23 Sep 2007, ST
More than 400 people flock to DJ Billy Wang's early morning workout sessions at Kampong Java Park
By Adeline Chia
IT IS 5.30am on a Thursday in Kampong Java Park. The area is lit by the glow of street lamps and the nearby Kandang Kerbau Hospital, but a convivial buzz uncommon in other places at this ungodly hour is building.
Scores of people are busy stretching and jogging while others mill around and chat. On the ground is a curious sight: towels, mats, newspapers and bags placed neatly in lines.
Welcome to the Great Billy Workout, a mass-exercise programme led by popular radio DJ Billy Wang, 44, better known as Dongfang Billy. Dongfang means Oriental in Chinese.
Since July, some 400 people from all over Singapore have been flocking to the park for his hour-long workout from Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays draw even more enthusiasts. There is no workout on Sundays.
The workout starts at 6am but early birds stream in from 5am. All come with a strip of stretchy cloth, a flexible tool used in many of the exercises.
At 5.15am, Wang arrives without fanfare, greets some of the people and proceeds to jog 10 laps around the lake.
At 6am on the dot, streaming with perspiration, he takes his place in front of the crowd and everyone else slips into his own spot quickly.
Following his lead, they move in unison in the leafy surrounds. While the mood is no-nonsense, there is a feeling of camaraderie as some of the crowd repeat his instructions to those at the back who can't hear.
But no instructions are really needed: Everyone knows the moves by heart.
The Taiwan-born DJ, who is now a Singaporean, is an advocate for cancer prevention and cure. In 1993, he was diagnosed with leukaemia but battled it into remission. In 2003, he founded CareCancer Society (Singapore) which helps cancer patients and their families.
He travels regularly to pick up cancer prevention tips. He says he started the workout to keep himself fit and lose weight, as well as to step up his cancer prevention outreach activities.
'In July, I told my listeners about the exercise, and so many showed up. I was really touched,' says the host of a radio programme on MediaCorp Radio's Love 97.2.
He learnt the Kampong Java routine from a Japanese naturopathy centre in Osaka last year. It supposedly stimulates the flow of lymph in the body. The lymphatic system is responsible for helping fluid and waste leave the body and for regulating the immune system.
He says: 'The Japanese masters told me, 'There is no copyright to this exercise. Take it overseas and teach others'.'
The crowd comprises middle-aged aunties, the elderly, some young ones, a handful of cancer sufferers and those wanting to lose weight.
The exercise involves stretching the arms, back and legs, usually done while pulling the cloth strip tight with the hands.
At one point, participants sit down and slap their faces, heads and bellies 150 times each to stimulate blood circulation. Near the end of the routine, they stand in a line, massage the person in front of them and finish with shouting 'Oh yeah, ni zhen bang!' (Mandarin for you are great) to their neighbours.
'Slimming down and fighting cancer can be done only in a group. We need to motivate each other,' says the 1.8m-tall Wang, who has gone from 88.6kg to a trim 71kg.
He is not the only one seeing the benefits. Retiree Angel Tan, 57, says: 'Following his food recipes on his show and his exercise, I went from an XL to S or M.'
Madam Lin Ai Lin, 58, who used to suffer from knee and ankle pains, says she can walk four flights of stairs without sweating. The retiree adds: 'I've lost 10kg since I started.'
But some take offence when LifeStyle suggests that his star power might be a vital attraction. Housewife Yoyo Chia, 45, retorts: 'I'm not exercising because I'm chasing Billy. It's the morning and you're sleeping like a log while I'm here working up a sweat. So who benefits?'
At 7am, when the gentle morning sun spills into the park, most people hurry off to work, breakfast or back home to prepare themselves to listen to Wang's radio programme from 10am to 1pm.
As for Wang, it's back to his nearby Thomson Road penthouse for a shower and a breakfast of vegetables and fruit before the bachelor heads to the MediaCorp studio for work.
Of his hectic schedule, he says: 'Am I tired? Of course. But when I see the faces of those who show up, it's definitely worth my time.'
---------------------------------
Work out at home, too
CAN'T make it down to Billy Wang's early morning workouts? You can do the exercises at home.
All you need is a thin, stretchy strip of cloth about 1.5m long, preferably cut from a T-shirt.
The moves are said to stimulate the lymphatic system by stretching different parts of the body.
This is a selection of poses from the workout, and they are not in the order done at the park.
# With legs two shoulder-widths apart, roll the cloth until they are a handspan apart. Bend forward and hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# Hold the cloth above your head. Then bend to the right to stretch the body. Count to eight. Do four sets. Repeat with the opposite side.
# Wrap the cloth around your hands and lift them above your head, shoulder- width apart. Keep feet together and head facing up. Hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# Stretch the cloth around biceps with hands in fists pushing at the small of your back. Bend backwards with knees bent and look up. Hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# With legs two shoulder-widths apart, stretch out arms and hold the cloth behind your back. Turn the body to the right. Count to eight. Do four sets. Switch sides.
# A DVD has been made of the workout but it will be given only to ticket-holders of 365 Let Love Begin - Top 10 Cancer Fighter Awards at Singapore Expo's Max Pavilion on Oct13 from 2 to 10.30pm.
Tickets at $28, $48, $68, $88 and $100 from www.tdc. sg or call 6296-2929.
