up would be your entire hour of exercise.

After warming up I performed 5 sets of 5 reps. I performed Single Leg Squats (KILLER), Single Leg Bent Knee Deadlifts, Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts, Kipping Pull-Ups, Elevated Push-Ups, Inverted Rows and Y-squats(Just a tryout).

Some exercise videos on how some of the above exercises are being performed. In the video, Ben performed the Single Leg Deadlift and Single Leg Squat exercise videos (Videos are in order of mention). *Note: Quality needs improvement. Pardon me.

As of now, I have been practising on my single leg variations. Not easy but I am determined to perform a full formed single leg squat pretty soon together with full-formed pull-ups in 12 weeks. I’ll prove to ladies out there that you won’t “bulk” up. I will be a slim and lean machine and hopefully motivate YOU ladies out there to start taking care of YOURSELF!

Here is a short youtube video of me working out, doing my last set of push-ups. God, I truly gave my ALL! Alright, it’s dark and you can hardly see my face. Not super good quality but I’m trying to post better videos. I worked out with concered effort too ok!

It’s all in the MIND…

I am determined to do standard man’s push-ups chest touching the ground and perform at least 3 pull-ups again. I stopped training hard for the past 3 months and I obviously lost my strength. I could do pull-ups, 3 months ago and when I started training full-throttle 20 days ago, I can’t even pull myself up!

However these past days of training has shown much improvements to my strength and form. I did Twitter-ed that my complexion improved, the pimples on my face cleared because I was discipline to consume Omega 3 Fish Oil and other Healthy Fats, I can see my abs definitions once again and my legs are toned as ever that I’ve been wearing shorts and dresses! It has definitely boosted my confidence.

I can once again perform standard man’s push-ups (not many yet, just 3 sets of 10 full reps) and getting there in terms of pull-ups.

I FEEL SO MOTIVATED AGAIN. I’M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP JUST AS YET.

So what I decided to do today is to think of an inspiration on how I want to look like in months to come. All of us including YOU should have a picture in your mind on your goals.

This is called Visualization. Close your eyes and paint a picture of you in the best shape ever and keep being self-motivated and positive. SMILE.

I blogged about sexy and toned figures by the likes of Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel and shared with you their secrets to their applauded physiques.

However, I did not feel quite “right” as them being my inspiration. I wanted someone I could identify with in terms of my body-type, personality and character. Put it simply, I wanted to have a realistic model in my mind.

So, I chose the Role Model For All Fitness Enthusiast;

Queen Of Pop, Madonna.

She’s 50 Years Old, mother to 2 children, leads a very stressful and hectic life and yet she understands the value of good health, power image and trends. She has invested her time in exercise and making good food choices which made her look her gorgeous, slim and toned self over the golden years.

“There are no short cuts to being Madonna, it’s all about hard work. There is no easy way. If you want to know how I look like I do, it’s diet and exercise and constantly being careful… I’m not going to slow down, get off this ride, stay home and get fat!” - Madonna In The May issue of Elle magazine, UK.

I chose Madonna as my role model because I admire her consistency, discipline and commitment about her well-being even at the age that she is. Most of you would have already given up to fit into that skinny jeans at 35 years old! Big Mistake!

When I turn 50 years old, I would want to follow in the footsteps of Madonna and continue to advocate Health, Fitness and looking GREAT to everyone.

So Do You Want To Look Hot Like Madonna?

I am sharing with you this Fr.ee 7 Steps To Skinny Jeans E-Book which would get you started!

Kindly fill in your name and email address in the form below to get the Fr.ee

7 Steps To Skinny Jeans E-Book.

WORK IT LADIES!

You’ll also be notified for future Blog Updates, FR.EE E-Books and Discounts from Physique Makeover’s Coaching Programs.

On the side note, Madonna has released her latest album, Hard Candy which was highly anticipated by Madonna Fans worldwide. Click on the Album Cover below to find out more.

First Of all, a big THANK YOU to my dearest friends, clients and faithful blog readers for all your kind words and encouragements with regards with yesterday’s post. It had certainly boost my morales and ignite more fire in me to acheive my goals. Here’s an action-taking affirmation - I CAN DO IT!

