Stepping up my fitness level has always been at the back of my mind, but my post-delivery scare made me hold back on working out :(

18 months post-partum, I was ready and eager to bounce back. I’m stoked to share that there are free activities in Singapore to go for! Yup, keeping healthy need not always equate to a gym membership or unlimited access to dance studios. In fact, I’ve been attending these free fitness sessions since last year and am really thankful that they are:

• near my workplace and home, allowing me to save on travelling time
• FREE! No need to pay any monthly subscription or feel the pinch if I can’t attend a particular class
• available in different varieties: I’ve tried Bokwa, Piloxing, Yoga, K-Cardio, and enjoy all of them! There are more activities added this year, so you’ll need to check the schedule.

YAY to free fitness programmes in Singapore, islandwide!

These FREE fitness and workout classes are organised by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). They are happening islandwide at various spaces including malls and led by fitness instructors. Find a fitness class near you: here. Before I go further, this is based on my personal experience and none of this is sponsored in any way!

Heh! If you’ve been following my adventures on Instagram, you would already have seen me in my fitness attires and frazzled hair post-workout since August 2017.

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FITNESS FTW / 💪🏼YAYS to starting the week with a yoga workout! Plus, it was free, wasn't too big a group, and super accessible. What more could I ask for, except to haul my lazy bones over! 😝 . Seriously, I should have loaded up on carbs before a fitness regime. Food images were floating all over my mind the whole time, I actually had to consciously block them out and focus. NAMASTE! 🙏🏻 Hope you had a brilliant start to the new week, everyone! ❤️

A post shared by 🦉d.e.e.d.e.e. 🐨 (@deedeedee13) on Aug 28, 2017 at 4:54am PDT

Some of the activities are high-intensity programmes, so my heart definitely had a taste of true blue workouts. Some were more manageable yet muscle-awakening types, and they were a good blend of the variety of exercises I could partake in. The activities are opened to the public, and just about anyone can attend. Of course, if you do have prevailing health conditions, do check with your doctor before embarking on any fitness programme!

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PILOXING FTW / #throwback to yesterday's workout which literally left my heart pumping! My first attempt at Piloxing, a high intensity fusion of Boxing, Pilates and Dance, and I'm glad to report that I was still breathing at the end of the session! 🤣 . From start to end, it was nothing but an engaging 50-min of moves and grooves. The hapz music, energetic instructor (Justina's an inspiring mum of 2 teenagers!😵), and the positive energy from the participants were nothing short of pure fun and motivation for me to keep up. It was almost like Mambo Night at Zouk with a professional teaching you to move that body! Adrenaline high, seriously! Not to mention that the median age was probably 10 years older than I was, it was indeed a supercharged activity to be involved in. So glad to experience it for myself, and the best part (wait for this!) – it was a FREE session organised by @hpbsg 😜1 hour of FREE fun to stay active, why not? #savvynotcheapo . P/S: These free workout Programmes are conducted at open public spaces, usually outdoors without aircon. We got the attention of curious onlookers but I was so happily focused on Justina and keeping up with those punches and stretches, it was hardly a concern for me 🤗 #notsponsored

A post shared by 🦉d.e.e.d.e.e. 🐨 (@deedeedee13) on Sep 7, 2017 at 9:07am PDT

Besides all those bonus points that score with me, I’d like to share the other side of things too:

• Workouts are conducted in open spaces, depending on area catered for the activity
• Example for Yoga, it’s actually in an intimate area outside the Library at the Lifelong Learning Centre. The area is cordoned off during class and on regular days, it’s a public lounge area. There are no mirrors unlike at a studio, and you will need to bring your own yoga mat.
• Piloxing and Zumba are held at Paya Lebar Square near the taxi stand/bus stop. There’s lots of human traffic and there will be people who stop and flash out their mobiles to snap because… well, how often do you see a group of 40 pax or more working out? :P But to be honest, when you’re engrossed in following the instructor and focused on exercising, these things don’t really matter… at least it was like that for me!

As much as I tried to be diligent in keeping up with the momentum, life throws curveballs to turbo charge my valves once in a while.

Bugs visited the family and I took weeks to recover, other matters cropped up and finally……. (I know, excuses!) 2017 came to an end.

So with the new year, that means new beginnings for setting things right again! :D And, I’m glad to resume the fitness sessions! WOOHOO! Better yet, HPB has added a wider variety of activities for Mondays to Fridays, and that made it more exciting to try new activities on the days that work for me! To top it off, the centres nearest to me (Lifelong Learning Institute and Paya Lebar Square) are also part of the Paya Lebar Steps Up Challenge which converts the steps into cash vouchers to be donated to charity!

Sharing a snippet of the challenge details:

These activities are organised as part of Paya Lebar Steps Up, an initiative for workers to keep active and contribute to Charity at Paya Lebar precinct from the 1st of January to the 2nd February 2018.

Workers in Paya Lebar can earn points for Paya Lebar Steps Up on the Healthy 365 app, when they participate in the participating organised Physical Activities at Paya Lebar or use the stairs at Lifelong Learning Institute by scanning QR codes. The points gained will go towards Giant vouchers which will go towards charity organisation, Food from the Heart’s Community Food Pack Programme, specifically for 100 needy families from Kolam Ayer Distribution Centre. For every $5 raised, Giant will add on a box of SUN HARVEST Cornflakes.

Earn 80 points every time you attend our fun workout sessions or Gain 3 points for every floor you climb at Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI).
Gain 800 points to contribute a $5 Giant voucher or 1400 points to contribute a $10 Giant voucher to Food From The Heart Charity.

(Source)

So, how can I get my FREE Activity Tracker?

While chatting with one of the participants earlier this week, she shared that I should pick up my free steps tracker since I was already actively using the Healthy 365 App and am attending the fitness classes.

It’s neither a Fitbit nor Garmin health and fitness tracker, but this handy tracker is issued by HPB, which syncs with the Healthy 365 App. But first, you will need to register for the National Steps Challenge Season 3!

The National Steps Challenge is an initiative to motivate the nation to stay active. There is a suite of prizes up for grabs and all those information can be found here.

Steps to collect the HPB steps tracker:

1. Download Healthy 365 App from Google Play or App Store.
2. Book an appointment here. Select your nearest collection point, preferred date and time slot.

It’s really easy! Remember to bring your Identification Card (IC) for verification purposes on the day of collection. You can collect the trackers for your family members too. The collection is available until end February 2018 only!

Once you’ve gotten your tracker, you will need to sync it with the Healthy 365 App.

Steps are depicted in the photo below. Enlarge to view:

Do note that the FREE steps tracker issued by HPB is a basic unit that primarily supports the Step Up Challenge. However, if you’re looking for an activity tracker with more features, there is a trade-in programme that allows you to top-up for the other models! Check out the image below for the various Actxa Fitness trackers available.

I was just talking to a friend about this (who has her own Garmin Activity Tracker), and we spoke about the actual “need” for this gadget. Well, marketers are always sceptical about everything HAHA!

Having this activity tracker literally puts the numbers in your face to remind you to MOVE! On the other hand, do we really need that? Yes and No. If it does help you in burning calories or clocking enough steps for health reasons or social good causes, why not?

 

 

It’s just day one of me wearing my very first activity tracker. Let’s see if it’s gonna be permanently on my wrist for a while. Time to clock my 10,000 daily steps diligently!

Do you use a smart bracelet such as an activity tracker too? Let me know how it has helped with your fitness goals!

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