Pumped up kicks with Shape Magazine...

It's quite embarrassing actually to admit this but my workout routine is pretty much limited to reading every single issues of Shape magazine (sad but true =P) So when I knew I was selected to be a part of Shape - Skechers Indoor Workshop earlier this month, I'm over the moon =) Of course I have no idea what's waiting for me at that time, LOL The event took place at True Fitness Gym @ Kenanga International Building, Jalan Sultan Ismail.

While waiting for everyone to arrive, me and the other early birds were asked to change into the cute t-shirt and shoes provided by Skechers and ushered into the gym's open studio. I can tell that this is not the typical workout session that I used to see... The equipments in the studio clearly indicates that we're about to get rough that day, hee~

The workshop kickstart with the opening speech from the Shape's editor herself, Ms Merina Hew. She talks a little about the magazine, motivated us to have a healthier lifestyle and congratulated us for taking the plunge to change... She's very tall by the  way, more than 6 feet I guess but very down to earth indeed =)

Soon after that, True Fitness's trainer, Ms Wyn Cy took the center stage and begin the body pump session. We started off with the warm up first for about 5 minutes before she guided us through various positions. We can choose the plates weight according to our strength and preference. I chose the 1kg plate on each sides because that's the lightest plates available and I don't feel the need to hurt myself unnecessarily =D

The one hour session consists of 3 different sets, from easier to harder steps, with the aid of other exercise equipments besides the barbells and free plates such as the board and yoga mat. The routine may look easy but can be very painful if it wasn't done correctly. Since I placed myself at the front row, I get better view of Wyn Cy movement and I'm happy that I managed to follow her lead right through the end.

Through the body pump session, major muscle groups are worked via series of compound and isolation based exercises such as squats, presses and dead lifts. The focus is towards the muscle endurance using several repetitions. I'm having a hard time doing some of the steps especially movement that involve triceps and biceps probably due to my weak arm, sigh~ The abdominal part is my favorite by the way, it's the easiest one and work like a charm, wink2

One of the great thing that day, none of us quit or attempt to do so which is huge to me... Wyn Cy successfully get us on the right track by motivating us with her wit and humour through out the session, hehe =P I'm having a blast and I'm pretty sure the other girls feel the same way too. Everyone were in a cheery mood, we didn't even break a sweat even when the routine get harder!!!

Okay, who am I kidding? Of course we're making some noises when the thing gets rough, but all in a good manner and happy atmosphere =) I'm sure nobody dare to cross Wyn Cy though, she's not someone you wanna mess with, hihi =P The effect from the session is very immediate, I can feel my body sore all over and I can barely lift a finger after that!!! According to Wyn Cy, it's pretty normal since we're all new to the body pump regime. It'll take some time to get the hang of it before your body can adjust to the routine.

After the intense training, we were served with tasty cereals and energy bars from Kellogs. I instantly fall for the Special K energy bar which is not only a healthier choice (90 calories per bar), but taste amazingly good too... It comes in various flavors from Strawberry Cheesecake, Blueberry, Honey Nuts, Chocolate Cranberries to Vanilla ❤_❤ I even stock myself with this munchies in my office and my car, highly recommended!!!

While having our late breakfast, we're gathered back to the last program of the day, a very laid back talk from Mr Raj Subramaniam, a master trainer certified by FISAF. The topic of the day was "Top 10 common mistakes women make in the gym", a very close to home subject to most of us women, hee~ He really fascinated us with his knowledge and understanding of women, you'll be surprised to learn that he knew more about sports bra than most women do, LOL

I do take some note to share with you girls. Among the common mistakes that women made when it comes to gym are :-

- Signing up & going to the gym without a plan
- Not strength training
- Overdoing the cardio /aerobics
- Lack intensity
- Lack of variety
- Focusing on the wrong exercises 
- Focusing on losing body weight instead of body fat
- Using inappropriate wear / gear
- Taking advice from the wrong people
- Post workout treats

I'm guilty for like half of the mistakes here but afraid not, it's never too late to work on that... He gave us a few tips and tricks to get over it and warned us again and again about the post workout treats, I'll definitely keep that in mind Mr. Raj =)

Of course, we're not going home empty handed that day... All of us get to bring back the very trendy Skechers's GoTrain sneakers worth more than RM250, weeee~ This beauty come with 2 difference shoe laces color (pink & white), roomier forefoot that allow toes to spread comfortably, 360 degree responsive flexibility and a special feature that helps inhibit and prevent slippage or in another word you can use it sockless!!!

