Day 4 Part 2 - I'm a Pumper, a Stepper and a Jammer!

I have tried Bodystep in PF before when Caltex just started and they had the program for a few months, but I didn't really enjoy it. I prefer freestyle step as it challenges my memory more. But I attended Bodystep and it was amazing. I got a serious workout, and I loved the music!

Before the filming started, there was the usual staged performance. The BS one is just as funny. Please watch them in order.



This time it's a patrol officer with a wonderfully imitated American accent, preparing everyone for the race ahead.







There were some remixes of previous BC tracks including BC19's Where Are You and BC29's Vogue. The BS team really put up a fantastic performance, especially with their many coordinated poses in 'Vogue'. Thoroughly entertaining.

There were a couple of retakes, due to wrong fit, and one wardrobe malfunction... one of the instructors took off his top too early. Great to see how things work. But overall, things went very smoothly.

When class ended, I got my pic with the BS72 team!


After BP and BS, I was really exhausted and had thought I'll just spectate in Bodyvive filming instead of participating. I had really wanted to do this class because we don't get to do this in Singapore. But I guess I really needed a break.

The staged performance was a sailing captain with a fake bald head wig guiding everyone on board the Bodyvive cruise. I think I accidentally deleted one of the vids I took for the performance outside the filming room.


Here's some clips of the BV filmings. I managed to get a few good ones cos I wasn't participating! Was at the back doing my stretches haha.






When BV filming ended, I didn't think it was too appropriate to take pics with the BV7 team as I didn't do the class.

BJ was the last program of the filming, which was apt given that the post-filming party would be held right after the masterclass. I decided to take up Lynn's challenge and attend the BJ filming. Lynn is so going to regret saying that she will buy me dinner for each BJ class I attend! Haha.

But it wasn't a straightforward or easy decision to make. Firstly, I was tired and contemplating to give it a miss altogether. Second, I had apprehensions cos I know I can't dance for nuts and I am so going to look like a fool. And last but not least, every single person seems to have brought along hip clothes to change into for BJ! All I had was my sports gear.

Virtually everyone was dressed up in bright colours, wearing caps or fancy head accessories, some guys were wearing visors, dressing in loose hip-hop pants, and oversized tees. The ladies dressed with variety too. It made me feel out of place haha.

I was encouraged to go after seeing so many other trainers and instructors of other programs go. There was Ivens and his fellow Portugese Fabio(from BA), one of the Swedish BP trainers, BA's Lisa, Will and Bevan also went as well. Several of the NZ trainers like Nathan, Chris (RPM) was there as well. I also saw Kylie Gates, Ben Tang, Jacq Wong, everyone who was there was looking forward to it. BJ has such a massive appeal.

While waiting outside, I was standing beside Dan, Ivens and Lisa... They did some crazy antics which was really funny.

BTW, Dan didn't participate in BJ filming even though he looked the part. He was just spectating, and perhaps giving Rach support.

The staged performance this time was simple yet effective. All they did was to get a bouncer and laid out the red carpet, simulating the scene of a dance club, where people were just waiting to enter. Check this out. The bouncer actually stopped people occasionally. Super funny.




Check out what most people were wearing.


Before the class started

While inside, I knew my limits and stayed at the back. Guess who I saw beside me attending BJ? Philip Mills! It was really great to see him participate. He was very cool.

The presenters for BJ45 were Gandalf, Rach, Kili, and some other trainers whom I didn't recognise. Gandalf is really very very cool. A true dance master and a very good coach in my opinion.

I stayed for the entire class and I must say that I enjoyed i very much. I could follow probably 80% of the moves and choreo, but I think one thing I could improve on is probably letting my body go... like isolating the hips and chest and core... I still can't shimmy though haha...

After the class, the room was immediately transformed into the post-filming party where they played some tracks (and some previous BJ tracks I believe) cos some of the trainers actually took turns to go up on stage and did some synchronised dancing. It was quite fun.

