Cardio Dance Videos Part 1-2

This is a continuation of yesterday's post, obviously.

Track 4: Modfied BodyJam 28 Bongo Song


I was a bit blur and moved off center so you can't see me very well. Anyway, this was the exact same song I did at the children's camp (check out earlier videos). The full Bongo Song from BodyJam 28 was quite long and frankly quite tiring. It's a good dose of cardio, but I decided to trim it down a bit and make it simpler.

Track 6: Love Today

This is another original choreo from my first release. It's a simple step warmup routine but since it's already halfway through the class I make them do power knees rather than tap repeaters.

Cardio Dance Videos Part 1-1

This entire week, I'll be posting 2 videos of me instructing my class every day, along with commentary. You can get to the videos directly at my Vimeo page, but this is the only place I'll actually comment on it.

As indicated previously, I'm a serial copycat, but an ethical one! Those songs which are learnt from Les Mills programs (most notably BodyJam tracks) are properly attributed. It's a really really great class - if you have access to a gym who features it, make sure you go and support. Over here in Penang the BodyJam scene is very lacking, and my gym (Fitness Studio) has only one BodyJam class per week! Pathetic, I tell you! Well, I'll certainly be ranting about that again later. But for now let's get to the good part - watching me flail around!

Class recording shot on 13 July 2007
Track #1: BodyJam 39 Warmup ("Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai)

When I first did this track as a participant, I loved the arm wave and 'car wash'. But after teaching this track myself for 6 classes straight, I'm getting a bit bored by its lack of 'oomph' musical structure. My favourite BodyJam warmup so far is from Release 40 (Luther Vandross' "Shine"). It has very simple moves, great musical opening, and it really sets the mood for a great class. Unlike "Canned Heat" which is quite muted. My other favourite warmup track is Janet Jackson's "All Nite", though I've only done it once.


Track #2: Isolations ("Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head" by Kylie)

This is an original choreo inspired by Kylie's MTV and various BodyJam songs. This was the absolute first song I choreographed myself. I actually think it kinda sucks, but for nostalgia's sake I put it in my first release anyway. And if you laugh at my hip turn, I'm never talking to you. Again.


Wow, I just looked through what I wrote, and I'm quite the harsh critic! As a note, the participants do not magically know what to do. I've been doing these songs with them for over a month, and I usually refresh their memory with a bit of pre-cueing. This is something you don't see in the videos due to memory constraints.

Tell me what you think.

Blockbuster in the Works?

I didn't take too much notice when it was first reported, but I must admit I've gotten engrossed in the courtroom drama that is the Altantuya trial. Who knew I could indulge in daytime soap opera at work without having to open up YouTube? In fact, I'm just waiting for Hollywood to begin writing a script for this trial. I imagine that they create two versions of the script and use whichever turns out to be true.

And what do I think about Abdul Razak Baginda? Seriously, the press reports are so skewered that we never get a true picture (which makes it so much more tantalizing). Personally? I believe whatever the last witness was saying. It's easier, and with less moral ambiguity!

Faltering Temptations

We have a monthly communication session with our Senior Manager where he goes through how the department is doing and other organization-y stuff. Today, due to some scheduling oversights, it ended at 12.30pm, wayyyy beyond the optimal lunch time. Here, our optimal lunch time is 11.40am because that's when the cafeteria has most food. Yes, you read that correctly - We have our lunch before 12! So really, who can blame me for taking extended tea breaks at 3?

So anyway, we ended at a time when there were no more food so the three choices we had were:

1. Eat the leftover cafeteria food
2. Eat at the in-house deli restaurant
3. Eat out

After seeing the leftovers, I quickly chose Option 2. The in-house deli was called Temptations, and they're like the love child of Starbucks and Secret Recipe (I shudder at the thought). And as usual with most love childs, they're slightly retarded. Except the cakes. They have nice cakes! So anyway we had the set lunch (my first time) and I was so disappointed. I paid 10x more to eat what is essentially their version of leftovers. I had their Teriyaki Chicken which tasted more like Bland Soya Sauce Chicken. In fact, I would rather have his Teriyaki Chicken. Next time, I'm sticking with the leftovers. But most of their cakes are still nice, especially the Pineapple Carrot brownie. The molten butter cheese topping on top is to die for.

As a side note, it's kinda impressive that the company has its own deli and mini mart. Now all it needs are a post office, a laundromat, and a budget airline to be a self-sufficient entity!

John McClane Kicks Optimus' A$$

This is Part 3 of the 070707 post.

After the mixed-reaction Cardio Dance class I went home to shower and went out for dinner and movie with friends. If only it were so easy.

We planned to watch Die Hard 4.0 at Queensbay Mall, but when we reached the first entrance it was blocked, and traffic policemen were diverting traffic to the other entrance. I started to get a bad vibe as the weekend traffic can be a little daunting to navigate even without any road blocks. And we didn't even book any tickets to the show yet!