Before I'm signing off, I would love to express my gratitude to Skechers Malaysia for their generosity, me & my feet really2 appreciate the gesture ❤_❤ And a special thanks to Shape magazine  for keep on organizing awesome events for their loyal readers like yours truly =) I can't wait to see what they have in mind next, wink2

p.s : pics credit to Shape Malaysia's FB page

Winning Spree...

I've been extremely occupied this month and neglected my blog for so so so long =( So, to make up for the loss time, I would love to share with you guys the prizes I won since early 2011, which is not that much actually but I'm very2 thankful indeed since the prizes were enough for me, my lovely sisters and my bff @_@

The first prize I won was from the Shape Magz Lucky Draw Workshop which consist of 2 boxes of Freshkon Mosaic Contact Lenses + 1 complimentary box (in the workshop goodie bag @_@) I choose 3 different colors; Velvet Blue, Urban Gray and Luscious Green after viewing their website ^_~

I'm not really a lens person, so I just pass mine to my sisters instead... They love the lenses so much because of the natural look the lenses gave unlike any other brands which make their eyes look fake and weird, hehehe x) You guys should get one too and tell me your verdict, ^_^

FreshKon Mosaic, @_@


A little bit of grey, blue and green ^_~

The second prize I won was from Seventeen magz contest which I joined last year... I barely remember about it when I received an email notified me of my winning prize!!! I'm so freaking excited coz I finally won something from Crabtree & Evelyn~ @_@ It's assortment of their products worth RM250 which inclusive the Lavender Collection Set, yeay!!! I've been eye-ing and almost buying this set during the Xmas promo last year and thank god I didn't, phew~ =)

Lavender had always been my fav scents coz it had a very soothing and calming effects on me beside reminds me of my childhood memories... I have no idea why but whenever I smell lavender, I'll feel instantly uplift and happy, hee~ Maybe my love for purple kinda cloud my judgment, hahaha =D

Anyway, I won the Lavender set which includes a gorgeous purple vanity case (can also double up as my makeup case, wink2) + a coin purse + Lavender EDT + Lavender Bath & Shower Gel and Lavender Body Lotion, weeeeeeeee~ \\^_^// and to make it more sweeter, I also got miniatures gift set of Bath & Shower Gels + Body Lotions in Rosewater and Lavender which I can happily share with my bff, yeahaaaa @_@ I'll let the pics do all the talking ya, ngee~

The prize~ @_@ (the bear is not part of the package ya, wink2)

Inside the package, ngee~ n_n


The miniatures, me likey!!! =)


The awesome vanity case ^_^


The Lavender Set, weeeeeeeeeeeeeee \\@_@//

Shape Up, Shake Up...

I love Shape magz so much and have been reading it religiously for years, it's not that I'm a health freak or anything (if you see how much I consumed dessert, you'll probably agree 100% with me =P) It's just that, I love having an active life!!! It's so much fun especially if you have partner in crime with you, wink2

Anyway, when I read about their latest workshop, I quickly send in my sis & my details and waiting patiently for them to reply... Finally, I got the email I've been anxiously waiting for & we were among the lucky 32 who got selected to attend their "Express Beauty and Fitness Workshop", yeahaaa \\^_^//

