Latest news with #aerobics
Malay Mail
06-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Malay Mail
‘Age is no excuse': 74-year-old Pak Habib keeps Johoreans moving with aerobics, humour at Taman Merdeka
JOHOR BARU, July 7 — While many his age prefer a quiet morning at home, 74-year-old Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar, fondly known as Pak Habib, can be found leading energetic aerobics sessions, music booming and smiles all around, at Taman Merdeka here. A familiar figure to regulars at the park, Pak Habib teaches free aerobics classes from Thursday to Sunday, starting as early as 8am, drawing a loyal following from people of all ages and backgrounds. Armed with a playlist of over 2,000 songs from various genres, he blends fitness with fun — mixing in everything from silat and Tai Chi to yoga, dangdut and zapin, to keep things lively. At 74, Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar, fondly known as Pak Habib, brings energy, humour and inspiration to Taman Merdeka's morning aerobics scene. — Bernama pic 'People won't get bored if we mix it up. At the same time, I also give motivational talks and fitness tips during class,' said the former Telekom Malaysia technician, who also holds a Diploma in Sports Science from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). His workouts are light and accessible, focusing on balance, blood circulation, muscle flexibility and breathing, making them suitable for all ages. Pak Habib's journey into aerobics began in the 1990s when a friend was searching for a male instructor. 'Back then, aerobics was usually taught by women, so I initially declined. But with a bit of encouragement and some sports knowledge, I gave it a shot — and here I am, still needed by the community even as age catches up,' he shared. Despite participants spanning various age groups, most are senior citizens joining aerobics sessions led by Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Jaafar at Taman Merdeka today. — Bernama pic Despite many urging him to slow down, Pak Habib remains steadfast in his belief that age should never be an excuse to stop moving. 'I may have physical limitations now, but that doesn't mean we stop. We adapt to our abilities. The one gift Allah has given me is that I can speak well—I give motivation, crack jokes, and bring humour. That's what makes my class vibrant,' he added. Among his regular participants is 48-year-old Suhaila Abd Talib, who has been attending his sessions for more than a decade. 'He's not just teaching aerobics. He gives motivation, shares health tips and makes it fun. I've learned so much from him,' said the mother of two. With humour, and a whole lot of energy, Pak Habib continues to defy age and inspire many — one dance move at a time. — Bernama
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Richard Simmons bittersweet final act: Star was 'so excited' to tell his story on Broadway before passing
It's been nearly a year since Richard Simmons died the day after his 76th birthday from a fall and underlying coronary disease, and his close ones are reflecting on his life. The reclusive aerobics guru retreated from the spotlight after closing his Beverly Hills exercise studio Slimmons in 2016, but he made a virtual comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic and began posting new encouraging audio messages for fans. According to Richard's older brother Lenny Simmons, he was also busy writing songs for a potential Broadway musical about his life with one of Madonna 's favorite songwriters, three-time Grammy nominee Patrick Leonard. 'He was so excited,' Lenny told People on Thursday. 'And [he] would always read us the lyrics, in poetry form, of the last song he had written for Patrick.' Simmons' publicist for decades, Tom Estey, spoke to him the day before he passed away to wish him happy birthday shortly after he had slipped in the bathroom of his $6.9M Hollywood Hills estate (now on the market) but failed to seek medical attention. 'The last day, he didn't feel well,' Estey admitted to the mag. '[But] when we reconnected, it was a completely different Richard. He was in a very happy and content place. He did know that people missed him and he missed them, but he never took his eye nor his heart off them.' The flamboyant fitness expert's manager for years, Michael Catalano, said he 'found some peace in coming back and reconnecting with all people he had not spoken to in years.' In his final Facebook message to fans, Richard (born Milton) thanked them: 'I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.' Last year, Simmons' live-in caretaker/driver of 36 years - Theresa Reveles Muro - petitioned to become co-trustee of his estate and claimed Lenny had pressured her to turn down the role after his death. Muro accused Lenny of colluding to 'pillage Richard's assets and legacy' with Michael, whom he allegedly despised according to multiple emails she provided in legal filings. In October, Theresa asked the court to suspend Lenny's authority to sell or exploit Simmons' personal effects, name, image, likeness, or other intellectual property pending resolution of the appointment petition. In his final Facebook message to fans, Richard (born Milton) thanked them: 'I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life! I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday' The Sweatin' to the Oldies star - who once topped the scales at 268lbs - helped humanity lose approximately 12M lbs during his eighties/nineties hey day: 'He cried with them and he laughed with them, and he was never judgmental.' Richard published 12 fitness book and hosted his own KTLA talk show The Richard Simmons Show from 1980-1984, which won four Daytime Emmy Awards. Among Simmons' last onscreen appearances were guest judging a 2014 episode of ABC's Sing Your Face Off and playing a dramatized version of himself on ABC soap General Hospital in 2013.
Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Ryvita, cottage cheese and aerobics twice a week – I lost 5lb following a 1980s diet
The intro to Jane Fonda 's classic workout starts with impossibly limber people in thong leotards and leg warmers over tights doing moves that make my vagina hurt to look at. I can barely lift my leg to waist height let alone sink effortlessly into the splits. Still, I'd like to look like one of them – all swishy hair, toned limbs and exuberant good health. I'm not the only one: the past couple of years have seen a proliferation of 1980s-themed exercise options, from aerobics classes at trendy London gym chain Frame to the runaway success of Mum Dance, a 1980s-themed dance fitness class that runs in school gymnasiums throughout the country. Which is why I have embarked on a new health mission for the month: to follow a 1980s fitness and diet regimen in a bid to shed a few pounds. And I'm starting with Jane. Fonda released her workout in 1982, having started doing aerobics after fracturing her foot during filming for her movie The China Syndrome. She'd already published Jane Fonda's Workout Book the previous year with an accompanying audio tape with music to pair with the exercises, which became a bestseller. A video was a no-brainer; it became the highest-selling home video of the next few years, selling over 17 million copies worldwide, and is credited with starting the fitness craze among baby boomers. In this country, we had Rosemary Conley, who had founded her own slimming business in 1972, which offered both diet and exercise advice, and whose Hip and Thigh Diet, published in 1988, sold more than two million copies (it was later followed by 1990's Inch Loss Plan, a diet and exercise programme that promised to transform your shape in 28 days). Conley's success, which was predicated on gentle aerobic movement à la Fonda, accompanied by a low-fat diet, followed on from the F-Plan diet by the journalist Audrey Eyton, which first ran as a series in the Daily Express and was published as a book in 1982: allowing 1,500 calories per day, it focused on low fat and high fibre as the way to lose weight and stay healthy. In 1983, the Government introduced national dietary guidelines that recommended reducing overall dietary fat consumption to 30 per cent of total energy intake, and saturated fat to 10 per cent; in 1985, the frozen food brand Findus introduced a new 'Lean Cuisine' range to its UK offerings, in which each ready meal contained under 300 calories. Meat and two veg was out; calorie counting, cottage cheese, baked potatoes (no butter) and bran on everything was in. Still, in the 1980s, obesity was not the general problem that it is today. In Britain in the 1980s, the average weight for men was 73.6kg (11st 8lb) and for women, 62kg (9st 10lb); today, men weigh on average 85.8kg (13st 7lb) and women 72.8kg (11st 6lb), according to the latest data from NHS Digital, collected in 2022. 'It was a different world,' says Conley today when I speak to her, aged 78 and still going strong. 'We walked to school, we were much more active, we didn't drink as much – you only had a drink when you went out or if you were celebrating something special.' Nevertheless, the national guidelines combined with new diet and fitness trends pioneered by the likes of Conley meant that eating healthily in the 1980s became about regulating one's calorific intake and restricting 'bad' foods such as fat of any kind. The majority of the diets I researched restricted milk, for example, to a maximum of half a pint of skimmed milk per day, plus a little unsweetened orange juice; alcoholic drinks were restricted to a single small glass of wine or sherry per day. The emphasis was on beauty, rather than strength: 'We want to really look a lot slimmer,' wrote Conley; Fonda explained that we should do her exercises to avoid ending up with a 'scooped posture' as it looks 'less attractive'. At its worst, most faddy end were the crash diets that became all about one thing (and usually had adherents piling the pounds straight back on as soon as they stopped): the Cabbage Soup diet (where you only ate low-calorie cabbage soup for a week); the Cambridge diet, which involved replacing meals with shakes, soups and bars, and the Beverly Hills diet, a 35-day diet that required you to eat only fruit for the first 10 days, in a specific order. I wasn't prepared to subject my family to the consequences of a cabbage-based diet and I'm not sure my own intestines would have coped with the Beverly Hills option. Instead, I devised my own 1980s diet plan that was a combination of Conley and the F-Plan, and accompanied it with aerobic exercises from all over the place. Here's what the 1980s taught me. Eat smaller portions One of the most noticeable things about eating from the decade when The Police were still topping the charts is how much less an average plateful was. Although Conley's Hip and Thigh diet stipulates unlimited vegetables, including potatoes, with any of her main meals, overall portion sizes are much, much smaller: both Conley and the F-Plan, for example, allow only 25g of something like