http://www.asiaone.com/Health/Fitness/Story/A1Story20090723-156683.html
Sat, Jul 25, 2009
The Straits Times
Fear changed his life
By: Gloria Chandy
What do you do to keep fit?
When in Singapore, I generally run from my home in Clementi to the office in Suntec City during the week and do extra long runs of three to five hours in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or MacRitchie during the weekends.
For strength and endurance training during these runs, I carry a backpack filled with water and 10kg rice sacks. I have twice weekly yoga sessions to stretch my muscles and also do some spinning (an aerobics exercise) and stairmaster training at the gym for variety.
What's your secret to looking so fabulous?
I don't have a secret formula. I keep to a strict training programme and this body is just the by-product of all the hard work. I try not to over-indulge in food or drink but will not say 'no' to a good plate of chao guo tiao.
Has there ever been a time when you weren't fit and fab?
Yes, for a year after my return to Singapore in 2006 from the United States where I studied. I was sitting in the office the whole time and not working out.
On impulse, I decided to sign up for the 250km Sahara Race. It was my fear of dying alone in the desert that forced me to start working out. My life has been changed ever since.
What is your diet like?
Lots of rice. I can eat anything with good fragrant rice. I eat lots of carbs to replenish the energy depleted from endurance training, but I focus on complex carbs.
Simple carbs are not good for running ultra-distances as they get broken down and absorbed by the body quickly. They give a 'high' (sugar rush) but then you fall into a 'low' after that.
Complex carbs provide a slow release of energy over a longer period of time. Rice is my favourite source of complex carbs but I also take specially formulated carb powder during a race.
My regular diet consists of meat (mostly beef) and fruits (usually apples).
What are your indulgences?
Sweet desserts like chocolates (especially Royce chocolates) and creamy ice cream (my favourite joints are Daily Scoop and Island Creamery).
Do you count your calories?
No. I burn more than I take in, therefore, I am perpetually hungry.
Do you take supplements?
I take vitamin C daily and some glucosamine just before a race because running all those miles does take its toll, especially on the joints.
What is your sleep routine like?
I can survive on little sleep. At the recent Jeju Ultra-marathon in South Korea, I ran from 5am to 2pm the following day - a straight 33 hours without any sleep.
Generally, though, I need about six to seven hours on a normal day. That's enough because there are too many things I want to do so I don't want to waste time on sleep.
How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?
It has all to do with time management and setting priorities. I wake up extra early so that I can work out before the day starts. I used to sleep my weekends away but now I meet my friends at 7am to exercise and enjoy a hearty breakfast.
What do you do to relax?
I do light runs with my buddies to relax.
I also love music and am a fan of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
What are the three most important things in your life?
Family comes first. I love my family. We are very close and I know they will always be there for me no matter what.
Health is also very important. I would rather lead a simple and healthy life than be wealthy with an ailing body.
Last but not least, spiritual well-being because it gives me the courage to shoot for the wildest dreams, peace in my heart to deal with tough situations and the infinite capacity for love.
Would you go for plastic surgery and why?
Absolutely not, unless I get seriously injured and disfigured in one of my extreme races.
Do you think you are sexy?
I don't think so but women seem to admire my stamina.
Leow Kah Shin, 30
The Singaporean hedge fund manager, who is single, is based here but travels to Hong Kong and Switzerland for work.
Last year, the ultra-marathoner and endurance runner, who is 1.7m tall and weighs 62kg, successfully completed the four Deserts Run - four 250km, self-supported foot races across the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica.
He has completed six ultra-marathons in the past two years across four continents, running a total of more than 1,200km.
He will spend the next few months in the Alps training for the legendary The North Face Ultra-Trail Marathon du Mont Blanc and will take part in the inaugural 100km The North Face 100 Singapore race in October.
EXERCISE REGIMEN: Runs from his Clementi home to his Suntec City office during the week and three- to five-hour runs carrying 10kg rice sacks on weekends. He also does yoga twice a week on top of other forms of training at the gym.
