Fat + Me = Gym

Yes... these past one year has seen me becoming a couch potato ....but not watching TV though... Watch the computer screen .... I had been busy catching up on everything that there never seemed to be enough time....

Oh well, with everything getting more convenient like mobile payment and all kinds of apps, there should be more time in our hands to rest. But hell no.... they are advertisting more and more new ways to steal away your time.... (not to mention money too). And the worse thing is, we willingly let them ....

Your truly recently indulged in a pain-inflicting and self torturing activity and is starting to like it....Before you start thinking that I have taken up S&M as my new hobby, let me clarify. I have joined the Gym!!! It's been a few weeks now since my first class in August and I still can proudly say I have deligently gone every week at least once. And I am quite happy with myself. And before you comment that you dont see any difference in me, let me just tell you that I am taking this slow and easy. I mean, I have not exercised for what seems like billions of years. I think the last I went to a Gym was back in Uni days. And those who knows me will say, "Now that's a VERY long time ago..." So let's not risk being knock out and burnt out.

Anyway, the whole point I am writing this is to remind myself why I sign up for the gym. I hope it motivates me back to the right track each time i read this.

A lot of people go to the gym to lose something that they found in abundance....
Ironically, the purpose I go to the gym is to find something that I have lost.

I will leave this hanging here for a while for you to ponder upon... mainly because this author here is tired and aching all over.... and needs to get her beauty sleep. Cheers to a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

The Gym Part 3

Today, we take a sidetrack from the satirical look at the gym to a more serious view on the sudden hype that is currently sweeping across most big conglomerates. This is not surprising considering the sudden mushrooming of more outlets of the gym giants such as True Fitness, California Fitness, Fitness First, Celebrity Fitness and the likes. This, coupled with company bulk discounts and constant reminders of how unfit a deskjob worker can be, many cannot resist these too-good-to-miss offers to a healthy lifestyle at a discounted price at an outlet literally next to your office.

Even my prudent brother in law had been enticed to join, stopping only because his beloved wife wasn’t interested to join together. (The actual story was, my sister knew that he would not be disciplined enough to be a regular and didn’t want him to hang around at the gym instead of being at home ha ha.)

It's good to want to be healthy. It's good to want to take care of oneself. But you can do that anywhere, why the hype at the gym?

So what’s the catch? There really isn’t one. It’s just a matter of which lifestyle you want to upkeep.

With the amount of monthly subscription you are paying, no matter how heavily discounted, in the long run, can afford you a decent all-in-one machine to be kept at home and used at any hour at your whim and fancy. And this machine can be used by all in the family, i.e. your mother, father, uncles, aunts, grandfather, grandmothers, all cousins, twice, thrice removed, your children, grandchildren’s children, etc… oh, you’ll get the picture . And you can save on all the sports attire as you can even exercise in the nude at home. And you can even save face, as you won’t have people gawking at you and your fats or sniggering behind your back for those big trousers that you are wearing, or just plain checking you out. I can go on with more advantages of DIY at home but I guess you know what I mean.

So why are people still flocking these high profile gym? Is it a promise that you’ll slim down and tone-up? No. I have never heard of a gym that dares guarantee that. Is it the equipments are so state of the art that you can’t afford them unless you are some celebrity like Kimora? No. Most of them are just run of the mill equipments. Is it because they offer you a service you cannot get elsewhere? No, there are plenty of places where you can learn aerobics or qi gong and you get fresh air for free in the park.

So what is the motivational factor?

For some, the gym is a place to redeem yourself after a guilty and sinful corporate lunch. And also an excuse to tuck in even more sinful dinners on the pretext that you'll burn it out during your exercise sessions later.

Well, of course there are those who join to escape, even if only for a couple of hours, the suffocating noise/chores/problems at home. Especially those who don't enjoy the sudden visits from all kinds of relatives, just to use your gym equipments.

And I know of a few who join, hoping to regain their previous fit-figure and re-live their glory days.

Besides the additional group motivation to exercise and networking opportunities, I would say it’s the perceived value that one gets when you are an “exclusive member” of the club. The gym is an “in” place to see others and be seen. It’s a lifestyle thing, a social standard set to differentiate you from the rest of the “weaker” worker class because you project a picture of health and that you care for yourself.

Whatever the rhymes or reasons, I am sure you'll find one that suit your taste. Hence, to join or not to join… the choice is entirely left in your hands. But to be accepted by society or become a social outcast, that is also a choice left in your own hands… choose wisely?