Bran Flakes or porridge for breakfast, and a fish pie recipe for four uses only 700g of cod. The average dinner plate, meanwhile, was typically around 10in in diameter in the 1980s – noticeably smaller than the average plate size today, which is between 11-12in. I don't try to stick to the F-Plan's 1,500 calories a day – it leaves my energy levels too low to concentrate on work or wrangle my children – but leaving aside the calorie restrictions, eating smaller portions is something I will definitely take with me from my sojourn into the 1980s. Cut down on fat (although not the good kind) Switching to a 'healthy eating' diet of the 1980s makes me realise just how much fat I generally incorporate into my diet: Greek yogurt with seeds for breakfast; olive oil in my salad dressing at lunch; butter on my toast in the afternoon; vegetables stir-fried in more oil or butter on my baked potatoes at dinner. By contrast, on my 1980s diet I'm having skimmed milk on my cereal at breakfast, eating low-fat cottage cheese at lunch and stir frying my mince for a chilli con carne using just a little bit of water at dinner time. By the end of my 1980s stint although I've lost my taste for pastries, cakes, ice cream and pies, I'm also craving yogurt, avocado on toast and peanut butter. 'The focus on having no fat in the diet isn't so good,' says nutritionist Dr Federica Amati, author of Every Body Should Know This: The Science of Eating for a Lifetime of Health. 'We now know that healthy fats are essential – things like olive oil, nuts and seeds are really necessary for good health.' 'These days we know that having some unsaturated fats and a little bit of oil is not bad for you,' admits Conley. 'You don't need to worry if you're eating Greek yogurt or salmon or an avocado – these are healthy foods.' Conley also admits some responsibility for the proliferation of 'low-fat' convenience foods that exploded in the 1980s and generally now have sugar added in place of the fat – not great for overall health. A 2015 paper published in the online journal Open Heart found that the fat dietary recommendations 'lacked any solid trial evidence'. Focus on fibre 'If you follow a high-fibre diet you will find that you feel more satisfied on fewer calories. And more of the calories that go into your mouth will, to put it bluntly, go straight through and down the lavatory,' wrote Audrey Eyton in the introduction to her The Complete F-Plan Diet. Eyton drew on emerging medical research that suggested that a Western diet rich in refined carbohydrates was causing all sorts of health problems and that by contrast, those in developing countries who ate foods high in dietary fibre avoided things like bowel and heart disease and diabetes. It should not just be 'health food cranks' who bought wholemeal brown bread, Eyton insisted, but all of us: in fact, we should all be eating between 25g and 50g of fibre a day to fill up, stay healthy and lose weight. It's true that Eyton's 'Fibre Filler' breakfast – a blend of Bran Flakes, bran, All Bran, almonds, dried prunes, apricots and sultanas – is remarkably filling given my small portion sizes, although her breakfast advice is basically to eat commercially available, processed cereals supplemented with bran, which I'm not sure is the optimal choice for health. All the 1980s health gurus also seem to have a remarkable reliance on Ryvita, and only Ryvita, as an acceptable vehicle for cottage cheese or tuna at lunchtime (I got used to it, although without anything on top it is dry in the extreme). Nevertheless 'the focus on fibre and on filling up on fibre to help maintain a healthy weight is really good and something that has been lost', says Dr Amati – who points out that the recommended daily dietary fibre intake for adults in the UK is 30g, and that most of us don't get nearly as much as that. I'd probably be better off eating porridge for breakfast, however, or sticking with yogurt and adding seeds and fruit for fibre – 'relying on fibre-enriched packaged foods [like breakfast cereals] is not as good as eating lentils and pulses and seeds and nuts'. Move more One of the things I enjoy most about my 1980s experiment is the exercise, which is basically regular, gentle aerobics and calisthenics. 'Are you ready for the workout?' becomes my mental daily Fonda mantra. 'Very few people were qualified [to teach aerobics] at that stage, so you basically moved to music,' says Conley (who qualified as an aerobics instructor in 1991). The first time I do Jane Fonda's workout on my sitting room floor via AppleTV, about 15 minutes into it I start to understand why Fonda and her pals look so good. The woman is a machine: she can do multiple sit-ups while still looking into the camera and chatting quite happily away; the same with leg raises, jumping jacks, high kicks and more abdominal exercises – and she has the breath to do encouraging shouts and whoops along the way (everyone in Fonda's workout video is highly enthusiastic, letting out cries of excitement every few minutes). The class is fast-paced and energetic, but not difficult to keep up with – a gentle burn as opposed to the usual