When Rosan and I were in Hong Kong last August, we bumped into Miggy at the Chili Peppers’ concert. She hadn’t quite grasped the concept of CrossFit yet so, when I introduced them, Rosan asked, “Oh yeah, Plana FORMA, right?” Miggy scoffed and I nearly choked on my beer.

Well, I did the Beginner’s Class today and I know now that Plana FORMA is no scoffing matter. It’s different, that’s for sure. It’s not CrossFit-macho but it certainly isn’t a walk in the park for old ladies either.

It’s definitely faster paced than barre3. And if you have ADD, like me, it’s easy to get lost in a whirl of lefts, rights, ups, downs, points and flexes.

The warm-up is an upper body workout, where you do bicep curls, tricep kickbacks and dumbbell rows. They don’t do as many reps as barre3 which is why they have a selection of heavier weights that you can pyramid up to eventually.

The rest of the workout is all lower body. Legs, butt and thighs. And if there’s one thing they know how to do at Plana FORMA, it’s how to make your thighs scream. GAAAAAH! I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get through at least one session (out of five) without taking breaks during the leg exercises.

But, like barre3, the instructors encourage you to go at your own pace, to stop when you have to but to jump back in as soon as you can. They also give you options to intensify the workout.

There’s some ab work too at the end, right before a quick cool down. (After each muscle-specific workout, the targeted muscle is stretched so that there’s no need for more stretching at the end.)

Again, a fun class. I would definitely recommend it to those wanting to tone up. Julie Alagde, credited with creating Plana FORMA, was my instructor today. Now there’s one fit woman.

Julie Alagde. (Photo c/o Plana FORMA’s website.)

Okay, I know this sounds shallow but don’t you think that a crucial job requirement for fitness instructors is that they look fit? It’s kinda in the job title, no? At Fitness First, the instructors were maybe doing five classes a day – Body Jam, Combat, Pump, you name it – yet most of them looked like they had been left too long in the kitchen. Hardly motivating. Seriously, if they can do all that, lift that heavy and yet still look like they ate the refrigerator, how is that supposed to inspire the likes of me? What do you think I’m doing this for? My health?! Pfft!

(Another requirement that anyone would think would be listed on a fitness instructor’s basic job description is the ability, not only to teach a certain skill, but to execute said skill with precision and accuracy. Sounds like a no-brainer, no? But it seems that not all qualified instructors are, in fact, qualified instructors.)

At Plana FORMA, the instructors not only look like fitness instructors, they also look like the dancers that they are, so you know that they definitely know their stuff.

I’m glad to report that Plana FORMA’s second classroom (yes, they have two) has laminated wooden floors as opposed to the one that I was in yesterday that was carpeted.

I also got to try their showers and they were spic and span and well appointed. It’s refreshing to work out again in a place where you don’t have to bring your own towel or pay to use one.

I was going to catch the Picasso exhibit (Suite Vollard) at the Met so I showered and changed at the studio but the cab driver told me that all roads leading to Manila were clogged due to the Feast of the Black Nazarene. (8 million devotees??!!!). I didn’t want to mess with that so I went home instead.

Rest day tomorrow, I think.

And a massage tonight. 🙂