Even Lisa (of BA) went up and showed us some Jamming moves, then the music changed and she did some BA kicks for a few seconds, which was really funny.

I didn't manage to catch the BJ team for a group pic, but I managed to see Rach and take a pic with her. I'm such a huge fan of her. She really is a natural in both BC and BJ. She just seems like two different persons when doing those programs.

And I die-die must take one pic to show Lynn haha...

The place was rather dark, so many of the pics didn't come out well. But here's one pic I thought fitting to end the entry on filming. The Les Mills banner.


Yes, Les Mills may be a business entity focused on the commercialisation of its GX programs, but the positive thing I saw was that in the midst of all these, its own people, as well as trainers and instructors, believe in the programs and have fun doing it.

Day 4 Part 1 - One Tribe

Day 4 is the second day of the filmings.
BODYPUMP 66 - 1500
BODYSTEP 72 - 1700
BODYVIVE 7 - 1830
BODYJAM 45 - 2000

It's 1:20am now as I'm writing this. We finished the second day of the filmings, wrapping up all the 8 LM programs. I have also just finished sorting all my photos and videos for the past 4 days. It's been a long, tiring but extremely fulfilling day. These few days have given me a deeper understanding of what Fitness Magic is all about, and how each program uniquely draws its participants. LM programs aren't just Pump and Combat, there's magic in each of the other programs too. In reflection, I feel sad that the focus on PF seems to be only BP and BC, and participants are missing out on so much!

Out of the 8 filmings, I've attended 6. There was a slight tinge of regret that I didn't participate in Bodyvive, but only spectated. But after the last one, Bodyjam, I was so damn glad that I didn't do it. I might have collapsed on the way back. My legs and ankles were so damn sore.

We started the day late again, not surprising from the late night we had from filming yesterday. Our first stop was to explore the area, and we went to New World supermarket near Victoria Market. The supermarket is about a 10min walk from Les Mills gym, and the gym is about 5-7 mins away from our accomodation. Stuff at the supermarket isn't exactly that cheap either.


A pic of Victoria markets. Nike is here, but the stuff is awfully expensive. The Nike free 5.0 which I usually buy goes for NZ$200 here, compared to the S$150 or so you can get from SG.

Later, we headed over to Sky City for lunch. We were quite silly not to have lunch there yesterday, we forgot we had paid NZ$250 and lunch is provided. But we didn't forget this time round. The food today was rather good. Salmon (my favourite), beef, and green curry chicken Thai style. I ate a lot, in anticipation of a long day ahead.

BP filming was next, and frankly, I'm somewhat disappointed with the organisation. Prior to coming here, I had registered and paid for BP filming, so it was quite frustrating to hear the staff say that response is overwhelming and the trainers would be given priority. That didn't sit down to well with me and the rest of the instructors who had registered.

To make things worse, we were made to write our names down on a piece of paper which was the waiting list. After the trainers were allowed in, they finally allowed the instructors in, but this time they didn't even refer to the waiting list, it was just on a whoever is nearest to the barricade goes in first.

Now to see how overwhelming response is, take a look at these pics.



The boards were stacked so closely to one another that it was kinda dangerous.

While waiting for the class to start, I made a friend from China. He's a personal trainer in FF Shanghai, and teaches BC, BP, BB and RPM. His name is Yiming.



The staged performance was hilarious. They had 3 tall guys dressed up as the Transformers. 2 of them were actually international instructors, believe one is from Sweden the other is from Canada. Please watch the two clips in order.

"DO NOT DROP YOUR WEIGHTS"


"BLOW UP SPA POOL AND A COFFEE MACHINE"

The music for BP66 is actually awesome. I had not really liked the music for the previous few releases but this one is really very strong. There were remixed tracks of Living on a Prayer, Time After Time, one Abba track and Sheryl Crow's Always On Your Side.

I thought the killer tracks were the triceps and the biceps and shoulders. Is it because I've not done BP in a long while? Or is it because I was tired after yesterday?

The crowd was hot and screaming and making noises. It was really very fun. The only thing was there was no space for the pushups given how close everything was.