heart-racing HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes I'm used to. I feel pleasantly stretched at the end of it, and the next day I can definitely feel the ache in my hips. It's the same with Conley's daily exercise programme in the Inch Loss Plan, which I alternate with Fonda's workouts: the exercises are all gentle, incorporating things like stretching, sideways jogging, an 'arm and bust uplift', a 'waist whittler' and an 'outer thigh streamliner', but I ache the next day and definitely notice a toning over time, as well as improved posture. Above all, the exercises are easy to incorporate into my daily life and don't require hours of sweating at the gym. I'm not sure I'll give up my strength training sessions or weekly 'erging' on the rowing machine in the gym, but I definitely plan to continue incorporating the daily exercises into my routine. Don't snack Although the F-Plan diet book includes a 'Snack-Eaters F-Plan', which allows for five small meals a day, generally the advice from the 1980s diet queens is to stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a decent amount of time between meals to aid digestion. Used to grabbing a latte mid-morning, or a handful of nuts or a piece of toast in the afternoon, it feels odd at first to have these long gaps, but after a short while I really start to appreciate them – not only do I find my focus is clearer but it means I'm hungrier for my next meal and enjoy it more. Not grazing on chocolate on the sofa in the evening, meanwhile, means I sleep better and wake up with more energy. Definitely something I'm going to stick with. Conclusion A confession: I don't manage to stick rigidly to a 1980s regimen for the entire month. That said, I'm pleasantly surprised to have lost 5lb by the end of it, and to generally be sleeping better and feeling less stressed. The relentless focus on calorie counting that all the 1980s diets advocate feels outdated and frankly unsustainable long term: as Dr Amati points out, 'restrictive dieting actually increases the risk of low mood and depression – you need to have adequate portions'. Neither will I continue to cut out all fat from my diet, and have already reintroduced yogurt, regular cheese on top of cottage cheese (which I actually love), nuts, avocados and olive oil – although I've noticed I'm less bothered about butter and have practically lost all appetite for biscuits and cakes by following the 1980s regimen. I'm going to keep on leaving proper gaps between meals however, as well as eat more fibre – I've even started to enjoy Ryvita. As for the aerobics, I'm a proper convert. Yes Jane, I am ready for the workout.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- BBC News
Chef Aldo Zilli's mother-in-law says e-bike crash ruined her life
When 83-year-old Maureen Welch set off for her weekly aqua aerobics class in October, she had no idea that her life was about to drastically she stepped into the road at a pedestrian crossing in Lewisham, south-east London, a cyclist on a Lime bike failed to stop at the red light and hit her with full force, before riding away."All of a sudden this bike came in between the buses and went straight into me and knocked me over," she spent five weeks in hospital with a broken leg. Still recovering, she now walks with a stick. There's a commode in her living room until she can get a downstairs toilet, and wall rails have had to be fitted to help her move about."It's ruined my life," she says. Maureen's son-in-law, Italian celebrity chef Aldo Zilli, was among the first called, along with her daughter Nikki."It was absolute devastation," says Aldo."We are very close as a family. Maureen is a big part of our life, she helps with the business, we take her to Italy every year. "We have had to adapt to a new life. I had to refuse work, Nichola my wife had to refuse work. It's been life-changing for the whole family.""The fact that she was safe to cross the road and this happened, is unacceptable," Nichola says. 'No rules and regulations' The Zilli family is now calling for tighter regulation of e-bikes."Me and my husband are both very keen cyclists," says Nichola."But there are no rules and regulations in place for these electric bikes. They can speed, jump red lights, use their mobile phones, swerve onto pavements. "No-one is really taking responsibility for rules and regulations to be put into place."Her husband agrees."I see it every day, people chucking them all over the pavement outside my restaurant in Kingsway," he says. "It's atrocious. I'm upset and I want to take it further to be honest. I want go and meet the mayor of London and speak to him about it." But responsibility for managing dockless e-bikes in London such as Lime does not rest with the mayor of London, or any devolved mayor in England. Some local councils have limited powers to manage designated no-parking zones and work with operators through voluntary agreements, but they can not regulate schemes; that falls to the Department of Transport.A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: "The mayor and Transport for London continue to lobby government about the dangers of unregulated e-bikes."The government has announced plans to provide cities with the powers to manage dockless e-bikes, and improved safety should be at the centre of better regulation in the future." 