Pro-Sports

Looks like it’s official although there is still no confirmation on the new venue.  How sad…  I had such fond memories of the place…

The office will be moving to:

525, Jalan 17/13,
46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: +6(03) 7958 5152
Fax: +6(03) 7958 1710
Contingency number: +6(016) 202 1936

info@nomadadventure.com

Although the gym will be closing temporarily for now, the good news is that the pro-shop is having a clearance sale so you’re bound to be able to pick up some bargains - I think (depending on what Yuen Li’s idea of a bargain is, I guess). 

In the meantime, if you want to keep tabs on the news for the new Summit Gym site, you can add Nomad to your Facebook account.

Popularity: 18% [?]

My Dad left for Melbourne last night and since I was dropping him off at KL Sentral to take the train down to the airport, I thought I would take the opportunity to scope out the Synergym at Sooka Central that I recently found out about and try out one of the many fine eateries I read so much about.

If I was expecting to see nothing short of fantastic, my eagerness was quickly doused by an enormous bucket of cold water.  The Synergym is still a “coming soon” attraction in a center that currently looks like a runner on his last legs. 

As for the eateries…  I wasn’t sure what was open and available but a bunting indicated a handful of restaurants that should have been open - yes, the operative word being “should have”.  According to the bunting that listed their opening hours, they should have been open for business.  Instead, we arrived to find a rather deserted venue that looked like it was closing down.

The place was also a lot smaller than I thought it would be.  Somehow, it looked a lot more impressive on the website than it did in person.  How disappointing…

Popularity: 16% [?]

It’s been over two years since I’ve been to a climbing gym and three years since I’ve climbed outdoors.  Where I once used to be on top of all the latest news in the Malaysian climbing scene, a quick surf around on the internet has revealed that I am now sadly out of touch with all the latest happenings.

These are the changes I have discovered:

Climbing Equipment:

There is now an All Sports in 1Utama, and a newer and bigger UFL Outdoors has moved to Bangsar.

Climbing Gyms:

Summit Gym

I can’t remember where I read it, but I recall reading somewhere about Summit Gym moving their premises to a new location.  I can’t seem to verify the information since their website hasn’t reported anything of the sort.  Could be a work in progress - any Malaysian climbers out there able to reveal anything more about this?

Putrajaya Challenge Park

Located in Taman Selatan of Putrajaya, Presint 20, this project was undertaken by Blocx and a company called Zlgdesign.

It’s supposed to be a new national training center and international competition venue and the rock climbing section looks pretty impressive based on the pictures I have seen. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a website to the challenge park to find out more details about climbing there or whether it is even open to the public, although it sounds as though it is.

Sooka Central Designer Synergym

Sooka Central, located in KL Sentral has apparently set up a designer gym with twist.  It has a rock climbing center piece with beginner routes on autobelay that is available to all their members.  Now that’s a gym I wouldn’t mind joining.  Unfortunately, I’m not even sure if it’s open yet, or what the membership fees will be like, although I suspect it might be something pretty steep.

Perhaps I’ll just mosey on down there and take a look around?

Outdoor Climbing Areas 

Lost World of Tambun - Ipoh, Perak

From ClimbXMedia, I read about the new climbing area in Ipoh.  Located in Sunway Lagoon’s Lost World of Tambun, there are 27 routes bolted on limestone.  I had heard about this climbing area even while I was still rock climbing, but by that time I was tapering down the climbing activity, hence the reason why I never went to check it out.  It looks like a lot of developments have taken place around that area since as I’m sure Sunway Lagoon’s Lost World of Tambun didn’t appear overnight.

For more climbing areas in Malaysia, you can check out my old posts on this subject.

Popularity: 24% [?]

They say that one of the ways to head off trouble with a toddler is to ensure that your toddler gets sufficient active playtime. The idea behind this is to help your toddler release all that pent up energy inside that deceivingly tiny body so they don’t drive you mad when they try to climb the kitchen cabinets (or stem the door frames - as I did when I was a child) while at home. 

Malaysian weather being what it is and child-friendly parks being few and far between in our area, I have always wanted to get a simple jungle gym for our garden so Gavin could run amok to his heart’s content.  Instead of getting the usual jungle gyms they sell at Toys ‘R’ Us (below: Gavin playing on one of their model jungle gyms outside the Toys ‘R’ Us store in Midvalley), I thought it would be cool to get something a little more unique.

I thought I had found just the thing when I saw some “castle” type jungle gyms for sale at York House in Bangsar Shopping Complex.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to show but they’re basically a slightly more elaborate version of the jungle gyms at Toys ‘R’ Us and they are made up like mock castles.

