Other than sporting skills, athletes undergo intense all-round training, psychological trials and sacrifices to their personal lives. Their commitment and ability to balance training with competitions, work and leisure is something many of us can draw inspiration from. They do it for the love of the game, for the feeling of elation from success and energy and confidence they feel from being fit. Anyone who believes in being fit can empathise and project that description on themselves.
It is with this in mind that we selected 2 players from the national rugby team as ambassadors for International Fitness Week. They tell us what it takes to be in form.
Jon Lee, 24 (Undergrad, Captain of National 7s team)
Desmond Wee, 25 (Communications Executive in an international investment firm)
FF: Jon, you were spotted at Paragon working out during Christmas week while most people were on vacation or shopping. That's off season, you still train?
Jon: Yes, I need to keep in form always so I workout at the gym 6-7 times a week on or off season (that's excluding rugby training on the pitch). If it means I have to make a special trip out of the house to go to the gym, I make that trip.
Playing a rugby game is like a full body workout. From the endless running to tackling your opponents, the game is extremely demanding on the body. You need to be skilful but also physically fit and strong, especially at the international level where your opposition will always be bigger and stronger than you. Strength training also helps to prevent injuries which is extremely important in rugby.
FF: What's the secret to looking as great as you do?
Jon: Ha ha! A mix of cardio and definitely strength training, here's a sample:
Monday morning: Circuit and core training (both weights and cardio)
Monday evening: Cardio (Elliptical and rower, or a RPM™ class)
Tuesday morning: Weights (Chest and legs with free weights and leg press)
Wednesday morning: Circuit and core training (both weights and cardio)
Wednesday evening: Cardio (Treadmill)
Thursday morning: Weights (Shoulders and back with free weights)
During the off season we were encouraged to go for hot yoga classes. It has helped with my flexibility and my core strength. There are days when I don't feel like working out, so, thankfully there are RPM™ classes which I attend when I feel unmotivated to work out.
Desmond: I train 4 times a week at the gym, out of which 3 days are focused on free weights. You also need good coordination and rugby technique to channel power/strength into the game.
FF: Surely you must have off days!
Jon:Yeah, I try to train twice a day during Mondays to Thursdays with a mix of weight and field training. I have a light workout on Friday. Saturday is match day and Sunday is rest day. It is tough but after a couple of weeks, it just becomes habitual.
Desmond: You have to balance work with training, sometimes you have to compromise.
FF: We can empathise with that. You might see this statement in our clubs “Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going”.
Jon: To be honest, I was a chubby kid. You'll never guess that I was once on the verge of being sent to the TAF club (for overweight kids) in school! That was pretty traumatising so I had to remove that threat. Rugby seemed perfect for a kid my size so with the encouragement from my dad (definitely not from my mum); I started playing for my school.
I used to inspire myself to always play at the highest level that I could attain in rugby which was to represent my country and now that I have had a taste of international rugby, the constant competition for a starting position on the team drives me to train and play harder.
FF: Will we see you play in any upcoming tournaments?
Jon: Yes! There are two big tournaments coming up for me. The first is the ARFU Division One Championship which will be held in April in Singapore itself. The competition consists of 3 other teams, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Taipei. After being demoted from the Premier division this year, the team is eager to win the championship and move up back to the top tier in Asian rugby to compete in the A5N once more.
The second tournament is the Asian Rugby Sevens Series which is held at several tournaments over Asia. The Singapore team is a fairly young one, and playing in these tournaments should be a great learning experience for us.
