Photo: Bless Inc. Asia Private Limited
The search for the hottest bods is on, as one competition makes its entrance into the fitness sphere this year. Thirty-two contestants will take to the stage on August 25 in an inaugural contest called Fitness Super Star 2018. They’ll be judged on three key points: their fitness, charisma and style.
Organized and produced by Hideki Akiyoshi, creative consultant and fashion producer extraordinaire, the competition isn’t a “muscle contest”. He notes that “there’s an upsurge of individuals who take great care of their health, looks and physiques, and who are sharing their training regimens and results on social media”.
“Fitness Super Star is created with the objective of putting a spotlight on these individuals” and finding the next big thing in fitness who can powerfully express their passion, he says.
He’ll be judging these hotties along with former actor and Wushu World Champion and Asian Games medalist Vincent Ng; TV producer Najip Ali; CEO of FLY Entertainment Irene Ang; owner of Fitness Factory and Asian bodybuilding champion Augustine Lee; and fitness consultant and founder of D’Fitness, Darren Stephen Lim.
In the run-up to the contest, these shredded lads and lasses share a few tips on how they stay shredded.
Age: 23
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Hot tip: “Most people think that just because your favourite fitness models / athletes train 5-6 times a week, 2-3 hours each time… then they have to do the same. The idea is to do what works for YOU — to train and eat optimally to what suits your lifestyle and preferences,” he wrote in a post on Instagram.
Photo: pressonpreston/Instagram
Age: 28
Occupation: Fitness Blogger
Hot tip: She stays motivated by working out in cute outfits. And the girl ismotivated. “The harder the Struggle the more Glorious the triumph,” she wrote on Insta. She doesn’t stint, either. Once, when she was working on a hip thrust progression routine, she committed to doing hip thrusts “3 times per week even when… [I] was overseas or on holiday”, she told us. She stresses to never “skip Glutes day” because “glutes come first”! The results show, sister.
Photo: fitfoodie_mia/Instagram
Age: 41
Occupation: Self Employed
Hot tip: Be aware of what you eat, and why something is good for you (or not). In one Instagram post, he debunked the “carb myth”. While rice is a carb and can add to weight gain, “fruits are carbs too, but they take time to digest, which is great when you are on a diet”, he wrote. His point: Fruits in their whole forms (not juice) are good carbs thanks to the huge punch of dietary fibre and the vitamins they provide. “Vitamin C is key when you are dieting, and hence I make sure I have a good amount of fruits and dark leafy green vegetables (every day),” he wrote.
Photo: super.vinlam/Instagram
Age: 27
Occupation: Yoga Instructor
Hot tip: For Munmun, “success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally… it comes from what you do CONSISTENTLY”. Even simple moves or routines, done every day, can make a big difference. She recommends a quick-calorie burn of “1 minute of Jumping Jacks, 30 seconds of High Knees, 30 repitions of squats”.
Photo: munmunlim/Instagram
Age: 27
Occupation: Civil Servant
Hot tip: For great shoulder mass and definition, Ismail recommends a 7-step routine. According to his Instagram account, the first step starts off with a “barbell overhead press as the primary strength movement, hitting 4 sets of 5 repetitions”. Next up is a Smith Machine incline press — 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Third, he does a flat machine chest press — 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps. Then it’s over to a machine shoulder press (4 sets of 8 to 10 reps) while the 5th and 6th steps comprise “any type of chest flys (cable or dumbells) and side lateral raises”. The last exercise for this routine is “any Triceps movement for 4 to 5 sets, 10 to 12 reps”. Talk about a burn!
Photo: caffeineforstrength/Instagram
Age: 28
Occupation: Creative Editor
Hot tip: This girl likes to take life by the throat and shake it. She’s a fan of travel and a it of #YOLO, going by her Instagram. “Summer? It’s the smell of golden skin, seaweed and coconuts (and a bit of bourbon),” she wrote in an Insta post from a Thailand holiday. When it comes to lifestyle choices, she tells us that “gone are the days when people… relied on doughnuts and coffee to survive. You have no excuse not to keep fit and healthy”.
Photo: Bless Inc. Asia Private Limited
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Hot tip: Nothing is better than a good set of toned biceps. Koh’s arm-training routine comprises 7 exercises, which includes “1. machine preacher curl | 5×8-15 reps, 2. smith machine drag curls | 4×8 – 15reps, 3. alternate dumbbell curl | 4×10 – 20reps (per arm), 4. seated hammer curls | 5×10 – 15reps (per arm), 5. machine tricep extension | 5×10 – 15 reps, 6. incline skull crusher | 4×6 – 15reps, 7. cable pushdown | 7×8 – 20 reps.”
Photo: benthegymrat/Instagram
Age: 30
Occupation: Founder of luxe performance office wear clothing line, Goya The Label
Hot tip: For Sabrina, “legs day” at the gym is important. This comprises “100 squat jumps, 5×12 weighted squats, 20 static lunges, 4 superset deadlifts and hamstring curls, 6×30 dumbbell walking lunges [and] then 5 mins of abs.”