After the class, took a pic with BP Team 61.


Throughout the past few classes, I kept hearing the two words 'One Tribe'. I thought it was very fitting that they used those words as all the instructors and trainers were so supportive of each other and the filmings. It really felt like one big family. I saw several presenters for other programs come attend BP, people like Dan, Oscar, Thomas attended as well.

Look out for those two words in the 03/2008 releases!

Day 3 Part 3 - Aching All Over

After BC, I went to change for BODYATTACK next! BA was not as crowded as BC, but the adrenaline and excitement was there as well. This time the special performance was a fireman with a extinguisher (fake one) spraying around haha... Saying things like 'I'm going to move you away from the fire to inside (the filming room)!' and once we were inside he asked for the 'instructors' to make it even HOTTER!

Bodyattack was HOT in more ways than one.. On stage was Lisa, Mark S, Will, Fabio, Bevan, guest instructors from US and Brazil. I love Lisa so much, she has such an infectious personality and she makes me feel safe with her cueing. I always know what to do next! Their gear was hot, and the tracks are super siong. Maybe it's because I'm not used to BA, having attended only one class prior to coming. My glutes actually started hurting in T3.

This time round there was crowd control. They made us space out apart... in lines, so that we have some room to move around. Which was what they should have done earlier for Combat anyway. Despite being one of the first 20 to dash in, I stood in the third row as I'm not really familiar with some of the terminology and I need some time to catch up. So I didn't want to embarass myself in the DVD.

However, while I'm not sure if I'll appear on BC36, I'm very sure I'll be in the DVD for BA61! During the circle track which Will presented, towards the end I was just behind him, and the camera was shooting him, and I'm right behind him. I hope my form is not too dreadful hahaha...

The class was superb. I really felt the adrenaline and energy rush, much more than BC. But BA is after all a high-impact program, and BC I really had difficult kicking and moving, and I was getting kicked from all angles, so it sort of dampened things a little. At the end of the class, it was the usual mad scramble for photos. I only managed to take one with Will Brereton while he was away from the pack. But once the Team BA 61 gathered, I quickly grabbed my chance and got 1 with the whole team. Woo Hoo!



These BA instructors are really inspiring. Their form and execution on the stage, super sharp. Their fitness levels must be top notch.

After BA, I went to change again, this time for Balance. The mood was quieter. There was still a signficant crowd, in fact as much as Bodyattack I believe, but Balance people are more calm and collected and nobody rushed in to grab spots (even though 80% of the participants are pretty much the same people that dashed in for Combat and Attack)

BB featured 5 instructors. Jackie, Dr Dave, Kylie Gates, Laurence (the French instructor) and Corey (wonder if I spelt it correctly). The guys were topless and did the whole class like that! I found it rather strange haha.

I'm not sure if there was any staged performance, because I must have missed it, or am I too tired to notice? Before the class, Jackie said that it's her dream to have everyone here in her home one day.

Being trained in BB, I can probably identify with the program better and here's some highlights on the release (BB41)
T1 - I'm not sure if I'm feeling the strain from BC and BA, but I actually thought the stretches in the warm up were quite challenging already haha
T2 - Interesting sun-saluation, from the R to the L using some yoga warrior poses instead of the 4 sets of sun salutations (RLRL)
T3 - Natalie Imbruglia's Torn! Love the song so much, but I really felt my legs were going to give way
T4 - Bonus track, 2 tracks in one. Jackie obviously loves the second one and said she couldn't resist including.
T5 - Hip openers really got my hips... aching aching.
T6 - The V shaped heels are quite challenging.
T7 - I kinda find this track very draggy, cos it's R side, then L side repeat music. My wrists were hurting on many occasions from the poses.
T8 - Twist. Lovely. Alicia Keys' No One (recycling BC35 cooldown)
T9 - Hamstrings. Didn't really feel the stretch
T10/11 - I sort of zoned out I think. But I felt refreshed after the meditation track.

