The new look Academy put a smile on my face.

Come to think of it, stepping into the Academy always does. But seeing it with a new coat of paint, well you know, it’s a little like seeing your wife for many years put on a new sexy dress.

‘Now come make sweet love to me’ I almost hear the Academy whisper oh-so-softly.

And just as you take off your shoes and step into class, you see a note on the whiteboard, written in that all-too-familiar juvenile scrawl that can only be Quek or Rafael’s handiwork ‘NO CLASS TILL 4^th JANUARY’

Heartbroken, you run off into the sunset, hell-bent on having an affair with all the other loves of your lives. Holidays, parties, slacking around.

And then by the time you come back, you look like an out of shape couch potato. You stare at the naked Academy mirror. Bathed in the warm glow of throbbing yellow (that’s the walls). And you say to yourself, ‘It’s not my fault! I was just taking a break!’

Don’t worry. The Academy won’t judge you. You’ll do that for yourself. Specially after you see the rest of the crew walk in and you wondered out loud, ‘How come THEY still look fine/hot/sexy/fit?’

Well, it’s down to maintenance. Different people have different maintenance needs. Here are a few rumours I’ve heard from different people. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but you guys can ask them yourselves.

Cueca – He does as many situps as Christiano Ronaldo. That’s 3500 a day. ‘If I can’t look like him, I can at least have his abs!’ Cueca uses his free time, epecially during a break to just do any form of simple exercise in between his celebrations.

Rafa – The academy is closed for classes! But that doesn’t mean my heart and body is closed! And so, Rafa is spotted in the park, at the gym and probably in the academy as well. As he puts it, ‘eu sou Bantus capoeira’ means that you never forget for a moment that you are a Bantus capoeirista. And all the training and preparation that comes with it.

Coelho – is very Chinese so he doesn’t celebrate Christmas and is actually working this Merry Season. He secretly stretches with splits in the lifts, calve lifts when waiting for people, and does ab crunches wherever he walks. Also has one meal of non-sugared cereal a day (he’s a rabbit after all)

The bottom line is. Party Hard. But Prepare Harder. The new look Academy has never looked sexier. Make sure you don’t disappoint when you return to her.

And if you do have any off-season training tips and techniques of your own, no matter how weird, wild or stupid, (the funniest one gets a coffee from Coelho), drop a comment!

Photos courtesy of Wong. Add him as a friend on FB. ‘Debrizio Wong’ and check out more of his Bantus photo collection!