Cable crunch

Bored with usual crunch? This is another variety of crunch using cable machine where you can add resistance


a. Lie on the bench without arching your lower back.
b. Bend your knees to 90 degrees
c. By gripping the handles, set your arms to 90 degrees



a. Slowly contract your abdominals, bringing your shoulder blades off from the bench
b. Exhale as you come up and keep your neck straight, chin up and pull the cable
c. Hold at the top of the movement for few seconds, keep breathing

BTW, since it is quite difficult, I can only do this crunch for 12 reps each set. But the result is better than 50 sit ups.

Low Carb Diet vs Low Fat Diet

In the term of the way to lose weight and nutrition , not everyone shares the same opinion. The old fashioned view is the diet should be low fat and high in carb. Fat, as we are told makes us fat, by eating less of it is the sure way to keep lean and healthy and we need carb as main fuel for daily activities.
These days to cater the demand of low fat diet, manufacturers now producing many items that can be advertised as low fat. Trouble is, when you look at the label you will find different types of sugars and rich in carbs

Personally speaking, I’m more comfortable with low carb diet although I’m not a follower of any popular low carb diets that already exist. I invented my own low carb diet by combining all the popular low carb diets.

My conclusion :
We all have different dietary requirements and the right balance between protein, fat and carbohydrate can vary from different people. For both plans ( either low carb or low fat ) you should make sensible choices. My own golden rules in dieting are : avoid junk foods, processed foods, limit sugar, don’t do any extreme diet, go natural and exercise.

Health is everything

Health is everything, I was reminded again how important being healthy. I was hospitalized for 4 days because severe gastric. Barely couldn't eat anything. Sad, because I had to miss my dancing classes, no spicy foods for while, no ice cream, no pastries, missed blogging and miss the celebrity fitness fx grand opening.

How did I get this gastric? I've been having it since high school when I lost weight with fad diet. This time is worse, I was so busy with my work, forgot to eat and my diet fell apart, last thing I know..I ended up in emergency room with infusion.

There's nothing good being healthy. Without health what can you do?

More About Sugar

In the last weeks, sugar has caught my attention and what I notice is most people don't realise that they actually consume lots of sugar everyday. I see many commercials who claim as healthy products and people just buy them without think further. For example, there's yoghurt commercial says it is good for your digestion. What it doesn't tell you is the yoghurt product contains bunch of added sugar. Sad to see that many people think they are eating something healthy but it's not.

Also, when you stress or tired you crave more for something sweet.

There are many types of sugars, some are added to foods and some occur naturally such as in fruits and milks. The main difference between added sugars and natural sugars are in the nutrient value. Natural sugars tend to be high nutrient and low calories, while processed foods or drinks are the largest sources for high calories and low nutrients.

So, how much sugar do you need in a day? Unfortunetely no recommendations have been made for total sugar intake in a day, therefore there is no daily reference value ( % Daily Value ).

If you are trying decrease your sugar intake, your focus should be in added sugars. These sugars are mainly found in processed foods and drinks such as candy, soda, cakes and, flavoured yoghurt, pastries, jam, canned fruit, even sport drinks.

Oh yeah, don't trap yourself with label "low fat", " fat free" or whatever, because they tend to be high in sugar as well.

Here are the tips that I've done and might work for you :

• Go natural with your meal or drink. Try to enjoy different taste instead of sweet.
  
• Read food labels. This is a must, at the end I usually put the food/drink back to the rack and go back to the fruit stalls.
  
• Drink water instead of sweetened juice,tea , juice or something like that.


• Choose plain yoghurt and mix with fresh fruits instead processed fruit yoghurt.


• Since I'm a commuter and often stuck in traffic, I always keep healthful snack like strawberries and nuts.
  
• Spare your time to prepare your own food.

Anyway, after reading this post, please don't make sugar as your enemy. Consume sugar moderately and sensibly and read the labels are the important key.

Weight Training Do's and Don'ts

DO's :
- Do use spotter when you try the major lifts : Take advantage of your gym buddy or personal trainer as your spotter. Having a spotter beside you, help you eliminate the injury.
- Do keep your back straight when lifting : This to protect your lower back from injury or lower back pain.
- Do use proper lifting technique.

- Do wear proper shoes.

- Do make sure the equipment is in good condition.

DONT's :

- Don't breathe in and out too fast. You may faint when you and lose control of your weight. Breathe out when you lift weight.

- Don't continue lifting when you feel pain.

- Don't exercise any set of muscles more than 3 times a week.

- Don't lift more than you know you can lift safely.

Bittersweet Sugar Facts

• Sugar is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable.
• Sugary foods provide lots of energy and can be used immediately after consume it.
• A sugary drinks and foods give you energy boost but the effect soon fades and soon you want another drink or food.
• Sugar doesn’t provide anything beside calories. That’s why it’s called empty calories.
• Too much sugar will end up having holes in your teeth.
• Sugar can be used as preservative ( e.g. jam ).
• Sugar releases energy quickly.
• According to the studies 33% of added sugar can be found in soft drinks.
• Extra sugar can be attained in low fat or fat free products ( make sure you read the labels ).
• The body actually uses all sugars the same way- it changes them to glucose, which is what our body uses for energy.
• Sugar has other names such as : glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose and maltose.
• Skipping meals can lead to sugar craving.