After the class, it was 9:30pm already, due to some delays earlier. I didn't stay for photo taking, which I regret after coming back. But at that time I was super famished. 3 classes without a bite since lunch. We had Pizza Hut which was a real deal. All these for NZ$19.90.


So long for now. I spent more than 1 hr on this entry (and Part 2). Gosh. Another day of filming beckons tomorrow!

Day 3 Part 2 - I Made It To The Front Row!

It's past 1am and getting late but I better write this down before I'm too lazy to do so.

Day 3 was the first day of the filmings.
RPM 39 - 1500
BODYCOMBAT 36 - 1700
BODYATTACK 61 - 1830
BODYBALANCE 41 - 2000

We woke up late again, this time about 10 plus and had a very late lunch before going to the LM Clothing store (again!) for the third time in three days. I got myself a BC SEAL pants which looked quite cool, at a very cool price too! NZ$135.95 less 20% discount. Add that to the BC top I got, that means I spent about S$150 on a new set of BC clothing already. But I will be wearing them for the filming.

After that, it was straight to registration. We got a very cool Welcome Pack. There was a t-shirt inside, supposed to be a tight fit. I ordered M but it felt like XS to me haha. We also got a very cool wristband (yellow for instructors, black for trainers) and my yellow one is very similar to the LIVESTRONG wristband.





We also went to the LM Clothing store (this time it's the Global Summit one) featuring the LM USA designs. The designs include the latest LM logos and are very very cool. Nice. I helped Joel (of Cali) buy a set of BP gear. Sorry dude, no BB gear left.






BP top - NZ$65, shorts - NZ$60, LM wristband - NZ$10

The store was open only about half an hour and there was a mad rush already. Ed was very disappointed that there was no BC top left. He was nearly desperate and eventually he asked Oscar if he could give up the BC top (S size) that he was holding. Oscar was in the queue and about to make payment. But Oscar was very nice and let Ed have it.

The first filming was RPM at 3pm, and it was controlled due to the number of bikes available. But spectators were allowed to view the classes, which was great. There was a special staged performance, and they had this crazy man dressed as a police and barking out orders and separating the bikers and spectators. Being a typical kiasu Singaporean, my initial intention was to recce the room for the BC filming right after, the cameras, the spots, the entrance, everything. But what I didn't expect was the great experience I got from the filming.



The spectators went in first, hi-5 with the presenters before the bikers entered. While the bikers spent some time adjusting their bikes, the 'policeman' was entertaining everyone with his hilarious one-liners, with particular reference to 'Team Canada', telling them to hurry up. It was sarcastic but in good fun.

'A quarter of Team Canada is ready.'
'This is the front of the bike, this is the handle, this is the seat, this is the pedal.'
'If you do not know these, you shouldn't be here.'
It was really funny. One has to be there to visualise it.

RPM was awesome, I didn't stay all the way, but I felt the energy even while standing there. The choice of tracks were quite good. There was 'September' for the warm up, one Scooter track, 'Tribal Dance' (not the version in BC27), Kick Start My Heart (in BC22)... talking about recycling tracks... I'm not a fan of recycled tracks though.


RPM Filming

So while waiting for BC filming, I was walking around and saw Kili (presenter for BC30 and BJ). Took a pic with her.


And I saw G! G is Gandalf, the Bodyjam Program Director and Lynn's God. Hahaha!


BC was just insane. There was a massive crowd formed outside the recording room, even half and hour before filming. Too bad I didn't have a camera to capture the scene. The staged performance this time was some guy dressed as a witch doctor or freak in a cloak speaking in some gibberish and directing people around. Nobody could understand him cos he just didn't make sense haha.

Now, immediately after the RPM filming, Ed and myself had stationed just outside the door, ready to pounce. However, one or two teasing moments from the LM staff by opening the doors a little had the crowd behind us slowly nudging forward. We found ourselves getting lesser and lesser space. One girl beside me said 'I think I'm going to faint even before this starts.' It was hilarious.