This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.
Sat, Jul 25, 2009
The Straits Times
Fear changed his life
By: Gloria Chandy
What do you do to keep fit?
When in Singapore, I generally run from my home in Clementi to the office in Suntec City during the week and do extra long runs of three to five hours in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve or MacRitchie during the weekends.
For strength and endurance training during these runs, I carry a backpack filled with water and 10kg rice sacks. I have twice weekly yoga sessions to stretch my muscles and also do some spinning (an aerobics exercise) and stairmaster training at the gym for variety.
What's your secret to looking so fabulous?
I don't have a secret formula. I keep to a strict training programme and this body is just the by-product of all the hard work. I try not to over-indulge in food or drink but will not say 'no' to a good plate of chao guo tiao.
Has there ever been a time when you weren't fit and fab?
Yes, for a year after my return to Singapore in 2006 from the United States where I studied. I was sitting in the office the whole time and not working out.
On impulse, I decided to sign up for the 250km Sahara Race. It was my fear of dying alone in the desert that forced me to start working out. My life has been changed ever since.
What is your diet like?
Lots of rice. I can eat anything with good fragrant rice. I eat lots of carbs to replenish the energy depleted from endurance training, but I focus on complex carbs.
Simple carbs are not good for running ultra-distances as they get broken down and absorbed by the body quickly. They give a 'high' (sugar rush) but then you fall into a 'low' after that.
Complex carbs provide a slow release of energy over a longer period of time. Rice is my favourite source of complex carbs but I also take specially formulated carb powder during a race.
My regular diet consists of meat (mostly beef) and fruits (usually apples).
What are your indulgences?
Sweet desserts like chocolates (especially Royce chocolates) and creamy ice cream (my favourite joints are Daily Scoop and Island Creamery).
Do you count your calories?
No. I burn more than I take in, therefore, I am perpetually hungry.
Do you take supplements?
I take vitamin C daily and some glucosamine just before a race because running all those miles does take its toll, especially on the joints.
What is your sleep routine like?
I can survive on little sleep. At the recent Jeju Ultra-marathon in South Korea, I ran from 5am to 2pm the following day - a straight 33 hours without any sleep.
Generally, though, I need about six to seven hours on a normal day. That's enough because there are too many things I want to do so I don't want to waste time on sleep.
How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?
It has all to do with time management and setting priorities. I wake up extra early so that I can work out before the day starts. I used to sleep my weekends away but now I meet my friends at 7am to exercise and enjoy a hearty breakfast.
What do you do to relax?
I do light runs with my buddies to relax.
I also love music and am a fan of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
What are the three most important things in your life?
Family comes first. I love my family. We are very close and I know they will always be there for me no matter what.
Health is also very important. I would rather lead a simple and healthy life than be wealthy with an ailing body.
Last but not least, spiritual well-being because it gives me the courage to shoot for the wildest dreams, peace in my heart to deal with tough situations and the infinite capacity for love.
Would you go for plastic surgery and why?
Absolutely not, unless I get seriously injured and disfigured in one of my extreme races.
Do you think you are sexy?
I don't think so but women seem to admire my stamina.
Leow Kah Shin, 30
The Singaporean hedge fund manager, who is single, is based here but travels to Hong Kong and Switzerland for work.
Last year, the ultra-marathoner and endurance runner, who is 1.7m tall and weighs 62kg, successfully completed the four Deserts Run - four 250km, self-supported foot races across the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica.
He has completed six ultra-marathons in the past two years across four continents, running a total of more than 1,200km.
He will spend the next few months in the Alps training for the legendary The North Face Ultra-Trail Marathon du Mont Blanc and will take part in the inaugural 100km The North Face 100 Singapore race in October.
EXERCISE REGIMEN: Runs from his Clementi home to his Suntec City office during the week and three- to five-hour runs carrying 10kg rice sacks on weekends. He also does yoga twice a week on top of other forms of training at the gym.
This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times.
