Category Archives: AFT Reviews

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Babel Fit KLCC – A secret review

First of all, under no circumstances was Asia Fitness Today paid to do this review. In fact, Babel Fit did not even know we did this. During the launch of Babel KLCC, one of the goodies we received was a month-long pass which we utilized for this review.

Babel seems like the perfect gym for all of us. The gym features top of the line equipment and amenities. Sounds too good to be true but with plush towels that’s softer than your moisturizing conditioner hair, one can’t complain.

Your first impression of Babel KLCC is its entrance. It looks posh, to say the least. Second, there is this pleasant aroma that wafts through you as you walk in. This aroma is all over the gym too. I don’t know what this is but it made me feel relaxed and energized at the same time whenever I go to Babel.

On my first day at Babel, I went at 8 am and did the registration. I registered for the HIIT30 class straightaway by Evon, scheduled at 10 am. I had two hours of free time until the class so I decided to do some warm ups in the training room.

Babel KLCC access card

Obviously there is a lot of the latest equipment provided there but what caught my eye was the sheer number of actual living plants there. My photos do not do them justice. They just look like plastic plants but, trust me, they are as real as you and I. The plants made me felt as though I was being given extra oxygen during my warm up. According to Babel, they have an in-house botanist that helps them maintain these plants.

Be surrounded by real plants at Babel KLCC

Then it was time for HIIT30. For the uninitiated, HIIT30 is a class where we push ourselves to reach our limit in 30 minutes. So, four different exercises for four rounds with just one minute of rest in between. It was really tough for a newbie like I am. But did I feel good? I obviously did.

After my class I decided to pamper myself at the infra-red sauna. It looks as though it is based on Japanese design but I can’t be sure. Well, it doesn’t really matter because as soon as I entered the sauna, I was able to relax and calm my mind. I might have even fallen asleep in there!

I didn’t manage to go to Babel as often as I would like to as work had me bogged down but after a week I went there as soon as I was done with work. I felt as though I needed to recoup the days I missed so I did it by deciding that it was a good idea to attend three classes in a row.

My obvious first class back to the gym is my now all-time favorite, HIIT30. There are no words that can describe how much I enjoy this class at Babel. As soon as I was done with this, I went for Slo Flo Yoga. Led by Tony, I found the class quite relaxing and personally I enjoyed the stretching after the vigorous HIIT class. It’s best said now that this was my first yoga class ever. I learned to control my breathing and didn’t drop a single sweat during the class.

Slo Flo Yoga

I had a 30 minute break from yoga to my final class. This would be the first time for me to attend an RnR class and luckily I was met with a familiar face by way of the trainer. I’m pretty sure you can guess what kind of class this is solely based on its name. So yes, we do some more stretching but it wasn’t as gentle as Slo Fo Yoga though. I ended feeling sore despite it supposedly to be a relaxing class as well. Despite the soreness I actually liked this class as I did not feel tired out from it and completely understand why it was slotted as the final class of the day.

Before I left Babel KLCC, I decided to utilize the Bad Lab products available in the men’s locker room (Good Virtue’s Co products are featured in the women’s locker room). It was not bad and made me feel pretty good for the trip home.

Words cannot express how much I love doing HIIT at Babel and my final HIIT30 class was scheduled at 6 pm. This time I had a new trainer – Jean K. It was a great experience as she’s quite energetic and she would be shouting words of encouragement at us so we would be able to keep up and moving.

However, unlike the other HIIT30 classes I’ve attended, we didn’t have any simple warm up at the beginning of the class. Jean began the class with a really challenging warm up. Another difference is that there are eight of us in this class. There were two to four people in the other HIIT30 classes I’ve attended. This surely proves Jean’s effectiveness and popularity. I was seriously exhausted in her class but keep moving as she constantly encourages us to not give up.

Babel KLCC

Ok, maybe I should’ve tried more classes but I got hooked on HIIT. But this is what I have to say about Babel KLCC – you have to see and experience it for yourself. At Babel KLCC, seeing is barely believing thus you would have to go for some classes to fully immerse yourself with the Babel experience. I give them 10/10 for overall experience, classes offered, amenities and location.

