Fitness Talk - Personal Training at Orchid (SGPT) Gym

As promised, I'm back with photos of the gym that I'm based at! The gym is cosy and exclusive to only personal training and our clients. Apart from the usual personal training sessions, clients are also invited to utilise the gym at your own time, outside of the scheduled personal training sessions. I love to train here myself, because I have the luxury of space and equipments. Enjoy as I bring you through to the different parts of the gym!

View from the entrance. There are more than 4 benches for you to choose from!

First smith machine, nearest to the entrance.

Plenty of mirrors for you to check your form out and well, selfies. :P

Boxing gloves for some action on fun training days.

2nd smith machine, which couples as a rack too.

Hanging knee/leg raises.

Multi-purpose machine which you can use for plenty of exercises (I will share bit by bit along the way).

Array of dumbbells for your use. 

Oh there is also a leg press machine and one of the benches can be used as a leg extension and leg curl for some isolated movements on your legs!

General locker area for your water bottles and miscellaneous.

Simple shower facilities, for clients who rush back to work after a lunchtime workout.

Changing room and exclusive shoe rack for our clients who leave their shoes there for convenience.

Selfietime!

I will slowly introduce some of the workouts I do with my clients and for myself along the way so stay tuned! Meanwhile, if you happen to work around the area and looking for a quick lunch workout, feel free to give me a buzz at 9688 6802 and I will provide a FREE trial session for you! Bring your colleagues and friends down!

Have a fantastic weekend ahead everyone!

Fitness Talk - Training ground

I have officially gotten myself stationed at the gym (level 2) of Orchid Hotel! Will be updating this space with more information on the gym and how it looks like. Most importantly, how this cosy space will be just enough for personal training, and even for my own training so stay tuned!

Fitness & Health Talk - 3 reasons why you should start working out

As much as I know many of my friends are starting to hit the gym, I know that there are many who are not, whatever the reasons may be. There are many ladies out there who only start considering to do something to their bodies when they encounter health problems, which is why I'm writing about this today. Even before we start seeing problems, shouldn't we already begin to prevent these problems from surfacing?

Working out doesn't mean you have to get your butt to the gym. Instead, you can always start something simple by moving around more than usual. For example, the cliche examples like getting household chores done, getting down one stop earlier or parking your car further away from your destination so you can walk to your destination, taking the stairs instead of the lift up. But well, if you can, just get to the gym, get a personal trainer if you can afford, and learn the basics well and after about 20 sessions, you should be good on your own unless you need the additional motivation.

SO, why should you do yourself a favour and start moving that lazy bum?

1. As mentioned, working out makes you look YOUNGER!

Studies have shown that exercise reduces stress and releases endorphins, also known as happy hormones. And by indulging in a workout/exercise, research has been shown to alleviate most mild to moderate cases of anxiety, and can very quickly improve mood. Try it for yourself! It has worked for me, especially when I go for combat classes!

Also, sweating out during a good workout not only reduces bodyside inflammation and helps regulate skin-significant hormones, but also prevents free-radical damage. When you workout, the tiny arteries in your skin open up, allowing more blood to reach the skin’s surface and deliver nutrients that repair damage from the sun and environmental pollutants. How awesome is that!! It's like a facial session! :D

2. Stand taller!

This is where you would hear me nag "Very very important to stretch pre and post workout because it will lengthen your muscles!". My clients would have been sick and tired of hearing me say this but STILL, I have to emphasise and emphasise the importance and sometimes this happens to me, especially when I don't even have enough time for my actual workout.

Well, nobody has proven by research that working out and stretching makes one taller, but activities that stretch and strengthen muscles at the same time, like yoga or Pilates, can correct bad posture and therefore add height! Oh you will be surprised!

3. Less Visceral fats!

You may then ask, what are visceral fats?
Our body contains 2 main types of fats, Subcutaneous and Visceral fats. Subcutaneous fat is the one you can pinch and is relatively benign. Visceral fats are fats that surround your vital abdominal organs and can be a killer.

Then comes the next question, why is less good?