Alright, anyway I have been rolling up my sleeves these 3 days brainstorming on TWO new bootcamps for Physique Makeover clients. One of which would be the first of its kind in Singapore and (hopefully) spread the word of the importance of Power Image.

I truly believe FIRST impression lasts and therefore you must not only feel good about yourself but LOOK good too! This is especially so for professionals and corporate executives who meets clients/customers/consumers all the time and even to those who socialise or are in the dating scene. In fact I believe that with Power Image, you will increase your chances of say securing that sales deal, business venture and who knows, a great lover.
Health is indeed Wealth.

Anyway, I am still not finished with the Bootcamps so I would not talk much about it. Trust me, in a few days time you’ll hear me talking about it again.

At 2PM just now, I decided to take a short break from my laptop and exercised. I performed the time-saving 4 Minute Fat-Burning Workout. Woo! Feels good working out.

I truly recommend the 4 Minute Fat-Burning Workout to EVERYONE even if you’re at the office. What’s 4 Minutes right!!!? It does not only make you feel good but also helps you burn the fat and keep toned. This should motivate you to invest 4 minutes of your time.

As for nutrition, I had beef and eggs with tiny potatoes. The beef and eggs are good food choices. However not the potatoes as potatoes are high in starch. However I won’t sweat it because it is such a puny amount and it is not as if I eat potatoes all the time. Everything in moderation. It is still way better than chips and oily food! I’ll just have to be selective with my food next time.

Lesson for the day: Take it one step at a time and you’ll progressively get better.

I have something inspirational to share. This is going to be a longer than usual post. However I promise you that it will be worth reading on.

Picture this - You have a loving spouse, beautiful joyful children, a great job and then…

You were told that you had only MONTHS TO LIVE.

What would you do with your life?

I asked myself this question for the last few nights and thought about my mother. When I was growing up (and am still growing up), I saw how my mother fought for us, me and my siblings. I saw her struggled for 7 years in a highly abusive marriage, saw her tortured by her then husband and I was forced to grow up quickly, became a mother, father and sister at 7 years old to my 6 year old brother. I watched my mother braved being a single mother before she found herself a good man whom soon become the only father I ever knew.

All was so blissful with a new family then the bad news came. When I was barely 10 years old, my mother was told that she only had months to live. OH MY GOD!

My parents called me one day and told me: “Diana you’ve to keep this low from your brothers. We have something to tell you.” I knew something was so wrong. My heart was damn in my mouth. And then the words came out… ” Mommy don’t have long to live…”

I did not cry. I just stared at my parents face and nodded. I understood. At 10 years old, I had seen enough torture to feel pain.

The irony was, deep down, I knew my mother was going to live LONGER than that! It was a believe I had about my mother. I love her so much and knew God would be kind to let her stay with us.

Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became years and today she is still alive. After close to 10 years, she is still very much there when I wake up and go to sleep.

My mother and I once had a conversation.

“Mummy, I know you’ll live long enough. I want to show you the world and take care of you and shower you with what you want.”

“Don’t worry a mother’s stength and love for her children will always give her the will to live. I will watch you grow up.”

She was so strong and always has been. When you look at my mother, you would never knew she had Thalassemia(blood disorder) and Heart problems. You never knew that she was the lady whom once had months to live. She looked like any ordinary woman out there on the streets!

My mother told me, one of her the secrets to her prolonged life was positive thinking.

My mother visualised that she’ll get better and that she was doing great and living her life. She drew positive energy around her and within her. She is a great testimony that visualization and positive thinking helps prolong your life.

Her next secret was love and faith. Her love and faith for me and my siblings, kept her soul alive. Literally. She told herself that she would live long enough to make sure my siblings and I grow up being people with good value system, morals and a strong desire to excel in life which would be selfless to their family and society.

That’s my mother for you. Sometimes when people around me or even people who just knew me said - “D, you are really strong aren’t you? You just won’t give up.” I would smile and remember my mother. I truly believe I possess the strength to face all the challenges I have from her. My mother unknowingly has build a strong character in me.