This workshop was organized by Shape Magazine with other participating brands like Fitness First, Bobbi Brown, Freshkon, Nestle and Ascience @ Fitness First, Avenue K on 15th January last week. The program started at 9.45 but we arrived a little late and almost missed the warm up session, so we were quickly ushered to the changing room to change into our workout outfit and join the enthusiastic crowd~ @_@

lovin' the image that greet us @ the changing room n_n

After the warming up, which inclusive of the best express workout demonstration for women to do in our free time, we were divided into 3 different groups by the trainers and taking turns to do a body fat check up and measured our body endurance in the Fitness First Explorer challenge... My group trainer, Leo is actually one of the Biggest Loser Asia 2 personal trainers, so in another word I can definitely brag about being a part of the The Biggest Loser show now, hahaha =D

In this challenge, we were asked to firstly do as many pumping as we can in 2 minutes (I'm not very proud of my achievement though, huhu~) and then we have to hold the plank position as long as we can (this is torturous, =_=) After that, we were tested on our stability with doing a star pose while closing our eyes (it's not as easy as it look okay, hee~) and last but not least we were asked to run on the treadmill as far as we can in 10 minutes time. Each activities carried it's own points and will be use as a benchmark to see our improvement from time to time...

plank and pump, arghh~ =_= ***

run baby run, @_@ ***

Shortly after that, our body fat analysis were taken by the trainers using special machine and we were advised to the workout regimes that work best with our body shapes, metabolic rates, and body fat percentage... Besides the body fat analysis, it also determined our bone mass, muscle mass, BMI and also our metabolic age. I'm so happy to know that I'm still considered as 21 even though it's only from the machine perspective, hihihihi x)I was suggested by Leo to focus more on toning up my body with exercises like Pilates or Yoga and also cardio to help burning the fat at my problematic areas... I also take this opportunity to grill Leo about my body concern and confusion, which he gladly clarify =)

checking up my body fat with the Fitness First cute trainers, ^_~


I'm so proud of my too good to be true "metabolic age", hehehe X)

After finished with the body fat analysis, we were taken for the light refreshment / breakfast from Nestle Fitness Cereal before heading for the next session with Bobbi Brown makeup artists, Sandra. This session focused on the fastest way to change your looks with minimal effort which is very helpful for working women who always on the go and barely have time for complicated makeup do...

healthy and tasty, i like =) ***


striking my fav pose @ the banner, =D

Sandra in her talk demonstrated the easiest way to change and uplift our look with only few products such as Bobbi Brown's Tinted Eye Brightener that can instantly perk up our eyes to look more awake and Bobbi Brown's Pot Rouge. which can double up as lip and cheek tint. She also show us the simple steps to achieve the smokey eyes look compared to the usual steps which is time consuming and hard to set. This is really helpful tips and now I can rock the look in less than 10 minutes, which is what this workshop is all about, express beauty and fitness for women like us.... I also get my touch up from Sandra herself, cool isn't it??? wink2

beauty talk with Sandra from Bobbi Brown n_n ***


getting my touch up from the pro herself, ^_~ ***


the very attentive participants ^_^ ***

After the beauty talk and demo, it's time for the lucky draw!!! Yeah, I won something which I will reveal in my next post, ^_^ we also going back home with goodie bag full of cool stuff such as free membership for 7 days @ Fitness First of your choice, Fitness First cute dumbell + mouse pad + small towel, a brush set, 2 box of Nestle Fitness cereal, Asience full size shampoo, conditioner and treatment for normal to oily scalp, Freshkon lens + notebook, and also freebies from Bobbi Brown (eyebrow trimming + samples + cute pouch bag) Thank you so much Shape magazine, I had a blast @ the workshop and can't wait for more, heehee =P

the cool freebies we bringing back home, wink2

*** pictures credit to Shape Malaysia FB page & Nida ^_^

Facing the Book...

killing the time with camwhoring @ the Hot Magazine's booth n_n

Last week, me and almost hundred other lucky winners from Hot Magazine's Facebook page got the honor to attend their special screening of one of the most anticipated movie this year, The Social Network @ TGV KLCC...