Once the gates were open, there was a mad rush in. Believe me when I say it was total chaos. Once people got through the door, they were practically sprinting to get their spot. Both Ed and myself managed to dash to the front row. (I'm slightly on the left side, not sure if I managed to be captured in the DVD.)

It was ridiculous how close we were standing to each other until there was hardly any space to move or kick. On the stage, there were some people doing some martial arts fighting to get people in the mood. Once the presenters appeared on stage, they started almost immediately without asking people to space out. It was kinda dangerous. Team BC36 consists of Dan, Rach, Oscar (BC31), Thomas (BC32), Hernan (BC34) and this Japanese trainer. I didn't catch the name.

I got kicked many many times. From all angles and all sorts of kicks - front kick, roundhouse kick, back kick, side kick. I stepped on feet behind me several times on the ginga and couldn't swing my arms fully or execute full range hooks cos I could be hitting someone beside me.

For the BC filming, I think I enjoyed the atmosphere more than the workout. There wasn't enough space to do some of the moves, and I was unfamiliar with the tracks, and there were several occasions that I stood there like an idiot, not knowing what move is next. You guys know my stance on pre-cueing and not letting participants feel like idiots.

After that, came out and everything was scrambling to take photos with Dan & Rach. I was lucky to be able to take a photo with Team BC36! Except Hernan. Though there was one earlier pic which I took but everyone was looking away cos there were too many cameras and they didn't know where to look! But I managed to take one with Hernan separately.






Post Bodycombat Filming - just check out the number of people there are... imagine all of them and more crammed into a room!

Here's my thoughts on BC36

T1 - Upper body warm up is pretty simple, music didn't get me excited, not like Summermelody (34) where I loved it on first listen. The lower warm up is the James Bond theme by Moby... lovely lower body track... ginga here and there and stepping on people.
T2 - I can't remember how the song feels, just remember some karate punches, rising blocks, roundhouse, groin backfist (new move)
T3 - Great power track presented by Oscar. Felt the energy even though the combos are simple and repetitive.
T4 - My favourite track of the entire release. A remix of Cranberries' Zombie. The claw is back! Zombie style too =)
T5 - Was very messy cos there were too many people, and I couldn't really see the presenters. And the moves are pretty simple.
T6 - A remix of Michael Jackson's Bad. Love the choreo. Too bad the ESK was taken out at the final cut. Boo Hoo. But perhaps it wasn't suitable for ESK given that there is no space!
T7 - Knees, lotsa them. My butt actually hurts after the track. And a combo that's similar to 'Hit' 'Em (BC24)
T8 - This is a great track for shoulders, especially the ending with that special extra bit. My shoulders really ached at the end!
T9 - Purely abdominal track. Not a fan of this track. If the cues were earlier, I guess it would have helped. I didn't feel the music at all.
T10 - No space for kata. Simply too crowded.

Day 3 Part 1 - Les Mills Gym

Thought I'll do some pics on the gym to show everyone. The second pic is the studio, and there's a bridge connecting the studio to the main gym.





Here's a short clip at the entrance of the gym, where the clothing store is.

Day 2 - International Team Teach

Day 2 was a short day. I only woke up at 12:30pm because I was so damn tired. Half a day was wasted... not that I had planned to do much anyway, I had just planned to attend a BP class in the morning but unfortunately I missed it.

Went for a quick lunch, and walked around where I live, as well as the Queen Street area, it's a shopping street. There's nothing much to shop around in Auckland. Things are expensive and there's nothing much that caught my eye. Since we were early for the 3:10pm BB class, we checked out Sky City first. That's where the filmings (and Global Summit) will be held this time round.






Some pics of Viaduct Harbour, near where I am staying.



At Sky City, we saw Lisa and Fabio, and a bunch of other instructors whom I didn't know, rehearsing for BA61. They were in this cool blue and orange outfit. The location seemed a bit small though, for the 400 pple expected to attend the filmings. After that, we went back to grab our stuff and head for BB.