More than 400 people flock to DJ Billy Wang's early morning workout sessions at Kampong Java Park
By Adeline Chia
IT IS 5.30am on a Thursday in Kampong Java Park. The area is lit by the glow of street lamps and the nearby Kandang Kerbau Hospital, but a convivial buzz uncommon in other places at this ungodly hour is building.
Scores of people are busy stretching and jogging while others mill around and chat. On the ground is a curious sight: towels, mats, newspapers and bags placed neatly in lines.
Welcome to the Great Billy Workout, a mass-exercise programme led by popular radio DJ Billy Wang, 44, better known as Dongfang Billy. Dongfang means Oriental in Chinese.
Since July, some 400 people from all over Singapore have been flocking to the park for his hour-long workout from Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays draw even more enthusiasts. There is no workout on Sundays.
The workout starts at 6am but early birds stream in from 5am. All come with a strip of stretchy cloth, a flexible tool used in many of the exercises.
At 5.15am, Wang arrives without fanfare, greets some of the people and proceeds to jog 10 laps around the lake.
At 6am on the dot, streaming with perspiration, he takes his place in front of the crowd and everyone else slips into his own spot quickly.
Following his lead, they move in unison in the leafy surrounds. While the mood is no-nonsense, there is a feeling of camaraderie as some of the crowd repeat his instructions to those at the back who can't hear.
But no instructions are really needed: Everyone knows the moves by heart.
The Taiwan-born DJ, who is now a Singaporean, is an advocate for cancer prevention and cure. In 1993, he was diagnosed with leukaemia but battled it into remission. In 2003, he founded CareCancer Society (Singapore) which helps cancer patients and their families.
He travels regularly to pick up cancer prevention tips. He says he started the workout to keep himself fit and lose weight, as well as to step up his cancer prevention outreach activities.
'In July, I told my listeners about the exercise, and so many showed up. I was really touched,' says the host of a radio programme on MediaCorp Radio's Love 97.2.
He learnt the Kampong Java routine from a Japanese naturopathy centre in Osaka last year. It supposedly stimulates the flow of lymph in the body. The lymphatic system is responsible for helping fluid and waste leave the body and for regulating the immune system.
He says: 'The Japanese masters told me, 'There is no copyright to this exercise. Take it overseas and teach others'.'
The crowd comprises middle-aged aunties, the elderly, some young ones, a handful of cancer sufferers and those wanting to lose weight.
The exercise involves stretching the arms, back and legs, usually done while pulling the cloth strip tight with the hands.
At one point, participants sit down and slap their faces, heads and bellies 150 times each to stimulate blood circulation. Near the end of the routine, they stand in a line, massage the person in front of them and finish with shouting 'Oh yeah, ni zhen bang!' (Mandarin for you are great) to their neighbours.
'Slimming down and fighting cancer can be done only in a group. We need to motivate each other,' says the 1.8m-tall Wang, who has gone from 88.6kg to a trim 71kg.
He is not the only one seeing the benefits. Retiree Angel Tan, 57, says: 'Following his food recipes on his show and his exercise, I went from an XL to S or M.'
Madam Lin Ai Lin, 58, who used to suffer from knee and ankle pains, says she can walk four flights of stairs without sweating. The retiree adds: 'I've lost 10kg since I started.'
But some take offence when LifeStyle suggests that his star power might be a vital attraction. Housewife Yoyo Chia, 45, retorts: 'I'm not exercising because I'm chasing Billy. It's the morning and you're sleeping like a log while I'm here working up a sweat. So who benefits?'
At 7am, when the gentle morning sun spills into the park, most people hurry off to work, breakfast or back home to prepare themselves to listen to Wang's radio programme from 10am to 1pm.
As for Wang, it's back to his nearby Thomson Road penthouse for a shower and a breakfast of vegetables and fruit before the bachelor heads to the MediaCorp studio for work.
Of his hectic schedule, he says: 'Am I tired? Of course. But when I see the faces of those who show up, it's definitely worth my time.'
---------------------------------
Work out at home, too
CAN'T make it down to Billy Wang's early morning workouts? You can do the exercises at home.
All you need is a thin, stretchy strip of cloth about 1.5m long, preferably cut from a T-shirt.
The moves are said to stimulate the lymphatic system by stretching different parts of the body.
This is a selection of poses from the workout, and they are not in the order done at the park.
# With legs two shoulder-widths apart, roll the cloth until they are a handspan apart. Bend forward and hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# Hold the cloth above your head. Then bend to the right to stretch the body. Count to eight. Do four sets. Repeat with the opposite side.
# Wrap the cloth around your hands and lift them above your head, shoulder- width apart. Keep feet together and head facing up. Hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# Stretch the cloth around biceps with hands in fists pushing at the small of your back. Bend backwards with knees bent and look up. Hold for eight counts. Do eight sets.
# With legs two shoulder-widths apart, stretch out arms and hold the cloth behind your back. Turn the body to the right. Count to eight. Do four sets. Switch sides.
# A DVD has been made of the workout but it will be given only to ticket-holders of 365 Let Love Begin - Top 10 Cancer Fighter Awards at Singapore Expo's Max Pavilion on Oct13 from 2 to 10.30pm.
Tickets at $28, $48, $68, $88 and $100 from www.tdc. sg or call 6296-2929.
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