One Saturday To The Old Town That Once Called Batavia

Today's post is not about health but more to leisure after tiring work. We went to one of Jakarta's sightseeing Old City Batavia where you can see lots of Dutch heritages especially the buildings. All of us had great time and the pictures taken were 144 but I just put some.

Welcome to Batavia!!!

Ok..ladies listen! Here are our itineraries for today

Woooohhhoooo....Batavia.....!!!

In front of the museum

On the steps

It was great ...now it's time to go home

It's Been A While Again

It's been a while again after my last post. Busy with school work as usual, many things going on. Glad it's at ease now, at least can breathe again and no more sleepless nights thingking about what to do.

I can workout in the gym now. Start the low carb diet, start jogging and start doing the routine workouts that I have left for couple of weeks. Over all, I'm happy that the issue passed smoothly.

Good night.....gotta work again tomorrow...my students' performance, portfolio, semester exam and report...

New Saturday Morning Routine

This is what I can quote "When one door closes, the other door opens "..yeap..my breakdance instructor is very busy and cut some of his classes ( oh no!! ). So last week, I decided got up early just to go to the gym. What do you know, it was good!

It's been two Saturdays and I've been enjoying it so much. Enjoy the 30 minutes on ecliptical machine, weight training for 1 hour and relaxing with Body Balance.

Ahhhh...what a life.....

Starting On Breakdancing

Yeap, it was popular in 1970's and it's popular again these days. Breakdance it's street dance based which involve body movements, coordination and style. It's a also known the oldest version of Hip Hop. You might want to thank James Brown and Michael Jackson to bring all these breakdance moves.

Like any dances in the world, the very basic element you need is music. Hip Hop is not the only option. You can choose 70's, soul, funk, some people even use jazz tunes. My favorite is Beastie Boys.


Learning breakdance is quite tricky and can cause injury, thus having knee pads and elbow pads are essential. Just for the info, my knee got swollen practicin the moves. But if you are too shy or you think you have good flexibility wear long pants to cover your knees from bruises.

Breakdance considered as exercise, make sure you do some warm up before you hit the dance floor.

Another important element from breakdance is FASHION! I don't mean to advertise certain brands, but Nike and Adidas have very stylish dance clothing line.
The clothes and the color you choose should show your own personality. Wear t-shirt that fits but don't restrict the movement. Buy some good socks, 'cos breakdancing is lots of footwoork.

So far, the benefits that I get from breakdancing are ( apart from the happy feeling and look cool ) I gain more flexibility and of course found a new to train my core.

Happy Breakdancing!

Confessions of A Nikeholic

Some confessions from ( my new discovered nickname )Nikeholic :

1. Bought another new pair of Nike from its dance clothing line ( love that golden logo print ). Since I'm into breakdancing and oldskool dance. Well, the outfit sort of draining my salary..but what the heck..I'm brokenhearted ( again ) and gotta look cool when dancing!

2. After for nearly 10 days splashing the swimming pool, kinda miss my gym. So yesterday, I was back in action as gym rat went to different clubs in same day. From Body Balance, Body Combat, Breakdance and wrapped with Street Jam!

3. My old love to my Spanish instructor, Xabier ( too bad he's gay ) is blossoming...I miss his classes and really enjoyed his Body Balance yesterday. Will come again for sure babe!

4. In love with Body Balance, feel enlighted with this exercise.

5. Dreaming about this latest edition of Nike..( oh god ). It's red and orange and can be synchronized with iPod....( hhhmmmm....I have the iPod but I need the SHOES!!! )

6. Making excuses to buy those Nike shoes, eventhought I'm broke..( wish I'm filthy rich..I would buy the whole store, if possible I'd buy the Nike company ! )

One Year Celebration

Wheewwww...how time flies..! My blog is celebrating its first anniversary this year. Like all anniversaries or birthdays, I do have wishes for my blog. I hope more people enjoy reading my blog. I hope my writing skill can be improved. I hope myself to be stay healthy so more things to write.
Ok, I'm still tired from hip hop class and still having bad flu..so again...HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY MY DEAR BLOG!!!!

Diet with Patience

Our patience will achieve more than our force

-Edmund Burke-

For almost couple of weeks, I've been taught the art of patience, including about food. I'm a woman with huge apetite of eating. I'm also an emotional eater. As for this year, I made a promise to myself that my fasting should be better than last year.

So far, I have lost 2 days of fasting due to my bad sore throat. However, I learn really valuable things. I thought I could never live during this fasting month. I thought I would fail again. More temptations to just swallow those food.

But you know, as time to break the fasting comes, all those foods who seem calling me to eat taste ordinary. And I'm telling to myself "Hey..that wasn't so bad after all".

