Metropolitant’s Fitspiration – Denise Keller

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Fitspiration – Messages posted along with pictures of athletes to motivate and inspire you to persevere through exercise.
The Metropolitant team scour the internet and speak to folks dedicated to their craft. This new column will showcase fitness enthusiast sharing more about themselves and their favorite exercise. Stay tuned to get inspired and motivated before your next workout!

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This week, we speak to Singapore-born and raised, Eurasian Denise Keller. International model, VJ, TV presenter, Master of Ceremonies and now, award-winning producer, Denise Keller adds a new achievement to her stellar resume. Winner of the “Best Entertainment Presenter or Host” at the Asian Television Awards 2011 (ATV) for her long-running and popular Discovery Channel program – “ Passage to Malaysia”, Denise’s own production company No Quarter, also bagged the highly coveted ‘Best Cinematography’ award at the same awards.

She is no stranger to most of us, but we want to know her secret to that gorgeous svelte figure

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M: Hey Denise, care to tell us more about your fitness goal?

D: My fitness goal is to perfect my handstand press ups. I’m getting more and more stable standing on my hands but I’d really like to float and fly in my yoga practice. Yes, it sounds very cirque du soleil but there is a certain grace in the strength yogis develop over time.The core work especially is remarkably refined. But above all, I’m really trying to bring more awareness into my yoga practice to be a better teacher.

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M: Sounds exciting. What’s your daily workout like?

I do yoga every day, morning (3hrs max) and in the evenings, I try to do as much yin yoga in front of tv or before I head to bed. But I also love a good spinning class and Crucycle gets me going at 7am sometimes.

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M: Tell us, what is your diet like?

My diet is vegetarian with lots of whole grains and leafy greens, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds. People have joked about my diet because I like to ‘tapau’ avocados to China (for work) or carry a small bottle of pink salt wherever I go. But I’m NOT Vegan because I love eggy brunches too much and have a real thing for smelly cheeses. I don’t restrict my diet, I just don’t like to eat meat in general, even fish sometimes makes me question its sourcing policy.

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M: Hmmm, sounds interesting. Why this choice of diet?

D: I think it’s our human right to question food sources and be responsible for our environment. I like the farm to table consciousness in SF and many other great green cities. The green living is just a moral thing I feel strongly about. I don’t do this because it’s ‘a diet’. I have my moments where I wonder how things taste like. I recently had an In & Out Burger, a ‘double-double’ to be exact, because everyone raved about it in California, so I crossed over to the dark side and it was uber yum but it also made me a little ill because my stomach couldn’t break down the meat as well. But still, it was awesome and now I can say I had it, been there and it’s done. I’m open to stuff and daring enough to try new foods for sure, it’s kinda part of my job as a travel host. But I really don’t need to eat worms or bugs for protein every day.

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M: That is comforting to hear. Can you tell us your favorite workout?

D: My Favourite workout right now is a combo of hardcore cardio like spinning and hardcore yoga 🙂 I think the combo is fantastic, but mostly I love walking or running with my dachshund Ziggy. He has such short legs but he can totally outrun me when he sees a squirrel.

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M: What are your guilty pleasures?

D: Pizza, polenta chips, salty liquorice, truffle pecorino cheese popcorn, gummy bears, pancakes, waffles, anything chocolate. I’ll succumb to my fave local dishes like a laksa or anything Indian (curries, pratas, mmmm)

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M:  What’s next for you in the world of yoga?

D: A couple more teacher trainer programmes this year, one on meditation and another advanced 300hr course that’ll take a month in Thailand. Teaching here and there where I have time, some privates and a studio I can’t mention just yet!

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M: That sounds exciting! What are you working on currently?

D: Wrapping up filming for a documentary on the Silk Road titled “Expedition X: The Silk Road Rising” on Discovery Channel. I am always travelling for work and for this particular documentary, I made my maiden trip to Kazakstan!

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M: We did lots of handstand poses today! How did you manage to maintain a gorgeous face throughout? Hahhaa!

D: Marysia is the secret. She has incredible instructions that make you go ‘duh’ and I quite like thinking upside down. It’s fun, playful and childlike to jump around like a kid all over again and it definitely tones your body up if you do it regularly. Her Surya (Handstands) builds strength, stamina with a lot of giggles.

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A big thank you to the ever gorgeous, fit and amazing Denise Keller for taking time off for this interview. We hope she inspires and motivate you to get off the couch for a workout!

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Shoot Location: Pure Yoga
Photographer: Wilsurn Lim

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