"But more than just the demo, the instructors will also give a short talk on the benefits of their exercises," she added.
Pilates instructor Plinky Recto, nutritionist Sanirose Orbeta, Arsi Baltazar of the Breathe Thin craze, Vikki Aquino on aqua-robics, Antonio Arando of the Yoga Foundation of the Philippines, Adrei Roslovtev for Latin fitness and former supermodel Tweety Gonzales – definitely an impressive lineup of speakers, some of best fitness instructors in the country today. Hmm, this had to be interesting, I thought to myself.
It was Sunday when I went to check out the Nike Women: Fit n’ Fab two-day event last weekend at the New World Hotel.
I arrived just in time for Tweety de Leon Gonzales’ talk on beauty and fitness. "I do not have a certification in beauty and fitness, unlike most of the fitness instructors here," Tweety joked as she began. "But I am sure that if you find an exercise routine that fits you, then becoming beautiful is one of the benefits of being healthy."
Tweety gave us a mouthful on the importance of a good diet, the best way to care for our skin, the importance of de-stressing and some of the best beauty aids available on the market today. "But at the end of the day, it is the beauty from within that will really make us not only look good, but feel good, too. There is nothing that will bring out beauty more than doing something for someone else," Tweety stressed.
That done, I was off to some ballroom action next door where there was a Latin Fitness class demo. "Are you ready to dance?" asked Andrei Roslovtev, a regular performer for the Kremlin Ballet and the Philippine Ballet Theatre. The enthusiastic crowd was already on their feet and ready to dance. As if on cue, the samba music started and Andrei told the group to start off with slow movements. "Latin dance is basically hip movement and pelvic tilts," Andrei said as he started moving to the beat.
Andrei was such a good dancer it seemed that the group of 30 who decided to try out his 45-minute class found it hard to keep up with him. But that did not stop them from trying – and having fun.
The class looked like a lot of fun – for people who are graceful and like to dance, that is. Andrei kept his class in high spirits by raising the tempo of the music and adding new steps as the class progressed. It seemed like a lot of flab was lost in those 45 minutes, if the amount of sweat on the participants was to be the measure of fat burned.
"You sweat a lot," said Myrza Sison, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine.
"OK, let’s slow down a bit," said Vanessa. "The next class is yoga with Antonio Arando."
Antonio Arando is from the Yoga Foundation of the Philippines; he trains and performs Hatha Yoga routines.
"Anyone who wants to join the class will have to take off his shoes and socks," he announced. "Please make sure that you have enough space so that you can extend your arms without bumping the person next to you."
The lights were dimmed and the class began with a good slowdown routine after all that Latin dancing.
Then, the music changed from fast Latin beats to chanting. "As you breathe, fill your body with life not just for yourself but for someone else who might need it," said Anton, as he encouraged the participants to take deep breaths as they move from one position to another.
The class went on for 45 minutes. Refreshed, relaxed, de-stressed and feeling better about the world, the class then came back to life.
The other interesting and fun-filled classes were spinning, punchbag aerobics, aquarobics and tae-bo.
Spinning is not offered in a lot of gyms yet because of the need for a lot of stationary bikes. In a spinning class, an instructor takes the class through a series of biking paths, making the class increase the intensity of their ride through either adding more tension as they ride their bikes or lessening the tension as they go down imaginary hills.
This class goes through a course in stationary biking that’s so much like biking outdoors.
Punchbag aerobics is another aerobics class that’s fun for those who like to hit a punchbag while dancing to a beat. Punchbag aerobics is different from t-bo because instead of hitting or kicking into the air, there’s a punching bag that you hit and release tension out on.
Swoosh! That was a lot of workout for all those fit and fab women of Nike. As they say, "Just do it!"