Before Bed Blab

*this is not my bed, but even fitness chick can have her dream bed right?*

Hmmm...back to work again tomorrow. Back preparing my lunches, back to my students and back leave work early to catch the classes. Luckily, I managed to go to the gym and had Body Combat. Tomorrow, ( although, it's going to be a long ride from work and going back home wish......... ) I am going to try this new class at FX called MTV Style should be interesting to end the evening. My personal trainer is not happy with this. But I can always justify it that I need to dance! I love dancing and I was "born" in aerobic class.

Perhaps I should complain more because the branch in Pondok Indah Mall ( very strategic from work and home ) is lacking with "happy" classes and top instructors. They transfer the top instructors to FX ( not quite beneficial for me ) and place my Salsa Guru as manager there. Missed the moments when they have just opened.

I have no idea why I am still willing chase him all the way to FX (*sigh* things you do for love ).

Many ideas to write, let's see if I can write some for my blog during my break.

Well off to bed now...blabbing too much...

Healthy Grocery

After two weeks of holiday and little drama in life . Today is the right time to bring my old low carb habit back. Planned to go to the gym today but I feel so tired ( have bee exercising for 4 days in a row ). Instead I went to hypermart near my house and do grocery. The weather was nice and not too hot like usual so I decided to walk.

I thought of munching today and ice cream will be nice. Thank God, I could resist the temptation. So I bought plain youghurt and fresh strawberries ( at least I reduce 70% of sugar ) For snacking, from chips I switch to boiled edame ( japanesse soy bean ).

Bought food stocks as well for work : avocado, pears, brocolli, beef and oysters.

I think Im set for work..although to be honest it's back to the routine..chasing bus,waking up early and work...

Why Your Diet Fail

Learn these mistakes while you are dieting :

Never say never : So you've decided to diet and you swear to yourself that you will never ever again eat chocolate, sodas, pizza or cake. From what I experienced, that is the beginning of your failure. Because the more you swear the more the urge to eat those foods or drink. Instead of swearing or promising yourself never eat those fatty and favorite foods, why don't you promise yourself to eat moderately and reasonably.

Binges : This common mistake happen when you often skipping meals and still related with swearing that you will never eat those kinds of food again.

No purpose : Before you begin your diet,set a clear purpose why you want to diet. Once you have it, you are on your way to successful diet.

Lack of Patience : I keep saying over and over, dieting is not just a quick fix and is not a race of losing weight. It's about changing your eating habit for better health. So have a little patience, you will get use to it.

Unrealistic goals : Most people ( even happened to me ) want to lose weight quickly and end up by setting unrealistic goals say you want to lose 3kg in one week. Just set short term goal with more realist result. When you achieve, set another short term goal and so on until you reach the recommended weight.

Wrong diet : There are many diets in this world, even me create my own diet. Every diet promises weight loss. So which one you have to follow? You might want to see my post "Choosing The Right Diet". Everyone is different, everyone has different activity, different metabolism and different preference. What you have to do is listen to yourself. Take your time selecting diet that suits your lifestyle, your goals and your fitness.

No exercise : Diet and exercise is a soul mate, it is like Lois Lane and Superman, Batman and Robin etc. If you want to lose weight diet alone won't work, you need to stay active to burn the extra fats. Even if you just exercise without proper diet, don't be surprise if your scale doesn't go to the right.

GymWalking : Celebrity Fitness VIP in FX Sudirman Jakarta

This is the aerobic studio. Slightly smaller than in Pondok Indah Mall. Has very nice view if you join the evening classes and makes the lighting much better. This picture taken in the evening. During the day, the temperature in the studio is quite hot.

Some of the machines in the free weight area. This new gym has more selection of machines and quite spacious.
Cardio area is divided into 3 sections. This is one of the sections. All treadmills is equipped with TV cable. No more boredom running or walking on the treadmill.
Ahhh....this is me on the treadwall. The bottom is the treadwall. Very fascinating machine to burn calories, core exercise,strenghtened your harmstring and quadricep. It's only available in FX.

My favorite class

I love body combat, a good way to release the anger and good for adrenaline

Safe Start Exercise for Obese Women

I am writing this blog because I have seen many women who is suffering obesity doing rigorous cardio exercises. As a person who was overweight before I have done that kind exercises and it did not work at all. It will just cause you injury and over training. You will just get tired of it and stop exercise.

After did some researches and discussions with some trainers this is what I come out with: The appropriate exercise for obese should be minimizing the joint stress and remember to start slowly. As you get stronger, you can gradually increase your time and effort.

The simplest thing to do is walking. Try to walk with short distance and short period of time. Do not force yourself if you cant do it. Week by week add a little bit of your distance and time. It takes lot of patience whilst you want to lose weight RIGHT NOW. But hey, you are making new habit not a quick fix. You will see the result stick much longer if you train and eat sensibly than people who overtrain and go with fad diet. Believe me ladies...been there done that!