I won 2 tickets for the screening plus complimentary drink and popcorn (kinda cool isn't it??? I lurrrve popcorn, wink2) Thank you so much Hot Magazine + TGV for the treat, love ya~ =)

So, I ask my gossip girl, Anie to join me since she's really curious about the movie, and so do yours truly, ngee~ This is my second movie @ TGV KLCC for the week after Rapunzel 3D so I'm quite excited to watch the movie everyone raving about ^_^

the tickets & the vouchers I won, weeee~

I'm greedy, I know, heehee x)

This movie as most of you guys probably know is about the story behind the conception of one of the largest social network, the "Facebook"... Being an avid user of Facebook myself, I have nothing but respect to the brain behind the world phenomenon =)

The movie is quite hilarious and genius I must said, I do get lost in translation here and there (when they talk about all the hacker stuff) but the razor sharp wit and humor is definitely entertaining and worth watching, wink2

The college life there is nothing like what we had in M'sia... It's quite hard to blend in, to be noticed and to have fun without all the right connection from fraternity or any other social hieraki, this is mainly the inspiration behind the creation of Facebook, believe it or not...

me & Anie, my bodyguard of the day, wink2

I absolutely have no idea of the journey, effort and hard work the founder, Mark Zuckerberg and his team going through to make their dream a reality... I definitely blown away by all the things that we seem to take for granted and how it affecting our life nowadays...

For example, without Facebook, I don't think we can even communicating frequently with someone that we haven't met for almost 10 years, don't you think??? Or maybe sharing your feelings and opinion with someone you barely know... I believe lots of us have one way or another rely on Facebook to keep tabs on our friends and family rather than meeting them on daily basis, don't we???

Anyway, me and Anie certainly have a blast laughing, admiring, hating and loving all the characters... Mark Zuckerberg maybe the youngest billionaire in the world but he lead a very lonely life, with no real friends and without the love of his life... (according to the movie la, not solely based on my perception, okey~) all the money really comes with a huge price tag (law suits and friend-less life) it's quite depressing and sad life to live, I felt sorry for him actually T_T

But I'm very2 fascinated by his drive, passion and determination to achieve his goal and mission, he shared the same birth date as me so I can identify some of the Taurus's mule headed personality in him~ @_@ My verdict??? Go watch the movie if you're looking for a smart/serious comedy and if you don't, watch Rapunzel instead, it's action flick + Disney, you can't get any better than that, hehehhe =P

I'm so gonna watch "The Tourist", can't resist the urge to plastered myself next to Johnny Depp though, ^_~ move away Angelina, let Ayna take your place, hihihi =P

Sleep like a child...

Introducing the Origins Night Health™ Collection n_n

When it comes to sleep, the quality always count more than the quantity... In my case, I always practice a little routine on my own to make me more relax and sleep well... Origins collaborated with Dr Andrew Weil, an integrative health authority, have develop a new range, Origins Night Health™ Collection which design to get you get your quality sleep without any meds and prescriptions...

They are using formula that combines soothing blend of 100% natural Chamomile, Lavender and Mandarin essential oils which relaxes mind, body and spirit before bed to help you get the rest you need. As we all knew, a good sleep has been proven over and over again as one of the key ingredient for refreshed and rejuvenated skin.
 

Style magazine with Origins and Bobbi Brown had organized a private event at Hotel Maya, Jln Ampang last week to introduce Origins Night Health™ Collection to 40 of their readers. Me and my sis were among the lucky 40 who had been chosen to experience the complete range of the product ourself.

We were asked to wear red actually (I wear pink, that's the closest to red shirt that I got, wink2) and not wearing any makeup to this event (I cheat, I wear my compact and lip gloss, hehehe =P)

The facial range in this collection @_@

After registration, we were given hotel slippers to change and ushered into a room that overlook the splendid view of kl city. As soon as we entered the room, I immediately felt very relax and at ease thanks to the soothing smell of aromatherapy candles all over the room.