*note: the author does not oppose the idea of joining a gym and this article does not provide exhaustive researched reasons for joining one. It is merely the author's simplistic views of the recent fad that has swept KL's offices by storm.

(pictures courtesy of Inmagine http://www.inmagine.com)

The Gym Part 2

Hmmm the guys are pretty serious about the gym stuffs. They really did go to the gym today despite heavy workload and tight schedules. Mr. MyHump even made an effort to come back from training to go gym. This seems to be a good energetic start. Mr. RealAuntieKiller doesn't think that they'll last more than a couple of months. When I lament that I'll miss my yumcha kaki, he offered to go tea session with me. I was hesistant... not used to sudden change mar...

Kee, a.k.a. Yumcha King was restless and decided to leave us and go for his 1st round with his gangster friends and then later 2nd round with his AV friends. So I stayed back, slightly dejected that I didn't have any plans for the blue Monday night. However, fortune smiled on me when MissD24 got stood up last minute and decided a shopping trip would calm her down. Even better was when the guys call us for yumcha when they were done with their sweating.. and bathing.. and whatever brokeback stuffs that they were doing at the gym...!!!

Hmmm... the guys did some weird stuffs at the gym today. LV spent the whole evening wandering around the gym, trying his hands at everything... He must be searching around for food but was greatly disappointed that there was none around. Also, he had a misconception that he gets to surf the net at the gym if he gets tired from exercising. And the shy boy didn't dare to go to the sauna room nor the shower after Friday's gay discussion (the one regarding the sauna room attire). And oh, MC really threw a soap (the one he pinched from a China Hotel) onto the floor today, to which Mr. MyHump kicked it away saying that it was too cheap for him to pick up. Instead, he showed off his Bodyshop soap and said, "Why should I pick yours when I have these, huh?"

The dejected MC said, "Ok lor, I play by myself lor. So pity."

They had this conversation in the changing room, and people eavesdropping outside, who weren't able to see the soaps, must be wondering what they were showing off to each other... hahaha.

Ironically, Kee mentioned earlier that only gays will play by themselves in the men's toilet while looking and smiling at the other guys. He was refering to how Mr. N'sync would smile dreamily at LV each time they meet at the Gents. LV protested fiercely that he's not bothered at how Mr. N'sync looked at him as he doesn't admit to being a gay magnet, but we all know that he's somewhat worried, judging from his reluctance to go to the sauna and shower with the guys today.

Oh, I also learnt a new thing that is offered at the gym today. Lock breaking service. Yes, it's not a typo, the gym does have locksmiths to help you break your locks in case of emergency. And these 3 bouffons did have an emergency today. I really dont know what goes on in the guy's changing room but it seems that these 3 funny friends of mine shared a locker, kept all their clothes in it, went shower and then later found that they had forgotten the combination of their lock. I wonder if they really had to run around in their underpants to find someone to break the lock... hahaha... (Another irony where they suggested last Friday that LV should run from the locker room to sauna in his underwear.. hahaha such coincidence)

The girls are joining the "classes" (pilates? body combat?) tomorrow and Wednesday. We'll see if there's any more updates. Oh... incidentally, they are returning to the nearby outlet because apparently, the cute guy in MidValley, was to vertically challenged for their liking. They had a hard time spotting him even though he was already standing on the stage while giving the steps classes. MissD24 says it's a waste of effort to go all the way to MidValley, just only to be able to hear his voice in class.

(pictures courtesy of inmagine http://www.inmagine.com)

First Day @ The Gym (for the guys)

03 MAY 08, SAT, OFFICE- Driving was a breeze this morning… especially coupled with loose traffic and the sounds from Shanghai Divas… Reached office car park in 30 minutes flat… I did a time check as I got out from home at 8:32am, and then called MC at 8:35am (whom I can hear is still sleeping when he picked up my call even though he tried very hard to disguise his voice hahaha)… and reached the car park at exactly 9:02am. 30 minutes is considered not too bad for someone having to do "inter-state" commute every morning...

Havent been able to blog at home lately… thus hands a bit itchy. So while waiting for MC to come have breakfast (or is it brunch) together, I’ll talk a bit about "The Gym". The guys (and girls) have started gym yesterday… and boy, was it a field day for Kee and I in anticipation of what they’d be wearing, doing and seeing at the gym. It all started during lunch when MC said, “Wow, it’s been such a long time since I’ve been to a gym, I am a bit ‘kan cheong’ (excited)” … And then he also reiterated that he mustn’t do treadmill near the younger “tung yan” (a nickname for the young IT contractors who are treated almost like the Shaolin Temple’s new recruits – given ‘hell-style’ training and expected to perform in short period). He was even worried about doing treadmill next to Mr. MyHump, fearing his stamina may look pale next to those whom he thinks are “young and energetic”.