Another exercise you can do is swimming. Swimming is very excellent way to burn calories without stressing your joints. The water supports your weight and minimize the impact.

If you are a member of a gym, please avoid cross trainer machine because it involves twisting, no rowing or stepper machine. Do more floor based exercises to strenghtened your core,muscles and glutes.

Obese people have lot pressure on their heart, therefore watch closely to heart rate since exercise could be detrimental for their health.

Weight Training Introduction

As you know the importance of weight training and whether you want to do it at home or gym, you need some preparations.

No panic required, follow these steps and you will be fine.

First of all, if you are a newbie or never done any weight training before or suffering of an illness, you have to consult your doctor or do medical check up.
If you are hiring a personal trainer, tell all details about you, it will make his job easier and find suitable exercise for you.

Done with the medical check up, next thing you need to do is find the right shoes. They don't need to be expensive ones. Basically you'd need good solid platform shoes. Running shoes or cross training shoes should be fine.

You will also need proper clothing to move freely.

Dont forget to warm up before you lift weight, by doing this it helps your blood flowing and loose joints. This will only take 10-15 minutes before you start lifting weights.

You are all warmed up and ready to do some serious work. To avoid injury, pay attention with your posture. Your shoes should be facing to the front, chest up and lock your core.

Breathing plays important role to enhance your lifting and give oxygen to your body. Exhale when you lift up your weight and inhale when your weight down.

Core Exercise

From what I've seen many people do aerobics and weight training without involving their core to keep their balance. So what is core exercise ? Core exercises enable you to strengthen the core muscles including back,abs and pelvis. Having strong core make it easier to do physical activities, improve your posture, create body awareness, flexibility and flatten your stomach. Most importantly, avoiding lower back injury.

For me, core exercise is the toughest exercise ever. My personal trainer scheduled me to have different hour to train my core, since this type exercise you need to do it correctly. Took me 3 months of practice to be able do this exercise.
There are many core exercises, for beginners you may try bridge position. Beside train your core, this will help you to tone your glutes and harmstring.


a. Lie on the mat, put two fingers under your belly button and lock it. Open your feet as wide as your shoulder, your feet should facing to the front. Your palms facing up. Exhale and inhale through your nose. When you exhale feel your ribs widened and when you inhale feel your stomach getting smaller.




b. With same breathing, slowly lift your hips up and still locking your core. Do not arch your lower back.





c. When you are able to stabilize your body, lift one leg up ( without change the position ) and hold for 20 seconds then you switch with other leg.




Tips : Breathing is very essential. Breath slowly, you dont need to do many repetitions. If you can do it for 5 repetitions, you are fine.

Do Women Need Weight Training ?

Yeap. Men and women need to do weight training. Most women are only focusing to cardiovascular exercise such as aerobic,cycling and running which believed to lose fat.

To lose fat you can't just rely on the aerobic classes, weight training help us to build muscle muscle and strengthened our muscle. By having more muscle mass, your body easily burn fat which leads to weight loss. You must remember muscle is heavier than fat, so the scale might says you are heavier whilst you feel thinner.

Weight training helps your body become leaner, increase your bone density and minimized the risk for osteoporosis.

Another benefit of weight training is you can trim and create illusion of your body. You can have your buttocks pumped with squats or cable kickback. Eliminate your flabby arms with many exercises like tricep extension.

There are so many varieties for weight training. If you have extra money, do hire a personal trainer for better result.

New Gym Branch

Went to this new VIP gym today which located in the newest mall called FX in Jalan Sudirman. Man..it's very very good and awesome. Was like amazed when I entered it, very different than other Celebrity Fitness branches. Eye popping jaw dropping ( yeah..I am a bit exageratting here ).

You will not feel that you are in the gym. Although you feel that you are in the gym, it's very very posh. The layout reminds me of mid-eastern architecture. Touch screen cardio equipments and machines, spacious free weight area ( too bad I could not find the ab crunch machine (*hiks*).BUT..they do have TREADWALL. It's like wall climbing inside the gym. This thing will definitely make you sweat even if you are climbing for 5 minutes.

If you are a yoga person, you will die and wake up in heaven. Im not a yoga babe but when I entered and joined the class..wow..the sensation was amazing, very relaxing and comfy. Cant wait for another yoga class.

Took two pics but only the locker room with digital lock and the upper left picture is the manager ( who is my all time favorite instructor and my Salsa Guru ) . Sauna and steam room are smaller than the one in Pondok Indah Mall.
Next time I'll show you the amazing Treadwall and the yoga studio room.

Hitting the Plateau?

When I hit the plateau or just bored going to the gym these are what I do :

• Browsing YouTube to see the latest exercise
  
• Take unusual day to go to the gym
• Luckily Im an all club member, that way I can come to different club
• Write my blog
• Being lazy at home
• Read others blog, get inspired
  
• Find different type of exercise like swimming