As I was playing the years of my mother’s life in my memories this Mothers’ Day, I found an answer to the question - What would I do with your life?

I would keep fighting on with whatever that I do and NEVER give up. I will make a difference in lives of others in every way that I can. It starts from now where I reach out to people about the importance of Health and Fitness and developing a strong inner-belief in themselves. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING.

Till, today I still have adults telling me that Health and Fitness is not their number 1 priority in life. I used to think that way too, being a fiercely career minded individual until I felt burnt out clocking in the hours.

I learnt the HARD WAY and I do not want you to suffer the same!!!

Now look at it in another perspective.

Yes our family and career may be the outmost priority. However if you are going to fall ill, be easily succumbed to diseases, is that not shortening your life span to 1) Spend time with your family 2) Be highly productive and build a successful career?

If you understand where I am coming from, you’ll realise that taking care of your well-being emcompases every other aspects in your life. It is a priceless investment anyone can ever make.

With this, I would like to share with you one of my many inspirations in life, Prof Randy Pausch. He has God knows probably months or even weeks/days more to live.

He is such an inspiration to me and millions of others in the world. Watching this video has made an impact in my life that it had be thinking about my mother.

I decided that to keep you motivated to start taking care of your Health and Fitness and Life, was to share this video and my life story.

Now, for a person who has Pacreatic Cancer and not much time to live, he can do Clap Push-Ups which would put a lot of YOU out there whom are very healthy, with no deadly disease and some time on your hand to SHAME!!!

BE MOTIVATED. BE VERY MOTIVATED.

Prof Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” On The Oprah Winfrey Show (Sep 07)

Prof Randy Pausch’s Final Farewell (May 08)

Hope you actually clicked on the play button and really watch the videos. You won’t regret it.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

MIGRAINE…………..

Lesson For The Day: HYDRATE YOURSELF!

Tip: The moment you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.

I started my day by working out. Put on my pair of running shoes and jogged out to the running track near my house.

There is no excuse Really to not exercise at all! I live near the Stadium with complete fitness facilities. The only excuse one can give would be LAZYNESS.

Here’s my training program for the day

Sprint :Rest ratio is 1 :1

Slow Jog 5 Minute (Warm-Up)
Sprint 1 minute
Jog Moderately 1 minute (Breathe, “Rest”, Recover)
Sprint 1 minute
Jog moderately 1 minute (Breathe, “Rest”, Recover)
Sprint 1 minute
Cool down (Jog moderately but a little slower) 5-7minute (Breathe, “Rest”, Recover)

In total, I decided to sprint 3 times. I felt like puking after that last sprint… URGH! However after the entire 17 minutes of workout, I felt a good rush of euphoric feeling. It is all worth it! Waking up earlier to make time for my health makes me more responsible and inculcate better time-management, self-discipline and a sense of balance in my life.

In efforts to be more interactive with you readers, share with me your views on this question:

Do You Think To Get That Nice Flat Abs, You Should Do More Slow-Paced Running or Sprints?

Feel free to ask me any other questions here by leaving a comment on this blog post. I am trying to install something which would be easier for YOU to ask me questions and at the same time keep in touch. *I’ll get to it by this week.*

ANYWAY…

After the crazy sprints, I thought it would be great to get creative and sink myself in a movie. I did just that and watched Iron Man! Robert Downey Jr full-swing back into his acting genius, is exceptional as Iron Man. A superhero flick with the message that an arms dealer can see the light and give up the business of making a profit on the death of others.

I love IRON MAN! Look at that details of Red and Gold! I feel like buying the Iron Man figurines. The BIGGER the better! I love such toys! It depicts being strong and fit.

Alright, a random picture of me today. The Lighting in the room is too bright! I don’t photoshop pictures. Not because I don’t want to but because I feel that it is not necessary to alter anything. Save Time? Wore a cap because I sprinted with it (Singapore has been intolerably HOT and HUMID.) and I just felt like being tom-boyish today.

Be Positive, Laugh And Smile Always!