I am a bit of a lazy ass.

By “a bit”, I of course mean “of epic proportions”.

Considering my Dad is a health nut and one of the fittest mid-60 year olds I know, it’s kind of a wonder that I’m his daughter…  as my idea of exercise is lifting the fork from the plate to my mouth. Repeatedly. 

Now that I’m a mum, I exercise the grand total of ZERO times a week. I know, I know… it’s bad. But I tell myself since I have the honour of being a SAHM (stay at home mum), my ‘exercise’ is chasing after the kids and being on my feet most of the day. That’s gotta count for something, right?!?!?

To be honest – I just can’t seem to find the time to get both kids looked after by my parents (which is no mean feat in itself), and even if I do, I’d much rather either be doing household chores and tidying up… or simply sitting on my ass and surfing the internet and answering my emails. So between all that, I just don’t exercise.

Which means I was pretty interested to hear of Bodytec’s 20 minute personal trainer session, meant to exactly replicate the effects of weight training. In fact, it’s 18x more effective than ‘normal’ weight training!

As a proponent of the whole “I want it now and I want it fast” lifestyle, this was right up my alley. Plus, I kinda wasn’t convinced that I would feel ‘worked out’ after just 20 minutes.. so I thought it’d be cool to check it out.

Plus…. wait for it…… I HEARD I’D GET ELECTROCUTED!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So the whole premise of Bodytec is that they use EMS (Electro Muscular Training), the first studio in Singapore to do this. In short, it pulses electricity into your muscles to stimulate them as you’re training. It hails from Germany (the owner of Bodytec is German) and was originally used in hospital rehabilitation programmes for physical injuries, as well as training for athletes.

It places ZERO impact to your joints, so it’s ideal for people with back or limb pain. Yet, it’s so effective that the recommendation is one 20-minute session per WEEK and that’s it!

You “come as you are” – workout clothes, towels and toiletries are all provided, and you train barefoot. Really really good for office workers to pop by, and for individuals that can just pop into the gym, since you don’t need to drag a gym bag along.

Of course, I did not realise this and spent aggggesssss digging through my wardrobe for something “exercise-friendly” to wear!! Here’s what I came up with:

 

I was given a set of soft tops & bottoms to put on.

I was HORRIFIED when I saw it.

It’s all in black. Like, head-to-toe black!!

I could barely recognise myself 😉

 

As I was getting changed, one of the trainers was spraying water onto my workout vest. It’s a special suit that is hooked up onto you via lots of wires and straps. It all felt so sci-fi! LOOK!

 

 

Soooooooooooooo WHAT WAS IT LIKE???

I thought it was hilariously EASY when I was faced with the equipment. You don’t do anything – you don’t hold weights, you don’t do anything particular strenuous, and you just kind of ‘hold’ a lot of poses that the personal trainer tells you to do. I was all “Heh! This is super easy. I’m such an exercise pro.”

But then we started the session for real and I SHUT UP REAL QUICK.

Was too busy trying to breathe properly through it all!

The line of lights light up on the machine, and when it gets to the end, the electricity travels down those wires and ‘buzzes’ your muscles, in a targeted and specific way. So imagine if you’ve tensed your bicep, and you get a jolt of electricity through it… you REALLY have to concentrate to keep that muscle tensed up!

I guess you’re wondering, “what does the electricity feel like???”

Actually. Deliciously good. Kind of like the feeling you get when you scratch an itch. Though, you need more and more concentration though as they amp up the intensity during the workout. I could hold most of the poses but when it went to the max level for my thigh (when I held up my leg in a right angle), my knee involuntarily jerked up like someone hit my kneecap. It took OODLES of strength and focus to control my leg and prevent that from happening!

You can read about EMS here, because I am not as eloquent in describing it.

 

What did it feel like after the 20-minute workout?

Pretty much the same as after a 60-min pump class at Fitness First (I know this because I used to do this class many years ago when we lived in Australia).

My muscles were all achey-good from the workout and felt satisfyingly-sore the next day.. the kind of feeling I like having after a working, so I know I’ve done something.

I thoroughly enjoyed how I could get a full-body workout in just 20 minutes, and how personalised the training is. The studio is comfortable and it’s just so easy to pop in “as is”, since everything is provided.

My only problem is that it’s sooooo far away from my place, in a location where I am almost never in. So even if I manage to get the kids sorted out and can scoot off.. it’s tough for me to make the journey there/back! I wish they’d open a 3rd branch near me 😉 I’d so go every week!

 

 

You can get a FREE 1ST TRIAL at Bodytec!

Just call 6423 1306 (Stanley Street studio) or 6822 8761 (Pickering Street studio) to arrange your personal training session. It’s very laid back and cozy in the studio, which I like as I kinda get a bit overwhelmed/daunted with fitness gyms sometimes…..

Have fun getting electrocuted. Tell me how you go!