'Tiny minority' The government is looking at ways of updating the decades-old cycling legislation, with new offences of causing death or serious injury by dangerous cycling to be debated soon in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. Mandatory sentences of five years for serious injury and life in prison for causing death are being proposed for those found guilty.A Department for Transport spokesperson told the BBC: "Dangerous cycling is completely unacceptable, and the safety of our roads is a key priority for this government."That's why the government is proposing new offences and penalties for dangerous cycling, updating legislation that is over 160 years old, to ensure that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full force of the law." Personal injury solicitor Ronnie Hutcheon has written about the rise in the number of e-bike incidents in believes the law has fallen behind the technology."When the original legislation was being drafted, e-bikes weren't invented," he said."What we have now is a debate about what constitutes a motorised vehicle in accordance with laws and in accordance with Motor Insurance Bureau scheme."He has his own ideas about how this sort of collision might be prevented in the future."Maybe one way might be for the riders to undergo some sort of highway code training and proficiency test. "But you can have all the tests in the world but if someone is inclined to fail to stop at a pedestrian crossing, then there is not a lot anyone can do." Spike in injuries The rise in the number of e-bike accidents is something trauma surgeons across London are also witnessing. Jaison Patel, a trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, said he saw a lot of patients injured from the powered bikes. "There's definitely been a spike, we see quite frequently that people have e-bike injuries," he Patel added injuries were more severe when compared with conventional bikes. "We're seeing things like broken collar bones, arm fractures, wrist fractures as people are falling awkwardly on their sides. We're also seeing head injuries - that's a life-changing injury for sure."He added the majority of patients were users of e-bikes, rather than pedestrians. Despite the trauma they cause, e-bikes were "good for London" Mr Patel added, but said they needed better regulations to make them safer. He also said more needed to be done to maintain the bikes as he has had patients whose brakes had failed while others have used bikes where the wheels had not been Patel added that the British Orthopaedic association had begun collecting data from hospitals to monitor injuries from e-bikes, with a view to the data being used to inform regulations around e-bike use. 'Rare' incidents Maureen and the Zilli family have found getting in touch with the right department at Lime to be a frustrating experience. Despite repeated attempts to contact Lime for information, the Metropolitan Police has also been unable to establish who was riding the bike at the time. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers were called to the incident in Molesworth Road at 11:15 BST on 2 said the pedestrian suffered "life-changing injuries" but "after extensive inquiries there was insufficient evidence to progress the case, and the investigation was filed".A Lime spokesperson told the BBC that they were "deeply shocked and saddened" and that their thoughts were with the individual involved and her loved ones."The majority of Lime riders use our service responsibly and incidents like this are rare, however individual rider behaviour is not always within our control."The spokesperson added: "Lime takes incidents of this nature very seriously and has well-established systems to help us work closely with the police. "In this case, the incident was not reported via our dedicated law enforcement reporting portal, which exists to help us share customer data with the police in a way that's compliant with UK law. "We will continue to work alongside law enforcement bodies in London to ensure these types of incidents are dealt with quickly and appropriately." For Maureen, now 84, it will be a long road back to said she used to be a social butterfly, regularly out meeting friends and going to fitness classes, but now she is mainly confined to moving around slowly in the downstairs of her home."It's made me slow down. I used to go out on the buses and trains but I can't do that now."I'm just trying to get my confidence back."
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Her rapes of a 13 year-old boy stunned the world...you won't believe what glamorous ex-teacher is now up to behind bars
A former teacher notorious for raping her 13 year-old student behind bars has landed a new education job behind bars... as an aerobics teacher. Brittany Zamora, 33, who taught sixth-grade at Las Brisas Academy in Arizona, was arrested in March 2018 after her pupil's parents discovered the torrid affair.