AFT Partners, AFT Reviews, AFTNews, Diet & Nutrition, Travel & Wellness, Wellness

JacSport – The Energy Drink with Physta® Tongkat Ali

Physta® is a patented extract from the Malaysian plant root, Tongkat Ali. The water-soluble extract has been through numerous clinical studies to determine its impact on the human body including, but not limited to, strength, performance and overall health.

Using natural ingredients, the JacSport’s secret weapon is Physta® Tongkat Ali. Whereas most energy drinks come in cans, the drink is available to consumers in easy-to-carry sachets to mix with a recommended 250ml of warm water. The FDA approved pre-workout and recovery drink promises to give more energy and shortens recovery time after a workout.

Some of the studies on the extract have shown that, compared to other extracts of Tongkat Ali, Physta®  has proven to support energy and recovery from fatigue, and shown improvement in muscle strength and size in both men and women. It was also shown to maintain normal levels of the stress hormone cortisol and a healthy high levels of testosterone for overall anabolic muscle state during intense endurance exercise tested on mountain bikers.

JacSport is 100% safe with no long-term side effects, this whey-protein-chocolate malt drink is also able to promote blood circulation, and boost a lethargic body and mind.

AFT Features, AFT Partners, AFT Reviews, AFTNews

Leave your gym. Indoor skydiving is the new workout.

AirRider is the first ever indoor skydiving in Malaysia and is now ready to thrust you into adventure. With their 12 foot (diameter) and 10-meter high flight chamber, this tunnel can accommodate two flyers at a time. The tunnel operator, who is located right next to the tunnel, will adjust the wind speeds based on each flyer’s weight and skill level. The indoor skydiving technology serves for punters at all level to flaunt their skill. The vertical wind tunnel set up a stable and super safe suspension for flyers. Worry not, for beginners the instructor will assist you in the tunnel. So, fly and show off your invisible wings!

Entrance to AirRider

 

The writer testing out the AirRider

Indoor skydiving is indeed fun but let’s not forget about the hidden health benefits behind this exciting adventure. My first experience of 2 minutes and 30 seconds flight was more than enough to activate my overall body muscles at once. The moment I stepped into the tunnel, I was airborne and I tried to stay in the position that the instructor had taught us beforehand: be a banana! The 250 km/h wind speeds were vigorous that it even blew my cheeks up and made me looked like a clown who had just fallen into the tunnel. Apart from the storm-like wind, the thrill was a slight floating and falling on the mesh wire trampoline floor. Hey, the adrenaline rush is good for your heart! When you fly up in the tunnel, your heart will pump harder than the time you met your first love. The overload adrenaline kick will also trigger the release of serotonin, the happy chemical, to improve your mood and live in your fantasy.

 

 

Strike A Pose!

One flyer’s motion in the tunnel is very much depending on the flyer’s position. For example, if you drop one shoulder while floating, you will spin around. While pulling off your impressive Superman pose in the tunnel, you are also burning more calories than jogging. But, I don’t think you can strike a pose while jogging isn’t it?

 

Indoor skydiving is the future in terms of workouts and is certainly a good exercise to activate one’s overall muscles as there is no way you can master it if you don’t muscle your way through! So, when someone says indoor skydiving is the unexpected fitness fad that burns more calories than jogging, you will have to agree to it.

AirRider @ 1 Utama offers exclusive yet affordable adventure. A variety of packages awaits you to serve your occasion. The team caters to individual, groups, corporates, schools as well as kids’ parties to enjoy the fun in the transparent tunnel. Packages starts at only RM89! It is never too late to start skydiving and make it your sport of choice with AirRider’s support.

Check out a video of Asia Fitness Today’s editor trying out the sport here.

AFT Reviews, AFT TV

HUMAN, a truly inspirational movie about our species

Video

There’s no other way to describe this project than pure love. We believe, it is from that space, of wanting to share the beautiful sounds to depict our human species, that both filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand and music composer Armand Amar have produced this magnificent film. Although released back in 2015, the film isn’t dated at all, nor is the music.