It takes a courage to be patient in dieting. Patience to wait for the result. Patience to resist all the temptations ( fatty food, deep fried etc ). We may fall during our patience, and when you fall you don't stay on the ground but get up and find that patience within you. If it applies in everyday living then it should apply in dieting as well.

Hip Hopping 'Till Your Problems Away!

The HipHopper Chicks with Da Instructor

Wooohhhooooooo...what a fun day today! Two hip hop classes with my favorite instructor who reminds me of Wade Robson. And in the middle was Body Combat. How fun is that?? Today's choreography the instructor used Beastie Boys "Ch Check It Out" and for second class something from Old Skool none other MC Hammer "Too Legit To Quit". If couple months back when I broke up with my boyfriend ( or whatever he was back then ), I fell in love with Kickboxing. But these days..I found my groove back through HipHop.

Ahhhhaaaa...the famous hiphopper bunny before the second hip hop class

Well, I've been big fan of hip hop since I joined this fitness club,basically I love dancing. Whenever the blues attacks me, I bounce back with dancing. Unfortunetely, one by one the instructor left. Until this guy came along ( picture later ). I found my motivation to go to the gym again, although still feeling rather lazy doing weight training.

Hmmmm...ColdStone...another guilty pleasure

To wrap up the weekend and to forget my problems away...a large cup of Coldstone Ice Cream!! As my defense, I just did 3 classes and I'm going to the gym again next Tuesday for another HipHop Class!

Choosing The Right Personal Trainer

Finding a right personal trainer is like finding the Mr.Right and I have a reason for that based on my own personal experience. First of all there should chemistry between the personal trainer and his/her client. When the chemistry achieved, the next thing is same vision and mission from both sides. The vision and mission I'm talking about here are the fitness goals, what programs does this trainer has for you.

The right personal trainer not just having same vision and mission, and chemistry but she/he must but certified and skilled in order to maximize your fitness goals. He/she should be able to protect you from injury and teach you the right exercise.

Don't underestimate his/her customer relations skill, it's part of the chemistry built.

Last but not least is think about the budget you have. Count carefully whether his/her service fits your budget.
As I said above finding the right personal trainer is like finding Mr. Right so don't be afraid to ask questions,shop around and take your time to choose the right personal trainer.

Busy..Busy...Busy...

This post is my 100th post..but I won't considered this is a real post since it's more to a sad post. I've been busy with work so far, my students this year are very challenging and I need to adapt again with new class.

Luckily, I still make my time to go to gym for at least 2-3 times a week. I knowwww....it's not much and I need to make more. I wish for more hip hop classes at Pondok Indah club led by good instructors of course.

Apart from fitness life..wishing..day dreaming about studying journalistic abroad. Even short course...
DO wishes come true?

Old Skool Fever

Always been a hip hop fan but this new hip hop instructor gives new groove to my hip hop class. He brings back the Old Skool...and boooyyyy...I love the old skool!!!And I'm totally in love with his classes. I feel my life is back! I can't wait Tuesday, eventhough it's far from my work but it's all worth it.
I'm wondering if I'm too old for the hip hop thing?

I Condemn The Terorists and The Bombings

Yes, I condemn the terrorists and the bombings which happened Friday ( 17/7/09) last week. Not just the casualties but the daily life. With these bombings, the malls increase their security level and they don't use metal detector anymore but the old fashioned way checking the inside of the bag one by one. Which is ( for me ) a privacy assault. Why? because I often carry gym bag, and inside it are my private belongings. Can you imagine a male digging out my bag? Where's my privacy.
Another thing is there was rumor of bomb threat and caused the classes are cancelled.

I hate you terrorists, you make other's people life more difficult and don't make religion as justification to your evil actions!

My Guilty Pleasures

Hey even top athletes or world record holders have their own guilty pleasures, right ? Since I'm a food lover, live in country filled with spices and great eating buddies. No surprise I have my own guilty pleasures, here they are in random order :

Nasi Padang ( Padang Rice )
Hmmm..a perfect lunch, this bento type with Padang style. Padang is another name for West Sumatera where its food rich with coconut milk and the green chilli.

Chilli Crab
I'm a cancer with crab symbol, means I love crabs and including chilli crab. Very delicious. BTW, when it comes to crab, I'm very selfish..so no sharing please!


Keripik Paru
These chips made from cow's lungs ( yikes sounds gross ) very delicious snacks and rich with saturated fat hehehehehe...

Rujak Buah

Indonesian style fruit salad with peanut and brown sugar dressing. I often crave for this during my PMS. Perhaps because of the sour , hot and sweet taste.

Sate Kambing ( Lamb Satay )

My family love this dish. This dish is very dangerous for those who have high cholesterol. Sweet taste of soy sauce combined with peanut sauce and completed with sticky rice and pickles.