Since then, I’ve seen other “jungle gyms” that even I find exciting and fun.  I first read about the Mobius® Climber on Abnerd.  Created by Landscape Structures, they are basically pretty funky wave-like climbing structures:

While browsing through their website, I discovered that Landscape Structures also makes other climbing structures for kids, like climbing walls, Spacenet™ Climber Models and Natural Elements™ (shown below).  I was particularly interested in the last because it is about as “natural” as a man-made play structure for kids is ever likely to get. 

In the growing concrete jungle that we live in, it is easy for children of today to lose touch with nature and the environment.  Although such structures are artificial, they will at least instil some interest in nature in our children, instead of the brightly-coloured and garish play structures we so often see in parks nowadays.

Speaking of natural structures, here’s another “natural” looking children’s jungle gym that combines both the elements of climbing and a slide created by Blocx.  Personally, I think I like this the best because it gives you the best of both worlds: a climbing structure as well as a slide - a very familiar element in many jungle gyms.  I think Gavin would also like it best because he appears to be quite fond of going down slides.

Although I was fortunate enough to have climbable trees during my childhood, I think I would have really enjoyed playing on these jungle gyms.  Perhaps then I might not have resorted to scaling the corridors at my aunt’s house.

Popularity: 54% [?]

I went to check out the place Yoga Zone at Plaza Damas a few months back. Yes, it took me this long to write about it because I was sitting on my behind procrastinating like I usually do when I lose the inspiration to write about a topic.

What prompted me to even check out Yoga Zone in the first place was because I was having trouble signing up for a pregnancy Yoga class at Fitfor2. It seemed that the class was fully booked every time I checked the reservations list.

I’ve read that Yoga is good for the pregnancy because it helps you stay in shape for the delivery and improve your breathing technique during labour. Being someone who’s always had a bit of problems with my breathing rhythmn - considering I can barely swim the length of a pool using freestyle, yet I can easily swim eighty laps with backstroke - I figured Yoga is a class I should not be missing.

The setup at Yoga Zone is quite impressive. The premises are comfortable and the changing rooms are clean and dry. They have adopted a “no shoes” policy around the exercise, lounge and changing room areas which probably helps to maintain the facilities. Mats are provided although you are welcomed to bring your own if you prefer.

There are four studios that accommodate between twenty to thirty students a class. Two of the studios are equipped for “hot” yoga - apparently some type of yoga performed in a heated environment. What put me off was the lack of air-conditioning in the studios. The purpose for this is to encourage sweating - something that is apparently quite important for those undertaking Yoga. I may not have much of an understanding on Yoga, but I do know that encouraging the body to heat up is not desired for a pregnant woman.

They have a variety of classes for different types of Yoga. Most of the various types of Yoga flew over the top of my head. They also had a few classes for those interested in Pilates and some on the hybrid exercise called Yogilates. The class schedules change weekly and updates can be obtained from the Yoga Zone website at:

http://www.yogazone.com.my

The website also provides background information on their instructors and their level of experience in teaching Yoga. Unfortunately, not all instructors are trained to handle classes with pregnant women, although Thomas Liaw (012-3719530), the person who showed us around the facility, recommended that I attend the classes of Prabhu or Tonmoy as they were the most experienced instructors.

They take reservations by phone for classes but they also leave some spaces for walk-ins. Walk-ins operate on a first come first served basis. If you are late for your reserved class, your reservation is released to the walk-ins.

Pricing structure falls under “per visit”, “short term” and “long term” as follows:

Per visit:

10 passes - RM300
20 passes - RM560
35 passes - RM988 (Passes are valid up to 6 months - which is really a ploy to encourage the user to upgrade to the short term package)

Short term:

1 month - RM388
3 months - RM688
6 months - RM988 (Payable in monthly instalments of RM65/mth)

Long term:

12 months - RM1488 (Payable in monthly instalments of RM124/mth with 0% interest if you use a Citibank, HSBC or UOB credit card)

They also offer some massage packages, but I didn’t really enquire too much about these. You can get a trial class for free if you request for it, although you are required to book in advanced. I think you can also get a free massage if you sign up with a friend - or something to that effect.

Something for me to consider post-pregnancy, but I think for now I shall stick to the pregnancy Yoga classes at Fitfor2.

Popularity: 12% [?]

I figured it was time to dust off the regular gym membership and start putting some use into it. Since the spinning class, I hadn’t been back to the gym nor had I hit the track. In about two weeks, I had a 15km race to tackle.

I started with the eliptical cycle. Just an easy warm up, I thought. I set the settings according to my usual routine and grabbed the metal plates on the handle bars.

Everything started well, but it rapidly went down-hill from there. My heart-rate shot up to 180+ and thereafter the machine refused to read. I eased off on the settings until my heart-rate hovered at about 170.

