So my love of fitness has not escaped me in Singapore. I have officially signed up to my gym after weeks of lamenting should I shouldn’t I…. In the end it came down to one thing: the instructors.
I have been going to ‘spin’ class of a Saturday morning (well, I lie, I have gone twice and meant to go two other times….. however Friday nights impaired those grand plans!) and it is more like a party zone than a spin class. The instructor has the music pumping, as per any spin class, however he also plays DJ. He sings along, chants ‘runawayrunawayrunawayrunawayrunaway’ repeatedly when there are no lyrics to sing along to and when he is not doing this, he is making honking sounds to the beat of the music similar to the whistles used in duck hunting. All whilst not even coming close to his spin bike! Hilarious! However, what I do not enjoy about this spin class is the fact that there is no mixing up the intensity during each song as per Les Mills style. But my love of sweating and the music and the instructors style is outweighing this slight con.
The gym also offers ‘hot yoga’ – yes, the poor man’s Bikram (and yes, clearly Singapore is not hot enough for me). The class only goes for 60 minutes (as opposed to the 90 minute Bikram class) and it poses and movement sequences decided by the instructor. My instructor is a small Malaysian / Indian man who speaks with a monotone voice that I have to really concentrate to understand. His accent is quite thick and my knowledge of all the poses is quite limited so trying to decipher what he is saying and put it into a pose is challenging to say the least! Particularly when standing on your head and trying to look into the mirror or at the other class participants to understand what the hell he is talking about! However, there is something quite humorous about the way he struts around the class speaking in his nasal monotone Indian accent that keeps me amused for the 60 minutes!
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| CLEARLY not me... but an example of what I look like doing the WRONG POSE..... ps the look on my face is more confused and scrunched up like. And sweaty. |
The government are quite controlling in Singapore (what?? REALLY??!) and health is an area which has not been neglected. There are signs everywhere – bus stops, MRT stations etc recommending to get your 150 minutes a week of physical activity. Plus, there is always some fun run occurring along the ‘beach’ and a couple of weeks ago,I participated in a Breast Cancer awareness walk around Marina Bay. Unfortunately, there have been several occasions where a group of us have decided to try Dragon Boat racing but it has not eventuated due to the world cup matches / regattas / me reading the map and deciding I could find a short cut…… Trying this sport has been put on the back burner until after the holidays!
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| The backdrop for the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk |
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| Coutesy of Joanna - some of my colleagues |
I have also been to MacRitchie Reservoir once which is an oasis just off to the west of the city. This is an amazing parkland with the water supply and a 11km walking track around the entire lake. There are monkeys, komodo dragons and tree top walks to allow you to get a bird's eye view of the national park. It is so amazing that a place like this exists in such an urbanised citystate.
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| Not my picture. |
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| Again, not my picture. |
I also had my first taste of trail running when I went along with a colleague of mine to a Hash run. Hash is quite well established in Europe – and Singapore for that matter – but I hadn’t heard of it before coming here. Basically, a trail is set by experiences hash runners and you run, following the trail. If you lose the trail, you need to back track to the previous marker and search for where the trail goes next. There are often false trails and the terrain is diverse (off trail, roads, paths – even train tracks and drains tomb raider style!) so constant communication with the fellow runners is required. I was laughed at for even considering wearing headphones. Overall, this was a totally new running experience for me and one that I thoroughly enjoyed and will participate in again.
So by now you are probably thinking I am becoming one fit bunny over here huh?! Nope. Did I mention the national past-time is eating….??? Followed closely by the expat pastime of drinking…???!
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| After tennis at a colleagues swanky fitness club, we found this sign... Not very politically correct.... My invite clearly lost in the mail. |
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