Being me, we almost an hour late and missed some of the demonstrations but make it just in time to experience ourselves the Bedtime Balm, which target the key relaxation points in neck, shoulder and feet to help you get restful sleep. This is something I would definitely love to have... Retail at RM300++ for a jar, it's definitely a luxury I can't afford, sob2 T_T

All the colors just makes me go crazy, hahaha =D

After that, Bobbi Brown Cosmetic present us with a little talk about their latest line and demonstrate how to achieve the no-make up look which is all the rage right now (I so don't get why people bother going to all the trouble just to create the no make up look when you can play with all the colors, huhu =P)

Anyway it was followed by a simple makeover for each and everyone of us from Bobbi Brown makeup artists which I think is way too simple for my liking... Anyway, they also have lucky draw for 2 winners (which I didn't won again, sob2 T-T) courtesy of Hotel Maya (I envy those lucky girls!!!)

Everyone were swarming the Bobbi Brown and Origins corners =P

After helping ourselves with all the delicious foods and beverages, we all busying around taking pics from the Skylounge and gossiping around, I met one of my blogger friends, Jess and camwhore like no other, hehehe =P Unfortunately girls, the pics were all in my sis camera, so I just post pics taken from my camera only... Did I mention about the freebies we got??? I'll just let this picture do the talking, ^_~

freebies from Origins + Max & Co + Bobbi Brown, I loike ^_^



Dress up & make up...

Yesterday, me & my sis, Tqah went for our very first makeover party,baby... =P I knew I'm a little bit over-age for this kind of thing, hehhhe =D But who cares, I deserved to indulge myself once in a while, rite? It was organized by 17 magz @ Dessert Bar, Solaris Mont Kiara... Which is so very hard to find~ The place is lovely but quite small to accommodate a large crowd... The food I guess suits me very well but Tqah doesn't really enjoying her meal for the very first time ever, hahhha =D (this is so very rare moment~ ^_^)

Dessert Bar @ Solaris Mont Kiara

My super fat lunch, hehhhe =P

The event started with our polaroid picture taken by 17 mag'z staff, all of them are very2 nice and sweet to us ^_^ Thanx guys !!! =P Next, we have decorating our own cupcakes session which make me & Tqah glee with excitement... ^_^ I'm always fond of cakes and to decorate them some more, make me go a little bit crazy, hahhha =P All the icing, sprinkles, glitters literally make us very2 sugar high, I'm lovin it so much!!! The event was hosted by lovely Xandria Ooi (she's so hilarious la... hehhhe =P)

Host of the day, Xandria Ooi... =P

I heart cupcakes ^_^



Icing on the cake???



The "masterpieces", hehhe... =P

After that, we have our makeup (Clinique), nails (Glitters) and hair (A Cut Above) done by the professionals... It's getting a little chaotic but definitely fun~ ^_^ Me and Tqah do our makeup first, followed by manicure and hair styling... Since I'm too lazy to touch up my tudung later, I decided to only do the makeup and nails... It's my loss actually because the stylists are so damn good, I can only watch other girls hair with my envy eyes, hehhhe =P

The Clinique makeup booth...



My not so obvious manicure... ^_^



Behind the scene of Tqah's Nicole Ritchie's hairdo, hehhe =P

Later, we were gathered again for some more games and the lucky draw... It must be my unlucky day because I didn't win anything la... I want the Sony Music stuff so bad~ sob2 =( Tqah however, get RM100 voucher from RipCurl, I'm jealous again, hahhha =P And the highlight of the day is the performance by Shila (One in a Million) with 3 songs... The sound system is quite loud and I can't properly enjoyed the show but I tell you what, this girl definitely can sing, hehhhe =P Maybe she need to work on her communication skills a little bit more~ And the party finally come to the end, Tqah took a few pictures of me with Xandria and we are ready to going back home... ^_^

Shila (One in a Million) with her Stacie Orrico's - Stuck cover...



It's me, posing with Xandria, hehhe =D

And not to forget all the freebies we bringing back home... Clinique 3 Steps Starter Kit, Clinique RM30 voucher, Clinique makeover coupon, A Cut Above & Glitters coupons, Croc's button, 17 magz merchandise and of course our polaroid pictures... Love it so much ^_^

More freebies for me, hehhhe =P