When it comes to exercise, I’m always at two ends of the spectrum: obsessively dedicated to getting in shape or too lazy to lift a finger.
An example would be during the circuit breaker period two years ago, when I used the extra time off as an opportunity to shed the extra weight I had gained during my pre-pandemic travels.
In that period, I managed to lose about 6 kg and even dropped two pant sizes.
However, with the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and fewer opportunities to work from home, I found myself ‘relapsed’ and making excuses to avoid any form of exercise. As expected, I have gained most of the weight back.
According to the new Singapore Physical Activity Guidelines (SPAG), which were launched on June 12 by Sport Singapore (SportSG) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB), adults are recommended to perform between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. no minimum time for each match.
Aside from that, adults are also encouraged to try moderate- or vigorous-intensity muscle-strengthening activities, such as lifting weights, at least two days a week.
This is definitely not something I’ve been doing, so in an attempt to get back into all my clothes, I decided to challenge myself to do 300 minutes of exercise in a week.
Day 1 (Sunday)
Just in time for the challenge, my friend invited me to try a yoga on wheels session with her, so I gladly accepted the offer.
For the uninitiated, yoga on wheels involves using a hollow, circular-shaped prop to strike various poses to help stretch the body and release tension.
I didn’t expect the hour long session to be as intense as it was, but it definitely got me sweating.
My enthusiasm to reach the 300-minute mark had given me an adrenaline rush, so after my yoga session, I also pushed myself to go for a 38-minute swim.
After finishing and dusting, I admit I felt a sense of accomplishment.
However, as the rest of the day progressed, the fatigue slowly began to set in and my arms and legs began to feel excruciatingly sore; maybe I shouldn’t have tried to try so hard after all.
Total active minutes: 98
Day 2 (Monday)
I came back to the office for myself on the second day of the challenge and had big plans to go swimming at night after work. However, when I got home from the office, I was feeling pretty exhausted.
It didn’t help that he was still a little sore from yesterday’s adventuring training. As eager as I was to reach my fitness goal, I knew that occasional breaks are important, too. So for the second day of the challenge, I forced myself to rest and recover.
Total active minutes: none
Day 3 (Tuesday)
After a good rest, he encouraged me to continue on my fitness journey.
Instead of taking the bus home, I decided to walk back from the office since I lived nearby. In total, I managed to clock 36 minutes of exercise.
I also tried swimming another night and I must admit that after a tiring day at work, a long walk and a hearty dinner, the inertia to exercise was strong and I almost didn’t make it to the pool.
But, after a lot of self-motivation, I managed to successfully time a 37-minute swim. I also found that the exercise helped me sleep more soundly that night and I was knocked out almost immediately.
Total active minutes: 73
Day 4 (Wednesday)
On my agenda today was another bathroom. Yeah, I know, it’s a bit repetitive, but I can barely last three minutes on a treadmill, so swimming is a better option for me.
I’ve also found that doing exercises that I like makes the idea of exercising less terrible compared to doing something that I don’t enjoy.
Getting into the pool today was a little easier than yesterday and I was getting used to exercising more often.
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I was hoping to do an hour swim so I could rack up more minutes towards my goal, but unfortunately when I was done with work and dinner I was only able to do one 35 minute session before the pool closed for the night .
Total active minutes: 35
Day 5 (Thursday)
On day 5 of the challenge, I decided to rest. Juggling the commute to and from the office with two straight days of exercise had left me a little exhausted and I thought I should listen to my body and give it a break.
Total active minutes: none
Day 6 (Friday)
I only had a half day of work today, so to make up for the lack of exercise on Thursday, I planned to hit the gym after work to lift some weights. I even considered jumping into a quick bath if I had time.
However, despite being able to get off work a little earlier today, I felt too tired and unmotivated to exercise. After a lot of internal struggle and a lot of guilt, I decided to take another break.
Total active minutes: none
Day 7 (Saturday)
Headed to Johor Bahru for a day trip today and didn’t have time to work out. However, I knew I was going to be doing a lot of walking so I decided to count that towards my 300 minute goal.
At the end of the day, I managed to log about 8,000 steps, which is equivalent to about 80 minutes of walking.
Total active minutes: 80
Total active minutes at the end of the week: 286 minutes
final thoughts
Yeah, I’ll admit I’m pretty upset with myself for not being able to complete the challenge, especially since I was only 14 minutes away from doing it!
While I wasn’t as active as I wanted, it seems that other Singaporeans are doing much better than me.
Since the publication of the National Physical Activity Guidelines in 2011, there has been a general increase in physical activity levels in adults. However, there was a small drop in 2020 when Covid-19 appeared.
Still, an impressive 76 percent of adults managed to meet the World Health Organization’s guidelines for physical activity.
In general, although I personally believe that 300 minutes of exercise is doable, it takes a lot of willpower and perseverance, especially if you don’t have a very flexible schedule or if you work from nine to five.
Since I’m not a morning person, my only window to exercise was at night and on weekends. While I’m fine with this arrangement, I found myself too exhausted to exercise after a long day at work and it was tempting to stop exercising altogether.
However, I also realized that I didn’t necessarily have to go to the gym or the pool to get my 300 minutes of exercise. Small changes in my lifestyle, like walking home after work and walking more while on vacation in Johor Bahru, could also count towards my exercise count. After all, the goal is simply to keep moving, rather than staying sedentary.