How about, why are more visceral fats bad? Excess visceral fat fuels low-grade inflammation in the body and is tied to a chain of killer-diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, breast cancer and dementia. It can also upset the balance of important hormones that affect your skin, hair and general appearance.

So when you workout regularly, your body makes more mitochondria, the cellular engines where aerobic metabolism takes place and it also produces more proteins to speed up the transportation of fatty acids into cells to be burned as energy, and then makes more enzymes that break fats down. So the more enzymes you have in your body, the faster visceral fat can be burned, which will ultimately not only make your body look better, but healthier!

Take courage ladies and gentlemen alike, and stop deluding yourself! It's never too late to start a fitness regime and embark on your fitness journey. If you ever need help or personal training, feel free to email me (limaran@gmail.com) or my husband (jasonjuliuslim@gmail.com if you are too shy to approach me). We will try our best to help you!

Good night everyone! 

Fitness & Beauty Talk - 5 tips to look younger

I know this is rather shameless but those who know me will agree that I do not look my age at all. And of course, #goodthingsmustshare! So I decided to reveal my secret, not like the previous post but REAL secret to looking younger. Ladies (and gentlemen), sit up straight and read well! :P

Tip 1: WORKOUT!

I can never emphasise how important it is to workout and the results actually show on your skin and your physique! I'll be doing a separate entry on how important working out is and why you should kickstart your fitness journey but in short, working out relieves stress, increases your self-confidence and improves your skin's radiance in the long run!

Tip 2: Eat clean and drink up!

Admit it, you know how true it is when they say, "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!". Eating clean and healthily can give you younger-looking skin. Healthy food promote good cell growth and can eliminate harmful free radicals and toxins in your body. Just because of this simple reason, your skin will regain its natural glow and suppleness. Make sure there is a good mix of greens, protein and carbs in your meals. Of course, do not forget to drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day to stay hydrated!

Tip 3: Care for your skin!

Now this is the reality, people judge you by your first impression. Therefore, caring for your skin is very important. Make sure you cleanse your face well regularly and exfoliate 2-3 times a week. Remove your makeup thoroughly and double cleanse if you have to. Wash your face after working out and most importantly for those with dry skin like mine, keep it moisturised and massage it well! Here are some of the products I use and I don't really believe in sticking to a particular brand anymore, because I believe your skin knows better than the brands do. I have a couple of different brands for the same purpose and I use them according to how my skin feels that day. I focus on correcting my skin tone recently, apart from the hydration.

Tip 4: SUNSCREAM!

Stay away from the sun unnecessarily if you can! Unfortunately for me, I coach and train my clients in the sun sometimes so I don't have a choice but to use sunscreen. I love looking tanned and I cannot really stand my skin colour looking yellowish whenever I get fairer so it's even more crucial for me to use sunscreen. Ladies and men alike, this is a TALL ORDER: USE SUNSCREEN! Because you will only have yourself to thank when you get older! 

For those with oily skin, I suggest that you don't use anything too milky. Get a water-based or gel sunscreen which will produce a cooling effect on your skin. I think Neutrogena has rather good ones so check out Watson's or Guardians! For those with dry and combination skin like mine, it's a little more tricky because you cannot go for too moisturising ones, yet gel or water-based ones may not be moisturising enough. This is what I use! I recently got mine replaced when I visited Trinity Medical Centre so do your skin a favour and get a good sunscreen. 

Tip 5: Hang out with younger friends! (FOR REAL)

I'm serious! I hang out with a lot of younger friends and they make me feel younger at the same time! Of course, as much as laughing makes you get wrinkles (in the long run), feeling happy, smiling and laughing when you are out with your friends will release happy hormones and laughing helps increase blood flow around your face, making you look and feel younger! Go ahead and laugh till your jaw cramps and teary-eyed! :D

SOME of my younger friends (I have more), who never fail to make me feel young! 

There you go! I hope I shed some light on some of you and for those who needs an extra push to kickstart your fitness journey with me, feel free to drop me an email! 

Good night!