When we reached the gym, guess who I saw. Dan and Rach! I quickly took a photo with the 2 of them, knowing that on filming day, they would be swamped with people wanting to take photos with them. They seemed pretty rushed for time though, but they were nice to oblige with a couple of photos.



I attended BB alone, and had a nice surprise. It was international team-teach featuring Ann See and Sarah from UK, another instructor from NZ, and another one from Italy. Ben Tang from FF Singapore was here attending the class too too.


That's me at the bottom left hand corner doing the 'option'. I can't do the split.

BC after that turned out to be international TT too! This time it was Nathan, as well as 7 or 8 instructors from Team Brazil. Team Brazil were full of energy and passionate, and reminded me of Nathaniel and Gabby. The class was more rowdy than yesterday, but the general feel was that the Auckland crowd cum international instructors did not like to shout that much heh... I was in the front row with Ed, and Ben came forward and stood just behind us.


Ivens & Myself - Ivens presented BC3105


Nathan - the instructor for the class


Team Colombia - a really friendly and warm bunch!





Stayed for a few tracks for BP international TT, this time featuring 4 instructors from Team Sweden along 2 NZ instructors. I thought Sweden was really good. Good posture, good form, clear instructions. Their English is really superb. They even did a few tracks from BP65.




BP International TT featuring trainers from Team Sweden


Short clip of BP team in action


Ben Tang - master trainer from Singapore


Ed - who appeared in front row in BC30

All you BP fanatics, don't be jealous... I took a pic with Petter from BP62! He's like a mini-giant, really that big. Had a good chat with him, asked him about Sweden (yes they teach the programs in Swedish) and the reason why they're so fluent in English is because they learn it from third grade. He's not with Team Sweden for International TT as he's going to rest to prepare for BP66 filming. How exciting. He will be presenting T4 - Back track, and I will be attending the BP filming too.



After that, dropped by LM clothing store to try out more clothing. The zip-tops don't really fit me, but the Seal pants do. I've every intention to get myself a pair. It was getting late, near 6plus, so we rushed back to wait for PJ to drop by with some pizza for dinner!



Had a nice chat and really looking forward to catching him again. Looking forward to the filming tmr!

Day 1 Part 2 - First Bodycombat class in NZ

So I attended my first BC class in NZ - conducted by Mike and Nathan. There were many international instructors around for the class, and my rough estimate is that there were about 100 people in the room. The class was ok, I thought it could have been better had the crowd been more spontaneous. Heard from PJ that Auckland members don't usually make noise, unlike the crazy people in Singapore I know, but I certainly think shouting makes it more fun.

It was funny hearing Ed say 'Exhausted' after T8. After I started teaching, attending classes somehow doesn't seem to make me sweat that much since since I'm always busting my lungs out during my classes. What I didn't like was that there were a few occasions when they tried to subdue the crowd sometimes by saying 'shhh' or 'don't shout first'. I was thinking to myself, why control during level 1 and only shout during level 2? How about letting it out in level 1 and bringing it higher in level 2?


The class doing the circle track - Hymn



After the class, I stayed back to watch BP. Before BP started, managed to exchange a few words with PJ, and saw glimpses of some 'stars' who have appeared on previous DVDs. Yes, I saw Hernan (BC34), Ivens (BC31) and Oscar (BC31). Strangely, nobody looks like their size in the DVD! Oscar looks smaller and Ivens look bigger.

BP had 5 or 6 international presenters lined up. They did a preview of BP66. Here's some tracks for you guys. T2 is a remix of Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer. Not the same version used in BC24 though. I think the song's great to use... with its lyrics "Oh... halfway there... Oh..." BP really rocked. I guess BP is the most popular program in Auckland. The crowd was making so much more noise than the BC crowd. Yes, I actually feel that BP66 music is good after thinking that the music for the last few releases haven't been that good!






Managed to grab a pic with Hernan during the BP class, hehehe...


Left after T4, and on the way out, I actually took some time to explore the gym, and guess who I saw! Dan the Man. Doing his boxing training. He saw us looking across and winked back. Must be the BODYCOMBAT top I was wearing. Heehee.



