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Mid-Life Fitness Training: Views From A Middle-Aged Singapore Personal Trainer

It has been almost 3 years since I officially reached and crossed the middle-age point of life (usually defined as being  40 years and above here in Singapore). Thankfully, I have managed to retain most of my fitness, youthfulness and vigour (I've been told by some quarters that I can still pass myself off as someone in the early 30's or even in the late 20's; and I think my current fitness status is still comparable to someone in the mid-to-late 20s or so) - thanks in a large part to God's grace in my life, the active and rugged fitness lifestyle that I lead, and of course, the good genes that I've inherited from my parents ..... Me - warts and all, coming up to my 43rd birthday in a few months' time Whatever it is, I'm incredibly thankful that up to now, I'm still in a position to pursue my passion in fitness both in my personal and professional life. As I continue to look forward to life in my mid-forties and beyond, I can't help but n

Fitness Training Dilemma: Aesthetics, Function Or Both?

Having had the privilege and honour to work with a large diversity of fitness clients throughout my 10-over years as a Fitness Coach and Personal Trainer in Singapore, I dare say I have encountered almost every conceivable fitness request out there (barring perhaps the most bizarre ones!!!). If I were to freely generalize, my clients may be grouped generally into 3 main categories: 1) Those who come to me for purely aesthetic reasons, 2) Those come to me for functional (practical) reasons, and 3) Those who come to me for a little of both. For those who seek out our fitness services for purely aesthetic reasons, are the individuals who are usually dissatisfied with how they look - their outward appearance and bodily-aesthetics - and are looking to transform themselves into a BETTER version of who they are now - usually into the  ideal figure or physique that they have in mind. Many of these clients choose either an integrated weight-loss approach , a toning/shaping approach or

Fitness Training When Vacationing Or Traveling

The recent Singapore school holiday period served up a great opportunity for me to practise what I always preach - in terms of fitness programming and working-out while traveling. Being a great believer in improvised fitness programming - training WHEREVER you are - (especially with regards to vacation travels or while on the roads), I certainly relished the opportunity to put into practice what I always share with my clients in my Travel Fitness Program  .... As it is, during the recent June holidays, as part of our "Bi-Annual Family Get-Away" ritual, my wife and I decided to bring the kids over to neighbouring Malaysia - Genting Highlands - for a cool retreat, away from the sweltering heat that had engulfed Singapore for the past few weeks. Aerial Overview Of Genting Highlands As Seen On A Post Card Though the trip was for less than a week, still I knew I had to get my travel workout routine planned out so as to make the best use of the time available. Faithf

Mother's Day Thoughts: Fitness And Parenthood In Singapore

I may be dead wrong, but from my observations, I have noticed that parenthood often seems to sound the death knell of one's fitness goals and aspirations  for the majority of women and men here in Singapore. From time and again, I've noticed in quite a number of friends, acquaintances, relatives and even clients - how parenthood often has a profound NEGATIVE impact on their fitness pursuits. From individuals who once pursued fitness relentlessly and single-mindedly, to become people who view fitness with an air of indifference and malaise once the kids start to come ...... the transformation is often drastic and startling. Not too sure if this is symptomatic of other cultures and countries too, but here in Singapore,  personal fitness  really does seem to take a backseat to the family, in one way or another. And as a parent and father of 2 young kids (aged 6 and 9) myself, I can't help but nod in agreement sometimes whenever my clients complain to me how challengi

Use Of Stairs In A Gym-Free Fitness Program

To most people, a flight of stairs is just THAT - an environmental object that can be used to take you from a lower point to a higher point, or vice versa. But to a fitness professional and a gym-less training advocate like myself, I like to see beyond the humble usefulness of stairs in our daily lives to something more extraordinary , to something that can be surprisingly and tremendously useful to the average man/woman who wants to lose weight , fight flab , increase speed or agility , or to simply improve overall fitness ! Stair-Training: A Great Form Of Fitness Workout Frankly, in my personal opinion, I think that stairs training has been greatly over-looked by the Singapore fitness community at large - even by us, the so-called gym-free brigade . Perhaps it 's due to the fact that stairs are such common place environmental objects that few if any, really pay much attention to them, much less even think of using them as a fitness training tool. Or perhaps, it'

The Case For Home Fitness Training

In recent years here in Singapore, I have noticed more and more people ditching their gym memberships in favour of working-out in the comfort and convenience of their own homes. As far as I know, a lot of it is due to "push" factors caused by the commercial gym facilities themselves, issues such as: over-crowding ,  over-commercialization, out-of-the-way locations , "one-size-fits-all" fitness programs , high-pressure sales tactics , exorbitant & complicated membership plans etc - just to name a few...... On the other hand, quite a bit of it is also down to people's gradual realization (and perhaps, common sense finally prevailing) that they can actually get a workout as good as, if not better than at any commercial gym - right within their homes - if they have the appropriate knowledge and guidance! Home Fitness Right In The Living Room Home Fitness Programs  - where one basically works out within one's own private and personal residence

The Art Of Gym-Less Fitness Training

In the years spanning over a decade as a fitness professional in Singapore, I've come across countless individuals who always seem to complain that their fitness regimes are disrupted whenever they have to travel abroad or when they can't make it to the gym for one reason or another. Whatever it is, there is always some reason, somehow, out there (or should we call them, excuses ???) that prevents them from working-out. Ironically, in my opinion, most of these people could have easily maintained their fitness regimes without much ado and fuss - if and only if - they have first bothered to educate themselves on the basics behind gym-less or gym-free training . With knowledge on how to train Gym-Free, one can basically ELIMINATE almost all excuses for NOT exercising or sticking to one's fitness program....... To put it another way - if you have learnt the principles behind gym-less training, you could practically choose to work-out anywhere - and by Anywhere , I real

The Problem With Singapore's Gyms And Fitness Centres

Hi folks - New Year greetings and blessings to each and every one of you out there. It's 2012 - and this is my first blog entry for the year coming to you straight from the Republic Of Singapore. I would like to start the year by looking at some of the issues plaguing many of our local Singapore gyms and fitness centres nowadays. As most of you know, the fitness scene in Singapore has sort of EXPLODED in the last couple of years, and everywhere you turn, you could practically see gyms, fitness centres and exercise studios  mushrooming across the nation. Unfortunately, this exponential growth in the gym business has also led to the propagation and valorization of gym training through rose-tinted lenses - while ignoring the beauty and effectiveness of other non-traditional fitness approaches - such as outdoor fitness training - that are equally, if not more, effective. To be honest, many of these folks promoting the GYM as a "Be All and End All" of fitness - do