So much for a “warm up”, I thought.

I stayed on the machine for about thirty minutes before shifting to the threadmill. I lasted the whole of ten minutes. I managed another ten minutes on the bike before I called it a day.

It was clearly evident that my 15km will prove to be quite a challenge…

Popularity: 10% [?]

I don’t know what was in my mind at the time, but I agreed to go for a Spinning class at Celebrity Fitness with PL in the evening of the day post-Malakoff. As if my rear end wasn’t hurting enough… Perhaps I figured that Malakoff would be the race to kick start my back to fitness program.

When I sat on the bike, the familiar sensation of a raw tush was the first thing that greeted me. There was one good thing about riding a stationary bike – it’s a little easier to place the behind in a less uncomfortable position without having to worry about falling off the bike.

Besides the painful butt, that was where the similarity ended. Somehow, the sensation just isn’t the same riding a stationary bike. I’m not sure how to describe it. I mean, it’s not just the fact that I’m not moving, the scenery isn’t changing and that there is no wind in my face. There is something distinctively different. I’ll have to keep this in mind for the next time if I decide to train indoors for a bike race…

Apart from the sore behind, I felt good to power it out through most of the class. Although, I think my fitness isn’t nearly anywhere near what it used to be because I felt a little light-headed and unsteady as I stepped off the bike at the end of the class. I was also slightly nauseous by the time we were walking back to the changing rooms.

Since I don’t sport one of those funky heart-rate monitors that SKT and G have, I can’t be certain if I went into overkill on the heart rate. Although I’m sure I don’t really need a heart-rate monitor to tell that I pushed myself a little too hard during the class. Another thing to keep in mind for the next class – take it easy. I have plenty of time to myself back to the line.

Popularity: 9% [?]

My paternal grandfather has been declining in his mobility for some time. Even though he has an upright stationary bike at home, but he’s been reluctant to use it due to the difficulties of swinging his leg over the bike through an effort to get on the seat.

He’s got high blood pressure and swelling in his ankles. The latter is very likely due to stasis of his blood from being extremely inactive.

I suspect he suffers from “sleep apnoea” because he has a tendency for falling asleep during the day at any time and any place, and when he snores, he can bring the house down.

A few weeks back, my dad sent me hunting for a new stationary bike for my grandfather in an effort to encourage him to start exercising again. The model that my dad had scouted out in Australia was not available in Malaysia, so I had to find an alternative with all the features that he wanted.

1. The bike had to be a recumbent bike so there was less stress on his back.

2. The bike had to have “easy entry/exit”. What he wanted was a bike that did not have the bar in the middle so my grandfather could walk in between the handle bars and the seat without having to climb over anything.

3. The seat had to be sturdy with a well supported back.

4. The back of the seat had to be made with some sort of mesh, not unlike the mesh on the back of a deuter back-pack designed to provide airflow.

5. The bicycle computer functions should have easy level exercise programs so my grandfather would not stress himself up.

6. The bicycle seat had to be adjustable by a hydrolic pump.

After much searching, I managed to find a suitable model from Fitness Concept in KLCC. The model was a NordicTrack SL 728 Recumbent exercise bike. It came with most of the features my dad wanted, except the “hydrolic pump” adjustable seat. It cost about RM1600.

My father, ever the bargainer, wanted me to get the price down by ten percent. Try as I might, I couldn’t even get the salesman to budge for five percent. Fitness Concept operates on a fixed price policy, or so they claim (anyone who discovers other wise - please tell me about it).

Luckily, they were running a special offer where they were giving away a free gift valued at RM150 with every purchase over RM500. I called my dad and triumphantly announced that even though I could not secure his required ten percent off, I did manage to twist the salesman’s arm for some freebies.

What was good and bad about the Nordic Track SL 728?

The main difference between a recumbent bike and an upright bike is that recumbent bikes are better for people who have back problems while upright bikes encourage more movement and therefore a more intensive workout. I would also venture to add that for an elderly person, the recumbent bike is a safer bet.

The Nordic Track SL 728 has movable handle bars that can be tilted forwards out of the way during entry and exit of the bike. The bar connecting the seat to the front wheel runs along the floor so there is no need to lift your leg when getting on. This feature makes it extra friendly for an elderly rider.

The seat is quite large and well-supported although my grandfather complained that it wasn’t sufficiently padded. He adds a cushion to sit on whenever he rides the bike.

The back of the seat is covered with a “mesh” which helps to keep his back cool by allowing air through, while the seat position is adjustable by releasing a latch and sliding it backwards and forwards on a diagonal axis. That may be simple enough for most people however it was still a task beyond my grandfather because the latch is difficult to release.