This also links us to Asia Fitness Today’s research and interest in the topic; Humans, Rhythm and Movement. Movement is essential to human evolution and a key element in survival.

Intrigued and curious, we visited their official website: http://www.human-themovie.org to discover more about the film. And it was a delightful treasure trove that we delved into!

We also selected this Making Of Interviews, video to share, just to show the magnitude of work, number of hours put into realising this project.

Since a young boy, film director Yann Arthus-Bertrand had used a camera to document his observations and accompany his writings. The turning point, was at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 when Yann embarked upon a major photographic project about the state of the world and its inhabitants. It was titled Earth From Above and the book sold more than three million copies. Years later, Yann created the GoodPlanet Foundation and the non-profit organization has been investing in educating people about the environment and the fight against climate change. He was appointed United Nations Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador in 2009 and that year, he made his first feature-length film, HOME, about the state of the planet. This movie was seen by almost 600 million spectators around the world.

“I am one man among seven billion others. For the past 40 years, I have been photographing our planet and its human diversity, and I have the feeling that humanity is not making any progress. We can’t always manage to live together.
Why is that?
I didn’t look for an answer in statistics or analysis, but in man himself.”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

“It is too late to be a pessimist. Taking action builds happiness!”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Regardless of our condition or situation, every single one of us can play a role and contribute to a fairer and more harmonious society. Whether we are male, female, young, old, married, divorced, single, orphan, poor, rich, disabled, our opportunities to act are endless. Whether it is through associative work or simple actions, there are many simple gestures to take and stories to live to help us fulfil ourselves and build tomorrow’s humanity.

Enjoy watching HUMAN, the movie.

This article has been edited for Asia Fitness Today from the official website.

AFT Reviews, Fit Tech & Gadgets, Wellness

Adidas miCoach Fit Smart review

The Adidas miCoach Fit Smart burst out of the German sports giant’s lab back in 2014, hot on the heels of the Adidas miCoach Smart Run.

Whereas the Fit Smart’s older brother packed in GPS connectivity, the new arrival shunned this feature in order to slim-down and offer a better battery performance.

When we reviewed the Fit Smart just over a year ago we lamented, “It’s neither a specialist GPS running watch nor an everyday activity tracker – it lies somewhere in between and, as a result, it falls short of being a device that we’d highly recommend.”

But now, thanks to an update that brings step tracking, calorie counting and estimated distance measuring to the workout-assistant, it is an everyday tracker – hence the updated review.

Read on to find out how it fares…

Adidas Fit Smart: Design and build

Although not as well received as Adidas would have wanted, we at Wareable were quite enamoured with the original miCoach training smartwatch, the Smart Run, and were excited to hear that a follow up device was about to hit the shops.

Whereas the Smart Run was quite a chunky device, with a large strap and oversized face, the miCoach Fit Smart pays its dues, design-wise, to the ever-growing fitness tracker genre that’s dominating wearable tech right now.

It hasn’t completely dumped the idea of a display – although there’s no glass or pixels packed into the Fit Smart – instead you’re looking at a 34mm silicone strap that hides a 17 x 11 LED matrix display. Alongside this basic yet effective display are a row of neon LED strip-lights, which we’ll come back to later, and two physical navigation buttons. There’s also a main action button below the display.

The silicone strap lets your skin breathe quite effectively and the clasp sits pretty comfortably on the underside of the wrist. At 50g it’s hardly going to weigh your arm down either.

The Fit Smart comes in two colours: black and pearl. It’s the latter colour variant that we took for a test run and, although it looks pretty futuristic when the plethora of LEDs are lit up, it is susceptible to looking a little bit grubby after a few training sessions. The black one shouldn’t suffer from this issue, obviously.

It’s sweat proof and is 3ATM water resistant, although Adidas recommends not swimming with it on.

Adidas miCoach Fit Smart: Training

On the underside of that LED display you’ll find the Mio heart-sensor, which we’re told is the same one that was present on the Smart Run GPS running watch and the same one you’d find onboard Mio fitness wearables.

