Some (hopefully, most) of you might have already heard about ELITE 2015, the event that aims to find the fittest in Singapore. I’ve been asked about my involvement, so I thought I would elaborate more on the background of ELITE 2015. I will call it my baby; heck, it is my baby. I came up with the concept and there were things in my favour to make it happen. However, as life has it, I ran into obstacle after obstacle but finally it all fell into place and I’m proud to present to you ELITE 2015, the true test of fitness.
There are two qualifying rounds – Metcon on 19 April and Power on 19 July – before the Grand Finals on 18 October. All three events will be held at Bugis Junction in public space and participants will compete across Men’s Open, Women’s Open and Team (2 guy + 2 girls).
During the lunch break, there will also be public demonstrations and workshops, such as a powerlifting demo by EPN athlete Derrick Kim and a mass HIIT workout by Kelly Latimer – who is also hosting our event.
So, why did I create ELITE 2015?
Here are five reasons why:
1) I wanted to do something for the fitness community.
I started out in cars and motorsports, establishing my ground there, but in recent years the automotive industry has not been as robust as it once was, so I slowly moved the fitness industry and I’m enjoying it so far. Through my articles, I’ve met a lot of people in the fitness industry and I’ve made good friends along the way too. I just wanted to do something for the community and bring like-minded people together.
2) I wanted to give people a purpose to their training.
I’ve met many gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts on this journey and I often ask, “So, what are you training for?” The most common responses are, “I ate too much this week.”, “So I can eat what I want and not feel guilty.”, “I just enjoy working out.” True, while there is no need to participate in anything competitive through your training, I just thought a grassroots-type of fitness competition would be fun and also give everyone something to look forward to!
3) I saw the need for such a competition.
Through my journalism work, I’ve had the opportunity to interview people from different types of sports and fitness activities. Different people believe in different things and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I wanted something that would bring endurance and strength together. It’s functional! If you can do the following, then you are good to go for ELITE 2015:
4) I believe in all-rounded fitness.
We all have different schools of thought when it comes to fitness. Some feel being able to run marathons fast is a good indicator of fitness, others feel being strong and able to lift heavy is fitness. For me, I feel that fitness is defined by work capacity – essentially how much you can output regardless of sport. For example, you can do 20 burpees in 1 minute today, but six months later you can do 40 burpees in 1 minute. That’s improving of fitness to me.
I believe in all-rounded fitness and not one-dimensional – being fit to me is being able to run, lift, jump – essentially being functional.
5) I wanted to bring fitness to the masses.
Some people have asked why I want to rack up such a huge budget and have it in a shopping mall instead of at a gym. Yes, the bills are higher but this is the best way to reach the public. It’ll get them curious and hey, you have an audience to perform for when you compete! LOL!
Alright, this is really a big step for me and I truly appreciate everyone who has been helping and supporting me. Slots are filling up, so secure your slot before we close registration on 9 April! OH, the early bird promo will end on 29 March though!