The computer console comes programmed with several exercise functions, though in all practicalities, I seriously doubt my grandfather would ever utilise any of those programs. My grandfather’s gripe was that the computer doesn’t allow setting a timed ride on a countdown program. Additionally, there is no option to allow the time to remain on the screen.

Generally, I was quite happy with the product and I think my grandfather was as well for he rode it for an hour on the day it was delivered. That was probably more exercise than he had had in the last month!

I did have one minor gripe with Fitness Concept. After spending RM1600 on this bike, I couldn’t believe that they were too stingy to throw in four miserable “D”-type batteries for free.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Post Chinese New Yew gluttony, it was time to start training for the marathon. I headed to the gym to complete “an easy 10km”, as JC had always called it back in the good old days when we were running together.

My mind was obviously feeling stronger than my body because I remembered thinking, I’ll start with 10km and if I feel good, I’ll continue to 15km.

Barely completing three kilometers on the treadmill and I was ready to go home. My mind, disgusted by the weakness displayed by my body, managed to command another four kilometers before my legs made an executive decision on their own. So much for running an easy ten, let alone fifteen…

Sigh… we’ll start again tomorrow.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Chinese New Year, food and lack of exercise are synonymous with one another. Hence after returning from a far too leisurely holiday at Langkawi, my sister in law and I decided it was time to shed some recently acquired kilos at the gym. Being a member of Celebrity Fitness, and having signed up, up front with a three membership, I figured I could get her in on a guest pass.

We went over to 1utama and I introduced HL to the staff at Celebrity.

“You want to try out our gym? Sure, sure,” said the gentlemen behind the counter. “We just need you to fill out this form.”

Thinking that all was going well, I told HL I would see her on the treadmill. Thirty minutes later and there was still no sign of HL.

Hmmm, I thought, perhaps they are giving her a fitness test somewhere else…

An hour of sweating, I finally see HL approaching me looking aggrieved. I scanned for signs of physical exhaustion, but there were none. Her pained look was the result of mental trauma, for she had spent the last hour being harassed by the gym staff to sign up for membership on the spot. Talk about high-pressure sales…

Feeling thoroughly annoyed, I went to the reception desk and asked to speak to the manager and gave him an earful. Okay, so I exaggerated a little in some instances, but most of it was factual. All the manager could do was nod and apologise to me. I wanted to send my message home.

Why I was angry:

I have been a member of the gym since before it opened. I signed up without any fuss and paid upfront for a three year membership plan. They send me tons of smses about introducing my friends to the gym. So I do – more than once. Then they humiliate me by harassing my friends to join the gym which I recommended as being a “great” gym. Not only did they harass HL, they also called one of their managers to turn up the heat. He kept her from trying out the gym for one hour. We were supposed to work out together, but by the time she is ready to start, I am already done. This was the final straw.

What I told the guy:

I just got married and this was my sister in law that I was trying very hard to impress (this was my only little white lie but I figured it would help convey my point). She made a comment about wanting to get fit again so naturally I recommend the gym I am going to. We came to the gym thinking it would be a simple task of filling out a form, but she gets held up for an hour. I might have been willing to overlook the time factor had it been that they were busy showing her the gym and telling her about the facilities. Instead, they spent the better part of that hour grilling her with ridiculous questions on why she would not sign up on the spot.

The conversation between HL and L (the fitness advisor at the gym) went something like:

HL: I would like to check out Fitness First to see how the gym compares to this one before I join

L: Well, there’s no need to check out Fitness First. Our gym is much bigger, we’re opened long hours and we have much more equipment.

HL: Well, that’s not the only thing I’m interested in. I have personal reasons.

L: Might I ask what sort of personal reasons?

HL: No you may not. That’s why they are personal.

L: Why don’t you check out Fitness First today?

HL: What? Do you want me to run over there and check it out now?

L: You know there’s really nothing to compare. If you pay now, we can sign you up today.

HL: Look, I don’t have much money on me right now.

L: That’s ok, we take credit card. You have a credit card, right? It’s only RMXXX a month.

HL: Well, I’m currently unemployed and looking for a job and a place to rent. I don’t think I can make that kind of commitment every month. Maybe once I get a job.

L: That’s not a problem. We can auto-debit your credit card.

HL: (in a thought bubble) Hello? Did you just hear what I said?

There was much more to the conversation – it took one hour, after all. This was the gist that I picked up.

With the millions invested and the competition increasing between the gargantuan gym chains, I appreciate the necessity to increase gym memberships. However, based on my recent experiences, I feel that the intensity and approach that these gyms are employing to solicit new clients have simply become downright outlandish. It is simply not acceptable.

If this manner of doing business continues, I would not be surprise that all the gym will achieve is to turn away potential clients rather than attract them.

Popularity: 8% [?]