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Life goes beyond the digits of the scale and your body is capable of so much more. Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspiring Singaporean men and women leading active and healthy lifestyles. Do you have someone to recommend? Paste Cheryl on Instagram or Facebook.
Name: Gena Phua (@genaphua)
Age: 28
Height: 1.55 m
Weight: 56 kg
Occupation: Personal trainer
Condition: Attach
Diet: I eat five meals a day. For my current off-season diet, I follow the 80/20 rule. I still prepare most of my meals and have planned to go out to eat occasionally. I make sure to stick to my protein macros and not overdo my calorie intake for the day.
Training: I train six times a week, focusing on specific parts of the body for each session. I wake up between 3 and 4 in the morning to train in the gym before going to work.
Q: You did a lot of sports in school.
A: During high school days, I participated in sports competitions between classes: badminton, tchoukball, baseball, netball, cross country. And then in high school (JC), I joined my school’s badminton team.
How did you return to an active regimen as an adult?
My friend introduced me to the Spartan Race and I did the Sprint in 2015 and the Super in 2016. After doing Spartan, I became more daring. In the first Spartan Sprint, I realized how strong I was physically and mentally. Despite my fear of heights, I trained and conquered the obstacle of climbing the rope. After that, I started running long distances because I wanted to go to the Spartan Super race. I got addicted to pushing myself to put more and more mileage in each race.
You said you used to be chubby.
I remember my dad saying I had thunder thighs, so I became more image conscious as I got older. To lose weight, I started running, from 5 km to 10 km, from 15 km to 21 km to 30 km, two to three times a week. My goal was to complete the full marathon, which I did in 2018, then I stopped running and switched my focus to bodybuilding.
What led you to participate in your first sports modeling competition?
My first personal trainer encouraged me to give it a try because I was leaning in and my abs started to show after I started running outside. I love a challenge, so it became a goal for me to participate in the competition, which is held annually, and to work towards a better physique each year.
From there, he went on to earn his Pro card from the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB). What do you like so much about bodybuilding and fitness competitions?
People may find bodybuilding an extreme sport, but it actually gave me a more balanced lifestyle than running. For example, I used to run 100km a week even though I was still lifting weights and I actually resumed weight training in the JC days before I even started running. But now I am eating more than I did compared to my racing days.
I used to have weekly cheat meals on my running days and ran the next day to shed excess calories. It became a vicious cycle and I felt exhausted. Muscles burn more calories, so I don’t get as fat as I did before and after bodybuilding. I know more about macros, calories going in and out, so I feel less guilty after a cheat meal.
Even when my diet is tighter when I am closer to the competition, my meals are not so boring and are still tasty because I know how to manage my macros and make my own recipes.
He worked as an auditor. What made you decide to go back to college and get a second bachelor’s degree in sports science?
I really like fitness and found out that I didn’t like a desk job. I wanted to spread my love and enthusiasm for fitness. I wanted to have a deep knowledge so that I could better educate and help my clients. So instead of just a certification, I wanted to get a degree.
What prompted this career change to become a personal trainer?
I wanted a job that was more satisfying and so far I have been very happy with my job. Every day I learn new things from my company’s senior male trainers. I am happy with the change because it is so comforting for my clients to tell me how much they enjoy and look forward to my sessions and how much impact I have had on their lives.
When did you feel least confident about yourself?
When I had to be in front of strangers. But I got over it after entering college because we had to participate in class for each module and that counted for our grades. I remember that I had to exert myself and I would break out in a cold sweat, but after a while I got used to it.
Are you satisfied with your body now?
Yes, it took me many years of hard work to achieve the body I have now.
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