Your heart rate plays a key role in the Fit Smart experience, which is centred around helping you train in specific zones. It’s important to remember that the miCoach Fit Smart isn’t a dedicated running watch – rather a training companion that is designed to work across a range of activities including strength and flex regimes.

During a training session, the colour strip of LED lights light up to tell you what zone you’re in, with five different colours on show – all representing a different training intensity zone. During a free training session it’s up to the user to monitor his or her own zones and adapt accordingly, while during a set training session, the LED display will tell you to increase or decrease intensity in order to hit the desired level. You’ll also feel vibration alerts as well when you need to step it up or ease it off.

It’s a system that works well and the display’s instructions are pretty clear. However, you’re putting a lot of trust into the heart rate monitor’s accuracy and we’re not entirely convinced of its pulse recording skills. When testing the Fit Smart against the TomTom Cardio and the old miCoach Fit Smart, we found that our levels varied greatly across the devices, with the Fit Smart and the TomTom being much more in-tune with each other.

Getting a heart rate to register isn’t exactly a speedy affair either – you’ll be waiting around for around a minute before it locks in.

Adidas miCoach Fit Smart: Activity tracking

The biggest criticism we threw at the Fit Smart originally was its lack of fitness tracking smarts; it seemed pointless to have an activity band that didn’t offer basic lifestyle recording.

That’s been fixed, thankfully with the Fit Smart now using its sensors and accelerometer to count steps and estimate distances travelled and calories burned.

You can view your progress in detail on the app – it also tallies with distances covered on other Adidas products synced to you account – or directly on the device itself by tapping the main button.

We found step counting to be a little generous compared to a Jawbone UP3 but, as with all algorithmically created counts, the stats should be used as a guide and not an exact science.

The revamped Train & Run app allow lets you set daily and weekly goals.

Adidas miCoach Fit Smart: Ecosystem

Like the Smart Run, the Fit Smart is heavily tied into the Adidas miCoach ecosystem, which is both desktop and app based.

With the Fit Smart you’ll be using the app (iOS, Android and Windows Phone), which we’re glad to say has had a major spruce-up in time for the new activity tracking update.

Once paired using Bluetooth 4.0, the Fit Smart will keep in sync with the app, sending over details of your latest training sessions and receiving the details of any set workouts that you want to do – you can store 15 different workouts, each with their own intensity zone objectives, directly onto the band. These workouts can customised yourself within the app, or you can select one of the many on offer from Adidas.

Within the app you can also customise the Fit Smart’s display, opting for a single screen showing a specific training aspect (distance travelled, calories burned, heart rate, pace and so on) or a split screen with two dynamics on display.

You can train with the Fit Smart untethered from a smartphone; it works independently. However, with no GPS connectivity built in, the Fit Smart is extremely unreliable when it comes to tracking distances.

There is a 12 minute calibration workout built in to the Fit Smart that you should carry out in order to improve speed and distance recordings, although we found that this made only a minimal difference. Long story short: if you want detailed data on your run you’re going to need to tether to your smartphone and the miCoach app, making use of your mobile’s GPS connectivity.

The device itself has memory enough to store around 10 hours of workout data. You can access your recent history by navigating through the watch’s homescreen.

This homescreen extends to one that displays the time and two that start a new workout. The latter splits into free training and your stored workouts, which are clearly labelled.

Adidas Fit Smart: Extras and battery life

The Adidas miCoach Fit Smart smashes its older brother out of the park when it comes to battery life.

Adidas states that you’ll get five days of use from the 200mAh battery, with an hour’s training a day. We’ve done six 5km runs with our Fit Smart in free training mode, as well as testing out a couple of the set workouts and we’ve still not had to give it a charge. It’s been on standby mode for over a week as well.

It will charge from flat in three hours but the bad news is, like most new wearables on the market – it does need its own charging cradle. This isn’t a moan that’s unique to Adidas though, so we’ll not mark it down for that.

Source : http://www.wareable.com/fitness-trackers/adidas-micoach-fit-smart-review