Es Podeng ( Ice Podeng )

Indonesian dessert, great to wrap up the meal. Near my school there's this es podeng seller who sells his ice at 8am!!!! Best for hot weather like Jakarta.

There are more on the list such as french fries with melted cheese on top and others that I can't list here. Because it would be very llloooonnnnggg.....

Hot Yoga Anyone?

Last Wednesday, I was on top of my plateau and dead bored playing with those weights. Then went to yoga studio to check the timetable. Hmm..hot yoga is on at 6 o'clock, I just gave it a go. I never been a yoga person, although I've tried some yoga classes but seems there's no fire flickering between me and yoga. But hey when hitting a plateau it's time to spice up the exercise.

Hot yoga is which the temperature set to 42 degrees celcius and it's just another name for Bikram Yoga. The challenge I felt : my patience!! Why? Since the movements are slow and the room temperature is heat up you might feel fed up with it and just want to give up. It was like in sauna and doing yoga for 1 hour! The sensation was great though.

The tips and caution :
1. Drink a lot of water to keep you away from dehydration.
2. It's wise not to consume any meal two hours before
3. If you're expecting, this is not a yoga for you because it raises the core body temperature
4. Make sure you smell good :P

Hmmm....

Hmmm..yeaahh...my diet seems falling apart. Overeating is clinging over me. I can't resist the food around and this holiday I have more eating buddies. I'm too scared to look the scale. I'm still going to the gym 3 times a week. But it looks thats not enough. I'm overeating!!

Tonight, I'm determined to start my diet by cutting the carbs but ummm..how can I resist this kung pao chicked with fried rice ??Hmm..start tomorrow perhaps?

Holiday Workout : Swimming Time!

One day after my birthday, let's say it was a good day. There are many wishes and spent the day with the one I love.
During the holiday, my days filled with...swimmingggg!!! Yeah, I love swimming. It's my first love of exercise. Luckily I have the access to the best swimming pool in town. The only side effect is dry skin but thank God there's lotion. So nothing to worry about, put on the bathing suit and jump on the water !!

Holiday..Holiday...

Wow..it's been ages since my lost post. But now it's holiday so I hope I have moret time to write my blog. Okay, it's quite disappointing because I can't get my summer body back. Well, I haven't been working out and watching my diet.

Holiday plan? Not much, well actually I have no plan for holiday. Just going to the gym and eat?

Well,I'll see.........!!!

Fighting Temptations

Giving myself a pat in the back. For 3 days in a row I manage to drag myself going to the gym. My body still feels heavy just to get there. But once I get there, I defeated all temptations. Like today for example. I was tempted to have sushi. But told myself I have to be focus and focus. Guess what..30 minutes run on treadmill, 1 hour lower body exercise and 15 minutes fat burn using ecliptical machine.

Well, even my situation no is filled with boredom. There was a bit of luck yesterday. I met my ex trainer. He was free and gave free 1 hour session. Wooohooo...I was lucky.

Plan for tomorrow? Body combat, upper body exercise and of course another 30 minutes run.
Go Alia..must stay in shape..don't let the boredom and sorrow get to you.

( Not So ) Suddenly Slimmer

Yeah, I think I'm putting on weight. I do know why though. It's the boredom. When I'm bored I turn to food, not healthy one but high carbs one. Well according to research carbs makes us more relax.

The effect of course not good. Putting more weight and stuffs. Tried going to the gym today but didn't make sadness away. I felt happy when I was doing the training..it's blank again. Empty and lonely.

The boredom of course the same routine and less dancing classes. T_T

Glad I Decided Went To The Gym

How good I feel after working out. I was faced with two choices in the morning, going to have my nails done or exercise. And I'm soooo...glad with my decision. Started with run on treadmill for 15 minutes then total body weight training, and wrapped up with BODY COMBAT! YAY!

Oh yeah speaking of Body Combat, the regular instructor was substituted with a rookie, still young but he looks okay. So I gave it a go...turned he's pretty good, had good sweat. I think he'd be great instructor someday. He's got the patience, his instructions were clear, he knows how to keep all the members motivated. So good for him.

Next, is my sister. Quite harsh with her today. I'm completely clueless with her. She's very obesed!
For years, I've been telling her to be more active. Even the doctors she met, told her to lose some weight. But she DIDN'T EVEN LISTEN! She finally joined in the same gym with me..but she has thousands of excuses not to exercise and now she discard the membership. Now she come up with new excuse : being pregnant! Hey I've seen lots of people pregnant but still active.

I have no idea what to do with my obesed sister. She's 5 years younger than me, but her body already looks she's been give birth for 10 times.