Boy, turns out, he was in for a surprise… For one, all the “tung yan” have other more exciting plans for the Friday night instead of going to the boring gym. And Mr. MyHump…. Well, let’s just say both of them are from the same era…so MC had nothing to worry about in the first place… Funny thing was, it ends up with both being totally distracted by a show-off at the treadmill who kept on flexing his muscular arms while running non-stop in front of them. Hmm, I wonder if he was flexing for MC or Mr. MyHump....

And then we talked about sharing of the bathroom. Imaginations of how the gym bathroom design was ran wild with talk of there being no doors or half doors or no locks, etc.... MC was wondering if he could “drop some soap” for Mr. MyHump to pick up during their shower together. Ahem… I am sure we all have heard of those gay activities at the gym. Now, after reading the previous sentences, you must be doubting MC’s sexual orientation. Ahahaha… Actually, cheeky MC was hoping to see if Mr. MyHump would be attacked by those big, muscular gays when he tries to pick up those soap…hahaha.. Now that’s a sight that we’d all like to see, don't we now? *wink* *wink*

And then we moved on to attire. Mr. TinLo got overly excited when asking MissD24 what she’d be wearing to the gym. You should’ve seen his aroused hamsup face when he imagined her in a sexy 2-piece gym outfit. “Are you going to wear a Wonderbra and tights? Then you’d become Wonder Woman lor. Mmm, so delicious… ” Yesterday, MissD24 and GGG didn’t go to the same gym outlet as the guys, but went all the way to MidValley instead.… which Kee and Mr. MyHump thought was because they were too embarrassed to become Wonder Woman in front of the guys, especially Lwee, who have a habit of staring at other’s “you-know-where*”. Well, actually, the girls told me the real reason was because there’s a cute guy at MidValley giving classes… nothing to do with Wonderbra or WonderWoman or Wee.

Oh, there was a debate on whether girls would share a cute guy if they see one. Well, Kee was saying, "I dont believe girls would have such "gentlemen style" as to share a cute guy. If that gym instructor was really cute, I am sure GGG wont bring MissD24 along." Hmmm... I beg to defer. Well, this is not like sharing a boyfriend, this is a cute gym instructor and he's there for all to see. Why won't we share?

And Lwee, our God of Food (who usually just accept eating as a form of exercise), surprised us all by joining the gym as well. However, he didn’t attend the “first day of gym” yesterday because he claims he was sick. Even turned down MC and Mr. MyHump’s invitation to just relax in the sauna. Ah… The sauna… another place of interest in the gym. There was a “heated” debate regarding what to wear or bring into the sauna/steam room. Mr. MyHump was wondering if his PDA could withstand the heat and humid of the steam room as he was afraid he’d be bored in the steam room to which Lwee exclaimed, “Why do you want to work even when you’re naked in the steam room? Dahsyat la you.”

The IM conversation went on.

Mr. MyHump: Where got naked? Got towel… ma.
Lwee: Got towel where got fun one. Like steam not complete.
MC: Btw, Lwee, come join us for sauna. Will cure your sickness.
Lwee: No la, didn’t bring gym attire.
Mr. MyHump: No need…ma. Naked… ma.
MC: Yeah, Lwee, you can run naked from the locker straight to the sauna room.
Lwee: No lar, shy la.
Mr. MyHump: Then what you want to wear, swimming trunks?

From the above conversation, you will understand how those “gay gym stories/rumours” came about. I am quite sure that my 3 friends here are straight (for now, at least) but the above conversation seems to suggest some Brokeback activities, no?

Anyway, for the curious ones, I suppose it is not advisable to bring the PDA into the sauna, even though your PDA is shock/steam/water/heat proof. It’s for your own safety. We don’t want people to suspect you’re a pervert, taking nude pictures of others in the steam room. You’ll never know what they do to perverts… especially gay perverts… hahahaha…

Alright, that’s all for today’s bulletin of ‘first day at the gym’. I better complete some work at the office fast in order not to waste my Saturday here. We’ll see if there’s Part 2 since they plan to go again on Monday! Oh, just so you know, Kee and I am not a member of the gym... just watching and laughing at them gives us good enough exercise already.. :P

Have a "Fit" weekend....!!

*you-know-where = tummy

(pictures courtesy of inmagine http://www.inmagine.com)