Photo: sabsiez/Instagram
Age: 28
Occupation: Personal Trainer
Hot tip: He’s hit competitions before, and is a pro when it comes to training for them. When asked about his diet, he said: “To have a great transformation of your own, one of the most important factors (is) sufficient protein intake.” He depends on “oily fishes such as sardines and tuna which contain Omega 3s” for protein.
Photo: @gordantay/Instagram
Age: 39
Occupation: Admin Executive
Hot tip: To get her toned back, arms and shoulders, Jojo is keen on deadlifts, bent over rows, seated cable rows, and latpulls. She makes sure to incorporate these exercises into her routine three times a week, and we can tell from her Insta feed that they’re her favourites. She rocks weights of about 9kg when doing dumbell shoulder raises, too, from what we can see!
Photo: Bless Inc. Asia Private Limited
Age: 28
Occupation: Music Teacher
Hot tip: “Abs are made in kitchen,” he wrote on Instagram. “I often get asked how many times I train abs in a week, what kind of abs exercises I do,” he added. The answer? Astoundingly, he only focuses on abs once a week, and doesn’t buy into “fancy exercises” or weights, relying instead on body-weight movements. “But I eat healthy foods for my abs to show”, he said, citing “cleaner foods” especially during competition time so that shredded abs are the first thing you see.
Photo: kith_/Instagram
Age: 21
Occupation: Personal Trainer
Hot tip: For Regine, “the body achieves what the mind believes”. She weight trains about 5 times a week and is able to do 145-kg deadlifts — twice her weight! She is able to do 110kg squats as well. She counts her macros, but keeps things flexible for herself so it doesn’t deter her from eating out with family and friends.
Photo: xoregine/Instagram
Age: 25
Occupation: Air Steward
Hot tip: Off-season, when he isn’t prepping for competition, Jeremy keeps his calorie consumption to around 3,500 – 4,000 calories per day. He tells us that he uses an app, MyFitnessPal, to track his calories according to the weight of food or per serving. He even brings along around a mini weighing scale when he eats out, so he’s able to weigh his food. During competition season, he lowers his intake of calories to 2,400 calories per day for 2 months before competition. Then, his diet consists of low carbs, high protein and a moderate fat intake. His source of protein comes from chicken, prawns, eggs, salmon. He adheres to eating low-glycemic index carbs, like basmati rice, oatmeal or wheat bread.
Photo: jeremy1im/Instagram
Age: 24
Occupation: Personal Trainer
Hot tip: To get Ye Jin’s abs, follow her routine: 3 sets of 15 hanging leg raises, 3 sets of 20 crunches and cardio. She does this 4 times a week, she told us. She’s a big believer that “you can adjust your diet” and a typical meal for her comprises loads of veggies and protein. She watches her carb intake, too, although from her Instagram, we do see that she sometimes makes protein powder oatmeal cookies as a treat, and is partial to Korean snacks!
Photo: Bless Inc. Asia Private Limited
Age: 24
Occupation: Gym Owner
Hot tip: Yoshiki actually eats 5 meals a day. This, he says, works best for him when it comes to building and sustaining muscles, and provides him with adequate nurtition while boosting his metabolism. He avoids sugar as much as possible because he takes other forms of carbs consistently, he adds.
Photo: yoshiki.fit/Instagram
Age: 43
Occupation: Finance Director
Hot tip: She makes sure she has a “reward meal” from time to time when it comes to her diet. But even then, she still keeps close to her ideal meal choice of one lean protein main (grilled fish is her favourite) on a salad base, usually with something like roasted pumpkin and poached broccoli, and topped with a tomato salsa. This keeps her macro count in check. “You do have to be disciplined,” she says.
Photo: liftngrow/Instagram
Age: 23
Occupation: Personal Trainer
Hot tip: “Fitness is not a chore, it’s a lifestyle,” he says. Marseus is a believer in fasted cardio — doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning — but makes sure he takes BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), a fitness supplement which is said to boost muscle growth and exercise performance. This helps him lower his body-fat percentage, he says. When it comes to working out, he makes sure to warm up very thoroughly and keep the exercises short and simple, usually isolating body parts and ending off with abdominal and oblique exercises.
Photo: islapeuu/Instagram
Age: 25
Occupation: Associate Producer
Hot tip: She’s into trying almost anything, from wakeboarding to hiking, as we can tell by her Instagram. And she doesn’t mind being called “Skinny Fat”, she says with self-deprecating humour. “I’m here to show them that it’s as real as it gets!” she says.
Photo: Bless Inc. Asia Private Limited
Age: 26
Occupation: PhD Student
Hot tip: “Since I work as a Ph.D researcher during the day, I have so little time to work out,” he tells us. He adheres to a Push/Pull/Legs split routine on a three-day cycle. “But before I jump into my main workout, I always do 15 minutes of 15% incline 6.5km/h cardio… This way I am warmed up enough to safely execute my lifts and don’t have to stress about cardio when I finish,” he adds.
Photo: ps.coco/Instagram
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