Heading towards the 2nd entrance, I saw many cars parked along the highway and flyover. "Oh, this is NOT good," I thought out loud. I had a feeling the 2nd entrance will be blocked too, so when I saw a gap along the side, I quickly slid my car in. Luckily there weren't any speeding cars behind me...

We walked the rest of the way to the mall and quickly made our way to the cinema. It was barely an hour away and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get good seats. I needn't have worried - there was barely a crowd in the mall! I was puzzled. I looked down at the big atrium and it was similarly deserted. Why all the road block then?

My first (imaginative) guess was that the mall management had somehow ticked off the traffic police boss and they were getting even. But the truth was unfortunately not as controversial. As we left the mall at 12.30am after the show, we saw the roadblock again and saw the sign "Karnival Jom Heboh TV3 2007".

We all gave a collective "Oh...." and couldn't help but snigger at the irony. By blocking off the main entrances for the sake of your carnival, people couldn't make it to your event. Blegh.

And oh, while some will beg to differ, I think Die Hard 4 is a more consistent and enjoyable movie than Transformers. No nagging emo drama scenes. Interesting action sequences. And fights where you can actually see what's happening (I'm looking at you, Michael "fight-close-up-till-you-dunno-who-is-hitting-who" Bay).

070707 - Part 2

As promised, here are some videos of me teaching a simple 40 minute Cardio Dance class to a group of 50 children (and some awkward adults). If you only have time for one video, watch the last one.

Now, before you judge me on my less-than-stellar performance, keep in mind that I was distracted by making sure the kids at the back could see me. In true minimalist style, there was no stage (the stage behind me was strewn with artwork) and no wireless mic. So the kids could not see my footwork OR hear my cueing, a situation I was not prepared for. I ended up just going through the motions while my mind conjured up ways to signal the moves with my arm and fingers. Still, a pretty interesting experience.

The person next to me (a "shadow" in industry-speak) is Jastin, someone I knew since secondary school. He's never attended a cardio dance class before, so I think it's rather brave of him to be shadowing me. You can also read his blog.

For those of you wondering where I learned the moves (the proper term is "choreography"), check out Les Mills. I borrowed (the proper term is "copied") some of the moves from their variety of great group fitness programmes. I'm also working very hard to create my own choreo set to the songs of my choosing, because I can't be a thief all my life. The easier option is just to get certified by them legally. I'm working very hard on that too.

I'll write more about being a group fitness instructor, but for now, just sit back and enjoy watching me jump around. Feedback is appreciated, but I already know how lifeless I look in some of the songs, so tell me something more constructive.

(The clips are ordered chronologically, and only the last cooldown song is not shown)



BodyBalance 36 Tai Chi at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.




BodyJam 40 Warmup at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.




BodyJam 39 Bollyjam at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.




BodyJam 39 Bollyjam at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.




Modified BodyJam 28 Bongo Song at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.




BodyJam 32 Isolations at MSPS Children's Camp '07 from Zemien and Vimeo.

070707 - Part 1

Saturday was a pretty eventful day for me, and I'm going to break it up into 3 posts. I need stuff to fill up for 3 days, and you wouldn't wanna read such a long post anyway.

On Friday night, Mum called me to mention that she's going down to Kulim
tomorrow to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of my great-grandmother's passing. I never wrote about it, but she died soon after my Mum's visit last year (which I wrote about in an oh-so-emo post). I agreed to go along with the condition that I needed to be back home by 4pm (find out why in Part 2!). The last time I visited my maternal side was during Chinese New Year, and hey, I can't let them think I only visit them for the red packets can I?

So we headed out at 8.30am, and the heavy rain slowed our journey as we zig-zagged through surprisingly heavy traffic for a Saturday morning. She had to run some errands first, so by the time we reached the columborium at 10am I was hobbling out of the car.

A priest was hired and while we were sitting down waiting for him to finish his chant, guess what I saw my cousin holding?

Don't be fooled! Look closer, it even has a colour screen! It's actually a Motorola phone modified into a (very, very) retro housing. It's not just an empty shell because the battery is as big as a brick. Extremely nostalgic of the good old days. Nevermind that I never had such a phone before.

I took the opportunity to take some snapshots of Mum, and here's one of the two of us:

I told her, "This angle makes your head look so small compared to mine!". And she said, "That's the point!" -_-"

I also did not miss the chance to take loads of photos of Ivan, my cute great-cousin (twice removed or something). He doesn't know me very well, but I think he has potential to be a camwhore in the future...

And how could a post about family gatherings not be complete with pictures of food? We were already halfway through before I remembered to take a snap:

To most of you that is food, but to me it's 3.5 hours of cardio. Sad.... :'(

The ride home was uncomfortable as Mum's car air-cond broke down. That retro feeling came up again as we drove through highways with the dry wind lashing across my fragile face. We were all exhausted by the time we reached Penang, but luckily I got home before 4pm coz it gave me plenty of time to rest and prepare for my aerobics class at a children's camp at 5pm.

Yup! Tomorrow you will finally be able to watch some clips of me in "Instructor" Mode! Don't bother searching YouTube now, I'm keeping it secret till tomorrow :P