Seems like quite a fulfilling day, really wanted to do BP, but thought I shouldn't exert myself so much after a 10hr flight... Hope the rest of my trip is good! =)

Day 1 Part 1 - Finally In Auckland

So here I am, finally in Auckland, having booked this trip 4 months back. I didn't get much sleep on the flight, there were a couple of technical problems with my seats and I had to change seats two times. Didn't really get a good rest on the flight, so I'm feeling a little tired right now. It's 11pm, I feel like going to bed, but I thought I better be consistent and start writing my Auckland adventures before I start forgetting them or become too lazy to do so. I don't have internet access while I'm here, so I'm actually writing all these in my laptop and backdating the entries to the time I start writing.

Auckland airport is small compared to Singapore's Changi Airport. There's nothing much to see. I boarded the Airbus shuttle to Auckland City area. I brought along my NTU student pass and showed the bus driver, and I purchased a return ticket at the student rate. Nice. I'm staying at this place called Latitude (http://www.latitude37.co.nz/)



While waiting for my friend to come join me from a later flight, I took the opportunity to explore the streets of Auckland. The streets remind me very much of Australia. I was feeling a little hungry, so I went to grab a bite.. I went to a food court, and the prices were really quite expensive. About NZ$10 for a meal/main without drink. I eventually settled for a MACs Quarter Pounder combo meal as it comes along with fries and Coke, the fries should ensure I would be full for the next few hours.









As I was walking down the streets, it was kinda easy to spot fellow instructors. The instructors would typically be a small group of very fit-looking people, in the smallest sized top their body can possibly fit. Somehow I think many instructors like to reveal as much skin as possible, possible to show off their huge muscles. Otherwise what's the point of working so hard right?

I saw a group of 4 guys, they looked like Europeans to me, and the shirt that one of them was wearing captured my interest. From the back view, it was a white sleeveless with the NEW Les Mills rectangular logo, with the words TURN IT UP! at the bottom. Was quite intrigued, and later managed to see from the front that it was actually a Nike sleeveless top. While waiting at a traffic junction to cross, I asked the guy, hey did you print the logo yourself? The fellow acknowledged so. Upon further conversation, I discovered that they were from Sweden. Then looking at the rest of the group, I then realised one of them is the International Presenter for BP62 Petter! He looks huge in person with his bulging frame.

They were walking towards the LM gym, and so was I. Along the way, we bumped into another star. Who else but Rach from BC! She was busy entertaining the members of her fan club (and her fan club is probably not participants, but master trainers and instructors). I'm a fan too, but too bad there's too many pple crowding around her.

So I proceeded towards the gym.My first stop at LM gym was the clothing store. It's not what I quite expected it to be, but it's also more than what I expected. There were several designs not available on the website, and stuff were going for 20% off. Imagine saving on freight costs and getting that 20% discount! Immediately, I spent about $100 even before I started any activity. Sales was very good and the popular sizes were being cleared off the shelves. So I thought I better not wait.

After that, I just waited for my Taiwanese friend to arrive. He's non other than Ed, and appeared in the front row of the BC30 DVD. His shuttle from the airport was delayed, and we virtually dashed to make it for the 5:10pm BC class.

(Sidetrack a bit. I am pretty annoyed by Les Mills cos I felt exploited and ripped off. Firstly, instructors who are attending the filming this time round have to cough up NZ$250. On top of that, we still have to pay extra to use the gym facilities and attend the classes. Two days before arriving in Auckland, I actually emailed the manager and was quoted NZ$10 per entry, but upon arrival they changed it to NZ$15. Sucks big time, but we haven't had a choice as our asses were already there.)

While waiting for BC, we sat in durin the last 2-3 tracks of Bodystep by Mark Nu'u, and 4 other guest presenters. They were doing the new release Bodystep 72 (preview) before official filming over the weekend. The way he taught it, he was completely wet by the end of the class, and so were the other instructors.